My Take on Wake - Stewart Not Too Shy to Let Fly

Stewart Not Too Shy to Let Fly

N.C. State won the 1973 ACC championship, but was not eligible for the NCAA Tournament because of sanctions, so Maryland represented the conference in the Big Dance. I was a junior in college working for the ingeniously named Chapel Hill Newspaper (a lot of brain cells were devoted to coming up with that one) and lucky enough to cover the Terps playing Providence in the second round of the tournament at the original Charlotte Coliseum on Indepedence Boulevard.

The Terps were loaded. John Lucas and Mo Howard were freshmen, Tom Roy and Owen Brown were sophomores and Tom McMillen and Len Elmore were juniors. But in many ways the leader of the team was a funny-looking 6-7 senior named Jim O’Brien who everybody called Bozo the Clown. They thumped Syracuse 91-75 in the first round, but then ran into what was probaby Coach Dave Gavitt’s best team ever. The Friars had Marvin “Bad News” Barnes inside and Ernie DiGregorio and Kevin Stacom in the backcourt. But the guy I wrote about was Nehru King, a 6-6 reserve who came off the bench just a gunning. I can’t remember how many he scored, but with Ernie D fouling out (with four of the fouls being charges) all his points were critical to Providence’s 103-89 victory.

I sought King out in the cramped confines of the locker room and found him to be as much a delight to talk with as he was to watch play. I asked him if his coaches or teammates ever chastised him for shooting pretty much every time he touched the ball.

“No man, no,’’ King answered. “Coach always tells me, `No matter where you are on the court, if you’re open, then Nehru that’s you.’ ‘’

Ari Stewart, Wake Forest’s freshman forward, has more than a litlte Nehru King in him. I’ve kidded him about how he’s certainly not too shy to let fly, and I went back and ran the numbers to find out that nobody on the Deacons’ roster shoots the ball more frequently. Stewart has taken 94 field-goal attempts in 224 minutes of playing time, or one every 2.38 minutes. Al-Farouq Aminu is the only teammate close, with a shot every 2.41 minutes of playing time.

I asked Coach Dino Gaudio if he felt all right about Stewart’s shot selection.

“I do,’’ Gaudio said. “I don’t want him looking over his shoulder. I want him relaxed. I don’t want him worrying about `Should I? Shouldn’t I?’

“I think as he goes through his career he’ll start to learn a little bit.’‘

I’ve known coaches who might try to rein Stewart in, but I’m impressed that Gaudio is not. His is a team that needs outside production. Unless it’s the final minutes of a close game, when Ish Smith becomes the go-to guy, the only reliable 3-pointer shooters on the team are Stewart and C.J. Harris. Gary Clark may become one, but so far he has taken only six 3-pointers (of which he has hit two).

There was a reason the Deacons finished 11th in the ACC last season with a 3-point percentage of .320. They needed shooters and Gaudio addressed that need by recruiting Harris and Stewart. So Stewart is only doing what he was brought in to do.

For the curious, what follows is the frequency of field-goal attempts by every scholarship player on the Deacons, gauged by number of minutes between shots: Stewart 2.4, Aminu 2.4, Smith 2.8, Walker 2.9, Clark 3.6, Harris 3.9, Woods 4.1, Williams 4.4, McFarland 4.7, Weaver 5.8. It’s far from a perfect stat because it doesn’t account for the times a player is fouled while taking a shot, but it’s still an interesting indicator.

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By Dan Collins on 01/06/2010 (5:55 pm)

Comments

This brings back some memories. I was 13 years old when our church youth group attended the 1973 Eastern Regionals. I became a huge Ernie D fan. I have never seen a better ballhandler in person than him.

Logan on 01/09/2010 (10:08 am)

Hi Dan,

I would think that one major challenge for a true freshman would be to stay strong for the entire season. Clearly Harris and Stewart are playing at a much higher level than they’ve ever played before, and for a longer season. On top of that, they go to Wake Forest now, which means their academic obligations are significantly more rigorous. Combine that with the numerous “distractions” associated with being a freshman in college, and I can definitely see how some freshmen might lose their legs a little bit down the home stretch of the season.

It seems like both Harris and Stewart have the athletic makeup to remain strong for the entire season (if not continue to improve!). Is there anything that the coaching staff and players are doing to ensure that this is the case? Or is it pretty much just up to them to keep pushing themselves to see how much they can contribute this year? Thanks for the great insights!

DC on 01/08/2010 (12:59 pm)

I also was at the ‘73 East Regional games in Charlotte. Saw the great Ernie D play for Providence. That guy was a crazy good ballhandler, passer, and scorer. He had a lot of Pistol Pete in his game. I was surprised he was a bust in the NBA. Syracuse had a really good PG named Dennis DuVal. I didn’t know anything about their team, but you could tell in warmups he was probably their best player. Thanks for bringing back a great memory of attending those games with my Mom and Dad.

deacfreke on 01/08/2010 (1:51 am)

Shooting: check. Blocking out: ehhhhh…

John on 01/07/2010 (2:46 pm)

The most encouraging thing to me is that it does not seem like either Stewart or Harris see themselves strictly as three-point shooters. They are all-around scorers, as evidenced by Stewart’s very impressive dunk against Xavier the other night. Both players can finish at the basket and even have exhibited the beginnings of a good mid-range game. Over time, I expect that they will do an even better job of picking when to hit the outside shot and when to attack to the basket. And of course, their defense should improve as well! I’m excited to watch them develop over the course of the year and in the years to follow.

DC on 01/07/2010 (10:06 am)

thanks for the analysis and confirms my observation that “that freshman sure does seem to shoot a lot”, I too would keep the light green for him and a shot. In the recent and not so recent past who else do you reckon has shot that fast? Josh? Robert OKelly? Randolph? would be three that seem to have been quick with a shot though I do not remember Dave being supportive of green lights.

Paul on 01/06/2010 (11:09 pm)

Dan, I’m not sure shots/minute is really the best way to look at this. I don’t know how much you look at some of the stats that Kenpom tracks (kenpom.com), but he has a stat called “Percentage of possessions used,” which is determined as follows:

“Percentage of possessions used (%Poss): A measure of personal possessions used while the player is on the court. Simply assigns credit or blame to a player when his actions end a possession, either by missing a shot that isn’t rebounded by the offense or committing a turnover. 20% is average, and 25% indicates a go-to guy. 15% is a player with a limited role in the offense. Higher values do not indicate a player is better, merely that he is more involved in the offense.”

I am 99% positive that definition meant to include made shots as well, although it doesn’t explicitly state it.

Based on this statistic, Al-Farouq Aminu is the undisputed go-to guy on the team, using 30.3% of possessions for which he is on the court (good for 54th most in the nation). Ishmael Smith is second with 22.7%, and Stewart comes in 3rd just below him at 22.2%. No one else even comes close. No one else is over 20%.

I think this statistic is much more telling than simply number of shots taken, and it also accounts, most notably, for turnovers.

I think this statistic more accurately portrays the way the team plays, as I don’t really feel like Stewart overshadows Aminu or Smith when he’s on the floor.

Anyway, I think your point is still valid as it relates to whether or not he should be taking so many shots, I just don’t think it addresses the whole story.

Zach Smith on 01/06/2010 (8:30 pm)