Bulldog Breakdown: Men’s basketball season by the numbers

The Bulldogs had something to prove this year after their surprising success last season.

Before last season, the team was picked to be at the bottom of the Gulf South Conference in what would be their first full season in NCAA Division II play. Instead they finished fourth in the conference and even earned their first bid to the NCAA Division II National Championship tournament. They may have lost in the first round, but they proved that the Bulldogs were better than people thought.

This year they proved they belonged by finishing third in the conference and earning another bid to the national tournament. This year they produced one of the big upsets of the tournament by beating Eckerd College, a two seed, 88-85 in overtime. They lost in the next round, but proved this year that they were no fluke.

In a sports society that grades drafts, recruiting classes and seasons before any player has stepped foot on the court, looking at a season after it’s over is refreshing.

Looking at each player through the lens of advanced numbers is a good way to see how each Bulldog played throughout the season.

Since they played 32 games, the season can be easily broken up into quarters like a basketball game. Looking at the season in quarters makes it easier to break down when a player was playing their best or worse. The final column is the season’s total numbers used to calculate the three stats. This is not the average of the four quarters stats because some quarters varied in minutes played or shots taken.

The three statistical categories taken into consideration are player efficiency rating (PER), rebound rate (RR) and assist ratio (AR).

Marterrace Brock

The first note about Brock’s season is there is no fourth quarter because he sat out the last couple of games for undisclosed reasons. This didn’t give enough data in the last quarter of the season to get a sufficient amount of data.

Brock had a great individual season when he did play. His overall PER was the highest of any player. Brock was a scoring machine for the Bulldogs consistently putting up big numbers by getting to the rim or free throw line. He was second in the conference in free throw attempts with 204 attempts, despite playing in only 26 games.

Considering he is a shooting guard, his other numbers were solid because he is more of a scorer than a distributor. He was a superb perimeter defender as well, placing in the top five and 15 in steals and blocks per game respectively. His only issue was shooting from deep as he made 29.1 percent of his threes, but the rest of his game made up for the deficiency and he was fifth on the team in three point attempts. His ability to score from close and play solid defense is why his efficiency was so high this season. This efficiency and ability to score are why Brock has received many awards this season.

Jordan Montgomery

Montgomery was on fire at the start of the season. For the first four games of the season he had one of the best shooting stretches any basketball player could dream of—shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 65.2 percent from three. That hot start was bound to end eventually and Montgomery cooled off throughout the middle of the season due to having a couple off games that tanked his efficiency rating.

Montgomery possesses a fairly complete game because his shooting from deep draws out larger defenders opening up the lane for his teammates. In the beginning this was more evident by his assist ratio, but at the end of the season he had to take on more of the scoring load with Brock out which caused it to fall.

His end of the season resurgence is remarkable considering the team was in post season play for half of it playing tougher teams and playing more minutes than any other quarter during the season. He forced his way to the free throw line more than ever, even getting 15 attempts from the line in a game against Christian Brothers. This aggressive streak helped the Bulldogs get as far as they did.

Serigne Mboup

Mboup was the most consistent player this season with little change in each quarter. He provided the team with an imposing presence in down low defensively and on offense. His rebound rate was the highest on the team and his ability to grab offensive rebound was huge for the team’s offense. He led the team in offensive rebounds but not total rebounds which shows his ability to fight for positioning down low, extending possessions for the Bulldogs.

He was a graduate transfer and that age and experience clearly transferred onto the court providing the team with someone that could could get the shots around the basket when needed. He led them team in field goal percentage, making 51.5 percent of his shots, likely due to his ability to grab offensive rebounds and get second chance points.

Ashanti Day

Day is a swiss army knife of a player. He was second on the team in rebound rate, assist ratio, field goal percentage, three point percentage, free throw attempts and total assists. He also led the team in total rebounds and minutes played.

This all-around game is what makes Day so special. He’s a monster on the glass, leading the conference in rebounds, has excellent court vision even though he plays at the four for the team and can score in a multitude of ways.

In the final quarter of the season Day appeared to take on a more dominant role as a distributor, making him even more dangerous. This combined with his numerous physical gifts makes him one of the most difficult players to guard on the team. He can drive, post his man up then kick it out to an open teammate along the perimeter or a making a backdoor cut when the defense collapses.

His only problem was having to play so many minutes at the end of the season. This was not a coaching problem because Brock was out and the team needed Day’s abilities on the court to make up for it. During the Eckerd game in the national tournament, Day hit a three to put the Bulldogs up by six points in overtime. Eckerd quickly called a timeout and Day was breathing heavily, leaning forward and grabbing his shorts. They won the game but fell in the second round most likely because Day and his teammates were exhausted from the way they had to play to beat Eckerd.

KC Goodwin

Goodwin had a rough year from a numbers standpoint. Goodwin is a transfer and learning a new offense as a point guard can be difficult, but his biggest problem was shooting. He made 30.6 percent from the field and 28.3 from behind the arc. This was his biggest problem in terms of efficiency and running the offense. Goodwin is excellent at hitting free throws though—hitting 83.3 percent of his attempts.

Goodwin shines as a ball handler and distributor though, leading the team in assists and assist ratio, and being in the top ten in assist-to-turnover ratio for the conference. He can even dribble through a defense, scrambling it, which helps his teammates get better shots. That part of his game is what helped him be successful for the team.

The key moving forward for Goodwin will be making some more shots, which is easier said than done, but having another year at Union could be all it takes for him to do that.

Roy Bullock

Bullock’s numbers show an up-and-down season combined with a position change. At the beginning of the season he came off the bench more to play as the point guard whenever Goodwin came out of the game. He also played as the two when he played with Goodwin which forced him to play as more of a scorer.

The switch to being more of a scorer than a distributor happened about midway through the season as evidenced by the drop in assist ratio. This caused Bullock to have some shaky shooting games. However, in the last quarter of the season he became a scorer when Brock stopped playing out of necessity, averaging 17.8 points in the last four games.

Brennan Bowling

Bowling started the season out strong and then really struggled for a while before gaining some of his groove back. His role on the team is to spot up along the arc and hit threes (43 of his 50 made shots were from behind the arc). The problem with this is that he eventually went cold and had difficulty finding a groove until the end of the season. This cold steak was compounded by not playing very much, likely because of poor play, which hurts his chances of getting assists, rebounds or points.

When Brock’s season ended Bowling had to play more minutes (108) in the last five games than the previous 11 games combined (104). In those last five games was an incredible showing against Eckerd College where he hit five of seven three point attempts. Those were key to Union upsetting Eckerd, but Bowling will have to expand his game next season.

Felipe Rocha

Rocha had a solid season considering the amount he played and his role on this team. He is not much of a scorer so he doesn’t take many shots which does hurt his efficiency rating, but doesn’t necessarily make him an inefficient player. It hurts to have a player that doesn’t score as much, but Rocha also doesn’t turn the ball over and is a big body that can set solid screens and plug up the lane on defense.

Rocha showcased a different skill towards the end of the season hitting two three pointers against Eckerd College. If Rocha can hit these shots more often and expands his range like this he will be deadly next season.

Overall, it was a great season for the Bulldogs—making it further in the Division II national tournament than ever before. Next season will look drastically different with the losses of Brock, Montgomery, Mboup and Bullock to graduation. However, the Bulldogs have the players that can still make a run at another bid in the tournament next season with the additions of a few more recruits and other players coming off of a redshirt season.