| 14 July 2009
One of the players I, along with a lot of other Tiger fans, have been most critical of over the past couple seasons has been Matt Lawrence. Last year on my old blog Big MO Sports I was constantly ripping on coach Anderson for continuing to give Matt minutes while he was going three-for-13. I insisted he had no business getting 30 minutes a game on a decent D-I team. Well...I was right. Sorta.
But I was completely wrong when I suggested that Matt didn't belong on a Big 12 roster. COMPLETELY wrong. I failed to realize that when given a reduced role, Lawrence would have the pressure of having to carry an offense taken off his back and he would be able to thrive.
Ever since Anderson moved Lawrence to the bench and started limiting his minutes he has been incredibly effective and unbelievably efficient. In fact, he's been the nation's most efficient player statistically speaking.
According to kenpom, Matt's offensive rating of 132 (points scored per 100 offensive possessions) is the third best in the country. Of course, those numbers are a bit inflated being as he's only been used in 14.8 percent of the Tigers' total possessions. But regardless, it shows that he's making the most of the minutes he's being given.
And if that's not impressive enough, Lawrence's 5.7 turnover percentage (turnovers/possessions) is the lowest in the NCAA. Mike Anderson has always stated that one of the biggest reasons Matty always gets playing time is because he's a player that just doesn't make very many mistakes. Here you have statistical evidence that Mike knows what he's talking about.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
