Last season, in my mind, JaJuan Smith was one of the most exciting players on Tennessee’s basketball team. The former walk on made a huge improvement over his freshman season with the Vols. In fact, he was named the “Best Player off the Bench” in the SEC by the Tennessean. Coach Pearl even lobbied that Smith should have earned the national “Sixth Man” of the year award.
JaJuan went from averaging 1.9 points per game his freshman year, in limited action, to 11.3 points in league play last season. He knocked in a season high 19 points, including five three pointers, against Auburn. He also finished the season strong with a career high 10 rebounds in the Vols NCAA Tournament game against Wichita State.
This season, it’s been my feeling that JaJuan lacks the confidence that he played with last year. We have seen flashes, but he has been unable to consistently play to the level that I thought he would. With that said, maybe my expectations for JaJuan are too high. This year I envisioned him as a team leader on the floor along side of Lofton and Bradshaw.
I pulled some of his stats to compare his 05-06 season with what we have seen from him so far in 06-07.
2006 2007
FG% 39.7% 42.1%
Reb 3.1 4
Points 9.5 14.1
Steals 1.3 2.1
2006 2007
Assists 1.9 1.5
Turnovers 1.3 2.3
3pt FG% 37.7 36.2
To my surprise JaJuan has improved in several categories including FG%, points, rebounds, and steals. His assists and three point FG% are down slightly and his turnovers are up from 1.3 to 2.3 per game.
I think, after reviewing his stats, that Smith may just be looking to do too much at times. That would explain the turnovers. I also believe that maybe he is looking to score when he should be looking to pass. That is reflected in his assists being down this season.
If he can do a little better job of letting the game come to him and not try to do too much, JaJuan can have the great season I know he is capable of.
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