Sophomore Report V1.01: The return of Darren Collison
By Brendan McKay
Welcome back to the Sophomore Report. This week we have some movement towards the top, including two former Bruins swapping spots. Since we last left you, a UCLA product currently residing in the Hoosier State has been on a bit of a tear. So without further ado, let's take a closer look at the man making Ben Howland proud, Darren Collison.
Here's hoping Larry Bird read the inaugural Sophomore Report and talked some sense into coach Jim O'Brien. In the last two weeks, Collison's minutes have gone up just shy of four minutes. His increased floor time has led to increased production. Over that same stretch Collison has been hotter than the last girl at the bar, tossing up 17.5 points while dishing out an equally impressive 6.5 dimes. What is likely to make his coach most pleased is that he's done all this while holding onto the ball, turning the ball over only twelve times in six games. On Martin Luther King day, Collison absolutely exploded, torching Baron Davis and the Clippers for 30 and 8. Of course his fellow 2009 draftee, Blake Griffin, decided to overshadow Collison, by putting up 47 on the same court. But still, color me impressed.
Darren Collison
If it isn't yet known, let this be said. The Sophomore Report loves players that get to the line. Admittedly not the sexiest point of an NBA game, a trip to the free throw line is the only play in the game that has a positive change on the good guys' side of the scoreboard while also negatively impacting the enemy’s. Drawing fouls from the opposition not only gives your team a chance for uncontested points, but also helps restrict the opponents' ability to stay on the floor. Over a six game stretch in January Collison both got to the line regularly, and made the most of his opportunities, missing only once in 33 attempts. This tear bumped his percentages for the year over 90%, good for 6th in the league.
During Collison's run, the Pacers have taken the 8th spot in the East (we're conveniently ignoring the fact that they did this despite only winning two of six and that the 8 seed in the East is akin to 1st place in an ugly contest). Indiana has a tough stretch of games upcoming, featuring match ups between Collison and Chauncey Billups and Derrick Rose. If Collison continues his inspired play, expect him to continue to rise up this list, as we approach the All Star break.
Curry has seen some up and down play in the last two weeks, but Curry would have to throw the ball into the San Francisco Bay on a regular basis to get bumped down this list. Despite his inconsistency, Curry reminded us that it was simply an apparition when he went bananas in a victory against the Kings, lighting up poor Beno Udrih for 37, and holding the same man to 2 of 7 shooting in Curry's 44 minutes of play. Here Curry sits, and unless he decides basketball isn't for him, here he will remain.
2. Tyreke Evans
Stephen Curry wasn't the only player that made the score keeper earn his paycheck on January 21st. Evans went and posted a career high 35. Did he look terrible trying to guard Monta Ellis while he hit the shot to put the game into overtime? Yes. Do I care? No, not really. Evans is a great player on a bad team. My only real concern is that he may have hit his ceiling before he even entered the league.
3. Brandon Jennings
Here at the Sophomore Report, we don't like to make changes based on injury, but we will. The Bucks miss their star point guard, winning only 6 times in 15 games since Jennings started wearing suits at tip off. Given the sad state of the East, this didn't have a huge impact in their playoff positioning, but if the Milwaukee Bucks are going to make a real push to the playoffs, they're going to need young Brandon back in action sooner than later.
Wesley Matthews
4. Wesley Matthews
A beacon of hope for undrafted and low second round draft picks around the league. Although #4 on the Sophomore Report, he is #1 on the Sophomore Money list. What is Brandon Roy's loss has been Matthews' gain. While quite possibly deserving of the #3 spot on this list, we'll wait to see if Jennings makes his targeted return date of January 30th before doing anything drastic.
If Collison's hot play continues, just as DeMar DeRozan replaced Jennings in the dunk contest, Collison will supplant Jennings as the #2 point guard in the class.
6. Jrue Holiday
Jrue's drop is no reflection of his play as of late. Holiday has been the model of consistency in the last six, scoring in double figures every single outing and giving his teammates 7 gift wrapped buckets a game. He's also getting more consistent from beyond the arc, draining 10 threes while missing only one. While I do not expect this pace to continue, if he can add a deep ball to his game he will be one of the more difficult covers in the NBA.
DeMar DeRozan, aren't you an interesting one? On January 19th, it was announced that DeRozan would replace Brandon Jennings in this year's dunk contest. He decided to celebrate by dumping in 20 first half points against the Spurs. He went head to head with Manu and came out the better man (that night). Manu matched DeRozan's 28 points with 23 of his own, but did it while having a 30% night from the floor and turning the ball over 4 times. I'm curious what DeRozan's place on a winning team is, but he is making America's cap very happy.
8. Serge Ibaka
Joining DeRozan in LA this February is none other than Serge Iblocka. Subtracting a less than stellar performance against Dwight Howard (let's be real), Serge has put up 14 and 8 in his last four games. He's proving that he is a perfect fit on the young, star studded Thunder. His game is tastier than the burrito I just ate.
9. DeJuan Blair
Welcome to the top 10 Mr. Blair, although your stay may be just temporary. With increased minutes, Blair put up 22/11 and 18/13 on 68% shooting against equally defensive sieves in Ama’re Stoudemire and Andrea Bargani. If Blair continues to respond to his minutes hike, he might prove the prediction on the first sentence as inaccurate.
10. Ty Lawson
Am I the only one excited to see what Lawson can do when the Nuggets eventually enter rebuilding mode? Lawson's hopes of rising up this board rest on that occurring before his Junior campaign begins. Lawson hasn't let the turmoil in the Rockies effect his play. He had 13 points and 4 assists in a victory against Miami, and even threw in 3 steals for good measure.
That does it for the second edition of the Sophomore Report. If you're interested in nightly updates, or want to talk basketball, you can follow me at @bmckay on Twitter. Have a good one.
