One of my biggest inspirations for writing is Fox Sports' Mark Titus (formerly of Grantland and The Ringer). Back in his Grantland days, he used to do a column called "Triangle All-Stars," in which he would highlight five players who all fit a specific mold. Some of those categories included good players on bad teams, lefties, spot-up shooters, players with suffixes, and player with unique jersey numbers. In his writing, Titus perfectly blended entertainment and insight--frequently infusing analysis on lesser-known players with humor and his distinct narrative voice. Here is my tribute to those columns--and since I don't make any money off of this, I figured I could get away with imitating his structure and adding my own twist.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. This post was supposed to drop on Selection Sunday. The plan was to highlight five guys, all Tournament-bound, who were the most likely to get Draymond Green comparisons throughout four glorious weekends. See, I find Draymond comparisons hilarious because there's no one else in the Association remotely like him. He's the perfect "glue guy," but that term undermines his unique skillset. But since he fell to the second round of the 2012 NBA draft, media and fans alike obsess over finding the "next Draymond." As if under-sized big men who can guard five positions, facilitate the offense, occasionally get smoldering hot from 3, get away with a limitless amount of moving screens, and energize his teammates appear out of nowhere. We can debate what his career would look like without Steph and Klay. We can debate just how valuable he is to the Warriors. We can debate if he is still in his prime. But what's inarguable? Draymond is one of one. Still, that doesn't stop folks from making that comparison--and I think we see it the most at the collegiate level. So even in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis, I bring you the final Triangle All-Stars team for the 2020 season.
Chris Clarke, Texas Tech
Even though he checks in in at 6'6" and a rather burly 220 pounds, Clarke often brought the ball up the court for the Red Raiders, so he's the de facto point guard of this line-up. But if he ever works for a company that makes him do a StrengthsFinders test for team building purposes, I would guess that adaptability ranks in his top five. On some possessions, Clarke would initiate Texas Tech's offense. On others, he would .set pin-downs and other off-ball screens. And in some line-ups, he functioned as the lone big, battling for positioning on the block. However, he supplied the biggest boost to his team with his passing ability. Chris Beard loved to run this action with Clarke camped out near the free throw line. From there, he would survey the defense before letting ball dance off of his fingertips into the hands of a sniper waiting on the wing. On the other side of the ball, he didn't offer much as a shot blocker, but he served as an adequate help defender from the weak side. Teas Tech wasn't quite the ironclad warship they were a season ago, yet their defense still ranked top 15 nationally in all the advanced metrics sites. Give Clarke some credit for that--although most of his defensive contribution rested in his defensive rebounding rate, where he placed 4th in the Big 12. Clarke's averages of 5.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists fell a little bit short of the high expectations folks had for him as a coveted grad transfer out of Virginia Tech. But when you project them over 40 minutes--9 points, 11 boards, 7 assists--you get a rather Draymond-esque stat line.
Marcus Garrett, Kansas
Staying in the Big 12, we'll profile a...lanky wing? As in a guy who lacks the doughy physique that is central Draymond's very essence? Okay, stick with me here: he's an excellent secondary playmaker and he boasts the same "multi-positional defender" label that brought Green such prominence. Watch one game of Marcus Garrett, and tell me you can't hear Jay Bilas saying something like "...and I know he plays a different role, but make no mistake about it: Marcus Garrett is Kansas's Draymond Green." The Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year cuffed opposing guards all season, leading Kansas to a number 2 ranking in the defensive efficiency metric on KenPom. His decimation of Oklahoma stands out as his signature game--the Sooners kept pace with the Jayhawks for most of the first half, lingering around, looking to leverage Kansas' lethargy into a halftime lead. But then Garrett awakened his aggression. A pair of back-to-back steals led to run-outs, and the Jayhawks seized control with a vice grip. Like Green on the Curry/Thompson/Durant Warriors, Garrett's team rarely needed him to shoulder a heavy scoring load. However, every once in awhile, he would detonate. In that same game versus Oklahoma, Garrett overwhelmed the Sooners with a cascade of trey balls (6), despite shooting 32% from beyond the arc on the season. The performance called to mind Draymond's first half of Game 7 of the 2016 Finals. Except, you know, Kansas won the game.
Matt Mitchell, San Diego State
The main commonality between Mitchell and Draymond is their body type. But sometimes, that's all an announcer needs to make a (pretty lazy) comparison. The Aztecs' junior stands at 6'6" and weighs 240 pounds. He looks like he could sling some serious weight on the squat rack, but he also probably wore "husky" fit jeans as kid. That's the Draymond build. Although Mitchell spent most of the season starting as a small ball "4"(the position that Green helped revolutionize), their games aren't all that similar. It would be unfair to expect any college defender to possess the shot blocking and shot altering acumen of Green--and any player that does match him in those areas probably doesn't play in the Mountain West Conference. But Mitchell excelled in diverting opponents from driving lanes with his width. He ranked second in the Mountain West in defensive rating. On offense, he relies more on his dribble moves to get to the rack than Draymond. While Green can put the ball on the deck, we never really see him cross his defender and pull-up into a jumper like this: He also maintains great body control in using his size to create separation. Conversely, Draymond has morphed into a maestro at passing out of pick and roll--his entire 2019 Playoffs montage consists almost exclusively of those plays. Aztecs' coach Brian Dutcher did not ask much from Mitchell when it came to facilitating the offense; however, this final gif showcases a pass that does look Draymond-y. RaiQuan Gray, Florida State Unfortunately, Gray didn't quite fulfill my sophomore breakout prophecy. The 6'8", 260 pound* big man averaged just 6 points and 3.8 boards in 19 minutes per game. But he does still deliver some highlight-reel outlet passes on the fast break. Combine that with his frame, and he gets a spot on the list. *Florida State lists Gray at this height and weight. Per my eyeball projections, he looks more like 6'5", 270, which I'm all about.
Xavier Tillman, Michigan State
I had to end with the obvious one. Tillman wore 23 like Draymond. He got to a Final Four like Draymond. He even had to improve his poor conditioning like Draymond! But perhaps most notably, they followed the same career arc at Michigan State--both were somewhat unheralded recruits (Tillman ranked 112th in the class of 2017, per 247Sports' Recruiting Composite), destined to play 3-4 years of college ball, where Tom Izzo would delight to develop them into an All-Conference/All-American caliber players. Similar to his predecessor, Tillman personified the heartbeat of Sparty's elite defense. Per Haslametrics, Michigan State allowed the average opponent to convert just 35.6% of their total shots from the field; much of that success stemmed from Tillman's beastly presence down low. Surprisingly light on his feet, Tillman's agility enabled him to both stick with his man in isolation defense in the post and also to quickly rotate over for help defense. He lacks the vertical leap of Green, but he makes up for it with Samson-like strength, which he uses to stymy his challengers. On offense, he turned in a couple duds where he went cold--1 for 9 against Seton Hall, 4 for 10 against Virginia Tech, and 3-15 against Wisconsin, for example--and, anecdotally, it seemed like went through a stretch in late January and early February where he struggled around the rim. However, the numbers point to him as an outstanding finisher.
And when he sets a screen, you might as well just get ready for the inbounds pass, because it's gonna lead to a bucket. Lastly, I know I've mentioned the passing skills of most of these big men--but Tillman surpasses them all. Not only does he find the open man out of the post, he also drops the type of dimes that you usually only see from point guards.
And his ability to attack a close out and kick out to the perimeter makes me think that he'll have a long NBA career, even if he never reaches All Star status.
Sadly, we likely won't see Tillman compete for a National Championship, unless he surprisingly returns to East Lansing in the fall. But as Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't smile because it's over. Cry because it happened." Or something like that. Well...that was fun to write, but I'm still bummed that the season is over. For those who have read any of my posts this year, thank you! I appreciate all the support. I will probably write some draft stuff next (assuming the NBA draft still happens), and of course, I'm already looking ahead to my preseason rankings.
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With high-major tournaments starting tomorrow, I bring you my All-Conference and All-American teams! Sorry for some sloppy writing. I really wanted to get this post done and published before the Power 6 tourneys tip off, so I didn't spend as much time on the writing portion as usual. Anyway, here are some disclaimers:
* I heavily factor in team success. I don't want to reward good stats on bad teams. * I believe defense matters more than offense for postseason success. Thus, since every team wants to win a championship, I try to recognize some of the defensive-minded guys that the big-name sports publications neglect. * this is a long post with a lot of names, so I just provided what I've dubbed "bullet-point analyses"; so just quick hitters with no GIFs. ACC First Team Tre Jones, G, Duke Trent Forrest, G, Florida State Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville Mamadi Diakite, F, Virginia Vernon Carey, F/C, Duke Second Team Markell Johnson, G, NC State Devin Vassell, G, Florida State Elijah Hughes, G/F, Syracuse Garrison Brooks, F/C, North Carolina John Mooney, F/C, Notre Dame Player of the Year: Carey Bullet-point Analysis:
Big East First Team Markus Howard, G, Marquette Myles Powell, G, Seton Hall Ty-Shon Alexander, G, Creighton Alpha Diallo, G/F, Providence Saddiq Bey, G/F, Villanova Second Team Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton Collin Gillespie, G, Villanova Kamar Baldwin, G, Butler Paul Reed, F, DePaul Romaro Gill, F/C, Seton Hall Player of the Year: Howard Bullet-point Analysis:
Big Ten First Team Anthony Cowan, G, Maryland Cassius Winston, G, Michigan State Daniel Oturu, F/C, Minnesota Luka Garza, F/C, Iowa Jalen "Stix" Smith, F/C, Maryland Second Team Ayo Dosunmu, G, Illinois Zavier Simpson, G, Michigan Lamar Stevens, F, Penn State Xavier Tillman, F/C, Michigan State Kaleb Wesson, F/C, Ohio State Player of the Year: Garza Bullet-point Analysis:
Big 12 First Team Devon Dotson, G, Kansas Jared Butler, G, Butler Jahmi'us Ramsey, G, Texas Tech Oscar Tshiebwe, F/C, West Virginia Udoka Azubuike, C, Kansas Second Team Desmond Bane, G, TCU Marcus Garrett, G/F, Kansas Kristian Doolittle, F, Oklahoma Derek Culver, F/C, West Virginia Baylor's Second Best Player Player of the Year: Azubuike Bullet-point Analysis:
Pac 12 First Team Payton Pritchard, G, Oregon Chris Smith, G, UCLA Tyler Bey, G/F, Colorado Onyeka Okongwu, F, USC Isaiah Stewart, F/C, Washington Second Team Remy Martin, G, Arizona State Tyrell Terry, G, Stanford McKinley Wright IV, G, Colorado Tres Tinkle, F, Oregon State Zeke Nnaji, F, Arizona Player of the Year: Pritchard Bullet-point Analysis:
SEC First Team Mason Jones, G, Arkansas Immanuel Quickley, G, Kentucky Isaac Okoro, G/F, Auburn Reggie Perry, F, Mississippi State Nick Richards, F, Kentucky Second Team Samir Doughty, G, Auburn Kira Lewis, G, Alabama Ashton Hagans, G, Kentucky Anthony Edwards, G, Georgia John Fulkerson, F, Tennessee Player of the Year: Quickley Bullet-point Analysis:
All-Americans First Team Payton Pritchard, G, Oregon Markus Howard, G, Marquette Obi Toppin, F, Dayton Luka Garza, F/C, Iowa Udoka Azubuike, C, Kansas Second Team Devon Dotson, G, Kansas Malachi Flynn, G, San Diego State Filip Petrušev, F, Gonzaga Jalen "Stix" Smith, F/C, Maryland Vernon Carey, F/C, Duke National Player of the Year: Toppin |
AuthorRiley Davis Archives
June 2021
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