Previewing Lipscomb

2009 Scouting / 2009 Game Plan / 2008 Scouting Report
2009 Schedule / 2009 Stats
2009 Roster

Lipscomb Offense 07-08

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	50.1	156
Turnover Rate	20.8	167
Off Reb Rate	32.2	197
FTM/FGA	26.6	118

Lipscomb Offense 08-09

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	46.7	240
Turnover Rate	24.5	295
Off Reb Rate	35.4	110
FTM/FGA	31.4	47

Lipscomb University is a small private institution that is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. According to wikipedia:

Men and women are not allowed in dorms belonging to the opposite sex, with a few exceptions: 1) members of both sexes can enter the lobby during certain hours, 2) during moving days, and 3) on "open dorm" occasions; 4) and men are also allowed into the central courtyard of the women's dormitories only when cookouts or other such mixers are being held.

[snip]

There is a curfew for freshmen living in the dorms, with detailed rules enforced by the head residents.
No Lipscomb student is allowed to consume alcohol, on or off campus, ...

Don't have too much fun, you kids.

Eddie Ard and LaKory Daniels took 335 threes between the two of them last season, making a passable 35.2% of those attempts; they were easily the team's most frequent outside shooters, and they also took pretty good care of the basketball. But they're gone, and the rest of the squad is having trouble picking up the slack. They've hit just 26.5% of their threes in '09, and while they are at least taking fewer of them, that ineffectiveness still puts a big dent in their overall shooting percentage.

Turnovers have also been an issue for a team that is giving a lot of minutes to young players--the ball is stolen from them often, and they're having a lot of their shots blocked.

The Bisons have a pretty balanced approach, as only one player is taking more than 22% of the shots.

Starters:

Josh Slater (6-3, 190) -- He's had a tough start to his sophomore campaign--lots of turnovers, and his shots aren't falling. Based on what he did last season, the shooting should come around, but the turnovers are going to keep coming.

Jimmy Oden (6-3, 185) -- Leads the team with a 29.5% assist rate and ranks 2nd nationally in steal percentage, but he turns the ball over too often and has yet to find his shooting touch.

Michael Teller (6-5, 180) -- The closest thing to a three-point specialist among the regulars; he's shooting 34.7% from outside.

Brandon Brown (6-7, 200) -- He was a regular outside shooter in '08 but didn't make many of those shots, so he's tended to stick to the paint this season. Protects the basketball, gets to the line fairly often, and rebounds well at the offensive end.

Adnan Hodzic (6-9, 245) -- Hodzic is taking over 30% of the shots when he's on the court, which is good in that he's shooting 57.1%, but bad in that he is a turnover machine. He also sports maybe the saddest free throw rate I've ever seen for a tall guy, and he averages about 4 fouls/40. So he's possibly the slowest man alive and should be called for two fouls tomorrow before you can say "I do not know what possible utility a lip comb could have, Billy Mays, but you are just so damn convincing and here's my credit card number."

Bench:

Michael Lusk (6-3, 180) has been a starter for most of the season but found himself coming off the bench in Lipscomb's last game. The team had hoped that the change would end a recent slump. He responded by scoring 14, which was not at all a coincidence. He rarely shoots, but is effective when he does.

Thomas Pfaff (6-8, 210) is the next big thing in onomatopoeia. Pfaff! Bless you. Pfaff missed Lipscomb's last game because of an injury and I haven't been able to find an update on his status.

Brian Wright (6-6, 190) and Jordan Burgason (6-3, 180) will also see some time.

Lipscomb Defense 07-08

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	48.6	108
Turnover Rate	19.8	228
Off Reb Rate	30.1	58
FTA/FGA	38.5	206

Lipscomb Defense 08-09

Four Factors	Percent	Nat'l Rank
eFG%	48.5	159
Turnover Rate	19.7	233
Off Reb Rate	27.4	27
FTA/FGA	33.9	133

Their 2FG% defense is considerably worse this season and they hardly ever block shots, which does not bode well; if they can't continue their stellar defensive rebounding, it's likely to be a brutal day in the paint for them.