Friday, November 14, 2008

Top Ten UConn NBA Players


1. Caron Butler. 21.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 3.8 assists. Tough Juice has emerged as an elite player. He is shooting well from three (.364) which makes him hard to defend. He can play the post and has become a solid defender.

2. Rudy Gay. 20 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 assists. Rudy is still a human highlight machine but he isn’t shooting the ball well (.413) and is 17 for 43 in his last three games. He is also 2 for 11 from three, shooting just .200 from downtown. He needs to build on his good shooting from last year to make the next leap in his game.

3. Ben Gordon. 19.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, .4 steals, and 3.8 assists. It is great to see Ben finding his offense this early in the season. While he isn’t shooting well from three, he is shooting the ball much better this year (.479). If he provides this type of spark off the bench all season, he will be in the running for sixth man of the year again.

4. Ray Allen. 15.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, .9 steals, and 2.6 assists. Maybe that shiny new ring on his hand has thrown his shot off because he isn’t shooting the ball well from downtown (.271). He isn’t a one trick pony though and finds his points in various ways and plays excellent defense.

5. Rip Hamilton. 17.4 points, 4 rebounds, .4 steals, and 3.4 assists. Rip, the model of consistency, is below his career average in field goal percentage but he still is averaging the same amount of points. He is a scorer and the jumper will eventually come around. He’s hitting the boards better this year and he is a tenacious man to man defender.

6. Emeka Okafor. 10.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and .4 assists. Emeka is bringing his lunch pail to work everyday. While his points are down by four points, his free throw percentage is up by .150 percentage points and his field goal percentage is up by .060 points. He is the only husky averaging a double-double.

7. Charlie Villanueva. 10.3 points, 7 rebounds, .3 steals, and 1.4 assists. Charlie is playing with more confidence and has been rewarded with several starts this season. He has a great free throw percentage (.917), but he needs to get to the line more often, only 4 times in the past three games.

8. Josh Boone. 8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and .7 assists. Josh’s hard work has earned him a starting role and he has produced. He is a stable rebounder and defender, but he needs some serious work on his free throw shooting. It is only .267. Is he shooting them blindfolded?

9. Hilton Armstrong. 4.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, .4 blocks, .4 assists. Hilton is getting more minutes, but the production just isn’t there. He needs to be a solid rebounder and 3.3 just isn’t going to cut it. He is on a solid squad but he should be contributing more.

10. Kevin Ollie. 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, .2 steals, and 2 assists. It is good to see Kevin in the top ten list. He is a solid backup guard and a smart player. It proves that hard work and perseverance can go a long way in this league.

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