Orangemen Prolific at Fouling

Bourama Sidibe is starting his fifth season of basketball for the Syracuse Orange, albeit delayed due to another leg injury. Injuries are not the only thing that has limited Sidibe's time on the court, for even if he had been healthy another factor would have come into play: Fouls.  

Sidibe is the most foul prone player in Syracuse basketball history, averaging a foul for every 5.28 minutes of playing timing.  That pace would have him foul out of a typical basketball game at about 26 1/2 minutes.   Sidibe has picked up 274 fouls in his career in only 1,448 minutes.   He has also managed to foul out of 14 games.  He did improve his numbers his junior season when he started all year, averaging 5.85 minutes per foul.

The two closest players on the list to Sidibe are Jeremy McNeil with 5.42 minutes per foul (383 fouls in 2076 minutes) and Derek Brower also with 5.42 (214 fouls in 1160 minutes).  

The most prolific fouler in Syracuse history is Otis Hill with 460 fouls in his career and 28 disqualifications.  Andre Hawkins has the distinction of the most disqualifications with 35 in his career.  Hawkins was an undersized center who used his brute strength to battle big men like Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and St. John's Bill Wennington.

Mike Hopkins is the more foul profile guard in Syracuse history, averaging a foul every 7.21 minutes (309 fouls in 2229 minutes).  Hopkins was known as being a scrappy player, and the foul rate would back that up.

This is a chart of the top 10 Syracuse basketball players based on minutes per fouls.

The top 100 Player Fouls for Syracuse is here.

Myth of Hopkins Rotation Depth

A common theme I have seen on Syracuse basketball forums this year is that Mike Hopkins is going to his bench more often than Jim Boeheim; in particular, that Boeheim never pulls Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney to play others. 

The evidence from those proponents of this idea point to the reduced minutes that Cooney and Gbinije have had under Hopkins in the weaker non-conference games.  It is true that both players see reduced playing time for those games.  Cooney played 36 minutes against Colgate, 34 against Cornell, 28 for Montana State, and 36 for Texas Southern.  Truly, Cooney's minutes were down in those games.

However, that is not a matter of Hopkins deciding to go deeper than Boeheim does; rather it is an indication of who the opponents are.  Boeheim, contrary to the opinions of some, also historically goes deeper into his benches against the easier non-conference opponents. Consider Conney's numbers from 2014-2015: Kennesaw St (33), Hampton (36), Loyola (27), Holy Cross (33), LA Tech (40), Colgate (29), Long Beach State (40) and Cornell (35).  Boeheim actually used less of Cooney than Hopkins did in those same types of games.  

Meanwhile, Gbinije had 39, 39, 33 and 40 in those same four non-conference games this year (Colgate, Cornell, Montana State and Texas Southern).  Silent G had no reduced playing time, except for the Montana State game.  

The images of how Jim Boeheim coaches are imprinted on fans memories, particularly those who dislike him or his style.  It is absolutely true that Boeheim goes to a shorter bench in the tighter games.  However, that is not a true statement for Boeheim regarding the easier non-conference games.  He routinely rotates and tests out players in those games.  Now he may not test out the players that you as a fan may want to see more of, but considering he sees those players each and every day in practice, I trust that Mr. Boeheim (and Mr. Hopkins) have a far better understanding of the players' abilities than you or I.

Data from Cooney and Gbinije is from ESPN.com.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56997/trevor-cooney

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56115/michael-gbinije

Hopkins Dilemma

Syracuse assistant head coach Mike Hopkins is in the middle of his head coaching assignment. He has guided the Orange to a 3-2 record during the first five games of head coach Jim Boeheim's 9 game suspension.

Hopkins has been put into a very difficult situation, one that I think he has handled well so far.  The are four obstacles that he faces, and two of them really are no resolvable; he just needs to do the best he can.

First, Hopkins was given very little notice regarding the transition to being head coach.  Hopkins and Jim Boeheim were preparing for a January transition; instead the NCAA sprung the news on the two of them about 48 hours before the Georgetown game.  At that point, Hopkins and Boeheim were working off a plan to have 30 days to prepare for the situation, and with the busy week in the Bahamas for the Battle for Atlantis, along with the Wisconsin and Georgetown games, I am sure it was something the two of them were planning to really look into once the holiday season got closer.  

Second, Jim Boeheim is allowed to have no contact with anyone associated with the Syracuse basketball program.  Unfortunately that means that Hopkins does not have access to his mentor for guidance.  He does not get to talk to the man who has guided his basketball life as a player and a coach for the past 25+ years.  He doesn't get the opportunity to share the happy moments nor commiserate over the problems with the man who has been there for his basketball career.  

Third, Hopkins has to run another coaches system.  Fortunately for Hopkins, he is extremely familiar with Boeheim's system.  He is very familiar with what Boeheim would want to be done, what work needs to be done with each player, and what Boeheim's hopes were for the players as the season progressed.  Those are pluses for Hopkins. But, he must try to adhere to that system as much as he can because after nine games, Hopkins has to turn the team back over to Boeheim.  Hopkins cannot introduce new theories to the team, or try to change how the team operates.  He must stay the course that Jim Boeheim had set for the team.  

The fourth obstacle may be the biggest.  Hopkins has to be the head coach for 9 games and a month of time.  He must behave as the head coach.  BUT, after the suspension is done, he must return to being the assistant head coach.  The relationship of the head coach to the players is different than the relationship of the assistant coaches to the players.  The head coach runs the show, his instructions are absolute, and the players must toe the line that has been set.

The assistant coach helps the head coach carry out his plan. But the assistant is also a buffer between the head coach and the players.  Assistants get to buddy up with the players, they are the avenue for the players to vent their frustrations.  They are the individuals who work with the players one-on-one every day.  It is a different relationship.

Hopkins cannot jump fully into the head coach mode, as he has to return to that assistant coach mode. He cannot change his relationship with the players on a short term basis; that would lead to dysfunction later in the season. He cannot really define himself as the head coach.

I think Hopkins has done well with the hand he has been dealt. This team is an inconsistent squad. The Georgetown game was destined to be a problem because of how the NCAA rolled out the suspension.  The St. John's game was an embarrassment; however, we all knew there was the chance this team could lay an egg on any given game day.  That game really has been the only game under Hopkins watch that was played poorly and ended poorly.  

The one thing we do know is different is how Hopkins handles the press conferences.  That was inevitable.  Boeheim is a one-of-a-kind in the press conferences, with curmudgeon style, wry and dry humor, sarcasms, and cynicism with the media.  Hopkins is significantly lighter in his tone, and appears more open.  Of course, he doesn't have 40 years of baggage with him either.

Good luck to Hopkins.  It will be interesting to see what his true coaching style is in a few years.