Statestify! Troy Caupain Doesn’t Start Over Ge’Lawn Guyn And It’s Okay
By Chris Bains
If you’ve perused Twitter or any Cincinnati message board during a basketball game you’ll learn quickly that UC fans are more than a little disgruntled at the lack of playing time for true freshman Troy Caupain. Even more so they are perturbed that junior Ge’Lawn Guyn has garnered so much playing time. Playing time that they feel should be Caupain’s.
Their frustrations are born in logic.
After all, through 16 games this season, Guyn has started each and every one yet doesn’t put up the offensive numbers that shows that he’s “earned” it. This is especially so when you line them up against Caupain’s.
| Troy Caupain | Ge'Lawn Guyn | |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | 42.1% | 32.5% |
| Floor % | 54.4% | 39.4% |
| 3-pt FG% | 44.4% | 28.9% |
| FT% | 76.2% | 57.9% |
| Points Per Game | 6.8 | 4.9 |
| Assists Per Game | 2.3 | 0.8 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 2.8 | 1.8 |
| Steals Per Game | 1.3 | 0.2 |
| Turnovers Per Game | 1.2 | 1.1 |
Plus when you look at more advanced statistics like
and
, Caupain’s numbers are head and shoulders better than Guyn’s.
This is where the supposed point guard controversy arises. Since Caupain is posting better numbers than Guyn, there’s a notion that the true freshman should be starting. But honestly it doesn’t really matter who is on the court at the opening tipoff. The score is 0-0 and while jumping on another team early is fairly important, the first 5 minutes are far less critical to the outcome of the game than the final 35.
And in those final 35 minutes (and over the course of the whole game, really) Troy Caupain is actually garnering more minutes than Ge’Lawn Guyn. Just take a look at the interactive chart below*, tracking this measure across all of UC’s games this season.
*For whatever reason, StatSheet uses red to illustrate Guyn and Caupain’s playing time in the embedded chart. Caupain’s data is represented in the higher of the two red lines.
Jan 7, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain (10) drives the ball during the first half against the Houston Cougars at Hofheinz Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
As you can see, even though Guyn starts games, Caupain is on the court roughly 3 minutes longer than the junior. I think the most telling observation from the chart above is the fact that the true freshman has slowly but surely eaten away at more and more of Ge’Lawn Guyn’s playing time. Up until December 7th, the two were basically sharing the court equally. But after that game, which just so happened to be Cincinnati’s first loss of the season at New Mexico, Caupain has steadily garnered more minutes on the floor at the expense of Guyn.
Plus, most of the true freshman’s playing time occurs in critical late-game situations when Cincinnati is either clinging to a lead or fighting to get one of their own. It’s these moments that will most likely determine whether UC wins or losses. As such, Mick Cronin clearly appears to trust Caupain with the ball in his hands over Guyn when the Bearcats need a playmaker the most.
So it really doesn’t matter who starts for Cincinnati because:
- Caupain garners more playing time than Guyn
- Caupain will see his minutes increase due to Cincinnati playing more critical games down the stretch
- Caupain is involved in more crucial possessions that determine the outcome of the game
At the end of the day, Mick Cronin is developing Caupain to become UC’s point guard for the next 3 years. He’s giving him valuable experience now while simultaneously bringing the 18 year old along slowly behind a more experienced player in Guyn. But at the same time Mick has rewarded Caupain’s strong performance, as illustrated by the true freshman eclipsing the 20-minute mark for the first time all season on Tuesday against Houston.
Whether the true freshman starts or not is irrelevant. Caupain is on the court longer than Guyn and is a sparkplug off the bench, much like Sean Kilpatrick in his redshirt freshman year. Maybe Mick puts him out there on the opening tipoff sometime this season but I doubt it would really make much of a difference. Not in the manner that Caupain playing 25-30 minutes per game would, which is where the true freshman is heading right now.