Max Hazzard

[YoDeFoe]

I signed up for Synergy again bc I have a college basketball problem. Curious about Hazzard's actual production vs what we're hoping his role can be at Arizona. See below for the numbers.



Strengths...

* Spot-up Shooting - Excellent (84th percentile)
* Playmaking (scoring and assisting) - Very Good (76th percentile)
* Jump Shots - Very Good (79th percentile)
* Catch and Shoot - Excellent (93rd percentile)
* Mid-range Jumpers - Very Good (73rd percentile)
* 3pt Jumpers - Very Good (82nd percentile)

Weaknesses...

* Transition Scoring - Good (55th percentile)
* Transition Playmaking - Average (48th percentile)
* PnR Ball Handler - Average (38th percentile)
* PnR Playmaking - Average (45th percentile)
* Short Jumpshots - Below Average (30th percentile)

Other notes... doesn't drive to the right well, prefers to play off the right wing and score to his left. Is a good PnR ball handler passing to the roll man but didn't get the assist when passing to a spot up shooter (so either too slow in getting it over or just a poor spot up shooter receiving the pass).

His 1.7 A:TO works just fine as a back-up ball handler. We won't want him running the break - the ball needs to get into the hands of a larger ball handler (e.g. Green) and Hazz can play off as a spot-up shooter (he can also leak out early and get buckets). It's possible that he looks better as a PnR ball handler in the half court with better players around him (e.g. he never had a roll man with a 7 foot wingspan before). UCI ran very little PnR because their squad had poor roll men (20's and 30's percentile)... while at Arizona last season, Chase Jeter was Excellent in the 89th percentile and Ira Lee was Very Good in the 72nd percentile. Nnaji projects as an excellent PnR Roll Man as well. It's possible that the better team allows Hazz to do more as a ball handler.

Most of this is not revelatory - we've heard he's a good three point shooter and you know by his size that he's not going to score at the rim. But the deeper dive into his performance stats is interesting and gives us a clearer (and more confident) picture of what he brings to Arizona.

[ChooChooCat]

I love this site, YDF always brings it. I'm sure Spiff is next up to post and ensure us all that Hazzard will work as the starting 2 for us via a detailed analysis.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I love this site, YDF always brings it. I'm sure Spiff is next up to post and ensure us all that Hazzard will work as the starting 2 for us via a detailed analysis.

Not really, I was just going to point out that his catch and shoot #'s from Yo perfectly fit with Nico and Green. Two solid penetrate and dish guys and Hazzard to knock down penetrate and kick chances. When Hazzard gets tired, Smith comes in to take penetrate and kick chances. Neither really should dribble.

If Hazzard gets run off the catch and shoot, he's still a decent halfcourt distributor and midrange guy. So, hit the floater, drop to a post or another kick.

Nico should ALWAYS be our first option for transition ballhandler unless we can kick ahead to Green with a 1 on 1, where he can just overwhelm with his agility and athletic gifts.

Hazzard's D is what I want to see and what I think decides vs him and Dylan as the 5th starter. Dylan is a solid defender. If Hazzard can be solid, our rotation looks good.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Oh, and YDF posts awesome stat breakdowns.

[azcat49]

Only thing that worries me is who those numbers were accumulated against. We have had a bunch of mid major guys “step up” in competition and maybe only TJ really excelled. Fingers are crossed that Max is what we hope he is

[Spaceman Spiff]

Only thing that worries me is who those numbers were accumulated against. We have had a bunch of mid major guys “step up” in competition and maybe only TJ really excelled. Fingers are crossed that Mac is what we hope he is

Of all the stats that you'd hope he could carry over, catch and shoot would be one of the major ones.

As hard as we've been on Dylan, he shot .349 from 3 as a freshman at a midmajor and .351 last year. Tollefsen shot reasonably (better than his soph year, worse than his junior year) from 3 in his one year here.

And Hazzard should be a catch and shoot guy. We want to run plays for Nico, Green, Zeke and Chase. Our 5th starter needs to effectively play off those guys, but doesn't have to do more than that. For Hazzard, that means catch and shoot, catch, fake, dribble and shoot/kick.

[YoDeFoe]

Guys, I said I'm an addict and here you are encouraging me Appreciate the kind words and overwhelmingly appreciate this site. Y'all are good people and great fans.

Now that we've said the nice things lets get to the not-so-nice thing: Max Hazzard was only an average defender for Anteaters, and there's a lot of things on the defensive end that he doesn't do well at all. Numbers below:



So at the headline... he's a Good (54th percentile) defender! But as we know, total defense is a team sport - so let's break that down some.

Strengths

* PnR Ball Hanlder - Average (43rd percentile)
* Hand Off - Excellent (96th percentile)
* Isolation - Very Good (74th percentile)
* Mid Range Jumpers - Very Good (69th percentile)

Weaknesses:

* Spot Up - Below Average (25th percentile)
* Off Screen - Below Average (20th percentile)
* Catch and Shoot - Below Average (28th percentile)
* 3pt Jumpers - Average (33rd percentile)
* Short Range Jumpers - Below Average (33rd percentile)

Ok so... this is to be expected, but it's not fun. Hazzard did a pretty good job when his guy was in front of him, but he was below average fighting through screens, recovering to three point shooters, and defending short range shots. He's 5'10" - we knew this would be the case.

Hazz benefited from the two other guards in his three guard set being excellent defenders (90th and 91st percentile against his 54th percentile). Maybe Hazz took plays off on the defensive end in order to save energy for his offense - he took 55% more attempts than the number two shooter on the team after all. Maybe a reduced role on offense helps his defensive focus.

And there's some stuff to like in here... Hazz is a Good (61st percentile) PnR ball handler, except in the high pick and roll where he is below average (19th percentile). He chases down dribble hand-offs well. He defends jumpshots well generally, so long as he's not stretched too far (mid range shots averaged 29% while three point shots averaged 37% against him). Maybe the packline is a blessing for Hazz, where he's never too far off the three point line and there's a heavy emphasis on being prepared to close out on shooters.

But generally... he's a weak link. That's just the nature of a guy his height who lacks an absurd wingspan. I know we've heard about his defensive intensity and focus - maybe the mind is willing but the body just isn't able.

[Spaceman Spiff]

there's a heavy emphasis on being prepared to close out on shooters.

Can I nominate this for understatement of the offseason? If I had to make a list of things that make Sean Miller lose his mind, shitty closeout D would probably be #1.

Edit: It's sort of like saying Rick Pitino might have a problem with timing.

[TucsonClip]

Only thing that worries me is who those numbers were accumulated against. We have had a bunch of mid major guys “step up” in competition and maybe only TJ really excelled. Fingers are crossed that Max is what we hope he is

I would agree here. I think you would have a more complete idea watching the clips linked to each of those categories over the percentages. Thats just me though.

[goslingswagg]

man YDF...that shit is awesome, love the breakdowns. Can’t believe this website is free.

[UAEebs86]

man YDF...that shit is awesome, love the breakdowns. Can’t believe this website is free.

You should upgrade to premium!

[Spaceman Spiff]

One other thing you can tell from the Synergy offensive chart, Hazzard literally has no postup game.

[Bear Down Vegas]

THIS thread just made my day. So I'll keep encouraging. I've been a little out of touch in the off season but what a pleasant surprise. You're all g'dammned geeks - don't get me wrong - but I'm a minor league version of one aspiring to your level so thank you for all of the input. This is the time of year I start to get tingles about November. Cannot wait. BEAR DOWN.

Cheers,

BDV

[StickItInTheyFace]

One other thing you can tell from the Synergy offensive chart, Hazzard literally has no postup game.

Big if true.

[goslingswagg]

man YDF...that shit is awesome, love the breakdowns. Can’t believe this website is free.

You should upgrade to premium!

Wait this might be a stupid question, but there's a premium version of this site?

[Alieberman]

man YDF...that shit is awesome, love the breakdowns. Can’t believe this website is free.

You should upgrade to premium!

Wait this might be a stupid question, but there's a premium version of this site?

Everything on this site is premium!

[Longhorned]

man YDF...that shit is awesome, love the breakdowns. Can’t believe this website is free.

You should upgrade to premium!

Wait this might be a stupid question, but there's a premium version of this site?

Everything on this site is premium!

That's because YDF enables us to shoplift content. God bless him.

[84Cat]

But can Max post up PJC?

[ByJoveByJingle]

man YDF...that shit is awesome, love the breakdowns. Can’t believe this website is free.

You should upgrade to premium!

Wait this might be a stupid question, but there's a premium version of this site?

Everything on this site is premium!

That's because YDF enables us to shoplift content. God bless him.

I like to think of it more as watching premium cable at your neighbor’s house. Through his window. With high powered binoculars.

[Spaceman Spiff]

YDF, can I make a piracy request?

I've long belived Dylan Smith might be the least efficient finisher at the rim in modern Arizona history. Does Synergy have a stat to confirm this belief?

[YoDeFoe]

YDF, can I make a piracy request?

I've long belived Dylan Smith might be the least efficient finisher at the rim in modern Arizona history. Does Synergy have a stat to confirm this belief?

Worst field goal percentage at the rim during the Miller years, at 44%. Nobody else was below 50% in their career. PJC and Coleman were both 50% finishers at the rim, and they gave up seven inches to Smith. Good call Spiff

[YoDeFoe]

Fun follow-ons:

Greatest finisher at the rim in Miller's tenure among non-bigs? Kevin Parrom with 83% ("easy buckets for me but not for thee").

Number two among guards/wings? Allonzo Trier with 73% (a walking bucket).

And number three / tops among point guards? Mark Lyons at 70% (wassup, Florida).

[Spaceman Spiff]

YDF, can I make a piracy request?

I've long belived Dylan Smith might be the least efficient finisher at the rim in modern Arizona history. Does Synergy have a stat to confirm this belief?

Worst field goal percentage at the rim during the Miller years, at 44%. Nobody else was below 50% in their career. PJC and Coleman were both 50% finishers at the rim, and they gave up seven inches to Smith. Good call Spiff

Miller needs to put a shock collar on Dylan that activates when he tries to dribble more than twice in a row or run within 15 feet of the basket while dribbling.

When he just shoots the ball, defends and rebounds, he has value. When he tries other things...we may as well post up Hazzard.

Thank you!

[YoDeFoe]

Some more Smith offensive notes...

* He is an atrocious pick and roll ball handler (producing 0.51 points per possession in those plays).
* He was more likely to turn the ball over in transition than to make an assist.
* He shot 31% on jumpers last season.
* He ranked in the 7th percentile around the basket last season.
* His best efficiency is in no-dribble jumpers (where he's Good) and in unguarded catch-and-shoot (where he's Very Good).

On defense Smith ranks as Very Good. Notes...

Strengths:

* Excellent defending spot-ups and jump shots in general.
* Excellent defending catch-and-shoot attempts.
* Good defending any kind of dribble jumper.
* Excellent defending anything from range.

Weaknesses:

* Average in isolation.
* Poor in defending the PnR ball handler.
* Poor in defending in the post.
* Average in defending dribble hand-offs.

[YoDeFoe]

Miller needs to put a shock collar on Dylan that activates when he tries to dribble more than twice in a row or run within 15 feet of the basket while dribbling.

When he just shoots the ball, defends and rebounds, he has value. When he tries other things...we may as well post up Hazzard.

Thank you!

This might be the best coaching suggestion Miller could receive all year. Printing and mailing to his office.

[YoDeFoe]

Only thing that worries me is who those numbers were accumulated against. We have had a bunch of mid major guys “step up” in competition and maybe only TJ really excelled. Fingers are crossed that Max is what we hope he is

I would agree here. I think you would have a more complete idea watching the clips linked to each of those categories over the percentages. Thats just me though.

Still trying to figure out the video side of Synergy... but completely agree that this should all be considered with equal weight against the eye test.

[Spaceman Spiff]

* His best efficiency is in no-dribble jumpers (where he's Good) and in unguarded catch-and-shoot (where he's Very Good).

This is the common offensive denominator with him and Hazzard. Since they're basically slotted for the same role, I'd just like to platoon them with this. Catch and shoot, let the other guys do the initiation and heavy lifting.

[StickItInTheyFace]

Max Hazzard appreciation bump. I've loved how he's playing so far. Only gonna get better when he puts in as much effort as he is. Just got this feeling he's gonna hit a big time, game-winning shot sometime this year. Maybe more than one.

[Olsondogg]

Max is exactly the guard that the team has needed in years past...and especially this year.

[YoDeFoe]

Max Hazzard appreciation bump. I've loved how he's playing so far. Only gonna get better when he puts in as much effort as he is. Just got this feeling he's gonna hit a big time, game-winning shot sometime this year. Maybe more than one.

I'll be surprised if he's in the game in the closing line-up to hit that shot, but I believe he'll hit many dagger / back breaker threes this year off the bench to put the game out of reach. Opposing second units are getting manhandled but our group of Baker / Hazzard / Gettings - a group of players who would start for most top 100 schools.

[YoDeFoe]

Max is exactly the guard that the team has needed in years past...and especially this year.

The combination of toughness, shooting, and intelligent ball handling has been impressive. Everyone in that second unit sacrificing to be a part of this team deserves all the success that this season can bring.

Edit: It's early, but Hazzard has the second highest ORtg on the team behind Zeke - a whopping 135 (despite shooting only 30% from deep). Here's hoping we get Hazz more plays where he can spot up with space.

[Longhorned]

My memory may be corrupt but he makes me think of Will Bynum.

[azcat49]

Dylan Rigdon Sr year

[ChooChooCat]

The guy is a MFer and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Every team needs a guy like him and we haven't had one in a good while.

[IndianaZonaFan]

The guy is a MFer and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Every team needs a guy like him and we haven't had one in a good while.

No Easy Buckets