NCAA Basketball: Analyzing Anthony Nelson’s transfer to Manhattan

What could go wrong for Anthony Nelson?

One concern for Nelson may be that he encounters the same problem he had at Seton Hall: playing time.

The top four scoring guards for Manhattan (Tykei Greene, Samir Stewart, Elijah Buchanan, Christian Hickinson) are all sophomores, and if none of them leave then the backcourt will be clustered with 5 guys all vying for playing time. Furthermore, they’ll all have three years of experience playing together, while Nelson will have to try and fit himself in. Now there could always be squad movement, but the logjam at guard that awaits may not be inviting.

In terms of looking at Nelson’s style of play, Nelson has two causes for concern: turnovers and shooting. In the opening slide, I briefly mentioned how Nelson has averaged 1.4 Turnovers (or 33.7% Turnover Rate). If Nelson wants to keep efficiency on his play-making ability, he has to find a way to minimize these turnovers.

However, Nelson also struggles to shoot from three and the free throw line. Last season he shot 26.7% from 3 and 60.9% from the free throw line, even though it isn’t the main part of Nelson’s game it’s still something he needs to improve. Nelson is fairly successful attacking the rim, but when the defense can plan for his style, he’s far easier to defend if his shots aren’t falling.

So, with the facts on the table, I’ll make an educated guess of how Nelson’s time with Manhattan will go.