Originally Posted by
CDu
Well, maybe. There's some selection bias in play here. The reason Dawkins' stat line looks so nice when he takes a bunch of shots is that he only takes a bunch of shots when he's "on." The concern is that when Dawkins' shot isn't falling but he's taking a lot of shots, the team struggles. See the Lehigh game, Va Tech tourney game, Belmont game, and Ga Tech as examples were he shot at least 5 times and had a <30% fg% and we struggled to win. Only the Maryland game stands as an example against a reasonably good team where he shot poorly and fairly frequently and we cruised.
I agree that if Dawkins gets 10+ shots per game he'll likely score at least 13-15+ ppg. But that is a LOT of attempts. That'd make him our leading shot-taker. Do we really want a streaky 3pt shooter (who doesn't do much else) taking the most shots on the team? Especially when our second leading shot taker is also going to take over half his shots from 3pt range?
That's not meant to be argumentative. It's a legitimate question. I think our best offensive players next year are likely to be Kelly, Curry, Sulaimon, Mason (if he returns), Dawkins, and perhaps Murphy, and Cook. Dawkins' best attribute is one that is also possessed by 3 other key players, each of whom brings more to the table in other areas. Murphy and Cook are not likely to be as capable offensively as Dawkins, but they each bring something that Dawkins doesn't bring. Does it really make sense to put Dawkins out there over those other guys?
Yup. Step 1 in effective defense is knowing what you're supposed to do in different situations. That can be learned on paper. I'd assume that Dawkins has mastered that by this point. Otherwise, there's not much hope. Step 2 is being able to recognize the situations as they happen. That can (to some degree) be learned through experience. Again, Dawkins has been on the floor long enough that if this is a problem, there's not much hope. Step 3 is maintaining concentration so that you can utilize your learning from Steps 1 and 2. Clearly this is an area of concern for him. But it's something he can fix. The question is whether he also needs to fix Step 2. If Step 2 is still a problem (and I just don't know if it is or isn't), I'm afraid he may continue to be a liability defensively.
Yeah, Curry's FG% is not out of whack for a guy who primarily shoots 3s. He's our most proven ballhandler among returning players (could be surpassed by a healthy, more experienced Cook in this regard) and our most proven scorer. I don't see any way he doesn't start. There may be question as to whether he starts at PG (if Sulaimon is further along than Cook and Thornton) or SG (otherwise), but I'd be shocked if Curry isn't starting.