The Daily Mississippian men’s basketball beat writer Tyler Bischoff will break down Ole Miss basketball each Tuesday and Thursday leading up to 2013-14 season. In part seven of the seven-part series, Bischoff looks at a different way to get Marshall Henderson open shots.
As Ole Miss looks for a way to replace three players that made at least 100 field goals last year, Marshall Henderson will garner even more of the attention of the defense. So Ole Miss will need to get more creative in getting Henderson in a position to make a play. Look for him to be used more as a ball handler initiating the offense.
According to Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk, Henderson played a lot of point guard in scrimmages at the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in late June.
With two of the Rebels best players being point guards, Jarvis Summers and Derrick Millinghaus, don’t expect Henderson to become a point guard. However, Henderson will likely be at the top of the key with the ball to start more offensive plays in the pick-and-roll.
Last year, Henderson ran 60 plays as the ball handler on pick-and-rolls, according to Synergy Sports. He shot 27 times on those plays knocking down 13. His effective field goal percentage, which factors in a boost for three pointers was 59.3 percent. Henderson’s effective field goal percentage on all plays last season was 50.7 percent.
When Henderson passed out of the pick-and-roll, his teammates were nine of 15 shooting.
One thing Henderson will have to do is look for open players off of the pick-and-roll. Teams will double him on picks. He has to improve his decision making to make teams pay for loading up to stop him.
Here against Georgia, Henderson has just received a screen from Murphy Holloway, who has rolled to the open space on the floor. But, instead of passing to Holloway, Henderson has launched a long three with two defenders on him.
Jarvis Summers is open on this play too as his man has sunk to the free throw line, worried about Henderson. Now on this particular shot, neither Georgia player jumped to contest the shot, and for Henderson, that could make this a quality look. But he is fading away and two players are in a better position to make a play. Henderson has to recognize that he has drawn the attention of three defenders and make them pay. By the way, he airballed this shot.
Because he is the number one option, Henderson will face a lot pressure and attention from defenses. He will need to cut down on turnovers to make the pick-and-roll a quality play choice.
Henderson committed 13 turnovers on his 60 possessions as the pick-and-roll ball handler. That’s 21.7 percent of the time. He committed turnovers on just 11 percent of his total possessions on the year.
Henderson will need to show some more strength to be able to handle the inevitable double teams off of the pick-and-roll. But Ole Miss can also help Henderson out by running weakside action to get another payer open, or at least having Henderson’s screener roll hard to the basket or flare to an open spot somewhere else on the court.
Here in the SEC Championship Game, Holloway is coming to set a screen for Henderson.
Instead of Holloway rolling to the basket or the open space in the corner, he floats around the three-point line.
This leads to Henderson, who did himself no favors by dribbling straight into it, being in a ferocious Gator trap, one that has to be beaten with fluid player movement and quick decisions.
Throughout this sequence no one on the weakside moves. They don’t try to get themselves or a teammate open for a shot. Even worse, seeing Henderson trapped, they don’t make an effort to help him out. Holloway has actually moved farther away from the basket, although this is an attempt to get open for Henderson to pass out of the double team.
This play results in Henderson losing the ball and falling down while Florida heads the other way on the fast break.
On his pick-and-roll-possessions last year, Henderson had a points per possession of 1, his second most efficient play type on the season. Ole Miss will need to get more creative in getting Henderson good scoring opportunities, and Henderson will have to respond to the added pressure by making the right decision, whether it is a shot or a pass.
Part One: Breaking down the Rebels’ most used play
Part Two: Using Marshall Henderson as a decoy
Part Three: Aaron Jones’ potential to be an excellent post defender
Part Four: Ole Miss looking for LaDarius White to improve offensive efficiency
Part Five: Derrick Millinghaus’ inefficiency: the good and the bad
Part Six: A boost from the pick-and-roll
Photos and Stats courtesy of Synergy Sports
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
