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The Chase for 180: Karvel Anderson leads shorthanded Robert Morris to NEC crown

anderson

Robert Morris Athletics

Who is the best shooter in the country?

It’s a tough question to answer, isn’t it? Does being a “shooter” simply mean merely being a high-level marksman from beyond the arc? Can a player who thrives in the mid-range but rarely ventures out into three-point land be eligible? How heavily should we be valuing stats like efficiency and effective field goal percentage when taking all of this into account?

One number that we like to use is “180″. How do you become a 180 shooter? By shooting 50% or better from the field overall, 40% or better from three and at least 90% from the charity stripe. From this point forward we’ll track this until the end of the regular season, providing weekly updates as well as a look into how some of the nation’s best find (and connect on) their quality looks.

January proved to be a tough month for the Robert Morris Colonials from a personnel standpoint. Four players, most notably freshman Jeremiah Worthem, were suspended and forward Mike McFadden made the decision to leave the program. Add this to the late-December departure of junior guard Desjuan Newton, and Andy Toole’s team was effectively reduced to eight players for the remainder of the season.

For some teams this would be an excuse to crumble, to point to the lack of bodies as a suitable reason for their demise. But that wasn’t the case for Robert Morris, which made the adjustments needed to finish Northeast Conference with a 14-2 record and win the regular season title. Defensively the Colonials played an active 2-3 zone, getting after opponents while also looking to compensate for their lack of interior depth. As for the offense, guard Karvel Anderson and guard/forward Lucky Jones were asked to do more with the former separating himself as the NEC’s best player.

According to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers Anderson, voted NEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches, finished the regular season with a shot percentage of 31.9%. And even with the responsibility to score (19.6 ppg) Anderson managed to shoot well from the field (51.4%) and from three (46.4%) while also making 81.4% of his shots from the foul line. And as he did last season, making just over 50% of his two-point jumpers per hoop-math.com, Anderson’s performed well in the mid-range game by making 52.3% of those shots.

A difference for Anderson as a senior when compared to his numbers from a season ago: he’s getting to the rim at a higher clip. After attempting just 9.7% of his shots at the rim last season Anderson’s taken 16.6% of his shots around the basket, converting 66.2% of those looks. Last season, Anderson shot 58.6% at the rim. Anderson has clearly been the first name mentioned in opposing scouting reports, but that has done little to keep the guard from producing and helping lead the Colonials to the NEC regular season title.

The question now is whether or not he can do so three more times, thus leading Robert Morris to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010.

THE TOP TEN (Note: Players much be eligible to be ranked in FG%, 3PT% and FT%. And here’s a glossary that includes the stats you’ll see used in these posts. Tempo neutral numbers per kenpom.com.)

1) Jason Calliste (Oregon)
51.6% FG, 50.5% 3PT, 85.2% FT = 187.3
Shot %: 17.2
eFG %: 66.1
True shooting %: 71.6

2) Austin Tillotson (Colgate)
60.2, 50.7, 74.0 = 184.9
Shot %: 18.5
eFG %: 68.1
True shooting %: 69.8

3) Brett Olson (Denver)
47.9, 43.8, 91.8 = 183.5
Shot %: 21.8
eFG %: 58.2
True shooting %: 64.0

4) Doug McDermott (Creighton)
51.4, 43.6, 87.7 = 182.7
Shot %: 37.6
eFG %: 58.8
True shooting %: 63.7

5) Brenton Williams (South Carolina)
43.0, 42.6, 95.4 = 181.0
Shot %: 25.3
eFG %: 56.3
True shooting %: 62.7

6) Johnny Dee (San Diego)
43.7, 43.0, 93.9 = 180.6
Shot %: 29.5
eFG %: 54.3
True shooting %: 60.2

7) Anthony Brown (Stanford)
50.4, 48.5, 81.1 = 180.0
Shot %: 18.8
eFG %: 60.0
True shooting %: 64.4

8) Karvel Anderson (Robert Morris)
51.4, 46.4, 81.4 = 179.2
Shot %: 31.9
eFG %: 63.6
True shooting %: 65.6

9) Phil Forte III (Oklahoma State)
44.9, 45.4, 88.9 = 179.2
Shot %: 22.2
eFG %: 62.2
True shooting %: 66.7

10) Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington)
45.5, 45.3, 88.3 = 179.1
Shot %: 28.0
eFG %: 57.2
True shooting %: 62.7

Inside the Arc (zero three-point attempts)

1) C Kevin Ferguson (Army)
64.2% FG, 1.53 points/shot

2) C Sim Bhullar (New Mexico State)
64.1% FG, 1.62 points/shot

3) F Marshall Bjorklund (North Dakota State)
63.9% FG, 1.55 points/shot

4) F Steve Forbes (IPFW)
63.8% FG, 1.70 points/shot

5) F Jarvis Williams (Murray State)
63.3% FG, 1.77 points/shot

Previous Installments
November 11
December 4
December 11
December 18
January 8
January 15
January 22
January 29
February 5
February 12
February 19
February 26

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