This is an unabashed University of Louisville Basketball post. If you haven't watched more than 3 Louisville games this year, this post will probably confuse you. All stats are through the Syracuse game on March 3rd.
Chane Behanan is a 6'6 250 pound freshman McDonald's All-American who plays for Louisville. His freshman season has been a joy to watch. The first time I saw him was at Hinkle Fieldhouse against Butler, in person.
Hinkle Fieldhouse is a unique and special place to watch a college basketball game. It has a very old school feel and if you get there early, you can usually stand court-side while the players warm up. When Behanan walked out, the first thing that crossed my mind is what happens when you're shooting for teams on the playground and you end up on the best player's team - nice. He is incredibly muscular, a spectacular leaper and just looks like a basketball player. In that particular game, he looked very much like a freshman - failing to close out on Butler 3 point shooters, committing silly turnovers and finished with 4 points, 7 rebounds and 4 turnovers on 1 for 5 shooting. His leaping ability and ability to run the court for a man his size impressed me though - those 7 rebounds came in just 17 minutes. His one field goal came in transition, outpacing the Butler players up the court for an easy score. After one of his 3 failed 3 point attempts when I shook my head and did the 'hand to face' move, my Mom tried to reassure me saying 'Pat, remember, he's just a freshman'.
Fast forward 3 months. Louisville is now playing at #2 Syracuse on their senior day. Behanan is not only not starting, but he plays just 17 minutes. In those 17 minutes, he scored 10 points on 5-7 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds blocked a shot - all without committing a turnover. In my opinion, he played better than any Cardinal. Louisville lost in respectable fashion, falling 59-50 at Syracuse.
I was floored, not by the result, but by the lack of playing time for Behanan. In the highly scientific eye test, you could have made a case that Behanan was our best player - and most importantly, that he had been underutilized while stepping up in big games against tough competition. I held the opinion that against quality competition, barring foul trouble, Behanan should play no fewer than 30 minutes.
So I ran the numbers, specifically looking at games against opponenents who my College Basketball rankings had in the tournament as of last week and here are my findings:
I looked at the 7 players who are still healthy who have played 100 or more minutes in those 14 games.
Here are Behanan's key statistics.
Minutes: 27, 5th on team. I know that 27 mpg sounds like alot, but bear in mind that those 14 games included 4 overtime periods; adding half a game. Remember - Behanan is 5th in minutes in what is effectively a 7 man rotation.
Rebounds: Behanan collected 18.3% of available rebounds, which is good for first on the team, and his offensive rebounding rate is 3rd in the conference in all games.
Points/shooting: Behanan averaged 1.03 points per field goal attempt, good for first on the team. I want to make a point of emphasis here. Behanan averaged 9.2 points per game against all opponents, but in the games against quality competition, he averaged 10.4 - good for 2nd on the team, as opposed to 5th in all games, despite playing fewer minutes than most of his teammates. This suggests that Behanan rises to the occasion against top tier competition and scores more efficiently than his teammates. The only player who scores more against tough competition averages just 3 points per game more, but attempts 7 more field goal attempts per game (Russ Smith).
blocks and steals: Behanan averages .5 blocks and 1.3 steals per 30 minutes against high level competition. The combination of the two is 4th on the team.
Assists: Behanan is a surprising 3rd in assists per 30 minutes among the 7 primary rotation players for Louisville. This is key - not only does Behanan score more efficiently than his teammates against tough competition, he is creating opportunities for his teammates.
Turnover Percentage: : Behanan has an 18.9% turnover rate (3rd worst on team) against quality competition - his primary weakness, as noted from the Butler game. However, that number has fallen considerably as of late. Evidence: Coming into tonight, Behanan has averaged just 1.2 turnovers per game in his last 5.
Points allowed per minute while on court and +/-: I debated whether or not to include these stats as both stats can include a significant number of confounding variables such as quality of teammates and if the opponent was playing it's best players while you were on the court. I figured I might as well, to give a complete profile of Behanan's game.
Behanan is 5th in points per minute allowed while on the court for Louisville. A significant compounding variable is the presence of Gorgui Dieng. Dieng was the Big East's leading shot blocker this season and due to injuries, Louisville played much of the year with only 3 big men (Dieng, Swopshire and Behanan). Of the 3, Swopshire plays the fewest minutes by far. This means that when Swopshire came in, it was usually with Dieng OR Behanan - rarely both. Behanan's points allowed statistic is likely skewed by the presence of the conference's leading shot blocker. Bear in mind, that coming into tonight's game, Louisville was 4th in defensive field goal percentage in the country and 5th in adjusted defensive efficiency. This suggests that although Behanan is an average defender compared to his teammates, his teammates are truly elite defensively.
Over the course of the season, Behanan's +/- rating was good for 26th in the conference - equivalent to about the 2nd best player on a typical team - meaning Louisville was considerably more effective with Behananan than without him.
Summary:
Behanan's overall statistical profile suggests a highly efficient rebounder, who also scores efficiently and effectively. As we noted, Behanan's primary weakness is turnovers but the trend is heading in a positive direction which indicates he is learning to play without turning it over effectively. Although his defensive metrics are average compared to his teammates, when taken in the context of the team's defensive effectiveness, at worst, he could be described as merely above average, given the strong +/- rating that he exhibits.
When you combine Behanan's offensive rebounding prowess, with his strong passing ability for a big man and Louisville's offensive struggles (just 134th in adjusted offensive efficiency), this only strengthens the case to give Behanan increased playing time. If Louisville is to make a deep tournament run, Behanan must be a significant part.
Sources:
Espn.com
Kenpom.com
Statsheet.com
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