What happened to Askia Booker this season?

[FrankRizzo]

He went from being a poor man's Ben Gordon to simply a role player. When Pac-12 play started, he couldn't get hot with his frequent shot taking so stopped shooting. Did he lose confidence or did Boyle reign him in? What can we expect from him next year?

 

[rolandftw]

Who knows? Certainly regressed this season. Can't do much about his struggles, other then hopefully make him realize he shouldn't be taking the most shots on the team by far. We might have more viable options off the bench this year

 

[Buffnik]

He lost confidence.

It got to the point where Ski was actually telling Tad to play Talton more minutes. Hopefully that Illinois game was what he needed heading into the offseason.

 

[slider]

He certainly regressed.
Freshman #'s
40.2% FG
37.2% 3
Soph #'s
36.4% FG (lowest on the team)
31.2% 3

 

[torero]

Use rate. I'm not a numbers guy like JG, but last year he was a bench spark, this year he had to be a go to guy. Shooting percentages drop when you're the focus and defenses key on you.

 

[NashBuff]

Or is it the sophmore slump? If that is the case, he should bounce back next season. But with more younger people playing next season, he might have to be taking those shots again. He might be pretty good his senior year.

 

[shang]

Use rate. I'm not a numbers guy like JG, but last year he was a bench spark, this year he had to be a go to guy. Shooting percentages drop when you're the focus and defenses key on you.

agreed w/ you and buffnik... he put himself on the map w/ the Charleston Classic and w/ P12 conference play, opposing coaches would be idiots if they didn't plan against him.. w/ all that said, i'm putting my money on him developing other aspects of his game, I've said this before, if he would only dish a few more times per half when he drives into the paint, he's be contending for the assist leader in the pac 12 next year....

 

[RumblinBuff]

Additionally, he stopped getting to the line. Despite playing more minutes, he took 21 fewer free throw attempts than in '12. Getting to the line can help shooters get into rhythm...

 

[MtnBuff]

Use rate. I'm not a numbers guy like JG, but last year he was a bench spark, this year he had to be a go to guy. Shooting percentages drop when you're the focus and defenses key on you.

With the guys coming in next year he should have some pressure taken back off of him. Tad will have other options to look to for scoring. Even if he starts he will not be leaned on as much for minutes or production and opponents will have other players to focus attention on.

All that may let him relax and play with a bit more abandon and become more effective again. He certainly hasn't become less talented, it is something in his head that is holding him back. Let's hope a new year and a different team make-up will let him come out of it and be the player he can be.

 

[jgisland]

Additionally, he stopped getting to the line. Despite playing more minutes, he took 21 fewer free throw attempts than in '12. Getting to the line can help shooters get into rhythm...

And the rim, he didn't get to the rim at nearly the rate he did last year.

 

[FLounder]

He is supposably the quickest player on the team. Why he decided to be a pull up three shooter is beyond me. We win 4 more games this year if he drives.

 

[Buffnik]

Ski was not getting the benefit of foul calls early in the conference season. In some cases, he was out of control and looking for a bailout. But I think he got a rep for that with officials and he wasn't getting calls when he should have been.

The big issue, though, is that he couldn't knock down open jump shots. When he gets an uncontested 3 pointer, he's got to make it well over 50% of the time just like he does in practice. It was missing those that really hurt this year.

 

[Gold]

He was over confident in his jump shot and got away from his strengths, which are catching the defense off balanced and attacking the rim, dishing tough assists.

But with additional scoring options next year at guard in Hopkins and Jenkins, he'll have to use a more effective scoring skill set. If not he's going to see his minutes diminish.

 

[Buffs1987]

It didn't seem like he was ever in the flow of the offense. There would be stretches of 2-5 possessions where he took poor shoots that led to fast-breaks the other way and would put the team in a hole and stop any momentum. The team usually had to work around him, but when he is in the flow we saw what he can do (Texas Southern comes to mind).

Boyle let him shoot that much, and that kind of worries me, but it's not like we had anyone else stepping up. He pissed me off more than anyone this year, but maybe next year he'll go back to less shots per game and can learn to get shots while playing with the flow of the game.

 

[buffaholic]

Watching the elite 8 shows that CU still has a ways to go. Our top 8 guys aren't as good as their top 8 guys. We got a few studs and a couple young guys who are developing that could play for these teams. Askia isn't one of them. Talton isn't one of them, etc. Can they develop still? Sure.

I think Tad is recruiting over them though. Between Jenkins (Redshirt) and at least 2 of the incoming frosh, we are going to have better scoring options, who hopefully can hit open jumpers and play with length. I think 'Skia finds his niche and is a solid leader, but if he suffers like he did this year, he will not get nearly as much PT.

We don't have what I consider a Point coming in, but Talton has to continue to learn how to take better care of the ball. The conference was applying serious pressure on him and it was a little dicey at times.

 

[Quattro]

Well next year our top 8 will be...

Dinwiddie
Booker
XJ
Scott
Gordon

Mix of....
Fletcher
Thomas
Hopkins
Jenkins
Talton

That's a damn good lineup and there's a reason we are starting at 20/1 odds next year to win it all. This team will be very, very good next year. We will have a bench, XJ and Scott a year older, Ski and Spencer upper class men, a shooter coming off the bench (Jenkins), Gordon who is a beast, etc.

 

[Buffnik]

It didn't seem like he was ever in the flow of the offense. There would be stretches of 2-5 possessions where he took poor shoots that led to fast-breaks the other way and would put the team in a hole and stop any momentum. The team usually had to work around him, but when he is in the flow we saw what he can do (Texas Southern comes to mind).

Boyle let him shoot that much, and that kind of worries me, but it's not like we had anyone else stepping up. He pissed me off more than anyone this year, but maybe next year he'll go back to less shots per game and can learn to get shots while playing with the flow of the game.

Solid post

 

[Gold]

If Hopkins or Fletcher come in here and light it up, which is what we want them to do, then Booker might be a part of a much improved bench next year.

 

[Scotch]

He does have potential at the point. He's a quick guard that can get the ball down the floor and set the offense up. Was growing tired of watching Dinwiddie walk/jog the ball up the floor and stop just after half court. Played right in to the defenses hands. From what I can remember when Booker took the ball up the floor the offense started closer to the perimeter, and seemed to move better. This is assuming the defense didn't trap, in which case everyone on the team seemed to panic.

 

[HotBuffChica]

He went from being a poor man's Ben Gordon to simply a role player. When Pac-12 play started, he couldn't get hot with his frequent shot taking so stopped shooting. Did he lose confidence or did Boyle reign him in? What can we expect from him next year?

Hi Frank,

Hi everyone first post and just wanted to say hi. Love reading the board and love college basketball. Fav team for the upcoming year is the Buffs of course. Living in Connecticut and occasionally NYC. Roots in Colorado and Wash. and have always loved following CU hoops. Next year could be exciting.

Next year for Askia? In my opinion if he could gain strength and maybe a solid 15 pounds that would put him close to the weight Ben Gordon "BG7" played at during his Junior year at UConn when the University of Connecticut won the Nat. Champ. That added strength and frame would help him IMO. For comparisons sake and for the fun of it if Askia can connect on 43.3% of his threes next year a la Ben his Jr. year and you parlay that with the return of Dre something very special could be brewing in Boulder next year. That recipe would be like cooking the perfect Paella my fav spanish dish to cook for my loved ones !

Warmest,
VM

 

[buff190]

He certainly regressed.
Freshman #'s
40.2% FG
37.2% 3
Soph #'s
36.4% FG (lowest on the team)
31.2% 3

Levi Knutson
Freshman
42% FG
33% 3
Soph
39%
23%
Jr
39%
36%
Sr
51%
47%

Booker will get better Like Levi did. Levi was the best shooter on the team as a senior and he played half the time Askia has up to this point. I'm not worried about him. We just need more offensive weapons so Askia doesn't feel like he has to do it all himself like he did at times this season.

 

[knuckledragg]

He went from being a poor man's Ben Gordon to simply a role player. When Pac-12 play started, he couldn't get hot with his frequent shot taking so stopped shooting. Did he lose confidence or did Boyle reign him in? What can we expect from him next year?

he was the only one that did **** in the tournament

 

[Gold]

Hi Frank,

Hi everyone first post and just wanted to say hi. Love reading the board and love college basketball. Fav team for the upcoming year is the Buffs of course. Living in Connecticut and occasionally NYC. Roots in Colorado and Wash. and have always loved following CU hoops. Next year could be exciting.

Next year for Askia? In my opinion if he could gain strength and maybe a solid 15 pounds that would put him close to the weight Ben Gordon "BG7" played at during his Junior year at UConn when the University of Connecticut won the Nat. Champ. That added strength and frame would help him IMO. For comparisons sake and for the fun of it if Askia can connect on 43.3% of his threes next year a la Ben his Jr. year and you parlay that with the return of Dre something very special could be brewing in Boulder next year. That recipe would be like cooking the perfect Paella my fav spanish dish to cook for my loved ones !

Warmest,
Valency

Best post I've read in a while, also love the paella reference. Who doesn't love paella? Nice work

 

[Buffnik]

Hi Frank,

Hi everyone first post and just wanted to say hi. Love reading the board and love college basketball. Fav team for the upcoming year is the Buffs of course. Living in Connecticut and occasionally NYC. Roots in Colorado and Wash. and have always loved following CU hoops. Next year could be exciting.

Next year for Askia? In my opinion if he could gain strength and maybe a solid 15 pounds that would put him close to the weight Ben Gordon "BG7" played at during his Junior year at UConn when the University of Connecticut won the Nat. Champ. That added strength and frame would help him IMO. For comparisons sake and for the fun of it if Askia can connect on 43.3% of his threes next year a la Ben his Jr. year and you parlay that with the return of Dre something very special could be brewing in Boulder next year. That recipe would be like cooking the perfect Paella my fav spanish dish to cook for my loved ones !

Warmest,
Valency

Forget basketball. We're gonna need to fly you out so you can cook at one of the AllBuffs tailgates. :smile2:

 

[CVilleBuff]

He started. (I don't care what anyone says, some are just better as the sixth man spark).

He did too many mid-range shots that he's terrible at.

 

[buffaholic]

Well next year our top 8 will be...

Dinwiddie
Booker
XJ
Scott
Gordon

Mix of....
Fletcher
Thomas
Hopkins
Jenkins
Talton

That's a damn good lineup and there's a reason we are starting at 20/1 odds next year to win it all. This team will be very, very good next year. We will have a bench, XJ and Scott a year older, Ski and Spencer upper class men, a shooter coming off the bench (Jenkins), Gordon who is a beast, etc.

You crack me up. Yes the team can be very good. But we are not comparable in depth of talent to say Michigan, Syracuse, Louisville, Duke, Kansas etc. Booker doesn't see but 10 minutes a game at any of those places, this year, next year, or 5 years from now.

 

[Quattro]

You crack me up. Yes the team can be very good. But we are not comparable in depth of talent to say Michigan, Syracuse, Louisville, Duke, Kansas etc. Booker doesn't see but 10 minutes a game at any of those places, this year, next year, or 5 years from now.

So instead of going 6 deep like this past year, we will be going legit nine deep, maybe ten if Talton improves and that's not counting Staltzer, Adams, etc. How many teams other than the final four teams you listed above plus Arizona have that kind of depth with the talent we will have? Not many. Did I say we were going to win it all? No, but those odds basically put us at #12 in the country and at the end of the year I don't see that being an unreasonable number. Ski has talent, but he pressed too much last year because we didn't have many scoring threats. Next year we will have Thomas, Fletcher, Jenkins, XJ, and Spencer who can all shoot the rock. Ski will have a bounce back year next year, just like many have before him. Our bench will be seriously upgraded next year.

I guess I'll ask you, why won't this team be a very, very good team next year? Talent? Check. Coaching? Check. Bench? Check. Experience? Check.

Projected Starting 5:
Spencer Dinwiddie (Two year)
-1st team all-Pac 12
-Projected top 10 pick in the 2014 draft
-15.6 ppg last season, 3.2 rpg, 3.0 apg

Askia Booker (Two year)
-Can score and has shown flashes, had a rough season obviously
-12.4 ppg last season, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg

Xavier Johnson (One year)
-4* top 100 player coming out of high school
-Really progressed at the end of the year and is thought to be the player with the most upside on the team
-8.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

Josh Scott (One year)
-4* top 100 player coming out of high school
-1st team all-Pac 12 Freshman Team
-10.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.6 apg
-Still growing

Wesley Gordon
-Excellent shot blocker and defender
-4* coming out of high school

Bench:
Tre'Shaun Fletcher
-4* coming out of high school

Dustin Thomas
-4* coming out of high school
-Blew up on the AAU scene, much like Josh Scott

Jaron Hopkins
-4* coming out of high school
-#1 ranked player out of Arizona for the 2013 class

Chris Jenkins
-Pure shooter who could have really been used this year but it's clear that Tad is looking towards the futur

MPG Returning: 149.6
PPG Returning: 54.7
RPG Returning: 20.8 (-11.2 sans Dre)
APG Returning: 7.9

I believe we can expect Dinwiddie, Ski, XJ, and Scott to all increase three of the stats above (doubt MPG will go up for them). Gordon will take some of Dre's boards, not all though. For once, Tad has a bench and after three years of building we have a very, very good team looking ahead to next year.

 

[Goose]

Tini, I love your optimism, but you might want to wait to see if Dinwiddie declares before you get too excited.

 

[buffaholic]

Well you spent a lot of time compiling stats to argue with me, without reading what I stated. Thanks for strengthening my point!

Summary of my post above (bullet points):

Watching the elite 8 shows that CU still has a ways to go.
Our top 8 guys aren't as good as their top 8 guys.
We got a few studs and a few young guys ...that could play for these teams... Askia isn't one of them. Talton isn't one of them, etc.
I think Tad is recruiting over them though.
Talton has to continue to learn how to take better care of the ball.

I never said this team THIS year wasn't a very good team and it will obviously be better next year (assuming Spencer is back). But are we an elite 8 team? A top 10 type team in the country? Not this past season. To get to that level, we have to be better.

We had guys on the floor in 2012/13 who were liabilities, and I don't see those liabilities at the top level. Askia was one of them. Does he play 1 minute in the tournament for Kansas? NO WAY.

Then I make the point that Tad appears to be recruiting over the guys on the roster, meaning that guys that played this year will likely play less next year, if this incoming crop is as good as I hope and think they are.

That will be the litmus test. When our backup point guard can handle the ball in pressure and not have turnovers. When the bad Skia doesn't get but 5-6 minutes because (fill in the blank freshman) is flat outplaying him... That's when we know we are taking another major step forward.

I'm comparing our top 8 players vs. the elite teams in the country. Arizona isn't considered elite, but they are a closer benchmark. We hung with them this year, thanks to effort and leadership. But we didn't have the guys they had. They don't have guys playing big minutes who have totally lost their confidence to shoot it. They just go to the next stud on the bench. Arizona is much more talented than the Buffs at this point.

Even though they have a ridiculous class coming in, we are closing the gap if we eliminate having to play liabilities. Tad was forced to play plenty of those (pretty much everyone on the squad minus Spencer and Dre). Great effort guys and great coaching. But getting to that next step is going to involve guys who played this year not getting as much time next year. And I think we may see that finally.

 

[tante]

I don't like terms like elite 8 team. Will we have talent comparable to Wichita State this year or VCU/Butler from a few years ago? Absolutely. Will we be one of the top 10 most talented teams in the country? Absolutely not.