2011-2012 Season

Introducing KenPom Similarity Scores

tim-hardaway-jr-rose[1]The offseason is a wonderful time when Ken Pomeroy tweaks his website to implement new features, making the best college basketball statistical resource even better. Today he implemented similarity scores for every Division I player. You can find the data, by season, on each player’s individual page which is conveniently linked from the team pages. You can find a full explanation of the calculation in Pomeroy’s blog here.

To start a Friday discussion, here are the similarity scores of Michigan’s returning players from last season. Remember that players are only compared to players in the same class-year.

Some quick analysis after the jump.

Hardaway’s freshman season comparing favorably to Shelvin Mack, E’Twaun Moore and William Buford’s freshmen seasons is certainly encouraging. Those three players certainly present a good plan for Hardaway to follow going forward. Although Pomeroy is careful to note Elias Harris as a player that went from superstar rookie to disappointing sophomore. Jordan Morgan appears to be a long lost relative of the Booker brothers at Clemson with a heavy dose of efficient two point shooting. Making over 60% of your two-point shots puts you in a unique group and it will be interesting to see how Morgan’s comparisons shift as his game diversifies in coming seasons.

Evan Smotrycz’s freshman year might be the most intriguing as he compares to a curious group of players that includes highly touted freshmen like William Buford and Terrence Ross all the way back to Will Archambault, who supported Davidson’s Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament. It’s interesting to see Cameron Tatum and A.D. Vassallo on the list as well, both players had similar freshman seasons but Vassallo elevated his game while Tatum seemed to plateau without reaching the next level.

Are there any comparisons that are surprising or stand out? Are there any comparisons that you expected to see but are absent? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.

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