One Stat That No One Wants To Lead In

Turnovers are like fouls and missed free throws – nobody wants them unless it’s a last-gasp, go-for-broke gamble. Coaches routinely preach about cutting down turnovers, since each lost possession has a deleterious effect.

There can be many mitigating factors where turnovers are concerned.

For one thing, the faster the tempo, the more possessions are created. The more possessions, the greater the possibility of committing turnovers in forcing or maintaining the pace. Yet it’s interesting to note that North Carolina, where coach Roy Williams love to push the ball, didn’t have anyone among the decade’s top 15 in turnovers.

Offensive creators, particularly those who attack via dribble, also tend to commit inordinate numbers of turnovers. These high-risk, high-reward players usually offset lost possessions with the volume of points they produce. Of the players with the 15 highest TO totals in this decade, eight paced their teams in scoring.

Being a freshman, exposed for the first time to the intensity and speed of play and level of talent at the college level, often has an adverse effect on ballhandling efficiency. Four of the top 15 in turnovers since 2011 were freshmen, including Duke’s Trevon Duval in 2018.

To his credit Duval, along with NC State junior Lorenzo Brown in 2013, were the only miscue masters to offset their ballhandling mistakes with two assists for every turnover.

As the Wolfpack transitioned from Sidney Lowe’s careful tutelage to Mark Gottfried’s more aggressive offensive style in 2012, Brown had an impressive 1.98:1 ratio of assists to turnovers. But he also committed a turnover every 5.4 minutes played, easily the worst among the decade’s prolific fumblers.

Finally, it’s worth noting that two of the decade’s five most profligate turnover suppliers played last season and remain active in 2018-19. Syracuse senior Frank Howard led the way with 126 turnovers. BC’s Ky Bowman, a junior and the current team’s top returning scorer, was fifth during the twenty-teens at 112. Neither managed 1.5 assists per turnovers.