Player Grades: Battle 4 Atlantis

The Atlantis trip is finally over, and it was certainly a good one. The Bulldogs went 2-1 in the Bahamas, with wins over #5 North Carolina and conference rival Georgetown. It’s time to reflect on the past week and hand out individual grades based on performances in the Battle 4 Atlantis. These grades are partially based on roles and expectations, so if one player receives and A and another receives a B, it doesn’t necessarily mean the first player was the superior player. Players are listed in order based on minutes played.

Alex Barlow – A
36 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 2.7 SPG, 3 TOPG, 37% FG, 39% 3PT, 67% FT

Alex Barlow started off the tournament with one of the best games of his Butler career. Not only was he his typical self on defense, coming up with 3 steals and holding pre-season All-American Marcus Pagie to 29% shooting, but he also provided a much needed offensive spark. The senior guard knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 17 points to help propel Butler past #5 North Carolina. Barlow also scored 11 points in the 3rd place game against Georgetown, but his overall shooting numbers were brought down by a 1-7 performance against Oklahoma. Already known as an elite defensive guard, Barlow becomes one of the best overall guards in the country when he is providing double-digit scoring. It may have been Dunham who received recognition on the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament team, but Alex Barlow was the single biggest reason the Bulldogs went 2-1 in the Bahamas.

Kellen Dunham – B
34 MPG, 14.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1 SPG, 2 TOPG, 30% FG, 23% 3PT, 93% FT

It was a very rough shooting tournament for Kellen Dunham. As the Bulldogs leading scorer, he was named to the Battle 4 Atlantis All-Tournament team, but it certainly wasn’t his strongest stretch of games.  It started out with an awful 1-10 shooting behind the arc against North Carolina. He did improve each game, finishing with a much more efficient 16 points on 5-10 shooting in the 3rd place game against conference foe Georgetown. Dunham was one of many shooters on various teams to struggle in Atlantis, possibly because of the unique environment (although Dunham adamantly denied this when I asked him about it in one of the post game press conferences). The arena was a temporary basketball court located in a ballroom/convention center with blue lighting in the background to make fans appear to be underwater. Despite the poor offensive efficiency, Dunham played relatively well on the defensive end and was never a liability despite being matched up against athletes with superior length and/or speed.

Roosevelt Jones – B-
32 MPG, 7.7 PPG, 6 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.6 TOPG, 29% FG, 64% FT

Keeping with what will be a common theme, Jones had a terrible tournament “shooting” the basketball, making only 29% of his field goal attempts. The length and athleticism around the rim of the three teams Butler played was a real problem for Jones. Jones still found ways to impact the game though, especially against North Carolina. He had 6 offensive rebounds, 6 assists, and went 4-4 from the free throw line in the final 1:01 to help hold off a frantic UNC comeback. As usual, Jones also played excellent defensively for most of the tournament against some of the top guards/forwards in college basketball. His versatility on that end of the floor is a big reason why Butler now possesses the 13th ranked defense in the country according to KenPom ratings.

Kameron Woods – B+
30 MPG, 5 PPG, 8 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.7 SPG, 0.7 TOPG, 27% FG, 64% FT

Coach Holtmann challenged Woods to be a better offensive rebounder, and he responded immediately with 8 offensive rebounds in the opening round upset of #5 North Carolina. Woods did miss multiple lightly contested shots within 5 feet of the rim, but otherwise had a very solid tournament. His length is a huge asset on the defensive end, where he can block shots at the rim, collect rebounds, deflect passes, and even harass guards on the perimeter. The next step for Kameron is to be able to slide into the Khyle Marshall role offensively and be able to finish everything around the rim when he gets the opportunity.

Andrew Chrabascz – C+
28 MPG, 8.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 TOPG, 33% FG, 55% FT

It was an uncharacteristically inefficient week for Chrabascz. Andrew was going up against centers with a significant height advantage over him, but it really didn’t appear to have a huge impact on him. His excellent footwork and shot fakes were effective around the rim, and he probably should have seen more touches on both the low block and at the high post.  Like many others in Atlantis, it was mainly his jump shot that let him down. He made only one of his seven 3-point attempts and managed just 55% shooting at the free throw line. I fully expect Chrabascz to bounce back and shoot better the rest of the season and be more of a focal point in the offense.

Kelan Martin – A-
16 MPG, 10 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.7 TOPG, 37% FG, 27% 3PT, 78% FT

Martin needs to be a scorer off the bench and in 2 of the 3 games he did just that. Kelan had a big time game in their opening win over UNC. In 17 minutes he had 17 points on 5-11 shooting and also added 6 rebounds. He bounced back from a poor 1-8 shooting night against Oklahoma to score 10 points on 5-10 shooting in the 3rd place game against the Hoyas. There were certainly some freshman mistakes mixed in here and there, but Martin was very impressive considering this was his first series of games against high major competition. Early on he appears to be everything Butler needs him to be this season and has an extremely bright future ahead of him.

Austin Etherington – C+
14 MPG, 2 PPG, 2 RPG, 0.7 TOPG, 20% FG, 14% 3PT, 50% FT

Etherington’s offensive numbers are certainly nothing to brag about, but to judge him solely off his numbers alone wouldn’t do him justice.  He gave Butler some good minutes on the defensive end and had some really important stops down low against much bigger offensive players.  Unfortunately his jump shot wasn’t falling in Atlantis, but he obviously wasn’t alone.  Butler really needs him to knock down open shots though if they want to contend for a Big East title.

Tyler Wideman – A
8 MPG, 3.3 PPG, 3 RPG, 1 TOPG, 50% FG, 86% FT

A big question for Butler has been whether they can defend the rim and keep bigger, more athletic teams from getting easy baskets inside. Tyler Wideman appears to be part of the answer.  He didn’t see a lot of time, but he was extremely effective when he was in. He went up against centers such as Kennedy Meeks and Joshua Smith and held his own. Wideman even displayed a nice right handed hook at one point that looked more fluid than I’ve ever seen from him.  If he can ever consistently show more offensive moves like that Butler may have found themselves a huge steal.

Jackson Aldridge – B+

Jackson Aldridge only played 7 minutes in the whole tournament, coming in very early in the Georgetown game after Alex Barlow tweaked his ankle. The only stat he recorded was a missed field goal, but he had one of the biggest sequences of the game.  Immediately after coming in he took a charge on star guard Smith-Rivera and then 4 seconds later drew Smith-Rivera’s 2nd foul.  This played a significant factor in helping Butler build a 13 point first half lead against the Hoyas.  Many players would have been unprepared and performed poorly after seeing no time in the first 2 games of the tournament, but Aldridge stepped up and held down the fort until Barlow could return to the game.

The thread view count is

Leave a Reply