Balentine

[Wufan]

Here's my take (all stats referenced to MVC-Sports and are for MVC games only): The kid can score as evidence by his 23.5 ppg average. He has a great stroke and a good release. He is 9th in 3 point percentage with a .424 average and third in FT% with a .875 mark (and gets to the line a lot). He has good vision with 3.9 apg (7th) and a 1.3 A:TO ratio (10th). He works hard to get open and moves without the ball. He has good handles, but isn't as successful at driving as his ball skills would lead you to believe.

The bad: Not a great defender or rebounder. He's not overly athletic. He leads the league in minutes per game (38.3), and 3s taken (6.6 per game). He is not on a winning team (3-7), and while you can't fault him for being in an offense that is designed for him to score, it does take off some of the luster of his scoring average knowing that he plays almost every minute as the ONLY scoring option. As an example, if Cleanthony Early played 38.3 ppg, his scoring average would be 22.7 ppg, and he plays on a winning team that isn't designed for him to score every time.

All-in-all, Balentine is probably somewhere between the 5th and 12th best player in the league, and one heck of a scorer, but I don't find him to be an exceptional player.

[glm38]

I agree with most of your assessment. I'd rate him definitely in the top 10 MVC players though. And I would argue that's pretty impressive for a sophomore. Plenty of time for him to improve his all around game.

[agrinut]

Here's my take (all stats referenced to MVC-Sports and are for MVC games only): The kid can score as evidence by his 23.5 ppg average. He has a great stroke and a good release. He is 9th in 3 point percentage with a .424 average and third in FT% with a .875 mark (and gets to the line a lot). He has good vision with 3.9 apg (7th) and a 1.3 A:TO ratio (10th). He works hard to get open and moves without the ball. He has good handles, but isn't as successful at driving as his ball skills would lead you to believe.

The bad: Not a great defender or rebounder. He's not overly athletic. He leads the league in minutes per game (38.3), and 3s taken (6.6 per game). He is not on a winning team (3-7), and while you can't fault him for being in an offense that is designed for him to score, it does take off some of the luster of his scoring average knowing that he plays almost every minute as the ONLY scoring option. As an example, if Cleanthony Early played 38.3 ppg, his scoring average would be 22.7 ppg, and he plays on a winning team that isn't designed for him to score every time.

All-in-all, Ballentine is probably somewhere between the 5th and 12th best player in the league, and one heck of a scorer, but I don't find him to be an exceptional player.

Give half the players in the league his minutes and attempts you'd have several with near identical stat lines.

[Aargh]

Evansville plays an "outside-in" game. Balentine feeds Mockeviscius if the defense cheats too hard on Balentine. Gotta give Balentine some props for his assists.

The problem with that plan is that if an opponent drives on Mockeviscius, you can take him out of the game because he will foul at a rate of about 1 every 5 minutes when challenged inside.

It's got to make some kind of a statement when the leading scorer in the league is on a team tied for last. Please don't pull the "we're so young" card. UE wouldn't be "so young" if not for all the player defections.

[rlh04d]

I think Ballentine is an excellent shooter. He made some great shots against tremendous defense with the Shockers.

If he was on a more balanced, capable team, I think he'd still be one of the better scorers in the league. He does need to work on his defense and rebounding. His stats are inflated based on minutes played and the motion offense Evansville uses under Simmons. He's still one of the five best shooters in the league, as a sophomore.

I think he is unfortunately wasted on Evansville's one-man-offensive style.

[sect.3purple]

The determining factor of who wins/loses a game is the score. Many factors offensively and defensively determine which team scores the most points. Balentine is a great shooter who is our number 1 go-to guy right now in scoring points. He works hard, very hard, all those minutes he is on the floor. He is also developing into a pretty good passer, and can fire a pass in to our post. He is a great free-throw shooter. He is a sophomore and has a lot of pressure on a team that has little depth or experience, and not a lot of other offense. But the Aces are getting better. They will become better shooters. Balentine's role will change. He probably will still be a great shooter, but there will be others to compliment him.

If you asked the guys who play against him, you probably would find out that they respect his abilities....and, if you asked the coaches, ditto.

He is one of the best in the conference....and he gets little recognition outside of the conf. because his team is struggling....in the future if UE improves, and Balentine continues to improve, you will hear a lot more about him.

I am very glad that he is a Purple Ace.

[NeutralObserver]

Ballentine is Colt Ryan Part II. The only offense Marty knows is the "Set Multiple Picks for Steve Alford Until He Can Get A Shot" offense. He did it with Ryan & doing it again with Ballentine. If I could remember the player names he used it before both of them. Doesn't now how to coach offense any different than "one man gang style". Never get a big winner doing that.

[shocktheheart]

Are Evansville fans worried he may leave kind of like Rice from Drake? He is a great scorer and has to kill him that he is scoring 20+ points and losing more than he wins.

[Ace Dad]

Are Evansville fans worried he may leave kind of like Rice from Drake? He is a great scorer and has to kill him that he is scoring 20+ points and losing more than he wins.

No. There is always the chance that a mid-major player will jump to a major program after the 1st or 2nd year and all you can do is hope that the bond with the school, team, and teammates will keep him in tow.

The Curry kid jumped to Duke.

Years ago Victor Williams left Illinois State for Oklahoma State.

It happens, but you cannot fret over it.

[Snaggletooth]

It's got to make some kind of a statement when the leading scorer in the league is on a team tied for last.

He's kind of like the Jason Perez of WSU. Such a nice player, but on such a bad team.