Player rating - Is it time to free Clemence?

Game three saw Dajuan Harris have his best all-around game. Ochai and Christian continue to be the anchors for the team and Yesufu had by far and away his best game. David is getting fewer minutes than perhaps anticipated but is performing overall very well, his pathetic first 4 minutes notwithstanding. Clemence is the clear enigma. He is racking up player rating like it's free candy. He is looking like an All-American in his limited minutes while Mitch is being...well...Mitch. I love Mitch and I cannot recall a more Crimson and Blue player with more heart and more want-to. He never embarrasses himself or the team and always gives 100% and does some nice things. But he does not have the tools of Clemence. Experience matters a lot and I don't want to make too much if Clemence' gaudy numbers against lesser teams this early in the season. But good grief, Mitch's numbers are against the same competition. Anyway, I digress. My point is, is it time to give Clemence some opportunity to show he can deliver with extended minutes?

I hear all the accolades showered on Dajuan and I am fully ready to admit I may be wrong. But I'm still not ready to declare him a championship level PG. He has played pretty well and really well against Stony Brook. But in my opinion, for what that is worth, he is still playing like a very solid backup on a championship team. OTOH, Yesufu is looking better and better while Remy Martin had an abysmal game, likely due to a back injury. Christian is the guy that never seems to wow you but somehow always delivers a solid rating. And Ochai is playing like an All-American. I am anxious to see how these guys perform against better competition.

By way of explanation, my Player Rating does adjust robustly for strength of opponent. In fact, through the 1st three games, the Michigan St. game has been the best performance for the Jayhawks and the Stony Brook game was the worst, although they have been pretty doggone consistent. So the individual player ratings are adjusted based on the strength of the opponent.

As for the season, it is nice to see that most of the players are performing up to expectation. The degree to which Ochai and Christian have exceeded expectation has offset for the degree to which Dajuan and Remy have fallen short. And the bench has been solid.

HE, trust me, I know I am on an island when it comes to Dajuan. It seems that everyone is ardently singing his praises. And nothing I have said is intended to be negative. Calling him a quality backup (probably 15 minutes per game “ish”) on a championship team is far more of a compliment than any manner of criticism. But I have been “quantify” for a long time and I have a very good feel for the numbers. I think I know better than just about anyone where to draw the line in over valuing quantitative analysis. But
In the same vein, I have a good feel for where to trust the numbers. I have spent a fair amount of time playing around with the analysis to accommodate the public comments of Coach Self. I just can’t get from A to B on Dajuan other than believing that Self is using the media to send messages to his team. He has done that masterfully over the years. Look, I’m far from sold on Remy Martin at this point as a 30 minute PG but based on his performances over the last three years at ASU I’m inclined to think he will be a real valuable addition. I think at this point, Dajuan has fully justified being a 15 minute per game guy. He brings a lot to the table. But here is an interesting stat (I’m not at my computer now so I’m going a little on memory). RussRobb, one of my fave’s, was second on the team in 2008 barely behind Mario, in +/-. The data showed that the team clearly performed better (via +/-) when he was in the game. He was not a stat sheet filler by any stretch but he was a +/- filler. Dajuan was not a big +/- guy last season and he has not been particularly this season. It is early and +/- is increasingly meaningful as the season accumulates. But to say he makes everyone better has not borne out in the +/-…yet>. It may as the season goes on. Travis Releford led the team by a mile in +/- his senior year. In fact, when he was on the bench the Jayhawks were actually out scored on the season. Devonte’’ led the team in +/- as did Frank Mason. It seems like I am a lone voice that is bucking a huge “pro Dajuan” tide. And I love Dajuan. I’m not down on Dajuan at all. But to equate him to Travis Releford or RussRobb does not hold up to statistical scrutiny at this stage. Mitch is one of my favorite players and in my fantasy world, Mitch plays 30 minutes per game and kills it. I so desperately want him to go out with a bang. But like Dajuan, the numbers at this point certainly pose some legitimate questions as to his playing time. And for the 10,000th time, I do not think “the numbers” are some magical gnostical tell-all that should determine how to manage the team. But nor do I think they are a novelty that is fun the talk about but meaningless in the real world. More and more analytics are used by all manner of coaches to give insights not always obvious to the casual observer. I am ready to accept I may be significantly wrong on Dajuan and on Mitch. But unless and until I see some more definitive metrics, I will call it as I see it.