For most players, and people for that matter, when one is asked to take what seems like a step backwards it leads to a negative reaction more times than not. It’s just human nature. While inserting Terrell, er, Tutu into the the starting the lineup was the right move and will no doubt make the Muskies a better team for the long run, the silver lining was seeing how Dante would react to coming off the bench.
Well that question has been answered and we Muskie fans could not be any happier. Since becoming the sixth man New Year’s Eve against Robert Morris Dante’s stats and play have noticeably improved. Our biggest complaints for the first part of this season were the number of turnovers committed but I think most of us were willing to forgive Dante because he was a two guard playing the point, which is always difficult to do.
The first 11 games saw Dante commit 28 turnovers while the past four have seen Dante commit just 3. That is a drop from 2.5 to .75 turnovers a game. He is also averaging 3.2 assists on the year, but the past four games has seen an average of 4.5 assists from Dante. Those are probably the two most important stats for a point guard because they show how well he is managing the game.
As for other stats, his steals and rebounds have also gone up the past four games compared to his season averages. His minutes have decreased by a couple minutes, but that can probably be attributed to three blowout victories methinks. Point average has stayed the same, but he has shown the ability to handle the scoring load during brief stretches of certain games. The shootout coming to mind most notably.
One of my favorite things about Dante is his demeanor on the court. Never seems to get too high or too low from an emotional standpoint, but plays with great passion as was on display against St. Louis when he dove for the ball at half court when the SLU player thought he was going to simply pick the ball back up and re-start their possession. It eventually led to an assist for Dante and an easy dunk for Kenny. I don’t recall him ever complaining to the refs either, which I can fully dig as well.
Now, it has definitely helped Dante to have Tutu come along so quickly because it allows Dante to go back to his natural position of the 2 guard. But he is still playing considerable time at the point and will continue to play a very important role in that position throughout the rest of the year starting with Thursday night at Rhode Island.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Dante’s defense will continue to become more potent as well. Sean has said he is our best on the ball defender and not having quite as much offensive responsibility should only go towards helping the defensive side of the ball.
In my opinion Dante and Jason Love are the glue guys of this team and we need to continue to be appreciative of everything they bring to the table night in and night out for the Musketeers. Looking forward to Thursday night…
Let’s go X!
