Josh Pastner recently announced that Pierre Henderson-Niles will no longer be a part of the Memphis Tiger's basketball team. In his statement, Pastner stated that Niles was not leaving due to any disciplinary actions, but rather it was a mutual parting of ways.
This is going to be a tremendous blow to a team that already has a very thin roster, especially in the front court. While Niles didn't really perform extremely well, he did keep the Tiger's other players from getting worn out and into foul trouble. Look for an increase in minutes from Will Coleman, D.J. Stephens, and Angel Garcia.
Many fans will look to see the gap filled by Garcia. It should be noted that Garcia's production will be limited. He recently came off an injury, just began practicing, and hasn't played a D-1 game in a while. Also, he has yet to prove his ability inside the paint. He prefers to play behind the arc.
Showing posts with label Pierre Henderson-Niles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pierre Henderson-Niles. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sunday, November 22, 2009
How 'Bout Them Seniors
Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack, and Pierre Henderson Niles. Each of these players belong to the senior class of the Memphis Tigers this season. Each of these players were highly touted coming out of high school. None of them seemed to be able to live up to the hype. Kemp had a good freshman year, leading the Tigers to an Elite Eight, but lost confidence after being stuck on the bench behind Derrick Rose and then Tyreke Evans. Niles gained an extraordinary amount of weight before starting his freshman season and was never able to contribute the way he was supposed to. Mack has been streaky. Sometimes he's on sometimes he's cold.
This year marked a new chance for all of them as the roster was depleted and a new coach came in. Niles hasn't been magnificent, in fact he has shown a lot of weakness on the offensive end, but his loss of weight over the offseason has given him the ability to contribute significant minutes. He has racked up an average of 18.3 minutes per game. Last season it would have been amazing to see him play for more than ten minutes on any given night. During this time he can do what he does so well, rebound. He has averaged 5.7 boards per game.
Willie Kemp has played with confidence and passion. Last season he just seemed nervous to be on the court. Now he seems comfortable. He appears to relish the coaching change and available playing time. His leadership role as a point guard and senior doesn't bother him one bit either. He has an average of four assists per game. He's only taken four, but he has made every free throw he's shot. He has the second best three point percentage of the team at 40%, going 4 for 10 from behind the arc. I expect these numbers to get better as he went 3 for 5 in the last game against Tennessee Tech. He also averages 32.3 minutes a game, second to Elliot Williams, showing Coach Pastner's faith in him.
Doneal Mack has been the hot hand of the team. He is shooting 57.1% from the field, second only to dunk machine Will Coleman. He's even going 53.3% from behind the arc. These numbers have made him the second leading scorer for the Tigers, behind Elliot Williams, at 11.7 points per game.
This year marked a new chance for all of them as the roster was depleted and a new coach came in. Niles hasn't been magnificent, in fact he has shown a lot of weakness on the offensive end, but his loss of weight over the offseason has given him the ability to contribute significant minutes. He has racked up an average of 18.3 minutes per game. Last season it would have been amazing to see him play for more than ten minutes on any given night. During this time he can do what he does so well, rebound. He has averaged 5.7 boards per game.
Willie Kemp has played with confidence and passion. Last season he just seemed nervous to be on the court. Now he seems comfortable. He appears to relish the coaching change and available playing time. His leadership role as a point guard and senior doesn't bother him one bit either. He has an average of four assists per game. He's only taken four, but he has made every free throw he's shot. He has the second best three point percentage of the team at 40%, going 4 for 10 from behind the arc. I expect these numbers to get better as he went 3 for 5 in the last game against Tennessee Tech. He also averages 32.3 minutes a game, second to Elliot Williams, showing Coach Pastner's faith in him.
Doneal Mack has been the hot hand of the team. He is shooting 57.1% from the field, second only to dunk machine Will Coleman. He's even going 53.3% from behind the arc. These numbers have made him the second leading scorer for the Tigers, behind Elliot Williams, at 11.7 points per game.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Player Performance
Elliot Williams:
By far the best player on the team, and he showed it against LeMoyne Owen. When the Tiger's where starting slow, and everyone had some anxiety about initiating a drive, Williams stepped up. He scored the first two points of the night, free throws. He is obviously not afraid to make a play through contact. Williams led the Tigers in scoring with 24 points and 8 of 11 from the floor. Also hit 3 of 4 from behind the arc and 5 of 6 free throws. Tied for highest assists with 6. Had a few too many turnovers, however, and I did not see the pesky on the ball defending he is so highly regarded for.
Wesley Witherspoon
Definitely the second best player on the team. The Tigers will need him and Williams to perform consistently if they want to win. He solidified his status as a playmaker in this game. It shows as he is tied with Williams for most assists with 6. Second leading scorer with 13 points. Second leading rebounder with 7 boards. Almost had some foul trouble in early second half but managed to keep it under control after that. Very versatile, very athletic, and very confident. Considering what a slow first half he had, his stats are phenomenal. If he learns to play with a high effort every minute of every game, he could become more of an asset than Williams.
Pierre Henderson-Niles
Leading rebounder with 11 boards. It should be noted, however, that four of these rebounds came one after another as he would shoot, miss, rebound, and repeat. The main thing about Niles was he looked a lot better. He can jump, he can run, and he played 20 minutes without looking tired.
Willie Kemp
Very strong defense. He tripped up the guards fairly consistently. 3 assists to 1 turnover. Did not have an extremely strong night offensively, but he shot 4 of 5 from the field. Kemp did play with a lot of confidence, which is also true for the rest of the senior class. 1 of 1 from behind the arc and 3 of 3 from the free throw line. Scored 12 points.
Roburt Sallie
Showed something we rarely saw from him last year, a great ability to drive. Sallie had a suprisingly low 3 point percentage as he only hit 1 of 3 from behind the arc. He did, however, his 5 of 10 overall. Scored 11 points.
Doneal Mack
His best attribute was his smoothering defense. When he was trying, he made LeMoyne Owen's guards look foolish. Hit 1 of 1 from behind the arch.
Will Coleman
Pretty much what was expected. No outstanding stats, but he showed amazing athleticism. Definitely slammed a few alley-oops. Almost had some foul trouble early on that had hit sit out a good portion of the first half. Needs to do a better job of rebounding. Scored 11 points, mostly from other Tigers' missed shots.
DJ Stephens
Did good. A lot better than I expected. I had my doubts about his ability to play power forward with his lack of height, but when you see him stretch his arms, you know it won't be a problem. Very athletic. Dunks with ease and is pretty fast. Wouldn't be surprised to see him contribute significant minutes this season.
Drew Barham
Almost non existent. 0 for 3 from the field, two of them from behind the arc, but he's a freshman, and it's early. This is what exhibitions are for.
By far the best player on the team, and he showed it against LeMoyne Owen. When the Tiger's where starting slow, and everyone had some anxiety about initiating a drive, Williams stepped up. He scored the first two points of the night, free throws. He is obviously not afraid to make a play through contact. Williams led the Tigers in scoring with 24 points and 8 of 11 from the floor. Also hit 3 of 4 from behind the arc and 5 of 6 free throws. Tied for highest assists with 6. Had a few too many turnovers, however, and I did not see the pesky on the ball defending he is so highly regarded for.
Wesley Witherspoon
Definitely the second best player on the team. The Tigers will need him and Williams to perform consistently if they want to win. He solidified his status as a playmaker in this game. It shows as he is tied with Williams for most assists with 6. Second leading scorer with 13 points. Second leading rebounder with 7 boards. Almost had some foul trouble in early second half but managed to keep it under control after that. Very versatile, very athletic, and very confident. Considering what a slow first half he had, his stats are phenomenal. If he learns to play with a high effort every minute of every game, he could become more of an asset than Williams.
Pierre Henderson-Niles
Leading rebounder with 11 boards. It should be noted, however, that four of these rebounds came one after another as he would shoot, miss, rebound, and repeat. The main thing about Niles was he looked a lot better. He can jump, he can run, and he played 20 minutes without looking tired.
Willie Kemp
Very strong defense. He tripped up the guards fairly consistently. 3 assists to 1 turnover. Did not have an extremely strong night offensively, but he shot 4 of 5 from the field. Kemp did play with a lot of confidence, which is also true for the rest of the senior class. 1 of 1 from behind the arc and 3 of 3 from the free throw line. Scored 12 points.
Roburt Sallie
Showed something we rarely saw from him last year, a great ability to drive. Sallie had a suprisingly low 3 point percentage as he only hit 1 of 3 from behind the arc. He did, however, his 5 of 10 overall. Scored 11 points.
Doneal Mack
His best attribute was his smoothering defense. When he was trying, he made LeMoyne Owen's guards look foolish. Hit 1 of 1 from behind the arch.
Will Coleman
Pretty much what was expected. No outstanding stats, but he showed amazing athleticism. Definitely slammed a few alley-oops. Almost had some foul trouble early on that had hit sit out a good portion of the first half. Needs to do a better job of rebounding. Scored 11 points, mostly from other Tigers' missed shots.
DJ Stephens
Did good. A lot better than I expected. I had my doubts about his ability to play power forward with his lack of height, but when you see him stretch his arms, you know it won't be a problem. Very athletic. Dunks with ease and is pretty fast. Wouldn't be surprised to see him contribute significant minutes this season.
Drew Barham
Almost non existent. 0 for 3 from the field, two of them from behind the arc, but he's a freshman, and it's early. This is what exhibitions are for.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
When "big man" goes bad
Pierre Henderson-Niles, this is a player who was once a top 40 recruit for his class. He showed an enormous amount of potential. His skills, however, didn't translate to the college level. This was not because he wasn't good enough. He just got too big. As a result, his ability to jump, and his stamina, was drastically affected.
Close to the beginning of his freshman year in college, Niles sustained an injury to his ankle. During this time he was unable to exercise to stay in shape. Making things worse, he rediscovered his love for fast food.
His weight fluctuated over the next four years, topping out at around 335lbs. His playing time was limited. Calipari did what he does when a player doesn't live up to his expectations. He ignored him.
This summer, Coach Josh Pastner has made Niles follow a strict diet and exercise regiment that has significantly reduced his weight. He is currently checking in at about 275lbs. This is great news. Given the lack of depth, and lack of big men, we will probably need to rely on him more than we have had to in the past. This is especially true when you consider how reluctant Garcia is to mix it up in the paint. That brings us from three big men down to two.
I don't think this will make him a star, but it will certainly help out. He probably won't become a starter, but at least he will be able to make significant contributions off the bench.
Close to the beginning of his freshman year in college, Niles sustained an injury to his ankle. During this time he was unable to exercise to stay in shape. Making things worse, he rediscovered his love for fast food.
His weight fluctuated over the next four years, topping out at around 335lbs. His playing time was limited. Calipari did what he does when a player doesn't live up to his expectations. He ignored him.
This summer, Coach Josh Pastner has made Niles follow a strict diet and exercise regiment that has significantly reduced his weight. He is currently checking in at about 275lbs. This is great news. Given the lack of depth, and lack of big men, we will probably need to rely on him more than we have had to in the past. This is especially true when you consider how reluctant Garcia is to mix it up in the paint. That brings us from three big men down to two.
I don't think this will make him a star, but it will certainly help out. He probably won't become a starter, but at least he will be able to make significant contributions off the bench.
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