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Do we have average player development stats per position?

Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 3:47 pm
by CBB_Fan
I wondering if anyone has done the work to break down the average performance increase of players at various positions. For instance, say we have PG A, who averaged 12 PPG, 6 APG his sophomore season. Has anyone taken the time to show that most PGs improve by X% per season, so that we can measure whether or not a player is developing as expected?

More importantly, do we have the data to compare the gains in efficiency of different areas of the game? That data would be useful because we could more easily predict whether a player will gain certain skills. For instance, is a SF more likely to improve their mid-range jumper, or show an increase in FT%?

I think information like this could be useful for predicting player trends, especially for rookies. Knowing that a rookie PF is not likely to become a more efficient free-throw shooter would mean that teams should place a greater priority on drafting good FT shooting PFs. It would also let us extrapolate whether or not a player is a hard-worker, in that we could see if they fall below the average improvement.

Another use would be to predict the age of a player's "prime." Generally, I've found that the average player tends to see their greatest per game numbers by their eighth season, though it varies by position. Certain stats seem to be more or less kind to age.

Anyway, if anyone has information like this, where would be the best place to find it? Alternatively, if the information is not widely available, where would I go to start compiling the data myself and what methods should I use?

Re: Do we have average player development stats per position

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:05 pm
by penbeast0
There was a poster in APBR site that did much of that. Most suprising thing I seem to remember is that most players who attend 3 or more years of college have a season equivalent to their best by their 3rd year; by their 4th year for those with less (don't remember if it was 5 for straight out of HS players). I would guess that centers mature a little more slowly but I couldn't find the article when I went to look. Maybe you will have better luck if you try.

I don't think it broke it down by particular skills though -- interesting idea.

Re: Do we have average player development stats per position

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:43 pm
by jambalaya
Good analytic teams should have this stuff.
It is mainly a matter of time or programming skill to save time.