Has Anyone Else Noticed?

[Phantom Warrior]

That was certainly a terrific win yesterday with a lot of players contributing against a veteran team with quite a bit of proven talent. We almost certainly benefited from Tyler Lewis being out, but I don't care. No one ever shed a tear for MU when Travis was out, or DJ, or Jerel, or Carlino, etc.

That being said, I did a bit of research and discovered the following:

Over our last 10 games, Sandy is 2 of 15 from behind the arc (13.3%). I knew he wasn't making a lot of treys, but I was surprised by his making only 2 over that period. In fact, over the past 5 games he has not made a single trey and is 0 for 5.

Earlier in the year it appeared that Sandy would be our primary perimeter threat, especially when Henry, Duane, and JJ - as well as Traci - were struggling from the outside. Plus Sandy had that terrific shooting game against San Jose State.

But he appears to have lost confidence as he is turning down some open looks - seems gun shy.

Sandy is not really a slasher - hard for him to beat his man off the dribble because he lacks first step quickness - and he doesn't have a pull-up, mid-range game, partially for the same reason and partly because he has a slow release.

I don't know if this is more of a temporary slump or a sign that he will not be effective from behind the arc against the type of athletic 3s we see practically every game in the BE. I'm hoping it's the former.

Thoughts?

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I think on this team, Sandy just isn't a very high usage guy. In the same span, he's only 4/7 from inside the arc. Henry dominates the ball, and Luke, Duane, Haney, and Jajuan are the secondary options. Doesn't leave a lot for the rest.

[AbovetheRim]

I don't think anyone thought he'd be our primary perimeter threat. In fact, many here were talking about the fact that with his release being so slow and deliberate, he really needs to be wide open to even get a 3 up. Problem becomes when you get into the conference part of the season, the guards just close out so much faster.

Sandy is what he is to me, at least this year. A pretty good defender who plays it safe on the offensive end. The offense may suffer with him on the floor but his ability to guard and hustle is a positive in the games where we have good offensive flow and many guys are scoring.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I fell for the belief that sandy was going to be a key guy for us by his senior year. I loved how he was playing on both sides of the ball. However since I posted my love for him he's gone into a major slump. He seems to be playing with zero confidence. While it's still too early to write him off, the last few weeks have certainly dampened my confidence in him.

[Nukem2]

Sandu has had some good tough rebounds in recent weeks which is encouraging. As noted earlier here, Sandy is not a high usage guy in this offense given Henry, Haanif, Duane and Luke (and, now Traci...;) ).

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I fell for the belief that sandy was going to be a key guy for us by his senior year. I loved how he was playing on both sides of the ball. However since I posted my love for him he's gone into a major slump. He seems to be playing with zero confidence. While it's still too early to write him off, the last few weeks have certainly dampened my confidence in him.

Different opinions on his ceiling, but he's always looked to me like that guy who can be either a great role-player off the bench or a good fifth starter. When you need him to get a layup or dunk, he can do it. When you need someone to hit an open three, he can do it. When you need a guy guarded or a hustle rebound, he can do that too. Reminiscent of Trent Lockett.