Time to talk about Bieniemy

[thebigabd]

• Freshman Year: 4.9 points, 3.5 assists, 2.4 rebounds per game... 25 minutes per game
• Sophomore Year: 5.3 points, 2.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds per game... 30 minutes per game.

This is essentially identical production from year 1 to year 2. Less than 1 more ppg, slightly less assists per game. Decent increase in rebounds per game, but he is playing 5 more minutes per game.

He has raised his shooting percentage from 12% to 21% on 3's over the past few games... but let's be honest here, teams are literally not guarding him. On purpose. He is not just getting open, they are actually not guarding him. I can't remember the last time I really saw something like that outside of Doug Gottlieb and a few others.

He has been to the free throw line 16 times. You wonder how that is even possible. Look at this:

Victor has been 23 times
Jalen has been 14 times
Alondes has been 23 times

These guys get significantly less minutes than JB does. This stat is blowing my mind. He is basically the point guard on the team, plays over 30 minutes per game, and is shooting less free throws than people who don't even play that much.

Can he not dribble? Is he timid? Does he not even look to score going to the rim? You would think he would accidentally shoot more free throws than this. If he could get to the line and attack the rim, you would think that would be a better use of his skills and size given that he is 6'4'' and a pretty good athlete...

He is a good defender... and he takes care of the ball.. But is that just what he is? Is he a bus driver type? Doesn't turn it over but basically doesn't do anything else? The reason I say that is, the positive of not turning the ball over much lose some value when you basically don't make any plays.

I mean... the stats indicate that he isn't going to score much, that he isn't going to shoot much, that he is basically never going to attack the rim, etc.

Am I wrong here?

 

[steverocks35]

I have no explanation. I was the biggest fan of Bieniemy's last year. I thought his lack of scoring was just him deferring to the upperclassmen and he would take a big jump this year. It hasn't happened. It may just be a confidence thing.

 

[thebigabd]

I have no explanation. I was the biggest fan of Bieniemy's last year. I thought his lack of scoring was just him deferring to the upperclassmen and he would take a big jump this year. It hasn't happened. It may just be a confidence thing.

Yea I had a preseason thread that thought he would average 9-11 ppg, with good assist numbers, 40% 3pt shooter, etc. I thought he would make a huge leap.

 

[sheepdogs1]

He made a 3 early on in the contest then proceeded to make one more shot for the rest of the game and that shot was a nice mid range jumper after pausing and taking a step closer to the basket before shooting the ball. He seems to be able to move with the ball rather well and should use this to his advantage.

 

[WichitaSooner]

I think we are overthinking this. He has been in an awful shooting slump but seems to be somewhat coming out of it. It hasn't affected his overall game -- defense, ball handling, decision making, etc. That is a huge positive -- a lot of guys, even pros, will let their shooting affect other areas of their game, and for a college sophomore to be able to avoid that is encouraging. Don't get me wrong, we need more offense from him, but I just don't worry about him as much as other players/issues.

As for teams not guarding him, I don't know that it is quite that extreme. But he is definitely not alone even if that is true. A big part of Baylor's approach in Lawrence was to double Doke by essentially leaving Garrett wide open if need be. JB could probably learn a bit from Garrett by finding ways to get to the rim and score even if his shot isn't falling.

 

[CoachTalk]

Same. Im the leader of Jamal fan club.

I talk to his dad a lot. Just in a funk. Lon wants more out of him just like we do.

Maybe he takes the isiah counsins a route and is a lot better Jr and Sr year. Soph slump is real.

 

[Maverick008]

Watching last night’s game, my take is he needs to take more of the mind set of Garrett and get to the rim with the idea to score. When he drives towards the basket he seems to almost always get by his guy but rarely looks at the rim. His intent is to look for someone to pass it to. I still feel like him and Harmon (although not as much last night for Harmon) tend to pass when they could/should shoot and then mainly shoot because people are telling them to shoot more when they should pass.

Bieniemy’s shots don’t seem to be in the flow of the game most of the time. His mentality still seems to be stuck in the “run the offense and let other’s score” when this team NEEDS him to be one of those “go to” types because he CAN get to the rim most of the time. Just my two cents.

 

[opsooner]

Bieniemy has played 100% better in conference IMO.


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[sheepdogs1]

Watching last night’s game, my take is he needs to take more of the mind set of Garrett and get to the rim with the idea to score. When he drives towards the basket he seems to almost always get by his guy but rarely looks at the rim. His intent is to look for someone to pass it to. I still feel like him and Harmon (although not as much last night for Harmon) tend to pass when they could/should shoot and then mainly shoot because people are telling them to shoot more when they should pass.

Bieniemy’s shots don’t seem to be in the flow of the game most of the time. His mentality still seems to be stuck in the “run the offense and let other’s score” when this team NEEDS him to be one of those “go to” types because he CAN get to the rim most of the time. Just my two cents.

He does seem to hesitate in situations where other players just know it's the right time to put up a shot and in some situations his timing is thrown off a bit by overthinking the situation at hand.

 

[CoachTalk]

Bieniemy has played 100% better in conference IMO.


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I agree. I was hoping UT game would keep him going.

 

[thebigabd]

I think we are overthinking this. He has been in an awful shooting slump but seems to be somewhat coming out of it.

My only objection to this line of thinking, which seems to be the majority who have responded is the free throws. Free throw stats tell a big story about someones game, and the fact that he shoots an average of 1 free throw per game tells me he isn't even trying to get into the lane. Guys who play 10 minutes a game have shot more than him.

So is it really that he is in a shooting slump? or just that he isn't shooting?

He has only made 10 more shots than Kur Kuath. 15 more than Victor who goes entire games without scoring. Alondes Williams has made more shots than him. Remember, this is a guy who plays over 30 minutes per game and is a starter.

That isn't just a slump, it's that he is a tiny part of the offense in terms of attempted contribution. That's what the numbers appear to say, anyway.

 

[vbdad]

He has started to get back in the swing of things. We were better with him running the offense last night than Davion. I wish he would use his midrange game more.

 

[steverocks35]

He has started to get back in the swing of things. We were better with him running the offense last night than Davion. I wish he would use his midrange game more.

Running what offense? Can anyone even tell what kind of "offense" we are running?

 

[thebigabd]

Bieniemy has played 100% better in conference IMO.


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7.7 points, 2.7 assists, and and 4.2 rebounds per game in conference. 5-11 from the 3pt line, which is 45%... Those are the conference stats.

4 game sample size.

 

[CoachTalk]

Running what offense? Can anyone even tell what kind of "offense" we are running?

You manage to hijack every thread. Please stop.

 

[Stikboy]

You manage to hijack every thread. Please stop.

Overruled.

I'd like to hear this too counselor.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Jamal averaged 1 shot/8.5 minutes last night. He needs to take more shots and in the process find confidence in that aspect of his game. He needs to use his ball skills to find open spots on the floor and shoot the ball. He needs to be more than a role player. He does these things and we become less of a perimeter shooting team. Multidimensional versus dimensional.

 

[steverocks35]

You manage to hijack every thread. Please stop.

Oh I’m sorry, I thought this is where we talk about OU basketball issues, my bad.

 

[steverocks35]

Jamal averaged 1 shot/8.5 minutes last night. He needs to take more shots and in the process find confidence in that aspect of his game. He needs to use his ball skills to find open spots on the floor and shoot the ball. He needs to be more than a role player. He does these things and we become less of a perimeter shooting team. Multidimensional versus dimensional.

This is all true but how does he do that when our offense is literally “one pass, try to find a shot”?

 

[steverocks35]

What I’m getting at is that I think his problems are possibly systemic rather than personal.