PFB+ Film Study: Breaking Down Avery Anderson's Career Game

(Another great film look from @dustinragusa24:)

Oklahoma State was able to pull off a 85-80 victory over No. 6 West Virginia this past Saturday despite not having both Cade Cunningham and Isaac Likekele. It was an impressive road win and gives the Cowboys some nice momentum as they get set to take on WVU again this Thursday in the Big 12 Tournament.

Within a solid team win, there are normally some standout individual performances. Head coach Mike Boynton and the Pokes got just that this past weekend from sophomore guard Avery Anderson. PFB's Marshall Scott and Kyle Cox each did a great job of covering Anderson's spectacular outing, so for today's post I wanted to take a deep statistical dive into just what Anderson did so well on the offensive side of the floor against the Mountaineers.

Before we get into the breakdown, I wanted to provide some definitions of three advanced stat categories I will be discussing in this article:

  • Efficiency - Martin Manley's formula for player efficiency. PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK - Missed Shots - TO.
  • Game Score - The formula is PTS + 0.4 * FG - 0.7 * FGA - 0.4*(FTA - FT) + 0.7 * ORB + 0.3 * DRB + STL + 0.7 * AST + 0.7 * BLK - 0.4 * PF - TOV. Game Score was created by John Hollinger to give a rough measure of a player's productivity for a single game. The scale is similar to that of points scored, (40 is an outstanding performance, 10 is an average performance, etc.).
  • Use% - This is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor.

Now, here were Anderson's per game averages in Big 12 play before the WVU game:

  • Points: 10.5
  • Rebounds: 4.1
  • Field Goal Attempts: 8.5
  • Field Goal%: 43.8
  • Turnovers: 2.5
  • Efficiency: 11.2
  • Game Score: 7.0
  • Use%: 17.6

And, here is what Anderson did against the Moutaineers:

  • Points: 31.0
  • Rebounds: 6.0
  • Field Goal Attempts: 14.0
  • Field Goal%: 78.6
  • Turnovers: 4.0
  • Efficiency: 29.0
  • Game Score: 22.0
  • Use%: 31.0

As you can see, Anderson's Use% almost doubled, however instead of this leading to lower efficiency, his efficiency rating was the highest it's been in conference play (previous high was 24 in the first game against Texas Tech). In addition, he took 6.5 more shots from the field than he normally does, and made them at a much higher clip than his previous Big 12 average.

Anderson's Game Score of 22 was his highest in conference play, surpassing his previous high of 16.8. The only stat of Anderson's that was affected negatively was turnovers, as he jumped from an average of 2.5 to 4 against the Mountaineers, but this was expected as his Use% increased significantly.

Anderson knew he had to step up with two of OSU's best players unavailable.

"When coach in the pregame was talking about how Cade (Cunningham) wasn't playing, I just knew I had to be a bigger leader in leading the team on both ends of the floor," Anderson said according to 247Sports. "I came out being real talkative to my team so they could have the energy, because the energy level was kind of down in the beginning I felt like. So, I just wanted to bring the energy up."

As you can see from the stats shown above, the young guard did just that. But, just what was Anderson doing that made him so successful against the Mountaineers?

In Transition

Anderson's high motor and speed make him a quality player to fill the lanes on the OSU fastbreak. His balance and overall body control allow him to be an excellent finisher at the rim. You'll see this displayed in the first clip below.

He also did a great job on the defensive boards in this one, grabbing six during the game. Due to Anderson’s great ball handling skills, he is able to secure a rebound and take it coast to coast himself, as shown in the following video.

Off the Ball

Even with Anderson's high Use% mentioned above, there were still times when he made plays without the ball in his hands. Below, you'll see him pass the ball to Bryce Williams, then act like he's going to set a screen for Williams before cutting to the hoop.

Isolation

Anderson is one of the best isolation scorers on the team. He's so quick with the ball in his hands, and has an insane first step to blow by defenders. WVU Coach Bob Huggins tried multiple different defenders on Anderson, but he was able to get by them all and scored well in both the first and second half. In the following clip, you'll see Anderson get by Miles McBride for the score.

Kedrian Johnson, McBride and Taz Sherman all tried to slow Anderson down, but he continued to find ways to score. Marshall Scott broke down the play below in his Five Thoughts piece from Saturday:

"His most important bucket of Saturday’s game came in the final minute, defending a 2-point lead. Anderson, who is elite in isolation, called for Kalib Boone to clear out and took on Taz Sherman one-on-one. Anderson made a hesitation move to his right to get a step on Sherman, and then he gained extra separation with a hop step right before hitting a midrange jumper."

Anderson also went 1-for-2 from 3-point and hit 8 of his 10 free throw attempts. His ability to draw fouls is continues to be huge for the Cowboys.

Coach Boynton had this to say about Anderson's performance.

“I think it’s a great sign for the future of Oklahoma State basketball that we’ve got a guy who’s gotten better," Boynton said. "I think he’s the most improved player in the country. I think he’s the most improved player in our league by far, and today was an example, with our best player in Cade and our leader in Ice both out, that he just did a little bit more than — you know, he’s been playing well now. He’s having a really good year."

If Anderson can continue playing at this level when Cunningham and Likekele return, I have high hopes for OSU's postseason chances.

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