Benchmarks & Smith

# 3 posting 2.1.2006

BENCHMARKS
With the new 18 minute halves this season people expected more kids to play. But is that happening? Just looking at the games I have charted for the past few weeks some answers emerge, some counter-intuitive.

First the average point totals for a team is 55 points a game. The bench provides on average 9.8 points (this is for 12 games). That comes to 16.4% for bench players. The teams that have had a stronger bench in HS compared to their opponent have LOST. For example Zimmerman had 19, Rockford 4; Mayer Lutheran 19, Holy Family 5; Osseo 17, Champlin Park 4; and Eastview 10, Kennedy 3; Duluth East 8, St. Paul Johnson 4. All five of these teams had the better bench, or higher scoring bench, but lost the game. The margins vary from 15 points to 4 points, still it did not matter in the outcome. The Zimmerman/Rockford game wasclose at 76-73. But even Zimmerman would have prefered using Norris to their bench players. It was a matter of necessity not choice. Duluth East was the closest with a one point loss.
As long time Osseo Coach Dave Thorpe has stated "If you play 10, that means you don't have five." That looks as if it holds true in HS. It is hard to find five players that can shoot, dribble, or play. Thorpe would always state a tired starter was better than a fresh bench player.
However in college the situation was opposite. North Dakota outscored St. Cloud State from the bench 17-2. Depth matters in college. The standard deviation of players with talent is smaller in college (in other words there are more players that can play).
By the way the highest scoring bench at this point goes to St. Paul Highland Park with 20 (St. Croix Lutheran had 17). SPHP was so far ahead in this game they used their bench liberally. The smallest bench totals for both teams combined was six with Centennial and Coon Rapids.
Will that trend continue? We have the month of February and playoffs to find out.

Now for some thing different
The ALL SMITH Team
I know it might be too early to give out awards but these players from MN make the All Smith Team:
Player (school) ppg as of 2/1/2006
Starters
Jenna (Bloomington Kennedy) 22.1
Kylie (Cromwell) 19.4
Brittany (ACGC) 16.1
Katie (Redwood Valley) 15.4
Becky (Litchfield) 14.0
reserves
Heather (Mahtomedi) 9.7
Sally (Renville County West) 9.1

Next posting tomorrow am (close to 8 am)