2010-2011 Season in Review: Jarryd Cole

On a young Iowa Hawkeye team, Jarryd Cole was the lone Senior in the starting lineup. Considering Cole's story is probably fresh in your mind from the lead up to the Senior Day game against Purdue, I won't repeat it. That isn't what this post is about anyways. This post is to review his Senior year, which turned out to be a pretty good one.

It began a little shaky in November, as he started the season with an injury (foot?), which led to him playing only 18.86 minutes per game. However, even with limited playing time, he still averaged 0.32 points per minute in November, while grabbing a 5.71% offensive rebounding rate and a 18.23% defensive rebounding rate. In December, Cole's playing time increased, his points per minute stayed steady, and his rebounding exploded. His offensive rebounding rate for the month was an insane 22.92% (small sample sizes, but wow!), and his defensive rebounding rate was 23.89%. He was at the top of his game.

Then January came, and Cole went silent. His offensive rebounding rate fell back down to around 5%, and his defensive rebounding rate came down to an okay, but not great 14.66%. Not to mention, his points per minute fell to 0.24 (yikes!). I was a little worried, thinking that the tougher competition was getting the best of Cole. No worries, though, as he just needed the Calendar to turn. In February/March, his points per minute shot up to his best of the year, topping out at 0.36. It was partially due to a little good luck, as he shot an unsustainable 64.18% eFG% in those ten games (small sample sizes!), but he was still good. His offensive rebounding rate in February/March, was a more realistic 9.39%, as was his 20.09% defensive rebounding rate (both very close to his season averages). Even though Cole had some rough spots this season, he was still one of the most dependable players on the team. Especially, down the stretch.

Strengths:

• Rebounding- With a 10.63% offensive rebounding rate, that was good enough for ninth best in the Big 10. Not to mention, a 19.25% defensive rebounding rate, that finished eighth in the conference. It's pretty safe to say that rebounding was a strength for Cole. Basabe and Archie were the two best rebounders on the team, but Cole wasn't too far behind. He actually outperformed Basabe on the defensive boards in December and February/March. So, he definitely deserves some credit.
• Getting to the Free Throw Line- Not including Devon Archie, who only attempted 32 field goals this year, Cole led the team in free throw rate (free throws attempted per field goals attempted). On the year, he took 93 free throws compared to 162 field goal attempts, good for a 0.57 free throw rate. Never once, did he drop below 0.42 for any month (team average = 0.34). In fact, in December he had a ridiculous 0.86 free throw rate. He attempted 25 free throws compared to 29 field goals. Just to see crazy his December was, here's a graph:

• Shooting- Even though Cole isn't known for his scoring ability, he was actually a very efficient scorer. He finished his career with 59.60% eFG% (never dipping below 56.7% in his four years at Iowa), and he averaged 1.20 points per scoring attempt this year (second best on the team). I should also mention, that his 78.41% FG% on shots in the paint was the best on the team, and his 31.51% FG% on two point shots outside the paint was second on the team, behind only Gatens. Just for reference, the team average FG% on shots in the paint was 68.86% and 28.17% for two point shots outside the paint. Have I made Jarryd's case yet? He was a pretty damn good shooter.

Weaknesses:

•  Blocks- This is probably nitpicking, and I'm not saying he wasn't good on defense. I don't recall yelling at my TV because Cole had some mental lapse on defense. He actually looked good on defense, mostly because he had a big physical body, that could bang with the bigger post players. However, he was an undersized center. So, it probably isn't that surprising that he was not that great at rejecting opponents shots. But, considering he never topped a 2% block rate his entire career at Iowa, is kind of surprising to me. Blocks aren't a huge deal, but Cole's game was pretty well-rounded during his Senior year. He wasn't a huge scoring threat, but he was never seen as the top scoring option on the team. He also cut his turnovers this year, by a lot.  And so he didn't really leave much for me to complain about. Feel free to let me know if I'm missing anything, but I think Cole had a very nice Senior season.

Statistics:

Even with a terrible January, Cole still shot and scored the ball at a higher rate in Big 10 play. That should tell you just how great his February/March was. He averaged 0.32 points per minute in conference play, as opposed to 0.30 in non-conference play, all while shooting much more efficiently. As you see on the graph above, Cole averaged 1.28 points per scoring attempt in conference play, compared to 1.06 points per scoring attempt in non-conference play. Cole also shot a 48.21% eFG% in non-conference play, but then went and put up a 64.18% eFG% against the tougher competition in conference play. Like his free throw rate, it looks better in graphical form:

He was on fire the last ten games of the season.

Cole was the most likely of Iowa's big men to shoot outside the paint. Every other post player shot at least 65% of their shots in the paint. Cole, on the other hand, took about 55% of his shots inside the paint and about 45% of them outside of it.

His offensive value, unsurprisingly, came mostly on shots in the paint, also about 55%. After that, he did most of his damage from the free throw line. This is also not surprising, considering the graph from earlier, showing how good he was at getting to the free throw line. Finally, he got about 19% of his value on two points field goals outside the paint (lower percentage shots).

As I mentioned earlier, Cole led the team in FG% in the paint, shooting 78.41%. In Big 10 play, he shot an insane 87.27%, which also led the team. His 31.51% FG% on two point field goals outside the paint was number two on the team. He also shot those better during Big 10 play, knocking down 34% of the same shots. Put the two together, and you get the third best eFG% on the team, trailing only Basabe and Brommer, but just by a little.

His 67.74% FT% was also pretty good for a post player. Not to mention, that it was the best of his career. In his four years at Iowa Cole's FT% went: 45.2%, 61%, 64.1%, 67.7%. Consistent improvement every year. Can't ask for much more than that.

Cole's rebounding did take a hit in conference play, but it didn't fall that much. His conference stats were still strong, though, and didn't hurt his overall numbers in the least. is 10.63% rebounding rate was third on the team and ninth in the Big 10. His 19.25% defensive rebounding rate was third on the team and eighth in the Big 10.

Obviously, Cole will not be back next year, which is why this is the only season review that doesn't have an "Expectations for Next Season."But, it's fun to look back and think about how much Cole developed in his four years at Iowa. It was good to see his last season be his best season. It was even better to see him play the best basketball of his life down the stretch of his Senior season. Then, to top it all off, Iowa went out and beat the number six team in the nation on Senior Day. For not being able to participate in March Madness this year (or any year), that is still a pretty sweet way to go out. It couldn't have happened to a better guy. Once again, thank you, Jarryd. You are the definition of a true Hawkeye.