Tyler Roberson was a beast on the offensive glass in Syracuse’s (8-3) 67-46 win over Cornell on Sunday. Eight of his 12 rebounds were offensive, and 10 of his 15 points came on second-chance opportunities.

“It’s funny,” SU interim head coach Mike Hopkins said after the game. “When Tyler focuses on rebounding, he seems to score.”

And according to advanced statistics from Hoop-Math, Hopkins is spot on. By the numbers, Roberson has been the most effective second-chance scorer in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. Hoop-Math defines a “putback” as a made shot that is taken within four seconds of grabbing an offensive rebound, and Roberson is at the top of the conference in that category.

Below is a list of the players with the most putbacks on all 15 ACC teams, with their field-goal percentage on putbacks at the rim in parentheses. You’ll see that Roberson is not only tied for the most putbacks in the conference, but that he’s also converting at the highest rate around the basket among players with 20.

1. Tyler Roberson (Syracuse) — 20 putbacks (83.3 percent)
2. Charles Mitchell (Georgia Tech) — 20 putbacks (73.3 percent)
3. Zach LeDay (Virginia Tech) — 20 putbacks (50 percent)
4. Brice Johnson (North Carolina) — 15 putbacks (100 percent)
5. Zach Auguste (Notre Dame) — 15 putbacks (50 percent)
6. Abdul-Malik Abu (North Carolina State) — 15 putbacks (46.2 percent)
7. Devin Thomas (Wake Forest) — 14 putbacks (57.1 percent)
8. Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) — 13 putbacks (62.5 percent)
9. Anthony Gill (Virginia) — 10 putbacks (80 percent)
10. Amile Jefferson (Duke) — 10 putbacks (66.7 percent)
11. Terance Mann (Florida State) — 10 putbacks (50 percent)
12. Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson) — 9 putbacks (33.3 percent)
13. Tonye Jekiri (Miami) — 7 putbacks (66.7 percent)
14. Rafael Maia (Pittsburgh) — 6 putbacks (60 percent)
15. Johncarlos Reyes (Boston College) —5 putbacks (80 percent)

Why Roberson’s “Putback” numbers are more impressive than Brice Johnson’s

It may be a bit confusing that I am calling Tyler Roberson the most effective second-chance scorer in the ACC while Johnson has a 100 percent conversion rate at the rim. But there are two factors at play here, one based in logic and the other in strategy.

First, with 20 putbacks and a 83.3 percent conversion rate around the rim (Roberson hasn’t attempted any putbacks away from the rim), he has accounted for 40 points on putbacks. Johnson has attempted a few putbacks away from the rim, but none of them have come from 3-point territory, so he’s accounted for 30 points on putbacks.

Second, Johnson plays with one of the best low-post threats in the country in Kennedy Meeks, which has an effect on his putbacks. Meeks often draws double teams in the post, which can leave Johnson alone on the weak side. This makes a good share of his second-chance opportunities uncontested, while Roberson doesn’t enjoy that luxury as often. That’s not to say that Dajuan Coleman, Tyler Lydon or Syracuse’s drivers haven’t drawn double teams this season, but being paired with a player of Meeks’ caliber only helps Johnson thrive around the rim.

Why this matters for Syracuse

It has been well-documented that most of Syracuse’s offense is going to come from its 3-point shooting. According to Kenpom, 38.2 percent of the Orange’s total points have come on 3s this season, which is currently the 23rd highest rate in the country and highest among ACC teams. That makes Roberson’s ability to create scoring opportunities on the offensive glass particularly important, and his ability to convert at a high rate gives SU a valuable offensive complexion for a perimeter-oriented system.

Published on December 20, 2015 at 1:56 pm