***Updated with Kyler's season-ending numbers in bold below. Relative to non-Z/Culver freshman, Kyler had as good of a year and played as big of a role for his team as any FR in recent Tech history. Kyler might actually be really, really good.***
@japrice03 and I were talking about Kyler Edwards, how good he looks & how great he'll eventually become. The discussion started with how unfair it is to compare Kyler to the standards set by Zhaire & Culver in their freshman seasons. Z is a once-in-a-decade athlete, even for a blue blood program. Culver is or will become, IMO at least, the greatest hooper to ever lace it up for Tech.
Zhaire scored 417 points last year; Culver scored 415. That's 1st & 2nd all time for Tech freshman, beating Martin Zeno's very impressive 2005 season. Zhaire was drafted 16th overall in the same month that he turned 19. Only Jarren Jackson Jr & Kevin Knox were younger and drafted higher.
Culver's on pace this year to have seasons that are statistically comparable to Larry Bird, Grant Hill, & James Harden. A first round lock with top 10 potential. I saw an NBA draft blogger tweet that Culver's made the second most 3s from NBA range thus far and is in the 95th percentile in pick-and-roll situations. Combine that with Culver being one of the best perimeter defenders I've ever seen.
Z & Culver are just really, really good, and it's crazy to expect anything similar to those two for a long time (Jahmius Ramsey may have something to say about that). But while it's definitely unfair to compare them to Kyler, through 8 games, Kyler's also played at a level that we haven't seen too often around here.
Again, we've only played 8 games, but here's where Kyler is standing out:
He's played 53% (44.3) of the minutes on what appears to be a really, really good Tech team. Culver (65%) & Z (70%) played more last year. Josh Gray (66.5%) & Dusty Hannahs (55.7%) played a ton but that 2013 team was terrible and only beat four P5 teams. Ronald Ross played 25%, Keenan 45%, Toddrick 31% & Terran Pettaway only 29%. John Roberson played 77% on the 2008 team that went 16-15. Essentially, along with Culver & Z, it looks like only Martin Zeno would get more minutes than Kyler on this 2018-19 team (Zeno played 80% of the 2005 Sweet 16 team's minutes!!!). That's pretty damn good company for Kyler.
A player's offensive rating is points produced / possessions used. Through 8 games, Kyler has a 112 (101.5) offensive rating, which is higher than Culver (109), Zeno (106), Dusty (102), John Roberson (96.9), Ronald Ross (94.7), Keenan (93) Josh Gray (81), Toddrick (87), & Pettaway (75). Only Z was higher at 125, but Z was also 43rd best in the country.
Through 8 games, Kyler's effective FG% is 57% (50.3), second highest to Corprew. Of the guys that I've mentioned, only Zhaire (58%) had a higher effective FG% his freshman year. No shame in being second to Z, considering only 140 players shot higher in the country last year. But it's worth noting that Z had 37 put-back baskets last year, 22 more than second highest (Culver) and truly a jaw-dropping number. Had Z's athleticism not produced so many easy looks, Kyler'd be on pace to shoot more efficiently than any of the above-listed guys.
Kyler's taken care of the ball so far, too. Only a 15% (16.7) turnover rate through 8 games. That's just a tiny bit lower than Josh Gray's 26.5% (Gray was selfish and a cancer for us, but I have a soft spot for guys that have a 409 tattoo, even if he did break my ankle (literally) one time at the rec center). Kyler's TO rate is also lower than Ronald Ross' (24%), Keenan's (22%), John Roberson's (21.8%), Culver's (16%), & Zeno's (16%). Of course, Zhaire was a freak in this category as well and only turned it over 12.3% of the time, which was top 250 in the country.
Obviously, it's difficult to compare Kyler's 8 games to these other guys' full freshman seasons, playing on different teams and in different roles. But, to me at least, Kyler looks much more ready physically to play in the big 12 compared to these other guys (except Z). Assuming Kyler stays all 4 years, I'd probably bet (at the right odds) that he grosses more stats than Culver & Z combined.
Kyler, Corprew, and Jahmius next year are going to look like a trio of OU running backs and will be the most physically imposing back-court combos in the Big 12.
@japrice03 and I were talking about Kyler Edwards, how good he looks & how great he'll eventually become. The discussion started with how unfair it is to compare Kyler to the standards set by Zhaire & Culver in their freshman seasons. Z is a once-in-a-decade athlete, even for a blue blood program. Culver is or will become, IMO at least, the greatest hooper to ever lace it up for Tech.
Zhaire scored 417 points last year; Culver scored 415. That's 1st & 2nd all time for Tech freshman, beating Martin Zeno's very impressive 2005 season. Zhaire was drafted 16th overall in the same month that he turned 19. Only Jarren Jackson Jr & Kevin Knox were younger and drafted higher.
Culver's on pace this year to have seasons that are statistically comparable to Larry Bird, Grant Hill, & James Harden. A first round lock with top 10 potential. I saw an NBA draft blogger tweet that Culver's made the second most 3s from NBA range thus far and is in the 95th percentile in pick-and-roll situations. Combine that with Culver being one of the best perimeter defenders I've ever seen.
Z & Culver are just really, really good, and it's crazy to expect anything similar to those two for a long time (Jahmius Ramsey may have something to say about that). But while it's definitely unfair to compare them to Kyler, through 8 games, Kyler's also played at a level that we haven't seen too often around here.
Again, we've only played 8 games, but here's where Kyler is standing out:
He's played 53% (44.3) of the minutes on what appears to be a really, really good Tech team. Culver (65%) & Z (70%) played more last year. Josh Gray (66.5%) & Dusty Hannahs (55.7%) played a ton but that 2013 team was terrible and only beat four P5 teams. Ronald Ross played 25%, Keenan 45%, Toddrick 31% & Terran Pettaway only 29%. John Roberson played 77% on the 2008 team that went 16-15. Essentially, along with Culver & Z, it looks like only Martin Zeno would get more minutes than Kyler on this 2018-19 team (Zeno played 80% of the 2005 Sweet 16 team's minutes!!!). That's pretty damn good company for Kyler.
A player's offensive rating is points produced / possessions used. Through 8 games, Kyler has a 112 (101.5) offensive rating, which is higher than Culver (109), Zeno (106), Dusty (102), John Roberson (96.9), Ronald Ross (94.7), Keenan (93) Josh Gray (81), Toddrick (87), & Pettaway (75). Only Z was higher at 125, but Z was also 43rd best in the country.
Through 8 games, Kyler's effective FG% is 57% (50.3), second highest to Corprew. Of the guys that I've mentioned, only Zhaire (58%) had a higher effective FG% his freshman year. No shame in being second to Z, considering only 140 players shot higher in the country last year. But it's worth noting that Z had 37 put-back baskets last year, 22 more than second highest (Culver) and truly a jaw-dropping number. Had Z's athleticism not produced so many easy looks, Kyler'd be on pace to shoot more efficiently than any of the above-listed guys.
Kyler's taken care of the ball so far, too. Only a 15% (16.7) turnover rate through 8 games. That's just a tiny bit lower than Josh Gray's 26.5% (Gray was selfish and a cancer for us, but I have a soft spot for guys that have a 409 tattoo, even if he did break my ankle (literally) one time at the rec center). Kyler's TO rate is also lower than Ronald Ross' (24%), Keenan's (22%), John Roberson's (21.8%), Culver's (16%), & Zeno's (16%). Of course, Zhaire was a freak in this category as well and only turned it over 12.3% of the time, which was top 250 in the country.
Obviously, it's difficult to compare Kyler's 8 games to these other guys' full freshman seasons, playing on different teams and in different roles. But, to me at least, Kyler looks much more ready physically to play in the big 12 compared to these other guys (except Z). Assuming Kyler stays all 4 years, I'd probably bet (at the right odds) that he grosses more stats than Culver & Z combined.
Kyler, Corprew, and Jahmius next year are going to look like a trio of OU running backs and will be the most physically imposing back-court combos in the Big 12.
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