Analyze this
Plus/minus totals for Vols reveal intriguing numbers
In Tennessee’s 91-71 win over Alabama last Saturday inside the Food City Center, fifth-year senior guard Josiah-Jordan James missed all three of his attempts from the floor and was just 1-of-2 from the free-throw line during a one-point performance for the Volunteers.
Yet during the 20 minutes and 39 seconds that James was on the court, the Vols outscored the Crimson Tide by 20 points, and nobody on Tennessee’s team had a better plus/ minus result.
The plus/minus category on a box score doesn’t get near the attention of points, rebounds, assists and turnovers, but it can sometimes be revealing and is almost always intriguing. Alabama senior guard Mark Sears led Alabama with 22 points and didn’t have another teammate reach double figures, but his plus/minus total of minus-18 during his 32 minutes and 43 seconds on the floor was the worst on his team.
“I think it’s something that’s important, but it’s something I don’t think should be overvalued at times,” Tennessee junior guard Jahmai Mashack said following Saturday’s victory. “There are times it should be valued just as it is. Jo did a lot of things in this game, and you can see that in his plus/minus, whereas you wouldn’t otherwise see that on the stat sheet.
“The way he talks and leads on the court, and the sets he leads on defense and the way he kind of cleans up stuff — I think plus/minus is an important stat.”
James had four rebounds, two steals and an assist against Alabama but didn’t lead the Vols in any of those categories. Fellow fifth-year
senior guard Dalton Knecht, who has been lighting up various scoreboards around the Southeastern Conference in his one year with the Vols after transferring from Northern Colorado, scored 25 against the Tide and had the second-best plus/minus total at plus-19.
When Knecht tallied a career-best 39 points in Tennessee’s 85-66 triumph over Florida on Jan. 16, his plus/minus of plus-10 ranked third on the Vols behind James (plus-20) and yet another fifth-year senior guard, Santiago Vescovi (plus-13).
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes is quick to insert the plus/minus statistic into the bigger world of analytics.
“It’s interesting, because sometimes I’ll ask the coaches about the analytics, but do I pay a lot of attention to it? I don’t,” Barnes said Saturday. “A couple of years ago when people started getting into analytics, our tennis coach, Coach (Chris) Woodruff, asked me what I thought about them. He once played against Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi and all those guys, and I asked him if he was ever in a five-set match with them and facing match point.
“He said, ‘Yes,’ and I asked him that when Sampras was ready to serve to him at match point, what analytic did he turn to? He pointed to his heart, and that’s the analytic that most counts.”
Tennessee’s roster this season is filled not only with veterans but versatile veterans, so it probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that the plus/minus component to a box score is a must see for players. The No. 5 Vols (14-4, 4-1 SEC) next play at Vanderbilt (5-13, 0-5) Saturday with a 6 p.m. Eastern tip on the SEC Network.
“Some of it is in the way the game flows,” Mashack said. “When you’re out there for a long period of time, your plus/ minus might not be as high than someone who isn’t in the game as much but might have been in when you’re on a run. The main thing you’ve got to do as look at the full game and not just the highlights or the stats.
“You have to sit down and watch the game to where you can really see who was effective and what they did on the court to be that effective. There are a lot of details to it, but I think it’s an important stat to have.”
Junior guard Jordan Gainey admitted he loves to look at it after every game before adding: “I also look at the film to see how they both correlate. I think it’s a great stat to have, and you can look at it in a good way or a bad way. At the end of the day, it’s about how you evaluate yourself after going back and watching the game and whether you affected the game.”
Barnes certainly understands the prominence of analytics in today’s game, pointing out that Alabama coach Nate Oats and the Tide were determined to keep Vols junior forward Jonas Aidoo from going over his right shoulder and using his left hand. He just doesn’t have them at the forefront of his mind at the start of every practice or contest.
“I’m not even sure I understand some of the analytics that they’re putting out there,” Barnes said. “As a staff, I do have guys who pay attention to analytics, but for me, personally, not so much.
“The bottom line is effort.”
No spring game?
For the second time in three years, Tennessee may have to scrap its Orange & White spring football game due to Neyland Stadium renovations.
“We’re still trying to figure it out,” athletic director Danny White said Wednesday during an appearance on Knoxville’s WNML radio. “I know that it’s late January, so we’re hoping to have something we can communicate out soon. It’s a challenge. It’s the cost of progress.”