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Is Brooks Barnhizer a dual threat Sanjay Lumpkin?

If you’ve watched the last 5 games and not just last night you’d know that you’re flat out wrong. Barnhizer had his best game against OSU where he had 19 points and didn’t miss once when finishing in the lane. In fact, outside of last night where he was only 2-6 in the lane he was 8-11 the previous 4 games. And that doesn’t count the times he was fouled and converted free throws.

I know you’re never wrong and you love to call out others when you think they’re wrong but to say Barnhizer seldom finishes when he gets in the lane and then to double down when someone tells you you’re wrong is just hilarious.

You flat out based it on the misses he had in the lane last night and are completely wrong to make a general statement like that based on one game.

It’s ok to be wrong. Really.

I’m glad you’ve accepted that it’s OK to be wrong, because you’re flat out wrong in this case.
 
I’m glad you’ve accepted that it’s OK to be wrong, because you’re flat out wrong in this case.
I literally watched every shot Barnhizer took in the last 5 games this afternoon just to make sure my recollection was correct. Which it was.

Just when I thought your arrogance couldn’t go to another height, it does. Too funny.
 
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Here are Barnhizer's numbers against Top 150 teams, according to Bart Torvik.

3 for 3 on dunks.
21 of 30 on "close 2's" which is layups and shorter 2 point shots. That's 70%
10 of 35 on "far 2's" Thats 28.6%

I don't know the cutoff - where a close 2 becomes a far 2.
 
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well according to Mr Torvik, Big Matt has tried 5 "far 2's" this year.
He made 1.
So it isn't very far.
Exactly. But he has been a huge help to this team.

Decoursey [sp] in the post-game BTN show made the point that while he wasn't trying to disparage Ryan Young, Matthew is actually a better fit for the current team than Young would have been. Hard to argue with that.
 
The best NU player I think of to compare to Lumpkin is actually a player that pre-dated him - Jeremy Nash.

Definitely differences, but it’s the closest Lumpkin comparison I can conjure up.
Jeremy developed into a real solid all around player and improved his game a lot over the years. He did not start undtil his Sr year. His last year he averaged about 9 pts per game and was named all BIG defensive player. Not a 15-20 pt scorer but pretty solid. Lumpkin was around 6 in his last year Lumpkin was a bit more proficient rebounding but in most every other way Nash's Sr year was better with more points assists steals. Real difference was that Nash did it from a guard position whil Lumpkin was an undersized forward. IMO Nash was the better player. That said Lumpkin was descent, did his thing on a tourney team and was more recent
 
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I’ve watched the entirety of the last five games, plus more all season. Brooks is not good finishing around the basket.
The team as a whole is not great at finishing around the basket. It can be very frustrating to watch, Buie has gotten better this year as he has made a point of going inside but there have been a ton of missed layups and close shots this year by the team. That said, BB has been improving a lot in that department. The stats of last 5 games indicate that he is becoming more consistent
 
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He wasn’t a world beater lol. Law was the best on ball defender on that team. I’m just saying there’s a bunch of little things and IQ plays Lumpkin made on defense that people don’t notice. BB isn’t there yet. Offensively much more capable. I think the comparison is silly and disrespectful to both players. BB has more potential than being an extremely solid role player. Lumpkin was a solid role player. Lumpkin was a better defender than BB at the 3-5.

I’m just used to having to defend Lumpkin as a player pre graduation. He has recently had an elevated legacy. Before he graduated he was constantly ragged on for his lack of offensive production.

I'm not sure that Law was a better defender than Audige. Law was a great defender, but Audige is elite.
 
I'm not sure that Law was a better defender than Audige. Law was a great defender, but Audige is elite.
Serious question - how does one objectively determine that a player is an elite defender?

You have steals... and you have blocked shots... and defensive rebounds... and you can see how the team defends based on the points allowed and their opponents field goal percentages... but that doesn't really add up to a lot of data on each individual...
 
I'm not sure that Law was a better defender than Audige. Law was a great defender, but Audige is elite.
Law has length, Audige has a knack for getting his hand on the ball. Law is a little more versatile. Imo edge goes to Audige. Audige was not on the tourney team tho so Law was the best defender on that team.
 
I said it before and I will say it again. Sanjay is becoming a legend on these boards. More is written about him than any other member of that team other than BMac. It's fascinating to me. He contributed the least of the starters (I know he did the little things) but he is remembered the most fondly. I made the comparison earlier but will Robbie Beran be remembered this way years from now? Robbie is an equally good defender, better rim protector and more of a threat from 3. Sanjay was a better passer, better (not great) at finishing at the rim, and a slightly better rebounder. And was a tough dude.
Now that Boo has emerged as a star, people had to find the next guy to pile on for every little perceived flaw. Beran is a good role player, seems people justexpected more. The curse of the 4 star.
 
Serious question - how does one objectively determine that a player is an elite defender?

You have steals... and you have blocked shots... and defensive rebounds... and you can see how the team defends based on the points allowed and their opponents field goal percentages... but that doesn't really add up to a lot of data on each individual...
Denying the ball is huge. Chase usually gets to guard the best non-big opponent, I would be curious as to that players points versus their average. Have to think Chase fairs well there.
 
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Here are Barnhizer's numbers against Top 150 teams, according to Bart Torvik.

3 for 3 on dunks.
21 of 30 on "close 2's" which is layups and shorter 2 point shots. That's 70%
10 of 35 on "far 2's" Thats 28.6%

I don't know the cutoff - where a close 2 becomes a far 2.
Pretty sure he is just scraping the play by play data, so a far 2 is any two point shot that isn't listed as layup or dunk.
 
Expanding on this:

Lumpkin is a better post defender. A better on ball defender. A better help defender.

Similar players rebounding.

Offensively Brooks is a far better ball handler. He can run your offense in a pinch. Lumpkin made the savvy plays offball with proper spacing, cuts and screens that often go unnoticed. Brooks is a better passer and there’s many plays he makes the right/extra pass. Brooks is a better shooter hard stop. Brooks as shown the last couple games that when the offense is stagnant that he’ll take it to rim and try to make something happen.

What Brooks brings to table is extremely different that Lumpkin. Yes, they both do lots of little things that help the team but it’s different things. Both made hustle plays. Lumpkin was a team leader on defense. Vocal and skilled. Brooks is getting hustle plays on the offensive end and making the right passes at the right times. Not forcing too much offensively and playing within himself.

Imo it’s not just “If lumpkin had scoring”. They bring very different things to the table.


Yeah, while there are some similarities, see Lumpkin and BB as different type of players.

See BB more like Swopshire.



I said it before and I will say it again. Sanjay is becoming a legend on these boards. More is written about him than any other member of that team other than BMac. It's fascinating to me. He contributed the least of the starters (I know he did the little things) but he is remembered the most fondly. I made the comparison earlier but will Robbie Beran be remembered this way years from now? Robbie is an equally good defender, better rim protector and more of a threat from 3. Sanjay was a better passer, better (not great) at finishing at the rim, and a slightly better rebounder. And was a tough dude.


Well, I remember the days when there were threads predicting how many minutes Sanjay would see for the upcoming season with many predicting it to be in the single digits (which I, and a few others, pushed back on).

Lumpkin was the defensive counterpart to BMac, leading the way on D (the D wasn't nearly as good w/o him the next season).

While Sanjay was commonly referred to as the "glue guy" for doing the little things on the court, he was also the glue guy (along w/ Tap) off the court, bringing together the team (which again, we saw a drastic decline the following season).

Lumpkin was also a utility tool defender, being able to defend all 5 positions.

While he was undersized going against 5's (already undersized going against 4's), he would use his speed to blow by them on O.

Sanjay was a more gifted scorer than he gets credit for, but he knew his role on the team and deferred to the 4 better scoring options among the starting 5.

And no, Beran is not the defender Lumpkin was.

None other than CC knew how valuable Lumpkin was to the team - CC absolutely LOVED Sanjay.
 
None other than CC knew how valuable Lumpkin was to the team - CC absolutely LOVED Sanjay.
Not sure Sanjay is undervalued by too many in NU fandom. I think we all appreciate the extent to which Sanjay was a critical cog in the team that finally broke the worst streak in college basketball history.
 
Not sure Sanjay is undervalued by too many in NU fandom. I think we all appreciate the extent to which Sanjay was a critical cog in the team that finally broke the worst streak in college basketball history.
@Katatonic is probably referring to before the season. There were a lot of Sanjay haters. Not so many after the season.
 
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BB simply brings more offense and with more playing time can dribble and help handle the press and ball rotation. He also has shown be can hit frim three. As a sophmore he is on a great path and shows flashes if all tge things needed in a wing. Sanjay was great just not enough offense. I remember he chipped a tooth and kept playing in one game. A good Cat but BB could have a huge impact locking down a spot. Comparison to V Law may be better.
 
Yeah, while there are some similarities, see Lumpkin and BB as different type of players.

See BB more like Swopshire.






Well, I remember the days when there were threads predicting how many minutes Sanjay would see for the upcoming season with many predicting it to be in the single digits (which I, and a few others, pushed back on).

Lumpkin was the defensive counterpart to BMac, leading the way on D (the D wasn't nearly as good w/o him the next season).

While Sanjay was commonly referred to as the "glue guy" for doing the little things on the court, he was also the glue guy (along w/ Tap) off the court, bringing together the team (which again, we saw a drastic decline the following season).

Lumpkin was also a utility tool defender, being able to defend all 5 positions.

While he was undersized going against 5's (already undersized going against 4's), he would use his speed to blow by them on O.

Sanjay was a more gifted scorer than he gets credit for, but he knew his role on the team and deferred to the 4 better scoring options among the starting 5.

And no, Beran is not the defender Lumpkin was.

None other than CC knew how valuable Lumpkin was to the team - CC absolutely LOVED Sanjay
While he was a very efficient scorer in his fifth year and deserves a lot of credit for his improvement, he was far, far from a gifted scorer. I love the whole defer thing. The team struggled to score in a lot of games in first 3 years (and lost them) but he was deferring. He averaged 3.8 points in his 4th season. Feel free to pitch in with a few more points. The best way to help your teammates on offense (in addition to offensive rebounding and setting screens), is to put pressure on the defense and make your guy guard you all over the court.

And Beran has more length than Lumpkin and does a better job of contesting shots (twice as many blocks and the same amount of steals). And he's been outstanding this year in guarding on switches. He was a 4-star and so he's never been able to live up to the expectations. But he's been outstanding on defense this year.
 
This has not aged well

He’s still not a great finisher, but clearly playing very well of late. His emergence as a real-live scoring option could make worlds of difference in both the B1G and NCAA tournaments.
 
Barnhizer could be very good if he ever learns how to finish in the lane. Seems to get there pretty regularly, but the ball seldom actually goes down.
Isn’t he shooting 40%+ on all shots, which leads the team?
 
I agree with those who see similarities between Barnhizer and Lumpkin, in terms of them being of similar size, playing similar roles (sometimes, small ball 4s). I actually see Barnhizer as a cross between Lumpkin and BMac. While Lumpkin was an undersized forward, Barnhizer is kind of an oversized guard. He's less defensively minded than Lumpkin in that he's not really used as an on-ball defender (Sanjay was often asked to defend the opposing team's best wing, in the way that Audige is), but he's similarly tenacious and a solid rebounder. He's also got more of an ability to score the ball in different ways.
Michael Jordan says hi. I think Kobe too. Lebron was a guard in a forward body. Point being that 6’6” guards are actually a thing.
 
Isn’t he shooting 40%+ on all shots, which leads the team?

43.2%, behind Nicholson (59.1%), Verhoeuven (55.0%), and Roper (45.3%) amongst regulars. Also behind Martinelli (48.6%) if you want to count him as a rotation player.

The point is still that Brooks has been good this year, but could be really good if he becomes better at finishing around the basket. He’s still not great there, would take his game to another level if he could get to that point.
 
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