The enigma that is Derek Simpson
- Thread starter knight82
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They're not. Why he isn't stopped from shooting them is mind-boggling.
The only thing missing from Derek is shooting ability. I think it’s partially in his head (decisiveness) and partially in his form (wildly inconsistent on the jump shots). I hope both can be corrected - I’m a fan of Derek. Also respect him trying to lead as an underclassmen.
Midrange isn't great, yet it's where JWill thrives and everyone is ecstatic about him. JWill and Simpson were both in the bottom 5% nationally for shots taken at the rim or from 3. Also both in the bottom 25% in efg% at the rim or from 3.
I've posted complimenting Simpson on all of these things many times
Simpson was just historically bad shooting and the more you dig into his shooting stats, the worse it gets
You just can't be possibly the worst high major shooting efficiency in the last decade. The rest of the positives can't make up for it
My feeling is that if Simpson wants to return with the understanding there is no guarantee of minutes and he would have to earn playing time, you absolutely want him back. He does a lot of things well other than of course shooting and finishing drives at the rim. As others have stated, he’s a very good defensive player, great foul shooter, knows the system, rebounds well for his size, and has the ability to get into the lane.
He can certainly play a role and provide depth if he is accepting of such. Being that it’s pretty much a given we will bring in a sharpshooter (i.e. a Clark Slajchert type), he’d likely be competing for 4th guard minutes at least at the onset of the season.
He can certainly play a role and provide depth if he is accepting of such. Being that it’s pretty much a given we will bring in a sharpshooter (i.e. a Clark Slajchert type), he’d likely be competing for 4th guard minutes at least at the onset of the season.
During that 4 game winning streak Simpson was imo, if not the best player out there, on the floor. He was great on defense, great on distrubuting, great on shooting and great on communicating. Then he just stopped for some reason, they all stopped for some reason and it all fell apart.
funny you mention this and I agree. Everyone just credited Jwill bc he was the new shiny player but to me it was Simpson that helped lead the charge in more ways than one
I get the feeling those two do not get along for some odd reason
He wasn’t necessarily great on shooting in the last 3 games of that 4 game winning streak though.. He shot really well vs Michigan (7-13 FG, 2-3 3PT) but in the next 3 wins he shot a combined 6-25 FG and 1-5 3PT…(2-9 FG, 1-6 FG, and 3-10 FG).. He didn’t miss a free throw during those 4 games though (combined 7-7 FT), and as you mentioned he did other things well.
The problem is that role is for Davis. We don't need both, and Davis isn't leaving this year for sure. We need that scholarship for a guard who can shoot
Gavin was brutal this year, taking way too many deep 3's. Pike didn't seem to have a problem with it, which I find ridiculous.
Derek was TERRIBLE at the midrange and he never stopped shooting them. I blame Pike for letting it happen. If he stays and shots 1 midrange next year, I'm gonna lose my sh**.
Derek is an excellent foul shooter but couldn't get to the line for the last 1/3 of the season. His drives were terrible. He would consistently just go straight down the lane without getting into the paint. You aren't getting foul calls flinging garbage at the hoop.
He has 1 job this off-season, 500 3's a day. Not 1 midrange shot in the off-season, not 1. Those go to JWill and Dylan next year. He has to become a 3 and d guy.
I'm praying Pike starts giving a crap at helping these players offensively. It ain't rocket science.
Derek was TERRIBLE at the midrange and he never stopped shooting them. I blame Pike for letting it happen. If he stays and shots 1 midrange next year, I'm gonna lose my sh**.
Derek is an excellent foul shooter but couldn't get to the line for the last 1/3 of the season. His drives were terrible. He would consistently just go straight down the lane without getting into the paint. You aren't getting foul calls flinging garbage at the hoop.
He has 1 job this off-season, 500 3's a day. Not 1 midrange shot in the off-season, not 1. Those go to JWill and Dylan next year. He has to become a 3 and d guy.
I'm praying Pike starts giving a crap at helping these players offensively. It ain't rocket science.
Gavin made a ton of deep threes. He might have had a better percentage from deep 3 than at the 3 point line
What's a ton? He had no business shooting those. It felt like he shot a lot of contested deep 3's while in a bad shooting position. I would have froze him out like it looked like some of his teammates did.
What opponents were taking those kinds of shots from that distance while there is still time on the shot clock?
Simpson showed MUCH more in his freshman year. Yikes.
The game has changed sir...Gavin probably shoots a better % from deep 3 than some of the team has on layups. Any time an elite shooter gets space, they shoot it in today's game. Ie. Steph curry, Damien Dillard, Luka doncic, Kyrie Irving . And the "analytics" will tell you that you're better off with that deep 3 from an elite shooter than a mid range jumper. It's all about 3s and layups now a days. Have to make the layups though..
I'm going to stop even commenting on Simpson threads on this board. He has many family members or people from his hometown on this board. Lol I feel bad even arguing with the idea of Simpson being "the best ball handler" or "more of a reason for the win streak than jwill". These statements are based in love for Derrick and I think that's a wonderful thing. Good luck to him regardless of what happens. He had a good season.
This issue with Gavin was he could only shoot from one area on the court. Deep on the right wing.
He was short on a lot on his jump shots, and he didn't seem comfortable. Toward the end of the year, his comfort level seemed to improve.
Now, that could all be baseless speculation on my part. But it seems right to me, and he seems to have talent. And length. If he's more comfortable next year, we could start seeing a darn good player on the court.
I definitely can see him improving, I think there is a player there, but I have to see it before I can count on it. His numbers were identical to Simpsons over the last 12 games and everyone is running him out of town.
My feeling is that if Simpson wants to return with the understanding there is no guarantee of any minutes and he would have to earn playing time, you absolutely want him back. He does a lot of things well other than shooting and finishing drives to the rim. As others have stated, he’s a very good defensive player, great foul shooter, knows the system, rebounds well for his size, and has the ability to get into the lane. He can certainly play a role and provide depth if he is accepting of such. Being that it’s pretty much a given we will bring in a sharpshooter (i.e. a Clark Slajchert type), he’d likely be competing for 4th guard minutes at least at the onset of the season.
Of course, this is all mute if Simpson decides to move on.
I agree with that, but only if we are able to bring in two sharpshooters at the guard position. I don’t know that we will be able to do that (of enticing a second sharpshooter) with the knowledge that Dylan, JWill and sharpshooter A will likely be ahead of said sharpshooter B. I suppose we could try to identify an under the radar type sharpshooter (i.e. JUCO, an under recruited true freshman). But would that even be an upgrade over Simpson for someone who is essentially competing with Davis for minutes. With Simpson, there is also the possibility that he can improve his finishing ability with another offseason.
Of course, this is all mute if Simpson decides to move on.
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Yeah, if Griffiths's number next year are like Simpson's numbers this year, I'd likely see things differently.
Very interesting and confirms my deep 3 theory
Gavin obviously needs to improve being able to hit from other areas but at least he does have a sweet spot
I'm curious what the average is for where he is hot (deep right).
I love that chart though. He clearly needs to do a lot of work over the summer. I hope they can figure where his shots will come from next year before he puts in the work.
Best I can figure as the stats didnt seem to be exact for each small area, he shot in the mid 40%'s from there and average is around 44%
