Stat of the Day, Kent McCausland Edition
Chas from Pitt Sports Blather posed an interesting thought last night at the College Basketball Blog. He said that his preference of basketball teams was affected by his personal style of play on the court.

What game I have is on the defensive end. I can take a charge, pester, get guys
annoyed, actually force guys out of position inside and I'm willing to dive for
balls.And that's the kind of basketball team I like. The teams that stress
defense first. (Very convenient, since that has been Pitt's approach in the last
5 years.) I'm not talking thug basketball like what Riley and the Knicks did in
the 90s. I'm talking about sound, fundamental game where you make the other team
work to find a good shot.

I'm not sure if it's the same for many others, but the teams and players I like seem to be similar in style to the way I used to play. I was the just-a-little-too-short guy who stuck to the perimeter because I had a decent shot and was of no help at all with interior defense. I tend to like teams and players that are effective long-range shooters, even if they have defensive shortcomings (see: Iowa Hawkeyes, Jake Sullivan).

High School Flashback (I'm warning you now - feel free to skip ahead)
I was sitting in my customary position near the end of the bench. When the third quarter ended with our team safely ahead, Coach gave me the nod to start the fourth quarter at point guard. The varsity game that followed ours was against our biggest rival, who featured eventual D-1 player David Rottinghaus (Wyoming), so our tiny gym was already packed when I took the floor. Our opponents apparently forgot to scout our third-stringers, as they repeatedly left me open from downtown. I made them pay, not once, not twice, but three times from behind the arc. I finished the quarter 3-3 on three-pointers and contributed 12 of our team's 97 points (don't forget, that's in a 32 minute game). Good times. I wish there was a happy ending, like me getting bumped up into the rotation or filling in for an injured player or something, but nope, I finished that season with a grand total of 14 points.

(It's safe to start reading again)
Anyway, all of this got me interested in seeing which Big Ten teams were most three-happy, and which players loosely resembled my playing days of yesteryear. We'll measure this with the ratio of 3FGA to FGA. I'll term it the Kent McCausland Percentage (KMP), in honor of the former Hawkeye guard who once led the nation in 3FG%, but rarely stepped inside the arc. Enjoy.

Team Leaders, 3FGA / FGA (KMP)
Northwestern....................45.3%
Indiana...............................41.4
Wisconsin.........................38.4
Illinois................................36.6
Ohio State.........................36.3
Penn State........................35.5
Iowa..................................33.4
Michigan State..................33.1
Purdue..............................30.5
Michigan............................30.0
Minnesota..........................26.0

Just for reference, the Big Ten average is 34.8%, and the national average is 32.5%.

Individual Leaders, 3FGA / FGA (min 15 mpg)

01. Rich McBride, ILL.............88.6%
02. Aaron Robinson, MIN........82.2
03. Chris Hill, MSU..................77.4
04. Je'Kel Foster, OSU...........73.9
05. Mike Walker, PSU.............72.4
06. Sharif Chambliss, WIS.....68.9
07. Clayton Hanson, WIS........67.6
08. Danny Morrissey, PSU......63.2
09. Jeff Horner, IA.................62.8
10. David Teague, PUR...........61.3
11. Dee Brown, ILL..................59.2
12. Drew Neitzel, MSU.............59.1
13. Luther Head, ILL................58.6
14. Bracey Wright, IND...........56.3
15. Tony Stockman, OSU.......56.0
16. Adam Haluska, IA.............55.3
17. Robert Vaden, IND............53.8
18. Rico Tucker, MIN...............53.2
19. Vedran Vukusic, NW.........52.3
20. Ronald Coleman, MICH....50.0
20. Jamar Butler, OSU...........50.0


Plea for help:
If anyone knows a quick way to make a table with Blogger that actually lines up, leave a comment or send me an email.

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