Basketball Statistics Blog

Sunday's Reflexions on Basketball Statistics:
About Basketball Deflections & Rebounds

"Most statistics you have to be careful of, given just raw numbers," said Jerry Krause, who charts various aspects of each game from the Gonzaga University, Bulldogs bench, "because they depend so much on the pace of the game. I'm more interested in percentages."

Among the most important numbers Krause supplies to his head coach are those relating to offensive and defensive efficiency. They are based on points per possession for both his team and their opponents.

"Those are what I really put a huge emphasis on at halftime or after a game," head coach Mark Few said. "As much as points and field-goal percentages can tell you, they can get skewed with a lot of free throws and things like that. But points-per-possession gives you a much better gauge of where your team is at, both offensively and defensively."

Few also puts plenty of weight on deflections, another number that does not show up in the box score. This number, according to Krause, is based on how many times a GU defender gets a hand, foot or any other body part on the Basketball.

Photograph: Charlie Neibergall ~ The Columbus Dispatch

"It can be a blocked shot, diving on a loose ball – anything that disrupts the other team's offense," explained Krause, a long-standing member of the NCAA Rules Committee, who also serves as Research Chair of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

"I believe offense, basically, is rhythm. And anything you can do to upset rhythm is not good for an offense." In addition, the number of deflections gives Few a good idea of his team's intensity level. "It's a great barometer for us," he said.

"When it's up, it means we're active, flying around and doing good things on the defensive end. When it's down, it usually tells us we're being too passive and reactive." Krause said this year's team has been surprisingly sluggish, as far as deflections are concerned.

The team goal is 35 deflections per game, but so far this season, his team is averaging just 27. "And that's way below what you would want as a norm," Krause said. Deflections, like offensive and defensive percentages, can be charted during a game.

Rebounding effort, however, is a bit more complicated, and can only be determined after watching video of the game as at the eBA Stats Basketball Statistical Register System.

This topic is resumed in the eBA Basketball Statistics Analysis System
at the eBA Encyclopedia > The Articles

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