Basketball Player Previews: Jamal Webb

Overview: After Huff and Mitchell, you can pretty much put every Sioux player under the umbrella of “other.” The Freshman averaged 9.3 ppg and 4.1 apg last year for the Sioux. The Buffalo, NY native was the last signee to last year’s recruiting class, but played in over 75% of the team’s minutes.

What he does well: Webb is one of the better perimeter defenders on the team. He led the team in steal percentage and did so without committing many fouls (2.6 per 40 minutes). He also proved to be a threat from deep (39%), though in under 100 threes taken. His assist rate of 29.7% is very high for a first year player, and led the team. His 16.6% defensive rebounding rate is also excellent, though it remains to be seen whether it is due to rebounding skill on his part, or him taking advantage of other guys getting attention.

What he does poorly: Like most Freshmen, he struggled to take care of the ball. His 30% turnover rate was by far the highest on the team for guys who got regular minutes. Though he shot well from three, he was an abysmal free throw shooter, managing to only hit 55.5% of his free throws.

Season outlook: I expect pretty big things from Webb eventually in his career, though whether that will be this year remains to be seen. If he can cut down his turnovers a bit and hold his assist rate steady he will be the best point guard in the Great West. And, a guy who can defend, knock down threes and dish out assists (hopefully without turning it over) profiles as one of the best mid major guards in the country. I’m certainly not saying he will be that good this year, but I do feel comfortable in saying that is his ceiling.