As Ole Miss scorched the top defense in the SEC with 42 points in the first half, Marshall Henderson led the way with 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting in those first 20 minutes. But then came the second half, and Florida’s top-notch defense held Henderson to 0 of 6 shooting and no points and the Rebels fell 75-71.
So came the questioning. Why does Henderson jack up so many contested 3-pointers? Why does Andy Kennedy allow this to happen? A reporter even asked Martavious Newby if he gets frustrated with Henderson’s shot selection.
“We don’t get frustrated at all. Marshall’s Marshall,” Newby said. “That’s why he is here. The shots that everybody thinks are not going in, he hits.”
But it is more than just Henderson occasionally knocking down a ridiculous shot. His shot selection is based upon his teammates’ skill sets.
Consider this year’s basketball team. What is the best skill set any player possesses on the offensive end? It is Henderson running off of a screen for a 3-pointer. Kennedy has called Henderson the best he’s ever seen at rounding those screens and turning into a shot.
Outside of that, the only other high-quality skill set on this offense is Jarvis Summers’ ability to penetrate, especially off of the pick-and-roll. And it is no surprise that Kennedy’s two main offensive play calls are designed for those two skill sets.
All season Henderson has run through a maze of screens along the baseline, and Summers has attacked defenses off of ball screens at the top of the key. Yes, they actually run plays to highlight the strengths of the team.
But beyond those two, what other skill set does this team possess that could exploit a defense? There certainly isn’t one in the frontcourt, where the four Ole Miss big men are shooting 40.8 percent in SEC play. Yes, the guys shooting the majority of their shots within five feet of the basket are well below 50 percent.
On the perimeter, Anthony Perez has come along this season; he has the highest offensive rating of anyone on the team in conference play. Most of his damage has been done in transition, where he’s scoring 1.4 points per possession, per Synergy Sports.
After Perez, it gets pretty rough. LaDarius White, who often is defended by the opponent’s worst defender, is shooting 39.4 percent in SEC play, and Derrick Millinghaus is at an awful 29.4 percent from the field. Do those guys really need to be taking more shots?
Yes, Henderson is shooting 37.8 percent from the field in SEC games. But he is drawing the opponent’s best defender plus help defenders who completely abandon their man to make sure Henderson doesn’t get up a shot.
When defenders abandon their man, usually that leaves someone wide open, and a pass from Henderson would get an open look. He does pass it, as Kennedy recounted following the loss to Kentucky.
“We hit the slip guy a number of times, but we can’t score at the basket,” Kennedy said. “Sometimes it is even a victory to get a shot. We fall. How many layups have we missed?”
Now think about last year’s team. Henderson’s skill set was much the same, and Summers had not developed his killer instinct. But Murphy Holloway was superb at driving left for a layup. Holloway or Reggie Buckner could post up on the block and get two points. Henderson could hit them as he came off a screen, and they would finish plays off, both shot over 50 percent in SEC play.
Even Nick Williams had the ability to get to a mid-range jumper and knock down a shot. White, who was asked to do less, was more efficient, shooting 46.2 percent.
Last year the team had options, and players that could take advantage when a defense overcommitted to Henderson. This year, those options are lacking.
So when Henderson launches his next 25-foot 3-pointer and you begin to yell about him hurting the team, ask yourself: Is there someone else who could actually put points on the board?
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
