Phil Forte might not need a Batman

Batman and Robin, The Lone Ranger and Tonto, even Sam Mayes and Colby Daniels. All great examples of what Phil Forte has had for the better part of his basketball career. It was a well-known fact that Forte and Marcus Smart were great friends and had been team mates since high school. Well Smart is making the big money in Boston and left Robin to defend Stillwater by himself. 

 

Forte is now, along with Le’Bryan Nash, are really the only scoring punch the Cowboys have. It is clear that the Pokes are playing a completely different style of basketball now than they were a year ago. With the lack of play making ability of Smart the Cowboys offense has been struggling to produce shots.

Forte has seen the biggest change in his game in the course of this calendar year. He has always had a very reliable jump shot and was always a deadly artist with the three point bomb. We as Cowboy loyalists have hear stories of how many shots Forte shoots a day, last estimate I caught was 2,000.

Forte’s deadly shot is still evident in his game through this 12-4 start. He however is now having to create his own. Without Smart on the floor Forte isn’t able to just set up in the corner and let the ball get rotated over to him. He is having to come off screens, dribble off ball screens, and in some cases get to the rim to get his shot.

Forte’s 3 point numbers are actually down from last year in attempts and percentage. His overall field goal attempts though are up almost 3 and a half a game. It is clear after watching the Kansas game, especially in the first half, this former Robin is having to do a Batman impression. 

Taking such a large role in the offense with the absence of Smart would lead you to believe that with the ball in his hands more often would lead to more assists. However you only seen an increase in his assists of .3 a game from a year ago. His points are up 4.5 a game and his minutes are seeing an increase too. He is also in the top of the country in steals averaging 2.5 a game.

So what do these numbers mean? I think that Phil has done his fair share to take up the slack for his old best friend. His old chum though might have left a hole too big to be filled by one man. Anthony Hickey is helping move the offense playing more of a true point guard role and Nash is taking some of that scoring load.