Overrated and Underrated
This college basketball season has been filled with surprises, and has been filled with overrated and underrated players and teams.
The Overrateds
1. Perry Ellis, F, Kansas
Kansas has not played up to their potential this year, as they are seemingly laden with talent, but lost to Temple by 25 points. Perry Ellis is the "star" of this Kansas team and is averaging a respectable 12.4 PPG. But... Ellis should not be looked as a star, or as one of the best in the Big 12. The problem with Perry Ellis' game is his shooting percentage. He is shooting just 41.8% from the field, which is just terrible for a big man. Although that is not a good rate for anyone, it especially isn't for someone who rarely makes threes. Ellis disrupts Kansas' game flow by his bad shots and his quick contested shots. Last season, he made nearly 55% of his shots, which was mostly because he rarely took poor shots. This year, he has put more pressure on himself to score, and this has not helped his game or Kansas' ball movement.
2. Arizona
Many people have Arizona ranked as a top 5 team, but if you look at their body of work, they clearly shouldn't be. The two big issues are their lack of big wins, and their one TERRIBLE loss. Their top win is over Gonzaga, who is a legitimate top 10 team. But... Arizona probably should not have won this game. The game went to OT, and U of A could have lost both in OT and in regulation, has Byron Wesley not missed 3 free throws in a row and has Gonzaga not gone cold towards the end of the game. Arizona's only other quality win is against an average SDSU team in a two point win that could have gone either way. The biggest problem, however, is their loss to UNLV. By kenpom.com, UNLV is not even a top 100 team, yet still Arizona lost to them.
The Underrateds
1. VCU
VCU has been in and out of the rankings all year and they recently climbed back in. Everyone looks at their three losses and dismisses them, but those losses were all against presently ranked teams, one on the road (#25 Old Dominion), and the other two against Villanova and Virginia, who are both top 10 teams. VCU also has wins over Oregon, Cincinnati and Tennessee, as well as wins over solid mid-major teams such as Belmont, Toledo, Davidson and Illinois State. By kenpom.com, they have played one of the top 5 hardest schedules in the country, yet still are ranked just number 20. Not to mention... they have only been better as of late, as they are winners of 7 games in a row.
2. Jack Gibbs, G, Davidson
Jack Gibbs is the anti-Perry Ellis. He is from a small-time program, is a guard, is extremely efficent, and plays on an underrated team (yes I am saying KU is overrated). Gibbs is shooting an incredible 54.4% from the field (incredible for a guard that spends a lot of his time shooting threes), is shooting over 44% from the three point line while making two a game, is averaging 16.9 PPG, and oh yeah, is also averaging 4.4 RPG and 4.8 APG. Gibbs is also just a sophomore, playing on an underrated Davidson team with only 3 losses (all to ranked teams).
3. Zach Auguste, F, Notre Dame
Mr. Efficiency has been absolutely incredible this year. Auguste, a junior from Maryland, is averaging 14.9 PPG, and 6.4 RPG, which is very good, especially while playing for a top 15 team. But, the key to Auguste's game is his efficiency. He is shooting an uncanny 67.1% from the field. He scores his 15 PPG on just an average of 8.8 shots, which is an amazing point per FG percentage of 1.69. Also, his rebounding rate is the same or better as Wooden Award Candidate Big Guys such as Willie Cauley-Stein, Frank Kaminsky, Georges Niang and Montrezl Harrell, three of whom are seven footers. More on Auguste: he plays just 24.5 minutes per game, much less than the top 10 scorers in college basketball, seven of which average at least 35 MPG.
The Overrateds
1. Perry Ellis, F, Kansas
Kansas has not played up to their potential this year, as they are seemingly laden with talent, but lost to Temple by 25 points. Perry Ellis is the "star" of this Kansas team and is averaging a respectable 12.4 PPG. But... Ellis should not be looked as a star, or as one of the best in the Big 12. The problem with Perry Ellis' game is his shooting percentage. He is shooting just 41.8% from the field, which is just terrible for a big man. Although that is not a good rate for anyone, it especially isn't for someone who rarely makes threes. Ellis disrupts Kansas' game flow by his bad shots and his quick contested shots. Last season, he made nearly 55% of his shots, which was mostly because he rarely took poor shots. This year, he has put more pressure on himself to score, and this has not helped his game or Kansas' ball movement.
2. Arizona
Many people have Arizona ranked as a top 5 team, but if you look at their body of work, they clearly shouldn't be. The two big issues are their lack of big wins, and their one TERRIBLE loss. Their top win is over Gonzaga, who is a legitimate top 10 team. But... Arizona probably should not have won this game. The game went to OT, and U of A could have lost both in OT and in regulation, has Byron Wesley not missed 3 free throws in a row and has Gonzaga not gone cold towards the end of the game. Arizona's only other quality win is against an average SDSU team in a two point win that could have gone either way. The biggest problem, however, is their loss to UNLV. By kenpom.com, UNLV is not even a top 100 team, yet still Arizona lost to them.
The Underrateds
1. VCU
VCU has been in and out of the rankings all year and they recently climbed back in. Everyone looks at their three losses and dismisses them, but those losses were all against presently ranked teams, one on the road (#25 Old Dominion), and the other two against Villanova and Virginia, who are both top 10 teams. VCU also has wins over Oregon, Cincinnati and Tennessee, as well as wins over solid mid-major teams such as Belmont, Toledo, Davidson and Illinois State. By kenpom.com, they have played one of the top 5 hardest schedules in the country, yet still are ranked just number 20. Not to mention... they have only been better as of late, as they are winners of 7 games in a row.
2. Jack Gibbs, G, Davidson
Jack Gibbs is the anti-Perry Ellis. He is from a small-time program, is a guard, is extremely efficent, and plays on an underrated team (yes I am saying KU is overrated). Gibbs is shooting an incredible 54.4% from the field (incredible for a guard that spends a lot of his time shooting threes), is shooting over 44% from the three point line while making two a game, is averaging 16.9 PPG, and oh yeah, is also averaging 4.4 RPG and 4.8 APG. Gibbs is also just a sophomore, playing on an underrated Davidson team with only 3 losses (all to ranked teams).
3. Zach Auguste, F, Notre Dame
Mr. Efficiency has been absolutely incredible this year. Auguste, a junior from Maryland, is averaging 14.9 PPG, and 6.4 RPG, which is very good, especially while playing for a top 15 team. But, the key to Auguste's game is his efficiency. He is shooting an uncanny 67.1% from the field. He scores his 15 PPG on just an average of 8.8 shots, which is an amazing point per FG percentage of 1.69. Also, his rebounding rate is the same or better as Wooden Award Candidate Big Guys such as Willie Cauley-Stein, Frank Kaminsky, Georges Niang and Montrezl Harrell, three of whom are seven footers. More on Auguste: he plays just 24.5 minutes per game, much less than the top 10 scorers in college basketball, seven of which average at least 35 MPG.
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