Interesting stats (per 48 minutes)

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

I'm the first to admit stats aren't everything. But they can help. In this
case, I looked at the per 48 minute stats for Antoine Walker and Rodney
Rogers:

AW: 25.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 5.9 assists, .392 FGs, .726 FTs, .355
3-point percentage, 9.4 three-point attempts, 4.8 FT attempts.

RR: 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, .466 FGs, .828 FTs, .350 3-point
percentage, 5.3 three-point attempts, 3.8 FT attempts.

Now, not only do stats not tell the whole story, per-48 minute stats are
really shaky. There's usually a reason a guy isn't getting 48 minutes per
game. In Rogers' case, it's probably because he's a 'tweener who can be
attacked at the defensive end by certain matchups. But the guy is incredibly
productive in his time on the floor-and to be fair, we're not talking a
10-minute guy; he averages close to 25 minutes per game. He has his critics
on the list (you know who you are Paul), but he's a very efficient scorer
and for someone who is accused of being soft, he spends a lot less time on
the perimeter than Antoine. He also rebounds at a pretty good clip. Now,
just for fun, let's look at Eric Williams' per-48 minute stats:

EW: 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, .354 FGs, .675 FTs, .274 3-point
percentage, 2.5 three-point attempts, 6.2 FT attempts.

Hard to see where Eric has any kind of advantage on Rodney Rogers. And Eric
always has been something of a 'tweener as well-not big enough to be a power
forward, not quick enough or skilled enough to be a small forward. Is
Williams a better defender? Obie would say so, but Obie would give Williams
the frickin' defensive player of the year award. Is his defensive advantage
enough to keep Rogers chained to the bench until Antoine needs a break?

I checked these stats, and bring them to the list, not to say Rodney Rogers
is as good as Antoine Walker or anything like that. But Rodney Rogers isn't
the "scrub" some have made him out to be. His career has borne that out and
his numbers this season continue to bear that out. If he is relegated to
mop-up duty while indispensable Antoine racks up 42 minutes per game and
Eric Williams continues to get his 20-25 minutes per game, then Obie should
be bound, blindfolded and dropped in the middle of a Dayton athletic
boosters meeting. And if Rodney gets minutes, but never gets the ball, then
Obie should take his captains with him.

As for Delk... what can I say? I guess Obie figured a 6-2 shooting guard was
good enough against Ole Miss, why should it be any different against ol'
Milwaukee?

Mark