You took the words out of my mouth.
Since Al’s surgery, Hoffarber at point guard has been and continues to be the best option. I didn’t mention Chip Armelin and Maverick Ahanmisi in December when talking about team depth for a reason.
While I would have been starting fellow freshman Austin Hollins (along with Hoffarber at the point, Williams, Mbakwe and Sampson) consistently since Nolen’s surgery, there has been a constant clamor from certain folks that Maverick Ahanmisi and Chip Armelin should be starting and/or getting significant minutes. I am still missing what so many apparently can see.
I appreciate the effort of these kids, but there are better options. Ahanmisi’s astronomical turnover rate of 40% is a concerning figure. When you consider what little he’s been asked to do and review some of the turnovers, it’s that much more troubling. Perhaps people are impressed with his 8/26 (30.8%) three-point shooting. I’ll admit, while for the average guard it’s a bad percentage (not to mention one of those makes was a half court buzzer beater and another was a 30-foot prayer as the shot clock expired), it’s relatively lofty when compared to most of his teammates.
Chip can be very entertaining to watch and I understand why some would be big fans of his. Before the season started, my thoughts on him were as follows:
"He likes to shoot the ball when on offense. Has good spring to his step and will have his moments against lesser competition in limited minutes this early winter. However, his offensive tendencies may not work well in this offense and unless his defensive play is consistently impressive, I could see him getting a quick hook when he does make appearances in games. True, the Gophers do need go to scorers, but I don’t think Chip is the answer this year.
At a minimum, a fun player to watch that will occasionally impress during limited appearances… at best, a contributor who adds a scoring punch and aggressiveness on offense."
With hindsight, I wouldn’t change any of those comments. Armelin is fearless with the ball - when on the floor, he takes almost 25% more shots than anyone else. I can appreciate that to some degree, but his jump shot is… not good at the present moment. Sure, he can get to the rack, but how many of the missed layups are bad luck? How about drawing some contact? Excluding the scoreless Dominque Dawson, Armelin has the worst Points Per Shot average on the team.
