I really do think some of that is his role. When you have Ledee, you don’t really want anyone else mucking things up for him on the inside. Really curious to see how he does with a chance to explore the offensive space a little more.
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You want to see fans saying terrible things about players on their teams? Check out the posts on this site about Rohde, or Kihei, or Dante, or Kody …
The list goes on.
At least the SDSU fans waited until Saunders left the team. We dump on our guys while they’re still here.
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When has anyone challenged who they are as people.
Its pretty fair to be critical of the court on play.
They are openly attacking Saunders as a person for transferring out.
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I feel like Traudt and McKoy departure discussions got a bit personal at times.
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Those would probably be better examples.
(everything said was true though)
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Saunders played 22 games vs. P6 and/or tournament teams last year.
Here are those stats:
Minutes per game: 20.3
2pt FG: 29-49 (59.2%)
3pt FG: 19-62 (30.6%)
FG%: 43.2%
EFG: 51.8%
FT: 8-9 (88.9%)
PPG: 5.6
PPS: 1.11
PPM: 0.28 (per 40: 11.2)
Rebounds/game: 3.4 (19 ORB/56 DRB)
Others: 12 assists on 13 turnovers (0.9 ratio), 7 blocks, 8 steals
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You had me at FT%
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Yeah I mean you’re not looking at Saunders’ current production and getting fired up. The excitement comes from the upside that their fanbase saw in him and how poised he is to take a big leap. I think he’s got the goods to grow into a very productive ACC player
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If anything, to me it shows that defenses will have to play him honest. You can’t leave him open from three, because he takes them (and can make them). But you also can’t let him get inside on you because he converts at a 60% clip inside the arc and 70% at the rim.
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I’ve watched a few SDSU games, looking to see how Saunders might fit. It was interesting and some of the SDSU fans comments made more sense afterwards.
Its hard to think of a good parallel for him from UVA players in the last decade. Statistically, “Who McKoy wanted to be aka Hawaii version of McKoy” is probably the closest, which is nice because that’s a solid stat-line. But it doesn’t fit stylistically, because McKoy’s is a major energy-guy, and Saunders… is not. He’s fast and a solid athlete, but he’s not constantly sprinting up and down the court giving 110% and he can be a little passive on offense.
A better reflection might be “If Kody Stattman was good”. Because, for all the vitriol he got, Stattman did a lot of things right. He was a bad one-on-one defender because people could blow past him, but he was a solid team defender who knew his assignments and was always where he was supposed to be. Plus, the one season where he was healthy and got to play, he honestly wasn’t bad from outside (34% from 3).
Saunders is reliable like that, while also being a good enough athlete that most people can’t just blow past him. He’s not a disruptor, but he was a productive cog in an excellent defense that emphasizes a lot of the same things CTB emphasizes. I think his D will translate well.
On offense, I’m actually down a little on his outside shooting. In theory he has a good shot, but when rushed he gets inconsistent and his release looks a little slow. He can knock them down in rhythm, though, and I bet his catch and shoot % is at least decent. Also, no 18’ jumpers. He shoots 3s and makes dunks/layups, and that’s mostly it.
And he does a lot of little things, blocks guys out, rebounds pretty well (but not great. Not being high-energy shows here), and he’s got good hands and is pretty careful with the ball. SDSU had him do most of the inbounding when he was in the game. 2 of his TOs in the NM game were 100% the fault of the PG VERY casually trying to pass him the ball while not noticing a NM player right behind them. He isn’t a creator, but he’s careful with his passing. Unfortunately, he comes from the Blake school of screen-setting. Lots of enthusiasm, not often effectively executed.
Finally, while he’s not a “high-energy” guy, he seems to play with fire. In the NM game, he was getting into it with someone on the other team during a possession and was called for an “illegal screen”. Which was funny, because in reality he just shoved the guy over and was benched for a couple minutes.
I don’t think he’ll score more than 6-8 ppg even as a starter, but I think he can add a lot. If everything goes perfectly he could be a poor-man’s Isaiah Wilkins with a good outside shot. An excellent 4th option on offense and a reliable on-ball defender who always knows where he’s supposed to be.
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That’s interesting. I was hoping for a high motor type based only on a few extended highlights (the two NCAA games I linked above)
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Yeah, me too. I was really hoping for a high-energy, bulky rebounder with at least a nascent interior offensive game. Senior year Darion Atkins was my dream.
And that’s not Saunders at all, but the world is a different place and having 2 traditional interior big men isn’t the way of things anymore. I think we’ll occasionally be frustrated by his lack of energy but the overall result will be solid.
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He is 6-6 Bond with a handle and a shot.
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Why do so many UVA fans insist on subtracting 2" from every UVA player’s listed height?
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Although Bond seemed in limited minutes to be a great rebounder with excellent instincts for the ball. The vibe I’m getting from above is that Saunders might not be there.
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No, not at all. I mean, yeah, he’s at least 3" taller than Bond and has a 3-point shot. But Bond was an energy guy who attempted a million mid-range shots both of which are the opposite of Saunders.
Bond completed ~22% of possessions while on the floor vs 15% for Saunders. 89% of Saunders’ shots were either 3 pointers or at the rim vs 47% for Bond. Stylistically, they could not be more different.
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Not necessarily the best comparison given the extent to which Bond was often on the floor at the end of blowouts.
Bond’s usage goes up when you filter out garbage time / and limit to top 100 competition. He was not afraid to fire up some shots.
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Only Marial Shayok has taken more fadeaway 19-footers than Leon Bond.
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