Matt Howard v. Brian Cardinal

[vu72]

As I just had a front spring break and puncture my tire, I've got some time on my hands.

In another thread I said that I thought Matt had a chance to play in the NBA and that his game compared well to Purdue player Brian Cardinal, who was the 15th pick in the second round.

Someone followed by saying that Matt was "a good mid-major" player but no Brian Cardinal. You guys know me pretty well, I thought I'd take a look at some stats to hopefully support my position. Here is what I found:

Interestingly, both guys were listed in college at 6'8" 230#!!

Cardinal's four years at Purdue looked like this:

Minutes per game: 28.0
Points per game: 12.0
FG%: 46.0
3 pt %: 36.5
Free Throw %: 76.0
Rebounds per game: 5.7

Matt on the other hand has the following so far:

Minutes per game: 26.5
Points per game: 13.6
FG%: 52.4
3 pt %: 40.5
Free Throw: 78.1
Rebounds per game: 6.2


So, in EVERY category, Matt has better stats. Now, I know some will say "sure, but Cardinal played in the Big Ten and Matt played in the Horizon. A fair point. I wanted to address the notion that "Matt is a good mid-major player" by looking at his stats against major conference players this season.

So far, not counting us, ;D, he has played against Duke, Louisville, Stanford, Utah, Florida State and Washington State. In those six game he has averaged 19 ppg and 8 rebounds. I suspect if we looked at his stats last year, which included more major games because of the run to the title game, that they would be similar. Matt put up 23 and 9 against Louisville and 27 and 10 against Stanford, to highlite his season.

Matt plays as tough as anyone and I think based on the aforementioned stats, that he has a chance to play in the NBA, just like Cardinal did.

I'm now going to mourn my very damaged vehicle and have another cup of coffee.

[valporun]

Didn't Brian Cardinal also have Cuonzo Martin, Glenn Robinson, and at least one more teammate that did some major scoring with the Boilermakers during that time? Stats might show a strong comparison, like you're trying to show here, vu72, but Brian Cardinal might also have had the "upside" that he was a necessary play creating teammate, not just someone flopping all over the paint for fouls of various sorts.

[vu72]

I understand the frustration of sme over what we percieve as Matt getting away with fouls etc. Still, that has nothing to do with his rebounding or shooting percentages. As for other's taking up the scoring load, Matt has played with many who can score. Gordon Hayward to name one. Shelvin mack to name another. His points per game have been pretty consistent.

I can't believe I'm actually trying to take the side of a guy from Butler! Last year he was not as good as Cory. this year, he has developed a very good outside shot, has controlled the tendency to foul out and has elevated his game. Just calling it like it is.

[rlh]

Feb 13, 2011 11:41:09 GMT -5 vu72 said:

I understand the frustration of sme over what we percieve as Matt getting away with fouls etc. Still, that has nothing to do with his rebounding or shooting percentages. As for other's taking up the scoring load, Matt has played with many who can score. Gordon Hayward to name one. Shelvin mack to name another. His points per game have been pretty consistent.

I can't believe I'm actually trying to take the side of a guy from Butler! Last year he was not as good as Cory. this year, he has developed a very good outside shot, has controlled the tendency to foul out and has elevated his game. Just calling it like it is.

Not sure you are speaking for all of us. Personally, I think Howard is a heckuva player and always has been. I won't debate between him and Cory, I like them both a lot, but I'm not sure you speak for all of us about Howard. I for one think he's pretty good and has a chance to be in the NBA. A chance, not a certainty.

[valpotx]

Not as relevant to this conversation, but Cardinal is on my Mavs. He actually received quite a bit of playing time when Dirk went down with injury, and has stayed in the rotation with limited minutes since his return with Caron Butler out for the year. He has had some good games, and some games where he is barely on the stat sheet.

[milanmiracle]

I think Matt has a chance (stressing chance) to be an NBA player on the right team. Do I think he'll be a starter? No, but he's tough as nails, and has developed an outside shot. His lateral quickness has improved with his weight loss as well.

Just another note...it's possible that Butler could have had 4 NBA players on their roster in Hayward, Mack, Howard and my guess is Andrew Smith in a couple of years. Watch his defense of the pick and roll when he gets switched onto a guard. Impressive.