Kansas basketball is one of the worst in the country in this statistic
Kansas basketball is off to a good start this season. A top-five ranking and a chance to win the Maui Invitational is no small thing, yet the Jayhawks rank almost dead last in the country in one statistic.
Kansas basketball does a lot of things right. They shoot the ball well, they play good defense, and ultimately play hard. The Jayhawks have all of the talent in the world, and its a Final Four or bust kind of season with the threat of NCAA sanctions looming in the future.
Still, there’s just one statistic where the Jayhawks really struggle: non-steal turnover percentage.
According to renowned basketball statistic website kenpom.com, Kansas basketball ranks 337 out of 353 teams non-steal turnover percentage. Now you may be asking yourself “what is non-steal turnover percentage?”
Non-steal turnovers are exactly what they sound like, any turnover that isn’t “forced” by the defense is considered a non-steal turnover. For example, traveling, double dribbles, charges, or a pass out of bounds are some of the ways the offense can turn the ball over without a defender being credited with a steal.
As of now, the Jayhawks have just a 7.1% non-steal turnover rate, compared to the national average of 10.5%, so what could explain and/or improve the Jayhawks’ non-steal turnover percentage?
According to Ken Pomeroy, the creator of kenpom.com, there’s generally an inverse relationship between blocks and a non-steal turnover percentage. In Pomeroy’s words, “teams that block more shots tend to get more steals but fewer non-steals.”
This seems to hold true for Kansas basketball, as they rank #36 in block percentage and #17 in turnover percentage. So, how could Kansas increase their non-steal percentage and maintain their other important defensive statistics?
Obviously, taking more charges and being more “active” on defense can help, but the Jayhawks shouldn’t do anything drastic at this point.
It’s still early in the season, and Kansas has time to improve Plus, their defense has been good in every other facet so far. Speaking of improvement, the Jayhawks were actually dead last in the statistic last night prior to the game against BYU.
The Jayhawks already improved slightly, now it’ll be interesting to see if Kansas continues to develop its non-steal turnover percentage.
KU hoops. Jayhawks advance to Maui Invitational championship. light
If there’s one thing that head coach Bill Self has proven year in and year out, it’s that he can coach. There’s no doubt that Self will get the Kansas defense operating at peak efficiency by the end of the season, if not sooner.