He was awesome against Monmouth, both sides of the court, meh offensively against NCC. Defensively, he was not ideal against NCC. Let’s see… big guard, knew how to use his size… hmm…
Edit - I will say this: “guard knowing how to use his size” is not necessarily something that covaries with overall talent. Frankly, I think it’s something that probably develops as guys get older and is not a skill guards typically work on (it seems to me) in high major hoops. Certainly not post ups, though “knowing how to use size” can encompass more than post ops.
I think Kihei being too small to be in an effective defense is a little overblown, even if I’m sure it comes up in some circumstances.
He was at the top of a defense that was one of the best in the kenpom era. And I know he had some incredible defenders on that team (Key, Mamadi, some of Huff), but you just can’t have that good (best good) of a defense if he is any kind of liability. In fact, i want to say he was second on the team in defensive win shares that season, but I can’t remember.
Now if we say he shouldn’t be guarding bigger 2 guards, that’s fine, but just have Reece guard them and he can guard 1s like he did in 19, 20, and 21.
Yeah, I wasn’t trying to make a global Kihei point. Kihei has been part of our best Bennett offense and our worst Bennett offense and our best Bennett defense and our worst (or one of our worst) Bennett defense. That’s one of the things that makes the Kihei multiverse of takes so fun! All the takes are correct, or can at least be backed up by evidence!
Just trying to make a more narrow point: Kihei’s effectiveness on D varies with (1) as you point out, whether he’s guarding a 2-guard who has size and can shoot, and (2) whether he’s guarding a guy at the point of attack who can use his size as an asset. In my experience, guys who fit #1 are pretty common on good teams, but guys who fit #2 are less common.
Data:
in 2020, we had 3 guys better than the team defensive rating of 85.8 - in order: Huff, Key and Diakite.
Next was Clark, TW, Statts, and Morsell at 89.2, 90.6, 90.8 and 91.5.
Defensive win shares is a cumulative stats - so the more you play the more it adds up.
Clark played the most minutes by far and was 2nd in Def win shares. If you go by Defensive win shares per minute, he was 5th.
The data and eye test also told me that was his best year by far compared to any of his other 3 years.
I’m on record as not a huge fan of defensive rating, but I’m also trying to understand it a little better in regards to why and how certain players end up with better ratings.
In college, most teams are guard/perimeter driven. I’m assuming the more you guard the ball, the fewer defensive stats you collect. Blocks might be higher for a guard, guards probably aren’t coming over to block a shot from off the ball. But most steals, blocks, and rebounds come from people who aren’t guarding the ball. So I guess what I’m saying, is does defensive rating undervalue all guard defenders because they are on the ball more than wing/post players and are less likely to collect defensive stats?
I’m curious where a defender like Reece!! falls in the overall scheme of NCAA defensive rating. We all know he is one of, if not the top defenders in the country, but does defensive rating show that? Reece!! does a great job of collecting steals and blocks while guarding the ball so maybe he’s not the best person to make my point, but I think it makes sense?
So because defensive rating is centered around a team’s defensive rating, should it only be used to compare the players within a team? Or does it have value across the whole of the NCAA?
I also use it to compare my own video breakdown when I watch.
On defense it’s things like:
Did you let your man get past you and get an assist because a teammate had to help.
Or a hockey assist because he got by you and put the team in rotation scramble mode.
Were you able to effectively guard a guy off ball where a teammate didn’t have to help?
Did you allow an offensive rebound and an additional scoring opportunity?
Were you out of position in helpside allowing a score?
Did you make a live ball turnover allowing an opponent fastbreak for points?
I’ve tracked it on all UVA games the last 4 years … and both defensive and offensive rating largely match the video breakdown … there are some single game outliers here and there but it’s rare.
This one is easy. Unless half their team is suddenly blinded by BVP’s incandescent smile, we get smoked. Baylor -4.5 is as free money as it gets. Go Hoos.
