Andrew Bogut In 2008

[paul]

A few footnotes on Bogut's season -

Some league wide rankings of interest for the season:

#11 in rpg
#9 in bpg
#12 in double doubles

And a few rankings by position C :

#3 in apg
#7 in bpg
#3 in double doubles
#6 in Points/Rebounds/Assists
#7 in ppg

Post all star break by position:

#5 in ppg (16.3)
#2 in rpg (11.6)
#3 in apg (2.
#8 in bpg (1.75)
#2 in steals (1.1)
#4 in double doubles (15)

His March numbers (10 games)

17.6 ppg
11.4 rpg
2.5 apg
1.5 bpg
1.1 spg
57% FG%
66% FT%

[icat2000]

Nice results. Bogut certainly stepped up this season especially in 2008. Continue to work on his FT and jump shot and hopefully have some new team-orientated mates next season and Milwaukee should be a better team.

[bayrdbandit]

So guys like Nielsen and Anderson who didn't play in 06 will be playing in 08? I know those two had insurance issues and Chris Anstey was injured, but who else am I missing? The ratio of good big men to good guards is pretty lopsided for you guys in favor of the big men, and guard play is key in these competitions. Will Maric and Ogilvy make the squad?

If they do the big man rotation of Bogut and Maric at center and Anderson, Anstey and Ogilvy at the 4 is pretty solid, but Mills, Brad Newley and Aaron Bruce really have their work cut out for them in the backcourt. I'm really not a fan of Bruton's game.

What about Alex Laughton, Luke Nevill or Nathan Jawai? Do any of the have a shot at making the Boomers?

how the hell do you know so much about australian basketball?

anderson will make the squad and i'm pretty sure has made himself available. as for maric and ogilvy - not so sure, i haven't seen them play personally and as you mentioned there's a glut of big men to choose from. from all reports ogilvy is a stud, so it would be good to see him in the green and gold. but i'd say we'll take in order: bogut, luke schenscher, anderson, jawai and anstey for the 4/5 positions. anstey was the mvp of the league this season so he's still got some juice in the tank - not sure how he'd fair on the international stage though. i think jawai would have more luck handling the american bigs than anstey.

i'm with you on bruton, i can't stand him as a player - too much on the image/attitude side, not enough on the fundamentals...

i imagine the 2008 squad will be vastly different mainly because there seems to be a big bundle of guys coming through the american college system who obviously are very young, but talented enough. most of the 2006 squad were nbl players (except for bogut).

as for the back court... i'm big on patrick mills and brad newley. and i'm not sure if you're familiar with joe ingles - he's a 19yo star in the making. he should get a spot. luke nevill wasn't on the short list, and as for loughton - i would doubt it, too much competition for him at the 4.

[benultimate]

I'd say (hope) the Aussie team will look something like

PG: Mills/Bruton/Bruce
SG: Newley/Ingles
SF: Worthington/Redhage
PF: Andersen/Nielsen
C: Bogut/Anstey/Jawai

assuming only 12 make the final cut, hard to leave out Maric, Schenscher, Ogilvy, Mackinnon and maybe a few others. I was surprised to see Stephen Black not even even on the short list, I would consider putting him in for Aaron Bruce.

[europa]

I liked seeing him put the ball on the floor against the Bulls, too. There was one possession where Gray came out on him in an intense stance and Bogut effortlessly took him left all the way to the rim. I mean, granted he should be able to beat even a high-effort Aaron Gray like a drum off the dribble, but it was still nice to see.

I still think the move he made against Duncan as a rookie when he took the ball at the high post and blew past Duncan for a dunk was one of the best moves he's made in his entire career. He just look effortless blowing past Duncan, who's one of the game's elite defenders.

[europa]

Post all star break by position:

#5 in ppg (16.3)
#2 in rpg (11.6)
#3 in apg (2.
#8 in bpg (1.75)
#2 in steals (1.1)
#4 in double doubles (15)

The great thing about all of this is this is not small sample size. This is nearly 60% of the season in which Bogut was putting up All-Star caliber numbers at his position. That's what makes it so exciting. It wasn't a week or two. It was for well over the majority of the season. Sure he had some stinkers in there and some of them (notably the Philly game) were troubling, but overall this was a guy whose game took a major leap at the start of the year. Coincidentally, that was the time he finally became more of a focal point offensively.

Now Bogut needs to keep improving. He MUST improve his FT shooting and adding the mid-range game would be huge as well. But he's established himself as a 15-16 point/10+ rebound per game player and that's a huge asset for the Bucks as they rebuild under Hammond.

[smauss]

-= original quote snipped =-



The great thing about all of this is this is not small sample size. This is nearly 60% of the season in which Bogut was putting up All-Star caliber numbers at his position. That's what makes it so exciting. It wasn't a week or two. It was for well over the majority of the season. Sure he had some stinkers in there and some of them (notably the Philly game) were troubling, but overall this was a guy who's game took a major leap at the start of the year. Coincidentally, that was the time he finally became more of a focal point offensively.

Now Bogut needs to keep improving. He MUST improve his FT shooting and adding the mid-range game would be huge as well. But he's established himself as a 15-16 point/10+ rebound per game player and that's a huge asset for the Bucks as they rebuild under Hammond.

I agree! In the Sessions thread I said how he and Bogut were the only bright spots this year. I think Bogut will improve his jump-shooting and FT %. He has good mechanics, and when he keeps his balance and doesn't lean back he tends to sink them. Therefore, I think it is a matter of focus in the sense of priority not necessarily concentration per se. I think last summer he focused on a post game and his physicality (off & def.); this summer I hope he broadens his focus on jump shooting and FT shooting. BTW, I think working on his post game and physicality first was the correct focus for him IMHO. I definitely look for him to have an all-star type year next year, especially with a better coach & GM (or whatever his official title is POBO.)