Awkwardly Glancing At New Orleans

2008 Scouting Report
Roster
2007-08 Team Stats

New Orleans Offense 07-08

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	49.5	181
Turnover Rate	17.4	17
Off Reb Rate	29.2	285
FTM/FGA	26.8	113

Previewing this team is a pointless exercise, but that's never stopped me before. With 11 newcomers--equal parts freshmen and juco transfers--the Privateers are complete unknowns. About the only safe assumption is that they will be terrible. The Sun Belt's coaches certainly think that's going to be the case.

The holdovers:

Kyndall Dykes (6-3, 190) -- Pre-season third team All-Sun Belt (I wonder if he gets a plaque for that), and thus, New Orlean's lone, shiny beacon of notsuck. He'll be the team's primary scoring option as all the noobs around him try to figure out what the hell they're doing, so it's a good bet his usage/%shots numbers (22.6/23.4 in '08) are going to go up--perhaps way up. His scoring came almost entirely from inside the arc, where he was impressively effective for a 6-3 guy (though he is listed as a forward). Solid free throw rate; takes care of the basketball.

TJ Worley (6-4, 205) -- More than half of his field goal attempts last season came from three, where he shot 37%. The Privateers are gonna need him to be much more assertive this year.

Jaroslav Tyrna (6-10, 220) -- A low-minutes, low-usage role player for the Privateers in 2008. He was efficient with the limited number of opportunities he got in the post, but he's on the turnover-prone side and needs to work on his rebounding. If New Orleans attempts to make him a significant part of the offense, whether out of necessity or preference (the former would seem most likely), the effect could be disastrous.

New Orleans Defense 07-08

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	51.7	249
Turnover Rate	21.5	140
Off Reb Rate	33.7	212
FTM/FGA	40.3	247