Monday, November 3, 2008

Word is that Leslie was the Leading Scorer

in the scrimmage against Clemson. Some guys are surprised and even disappointed.

I'm not.

As you will note from my previous posts (feel free to go to these posts by clicking on Leslie's name, below), I am bullish on Leslie.

Besides, there are many other objective reasons to not to be all out of sorts about Leslie's scoring.


1. At this point, we're not sure what "leading scorer" means.

There is no box score available. He may have had 15 and Terrance or Jeremy could have had 14.

2. Leslie is a deceptive scorer.

You look at the results after a Leslie game, and you might remember the dunks, but have overlooked the stick-backs, free throws and a jumper here and there. In the meantime, Leslie might have quietly racked up 20 points.

3. Leslie might be better than some realize.

If memory serves me, one message board had a thread a few weeks back about the "Leslie Kool-Aid", and several individuals posted about how they "are not drinking it."

I didn't respond on that board, but the truth is that Leslie might be the x-factor all year for the team.

Leslie was AAAA player of the year for the state of Georgia and he had some big scoring games. When I checked his shooting percentages from the floor and the three-point line (60 percent and 40 percent, respectively), it showed me that he has big-time scoring potential. If he works on some of the basics during his career (free-throw shooting, smoother release on his shot), he could give us Chris Daniels-type numbers.

To save readers some time, and to preserve the record, just in case they remove the link from my earlier post, I wanted to summarize some of the facts from the Dekalb County high school basketball stats page.

Dekalb County has some pretty good basketball players. Well, Leslie was right up there at the top in just about every category that Dekalb County measures. Leslie was #4 in scoring, #12 in rebounding, #9 in field goal percentage, #4 in blocked shots and #8 in assists.

(As an exercise, compare Travis Leslie's stats to #12-ranked nationally, Chris Singleton of the class of 2008, and to #36-ranked Mfon Udofia and #61-ranked Kenny Hall of the 2009 class)

4. Against some teams, Leslie will be a match-up problem. He's stronger than he looks, and he can jump over some opposing defenders. He runs the floor well, and if we have fast breaks, he can finish and get fouled.

5. Howard Thompkins is an elite scorer, but he's injured. The scoring load will shake out during the year.

In sum, Leslie might be the man this year. I am excited about him and have high expectations for his contributions this year and throughout his career.

Go Dawgs!

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