Thanks for providing this, my dude.
The DBPM (Defense Box Plus/Minus) data you linked confirms what I was suggesting before: that very low playing time (and therefore less possessions, which is what OBPM and DBPM are measured against) distorts and misrepresents Tyler Underwood's contributions.
Tyler has played less, seen his most playing time against the weakest level of competition we've faced, poached a steal here or there (half of his steals, 2/4, have come against ETSU and Evansville), and this is entirely what is responsible for his inflated DBPM. He is averaging 3.8 steals per 40 minutes, and this is distorting the mathematics of his defensive advanced states calculations.
If we took Tyler's DBPM at face value, and mute all context (as you did), what a +5.1 DBPM implies is that Tyler Underwood is one of the two most efficient defensive players on the team.
Interestingly, Samba Kane has a DBPM of +6.3, which results from the same statistical circumstances that affect Tyler's advanced stats: less minutes equals less possessions, wherein an extra steal or block here or there will spike the mess out of a player's advanced stats. Samba is averaging 4.1 blocks per 40 minutes.
Damonte Williams, who is clearly a more skilled on ball defender, and who shows *visible* understanding/anticipation of defensive principles, has a DBPM of +3.5.
Aaron Jordan - DBPM of +2.7
Ayo Dosunmu - DBPM of +1.7
Andres Feliz - DBPM of +1.4
Kipper - DBPM of +0.6
Trent Frazier - DBPM of -0.2
So, Alan Griffin's DBPM of +2.0 ranks among the top 3 of any Illini guard.
* * * * *
After digging into these numbers, it made me wonder if Coach Underwood's answer to the press, "Tyler is way ahead defensively", was a prepared statement in anticipation of handling the nepotism question/implication. The advanced stats/DPBM is his alibi. Like a politician, which a professional or collegiate coach kind of is, Coach knows that such a statement would be enough to satisfy those who don't want to believe that he might be playing his son for selfish reasons - a piece of superficial data that would sufficiently pacify those who could not or would not see with their own eyes that young Underwood is a liability on the court. If Coach Underwood is truly invested in understanding advanced stats, he will know more clearly than either you or I that Tyler's DBPM is one of the least informative statistics of any player on the team, given the context.
The hardest thing for anyone - and especially a man - to do is question his own perspectives/worldview. Everyday we see in the loud theater of American politics what happens when people are unable to consider opposing viewpoints. But if these exchanges have any value, it is to offer us meaningful challenges to our own beliefs. You (and others) believe that there is a sincere reason, one beneficial to the team, that Tyler Underwood is getting minutes when he is, and you offered the advanced stats as a logical basis for your beliefs. You are clearly an intelligent person, and the construction of your argument was intelligent. But now that the basis of your argument has been comprehensively neutralized, providing evidence that your thinking on the issue was flawed, will you question other facets of your beliefs, such as this matter being a bigger deal than you were previously willing to acknowledge?
Happy Holidays,
- 0n3