UCLA Basketball: The 5 Key Players To UCLA’s Success in 2012-13
1. Josh Smith
Articles, blog posts, newspaper columns, long-ass comments on Facebook, tweets, message board topics. Everything has been written about Josh Smith.
And they’re the most back-handed compliments you’ll ever read about a person (and deservedly so).
“If he wasn’t so fat, he could be the best center in college hoops.”
“He’s an elite college basketball player if he’s fit.”
“This dude’s going to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft if he just gets in shape.”
The purpose of the rhetoric — oftentimes very degrading to a 20-year old kid, mind you — is obvious. Smith will be the best big man in Division I college ball whenever the hell he decides that’s what he wants.
Despite playing 17 minutes a game, Josh Smith has proven to be UCLA’s best player (remarkably). In fact, his per-game and per-minute stats tell such different stories.
Let’s take a look at his per-game stats first:
| Season | School | Conf | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | UCLA | Pac-10 | 33 | 21.7 | 4.0 | 7.2 | .555 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 4.7 | .613 | 6.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 10.9 | |
| 2011-12 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 32 | 17.2 | 3.7 | 6.4 | .574 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 4.3 | .590 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 9.9 | |
| Career | UCLA | 65 | 19.5 | 3.8 | 6.8 | .563 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 4.5 | .602 | 5.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 10.4 |
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table
Generated 6/29/2012.
10 points per game is modest at best and underachieving as hell at worst. Considering he’s shooting at a 57 percent clip, 9.9 points per game is a total joke. Let’s not even get started at 4.9 rebounds a game.
What about advanced stats, adjusted for pace and minutes played? They say something that goes against everything you thought about Josh Smith based on per-game totals.
| Season | School | Conf | G | MP | PER | TS% | eFG% | ORB% | DRB% | TRB% | AST% | STL% | BLK% | TOV% | USG% | ORtg | DRtg | OWS | DWS | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | UCLA | Pac-10 | 33 | 717 | 26.2 | .576 | .555 | 19.4 | 14.5 | 16.8 | 7.0 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 14.3 | 25.8 | 115.0 | 96.1 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 3.7 |
| 2011-12 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 32 | 549 | 25.8 | .585 | .574 | 16.2 | 18.2 | 17.2 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 4.6 | 18.2 | 31.5 | 106.4 | 94.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 3.6 |
| Career | UCLA | 65 | 1266 | 26.0 | .580 | .563 | 18.0 | 16.1 | 17.0 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 4.5 | 16.1 | 28.3 | 110.9 | 95.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 7.3 |
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table
Generated 6/29/2012.
Basically, Josh Smith is a freaking animal when he’s on the court. Although he’s only getting 17 minutes a game, he leads UCLA in Player Efficiency Rating (which takes into account all statistics on a per-minute basis) and is 10 points above the average PER of 15. He’s gobbling up 17 percent of all available rebounds to him (18 percent of all available OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS!!!), which is ridiculous. (To compare, look at 2012 NBA draftee Anthony Davis’ rebounding stats.)
So if you hadn’t watched yourself some UCLA games, you’d say Smith should’ve gotten more minutes, and you’d give a long glare at Ben Howland.
But, as far as we’re concerned, Howland didn’t needlessly foul himself out of games, and Howland’s conditioning wasn’t shitty enough to keep Smith on the bench for extended periods of time.
In fact, Josh Smith didn’t play more because Josh Smith was plain out of shape.
The fouling? They were needless because when guards understand that you’re slow defensively, they attack the basket, knowing that a tired man’s shot contesting is similar to a foul on a penetrator down low. Smith did exactly that all season.
Smith needs to get it together, because size still rules in college hoops, and hoops in general. Guards and wings may be the flashier of the bunch, but nothing beats a traditional big man down in the post (mind you, Anthony Davis wasn’t even a traditional low post big man, while Josh Smith has shown, during his short time on the court, that’s exactly what he is).
Smith is a game-changer, whenever the hell he decides to be. Smith can make or break this program and UCLA’s national title chances, whenever the hell he figures he’d give it a shot.
Not in November, mind you, but in the four months leading up to it. Today. Tomorrow. The day after.
John Wooden’s philosophy on coaching — that the game was merely a result of the actual work, which was preparation and practice — rings true in this situation more than any other for the Bruins.
Josh Smith needs to get his stuff together. UCLA’s national title aspirations depend on it.