Going into the season, we figured we had 3 players that could play the point: Weathers, Chico (Cunningham), and Likelele (Ice).
In the three tournament games, which had Big12-like competition (well, Memphis would probably finish last in our conference) Weathers had 4 assists and 11 turnovers in 67 minutes. Terrible.
At Miami of Ohio his freshman season, he averaged 4.8 assists (very good) to 4.8 turnovers. Very bad. And that was vs weak competition, compared to the Big12. So at this point he must still be very rusty or he is trending down on his ball handling.
Remember in the offseason and pre-season, the thinking was that Weathers could "drive and dish".
I don't recall him driving into the lane and dishing any. When he drives from somewhere towards the front he is going to the hole strong and he always shoots/lays it up. On the other hand, when he drives the baseline, he mostly passes but has had some of his turnovers that way. I don't remember any of his baseline drives leading to an easy basket--or even a difficult basket.
Chico was thought to maybe be the starting back court mate with Weathers, and of course he had the injury to slow him down, but he is a 5th year senior so he should bring experience and solid ball handling. In those 3 tournament games he had 2 assists and 5 turnovers in 58 minutes. He looks like when he comes in the game, his job is quick offense/shoot the ball. He has pretty much shot every time he is open. And he looks like a good shooter so that is what he should do. He averaged 3.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers last season at USCU in 30+ minutes/game. The turnover part is very good, but again, against much lower competition.
Ice, who actually IS our starting point guard, and is only a freshman, had 12 assists and 6 turnovers in 61 minutes--by far the best of the 3. He DOES drive and dish, and figures out other ways to get the ball to the shooters.
So the three guards played 67 minutes, (Weathers), 58 minutes (Chico), and 61 minutes and had 4 assists, 2 assists, and 12 assists, respectively.
Waters probably handles the ball the most after the first three. He played 33, 36, and 30 minutes in the 3 games. 10 assists to only 3 turnovers. That is great, especially for a forward. Didn't a few of you say he shouldn't even be starting, during the tournament? (Remember the behind-the-back dribble into traffic vs Villanova?) He seems to do it quietly because I would not have thought his numbers we so good. He's in his 3rd season and seems to know where the ball should go 2 or 3 passes ahead of time. He just knows the offense.
DZ handles the ball a little bit but is not a point guard. He had 7 assists and 6 turnovers in the tournament. Waters is a better ball handler than DZ.
So in summary, Weathers had a pretty bad freshman year in assists/turnover ratio, 4.8/4.8, and is trending worse than that. No doubt he'll improve a lot on his 4/11 ratio he had in the tournament.
I remember reading he had a very high "usage", meaning he had the ball in his hands a lot his freshman season. That leads to more assists, and more turnovers.
Chico does not look like a true point guard but at least does not turn it over much.
Likelele has looked very good as a point guard. He had the rough game vs Villy, but he is a freshman and will have some rough games. Overall though he as been even more than a "pleasant surprise". Oh and by the way, he his shooting 63% from the field and averaging 4.8 rebounds!
He passes up every 3 (has taken 2 all season, and none in the 3 game tournament) but loves to drive and make a play.
In the three tournament games, which had Big12-like competition (well, Memphis would probably finish last in our conference) Weathers had 4 assists and 11 turnovers in 67 minutes. Terrible.
At Miami of Ohio his freshman season, he averaged 4.8 assists (very good) to 4.8 turnovers. Very bad. And that was vs weak competition, compared to the Big12. So at this point he must still be very rusty or he is trending down on his ball handling.
Remember in the offseason and pre-season, the thinking was that Weathers could "drive and dish".
I don't recall him driving into the lane and dishing any. When he drives from somewhere towards the front he is going to the hole strong and he always shoots/lays it up. On the other hand, when he drives the baseline, he mostly passes but has had some of his turnovers that way. I don't remember any of his baseline drives leading to an easy basket--or even a difficult basket.
Chico was thought to maybe be the starting back court mate with Weathers, and of course he had the injury to slow him down, but he is a 5th year senior so he should bring experience and solid ball handling. In those 3 tournament games he had 2 assists and 5 turnovers in 58 minutes. He looks like when he comes in the game, his job is quick offense/shoot the ball. He has pretty much shot every time he is open. And he looks like a good shooter so that is what he should do. He averaged 3.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers last season at USCU in 30+ minutes/game. The turnover part is very good, but again, against much lower competition.
Ice, who actually IS our starting point guard, and is only a freshman, had 12 assists and 6 turnovers in 61 minutes--by far the best of the 3. He DOES drive and dish, and figures out other ways to get the ball to the shooters.
So the three guards played 67 minutes, (Weathers), 58 minutes (Chico), and 61 minutes and had 4 assists, 2 assists, and 12 assists, respectively.
Waters probably handles the ball the most after the first three. He played 33, 36, and 30 minutes in the 3 games. 10 assists to only 3 turnovers. That is great, especially for a forward. Didn't a few of you say he shouldn't even be starting, during the tournament? (Remember the behind-the-back dribble into traffic vs Villanova?) He seems to do it quietly because I would not have thought his numbers we so good. He's in his 3rd season and seems to know where the ball should go 2 or 3 passes ahead of time. He just knows the offense.
DZ handles the ball a little bit but is not a point guard. He had 7 assists and 6 turnovers in the tournament. Waters is a better ball handler than DZ.
So in summary, Weathers had a pretty bad freshman year in assists/turnover ratio, 4.8/4.8, and is trending worse than that. No doubt he'll improve a lot on his 4/11 ratio he had in the tournament.
I remember reading he had a very high "usage", meaning he had the ball in his hands a lot his freshman season. That leads to more assists, and more turnovers.
Chico does not look like a true point guard but at least does not turn it over much.
Likelele has looked very good as a point guard. He had the rough game vs Villy, but he is a freshman and will have some rough games. Overall though he as been even more than a "pleasant surprise". Oh and by the way, he his shooting 63% from the field and averaging 4.8 rebounds!
He passes up every 3 (has taken 2 all season, and none in the 3 game tournament) but loves to drive and make a play.
