KAEO LuWane Pipkins (PG-2015)

[NilesGold]

^ I think you answered your own question. Yes, he may well be able to LEARN to be a pg but he simply is not an acceptable D1 point guard today.

This is about as laughable as CJ not being an acceptable D1 player.

[UMass87]

^ I think you answered your own question. Yes, he may well be able to LEARN to be a pg but he simply is not an acceptable D1 point guard today.

This is about as laughable as CJ not being an acceptable D1 player.

His, basically 1:1, assists to turnovers ratio just called to say you are an idiot.

[NilesGold]

^ Such a simplistic way of looking at things. If you want stats, here are some better ones.

Among A10 players, this is where Pipkins ranks
Usage% - 2nd
Assist% - 5th
Assists per game - 7th

Pipkins has the ball in his hands a LOT and is tasked with doing a lot, that's going to result in turnovers. He also has very few good options in terms of who he can pass the ball to in a position to score, that's going to limit his assists. His TO% is actually a very solid 14.7%, compared to Assist% of 25.9%, which are both very similar to Livingston, but Pipkins has a much higher usg%.

[Jackson96]

I can feel it my bones, this is all leading to a Chaz vs. Edgar debate.

[Roadtrip]

Debate? There is no debate on this board. Delusion, opinion, hyperbole, rumor, sarcasm, rancor, petty name calling, and the ever popular "wild ass guess" rule here. Don't ya just love it?
PS: Edgar wins!

[DEM]

Yes, he may well be able to LEARN to be a pg but he simply is not an acceptable D1 point guard today. He turns the ball over far too often. Unfortunately, Pip, CJ, and Rayshawn Miller are the only players who can play pg and none of them are high A10-level point guards right now. If UMass wants to be at the top of the A10 then they will almost certainly need an A10 top-level pg.

I understand the critique but that is a very bold statement to make (even considering the turnovers). I guess we'll have to see what McCall thinks next year. For him to shift to the wing full time, it would require that someone on the team is better as a point guard than he is and allows him to play another position. Maybe Clergeot? But if I recall correctly, he also has a reputation as a scoring guard.

[Floyd]

Why not both? Double trouble. CP12 is big enough to play the 3 if you go to a small lineup.

[DEM]

That doesn't really address the discussion though. I believe McCall has said he will have the option of using a small line up, but still, somebody has to play the point. If, as UMass87 says, Pipkins is "unacceptable" as a point guard (I disagree), then it will have to be Clergeot or maybe somebody else.

[Swampy]

I can feel it my bones, this is all leading to a Chaz vs. Edgar debate.

Thank you, that started my day off with a smile.
And, yes, my day is just starting because I didn't get out of bed until 9:30

[Floyd]

That doesn't really address the discussion though. I believe McCall has said he will have the option of using a small line up, but still, somebody has to play the point. If, as UMass87 says, Pipkins is "unacceptable" as a point guard (I disagree), then it will have to be Clergeot or maybe somebody else.

Yeah, I guess my point was that if they're out on the floor together, you have more options as to where the offense runs thru. I don't really see it as a problem, actually a good advantage. Tre Wood will probably get a few minutes there as well. Good problem to have

[UMass87]

^ Such a simplistic way of looking at things. If you want stats, here are some better ones.

Among A10 players, this is where Pipkins ranks
Usage% - 2nd
Assist% - 5th
Assists per game - 7th

Pipkins has the ball in his hands a LOT and is tasked with doing a lot, that's going to result in turnovers. He also has very few good options in terms of who he can pass the ball to in a position to score, that's going to limit his assists. His TO% is actually a very solid 14.7%, compared to Assist% of 25.9%, which are both very similar to Livingston, but Pipkins has a much higher usg%.

It is true it is simplistic but is also true that it is also very clear that at 1:1 is an atrocious ratio. Other than scoring itself, turnovers are probably the most important contribution to winning. A 14.7% turnover percentage, contrary to what you think, is not at all a solid percentage for a point guard. It is not a great rate for the team as a whole and is a big reason why UMass is in the bottom third of the country at nearly 20%. I can only assume you are referring to Otis Livingston at GMU. Livingston and GMU are also among the sloppiest in the country (both slightly better than Pipkins and UMass).

I think Pipkins is a fantastic player. IU think CJ is a very solid player. MM is in bind because he doesn't have an actual point guard. The result is that he is playing his best options at point guard. That does not, however, make them good point guards. Pipkins may well end up being a good point guard but he is not today.

[NilesGold]

^ Let's stick to the facts. You didn't say Pipkins isn't a great point guard, or even that he isn't a good point guard, you said Pipkins "simply is not an acceptable D1 point guard today", which is such a preposterous statement to make.

As I said before, Pipkins' astronomically high usage rate (higher than Chaz's usage rate ever was) is going to inflate his TO PG numbers. But, Pipkins' TO% is better than all of these A10 starting PGs:
Jaylen Adams
Johnny Williams
Chartouny
Livingston
Stukes
Crutcher
CJ Anderson

And it's just barely above Gudmundsson, Powell & Gilyard.

The only starting A10 PG's with a meaningfully lower TO% than Pipkins are Dowtin, Newkirk and Castro... but yeah, keep telling people Pipkins isn't a capable D1 point guard.

[DearOleUMass]

Yes, he may well be able to LEARN to be a pg but he simply is not an acceptable D1 point guard today. He turns the ball over far too often. Unfortunately, Pip, CJ, and Rayshawn Miller are the only players who can play pg and none of them are high A10-level point guards right now. If UMass wants to be at the top of the A10 then they will almost certainly need an A10 top-level pg.

I understand the critique but that is a very bold statement to make (even considering the turnovers). I guess we'll have to see what McCall thinks next year. For him to shift to the wing full time, it would require that someone on the team is better as a point guard than he is and allows him to play another position. Maybe Clergeot? But if I recall correctly, he also has a reputation as a scoring guard.

If CP continues to develop the driving ability we saw last game that would allow him to play the 3. From what I have read this would equate to this starting lineup;
1 - Clergeot
2 - Pip
3 - Pierre
4 - Laurent
5 - RH/Hines
Depending on your opponent you could move some people around but based on McCall's style of smaller/guard oriented play I think this makes the most sense.

[Floyd]

For people who have seen him , what is Laurent's game like? Is he a PF type or more of a wing type?
Strengths?

[uz2b-len]

Perhaps UMass2001 and UMass87 are the same Russion trollbot.