A Napkin Stats look at the Elite 8 ... 12/1/17 - 1/1/18 ...

[pfloyd]

Thought I would look at the Napkin Stats for the Elite 8 as this week's top 8 finish out 2017 ... I am a BIG fan of those TEAMS who get it done on the defensive end of the court ... I'm a BIG fan of the Coach Stiverson/Coach Holbert philosophy of having the goal EVERY game out to hold the opponent to less than 50 points - THAT happens with Defense ... my top 7 get it done defensively with Fairfield Leesburg being the "outlier" this week - as the ebb & flow of that 8 spot shows the inconsistency of the teams holding that spot defensively ...

Pfloyd's Elite 8 for Southern/SouthEast Ohio (final week of 2017) ...

...................................Points For/PPG ...................Points Against/PPG

1. Fairland (7-2) ............. 610/67.8 ppg ..................... 436/48.4 ppg
2. Logan (7-0) ................ 465/66.4 ppg ..................... 326/46.5 ppg
3. Fairfiled Union (6-2) ..... 471/58.9 ppg ..................... 391/ 48.9 ppg
4. Oak Hill (8-0) ............. 468/58.5 ppg ..................... 281/ 35.1 ppg
5. Unioto (6-1) ............... 423/60.4 ppg ..................... 327/ 46.7 ppg
6. Chillicothe (9-3) .......... 675/ 56.3 ppg .................... 569/ 47.4 ppg
7. Gallia Academy (6-1) .... 445/ 63.6 ppg .................... 323/ 46.1 ppg
8. Fairfield Leesburg (7-1).. 515/ 64.4 ppg .................... 466/ 58.3 ppg

[pfloyd]

... Teams looking to move into the 8 spot if Fairfield Leesburg drops the ball defensively include :

Zane Trace (5-2) ... Coach Kellough builds his teams from the defensive end first ... he has the Pioneers getting it done on D ... ZT will be a factor and look to jump into the Elite 8 in the 2018 portion of the season ...

PF 361 ... 51.6 ppg
PA 277 ... 39.6 ppg

Warren (5-3) ... the Warriors of Coach Maddox are young with 2 freshmen playing major minutes, along with sophomores mixed with juniors & a senior in Troy Huck who sat out last season starting all anchored by Seniors Josh Huffman & Jared Hall ... going to be tough for the BBB to move into the Elite 8 with the schedule they play this season ...

PF 468 ... 58.5 ppg
PA 362 ... 45.3 ppg

Eastern Pike (8-2) ... Coach Barrick IS one of the best coaches in SEOhio & beyond ... he KNOWS that defense = W's ... Coach B has the mix of players - size, good guards, ballhandlers and yes defenders ... the Eagles have bought into the D variable in getting wins ...

PF 594 ... 59.4 ppg
PA 476 ... 47.6 ppg

... other teams of note who want to be considered for the Elite 8 spot :

Jackson .......... PF 55.4 ppg ... PA 49.8 ppg
Wheelersburg ... PF 65 ppg ..... PA 53.2 ppg
Sheridan ......... PF 59.6 ppg .... PA 51.6 ppg
Vinton County .. PF 62.6 ppg .... PA 61.0 ppg

[pfloyd]

... an even closer Napkin Stat look :

1. Fairland (7-2) :

PF
610/ 67.8 ppg

Hi ... 97 pts vs Gallia
Lo ... 50 pts vs Centerville & Cox Mill NC

PA
436 / 48.4 ppg

Hi ... 76 Cox Mill NC
Lo ... 30 Waterford

... remove the 3 games vs the elite teams played during the holiday tournament in Myrtle Beach and the Dragons are giving up only 39.2 ppg ...


2. Logan (7-0)

PF
465/ 66.4 ppg

Hi ... 77 pts vs Watkins Memorial
Lo ... 55 pts vs Heath

PA
326/ 46.5 ppg

Hi ... 56 pts vs Unioto
Lo ... 34 pts vs Bloom Carroll

[pfloyd]

3. Fairfield Union (6-2) :

PF

471/ 58.9 ppg

Hi ... 76 pts vs Lakewood
Lo ... 43 pts vs Watterson

PA

391/ 42.7 ppg

Hi ... 75 pts vs Columbus South
Lo ... 36 pts vs Bloom Carroll


4. Oak Hill (8-0):

PF

468/ 58.5ppg

Hi ... 78 pts vs Point Pleasant WVa
Lo ... 44 pts vs Alexander

PA

281/ 35.1ppg

Hi ... 44 pts vs Waverly
Lo ... 29 pts vs Portsmouth West & Eastern Pike

[pfloyd]

5. Unioto (6-1):

PF

423/ 60.4ppg

Hi ... 79 pts vs Huntington
Lo ... 47 pts vs Zane Trace

PA

327/ 46.7ppg

Hi ... 71 pts vs Logan
Lo ... 28 pts vs Westfall


6. Chillicothe (9-3):

PF

675/ 56.3 ppg

Hi ... 76 pts vs Hillsboro
Lo ... 33 pts vs Upper Arlington

PA

569/ 47.4 ppg

Hi ... 62 pts. vs Hillsboro
Lo ... 31 pts vs Logan Elm

[Hoopie74]

I agree, with this in most situations ,but; some teams don't have the players to play the same every year. One year you may have to run the court because of your size and speed,other years you might have to just slow down the game and work clock ,get the lead ,then shoot nothing but layups or foul shots like Huggins at Indian valley south did in the 70s. If you handle the ball well and play good defense you can many years hold teams to less than 50 consistently. Most small schools have a hard time getting that combo year in and year out. Especially if you don't have players move in to fill your line up.

[pfloyd]

7. Gallia Academy (6-1):

PF

445/ 63.6 ppg

Hi ... 82 pts vs Rock Hill
Lo ... 50 pts vs Fairland

PA

323/ 46.1 ppg

Hi ... 97 pts vs Fairland
Lo ... 28 pts vs River Valley

... take away the Fairland game ... the Blue Devils are giving up only 37.7 ppg defensively ...

8. Fairfield Leesburg (7-1):

PF

515/ 64.4 ppg

Hi ... 74 pts vs Peebles in OT
Lo ... 41 pts vs Fayetteville

PA

466/ 58.3 ppg

Hi ... 75 pts vs Georgetown
Lo ... 48 pts vs Manchester

[Hoopie74]

Great stats.Thanks.

[pfloyd]

I agree, with this in most situations ,but; some teams don't have the players to play the same every year. One year you may have to run the court because of your size and speed,other years you might have to just slow down the game and work clock ,get the lead ,then shoot nothing but layups or foul shots like Huggins at Indian valley south did in the 70s. If you handle the ball well and play good defense you can many years hold teams to less than 50 consistently. Most small schools have a hard time getting that combo year in and year out. Especially if you don't have players move in to fill your line up.

I agree OFFENSIVELY that "how" you run the offense and "what" you do offensively is dictated by the personnel & their strengths ... Defensively? the programs, the systems that are successful year and year out are those which have the philosophy that "every player who is on this TEAM will play defense" which in my mind comes from the preparation made prior to the group of players get to the varsity level - the system/the program develops strong defensive fundamentals from freshmen teams through JVs -right into the varsity ... "bodying up" the offensive player, using your body to stop penetration, not letting offensive players get to where they want to on the floor, disrupting timing defensively , moving the feet - developing the side to side quickness on defense , playing defense without the hands ... if I'm a coach at any level I'm making my team watch Logan Elm film - LE is down for them due to being young - at times with 3-4 freshmen on the court ... kids that last year were playing junior high ball are playing varsity ... 14 year olds are competing with 18-19 year olds ... how do they do that ? - fundamentals, learning how to "body up" the offensive player , using their quickness ... the speed , strength of varsity opponents goes against them - NOW - BUT these kids WILL grow - when they do they will then be not only as strong as opponents but BETTER than opponents because they have been taught and developed the defensive fundamentals to hold opponents to 50 points or less ... I use LE as an example but all of the quality programs aim to do the same thing - develop EVERY KID defensively ...

[Hoopie74]

The problem I see here is we very seldom have over a couple of seniors on our teams. We have no Juniors at all this year. That happens often.This year is an exception for us as we have a bunch of seniors but a few haven't played that much. I've noticed that most smaller schools have to contend with this. Coach Arey cannot play the same offense or defense every year ,as he has to adjust to the players he has to work with. He was a defensive specialist when he played as his records can attest. He teaches defense is offense and it has worked well thru his tenure here.,but; you have to have the athletes to consistently hold teams to 50 or less. I think this year we are allowing 55 points per game ,could be lower,but; foul trouble happens,injuries happen and depth is a problem. Nice topic Pfloyd.

[SportsRule]

It is a little easier to make subtle changes to defense based on personnel.

[Noitall]

I don't understand. Burg,they haven't played many games to prove much,not saying they stint good but you your self have always said play enough good teams to earn your way up.

Also what has warren done to stay at the top with a record of 5 and 3 ? Lots of teams below them with lot better records.
Not stepping on toes and no disrespect, just curious

[Geronimo]

Very interesting 2nd half of the season !