Previewing Mount St. Mary's

Scouting Report
Roster
Season Stats
Schedule

Mount St. Mary's Offense 05-06

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	46.7	272
Turnover Rate	20.4	123
Off Reb Rate	29.8	250
FTM/FGA	24.6	172

Mount St. Mary's Offense 06-07

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	46.3	252
Turnover Rate	23.6	211
Off Reb Rate	34.0	123
FTM/FGA	18.6	294

Scoring about 0.9 points/possession, Mount St. Mary's ranks 280th in offensive efficiency. The Mountaineers rely on their starting trio of guards to carry the load: the three combine to use 69.7% of the team's possessions while they're on the court. But that's not to say they don't have forwards who can score; they do. The problem with the post players is they turn the ball over a ton, so the team can't get as many shots out of them as it might like.

Probable Starters:

Jeremy Goode (5-9, 172) -- Has a nice assist rate, but that's coming with a lot of turnovers as well (28.1 TO%). He is, along with Chris Vann and Will Holland, one of the team's major outside threats. He's been effective at getting to the free throw line with dribble penetration, but we're so good at avoiding fouls that this isn't likely to be a factor.

Chris Vann (6-0, 195) -- He's the team's leading scorer and its most efficient starter (108.1 ORtg). Averages more than six three-point attempts per game, and over half of his field goal attempts are from behind the arc.

Mychal Kearse (6-4, 205) -- Mychal is having a rough go of it in 2007. He's shooting 25.4% from the field, and unfortunately for the Mountaineers, he is second on the team in field goal attempts. That hurts the offense a wee bit. Good rebounding numbers for a guard.

Sam Atupem (6-7, 240) -- Atupem's offensive rating is sub-100 despite an excellent effective field goal percentage (58.5%). Why? An ugly 29.2 turnover percentage--and that's with relatively low usage. On the season, Atupem has 19 turnovers and one assist. He's the team's best offensive rebounder, but his defensive rebounding needs work.

Markus Mitchell (6-7, 245) -- Same story with with Mitchell--great shooter (59.0 eFG%) but extremely turnover prone (30.5%). He's about as secure as the Springfield prison that relied on the honor system ("You're ruining it for the rest of us!"). It's a shame because Mount St. Mary's would probably be more efficient if it could afford to put the ball in his (and Atupem's) hands more often. As it is, Mitchell is only a small part of the offense (14.7 %Poss, 13.2 %Shots). Mitchell's rebounding percentages suck, and he doesn't get to the line.

Bench:

Will Holland (6-4, 215) is the only bench player likely to have a significant impact. He seems to be a typical catch-and-shoot 2-guard: over half of his FGAs are threes and he sports a low turnover rate.

Mount St. Mary's Defense 05-06

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	50.2	193
Turnover Rate	23.7	45
Off Reb Rate	34.3	246
FTA/FGA	44.0	295

Mount St. Mary's Defense 06-07

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	51.9	235
Turnover Rate	27.5	21
Off Reb Rate	33.0	198
FTA/FGA	50.1	313

As you can tell, if they don't force turnovers, they're in big trouble (one thing that stuck out: MSM opponents have shot 42.8% from beyond the arc this year). And good lord, these guys are hacktastic.

Player    Fouls/40 min

Loughry      7.9
Beidler      7.1
Mitchell     6.1

NC State's current "leader" in Fouls/40? Bryan Nieman with 3.8.