Can we just take a minute and appreciate Hunter Maldonado? This year will likely be his 13th and final season (ok, 5th, but you get the point, he has been around) as he really has nothing else to prove at this level. He has his degree(s) and will certainly embark on a professional basketball career at some level.
He will leave UW very high on a number of lists, but this year is really his best. He is currently averaging 17/6/6 on 53% FG while playing 36 mpg. He runs the offense, he defends, he does everything. Ike is a beast, stud, etc., but Maldo is the MVP of this Wyoming team.
A few statistical notes on this performance:
1. He has played 88.7% of minutes, which is among the Top 50 players nationally (out of approx 5000 D-1 players). That is incredible, but what is even more incredible is that he has done this for 3 years in a row! I don't have the time to do the research right now, but I would doubt there are more than a handful of players that have played more D-1 ball over the last 3 seasons than Hunter Maldonado.
2. His 2-PT FG shooting percentage is right at 60%. That would be impressive for a Big Man who primarily finished off of lobs or putbacks (Oden hits 66% for example). For a primary scorer/perimeter player that is really, really good.
3. His Assist Rate of 34.1 is 35th nationally (again, out of 5000 players). That is the highest for a Wyoming player for the time period that KenPom covers (about 20 years). The only (2) that are close are Josh Adams in his senior year and JJ in his senior year. So..yeah, that the kind of company we are talking about. Speaking of which:
4. Speaking of which, let's look at how Maldo's Senior Season compares to those guys:
Adams: 88.2% of Minutes Played, 36.6% Possessions, 60% TS, 32.6 Assist Rate, 15.3 Def Reb, 17.2 TO Rate
James: 95% of Minutes Played (2nd in the nation!), 36.3% Possessions, 51.% TS, 33.0 Assist Rate, 22.4% Def Reb, 17.2 TO Rate
Maldo: 88.7% of Minutes Played, 28.1% Possessions, 58.4% TS, 34.1 Assist Rate, 13.7 Def Reb, 17.8 TO
He is definitely in the ball park of those guys. James had a bigger impact on the glass, and both Adams and James were required to handle even more of the possessions (aka, they didn't have Graham Ike). Maldo has a lower defensive rebounding rate (Ike effect again). They are each very different players, but Maldo is finishing his career at the same type of level as those guys.
5. That is interesting to me, because that is what I really thought was going to happen when Maldo was a Freshman and Sophomore (the year he got hurt). He played a lot as a freshman on a decent, but not great team (similar to Adams and James), but was not a primary player. He made an impact on defense as a young player like Adams did and the only weakness in his game seemed to be a developing a perimeter shot which was true of those other guys as well. What is interesting is that he did make it to that level, but he did it in a much different manner. He was never quite the athlete that those guys were (few are) and he never improved as a shooter (surprisingly). However, he just became a complete player and so skilled and crafty with the ball that he could control the game without being an above the rim player or challenging opponents from 3.
6. Finally, last but not least...he stayed. He didn't have to. He was recruited to a team that was a little over a year removed from the NCAA and a first round draft pick. He saw the program fall apart, experienced significant injuries, then a coaching change, a position change, another position change, COVID, etc. He has persevered through it all.
It is really easy to cheer for everyone on this team, but Maldo should hold a special place for Poke fans.
He will leave UW very high on a number of lists, but this year is really his best. He is currently averaging 17/6/6 on 53% FG while playing 36 mpg. He runs the offense, he defends, he does everything. Ike is a beast, stud, etc., but Maldo is the MVP of this Wyoming team.
A few statistical notes on this performance:
1. He has played 88.7% of minutes, which is among the Top 50 players nationally (out of approx 5000 D-1 players). That is incredible, but what is even more incredible is that he has done this for 3 years in a row! I don't have the time to do the research right now, but I would doubt there are more than a handful of players that have played more D-1 ball over the last 3 seasons than Hunter Maldonado.
2. His 2-PT FG shooting percentage is right at 60%. That would be impressive for a Big Man who primarily finished off of lobs or putbacks (Oden hits 66% for example). For a primary scorer/perimeter player that is really, really good.
3. His Assist Rate of 34.1 is 35th nationally (again, out of 5000 players). That is the highest for a Wyoming player for the time period that KenPom covers (about 20 years). The only (2) that are close are Josh Adams in his senior year and JJ in his senior year. So..yeah, that the kind of company we are talking about. Speaking of which:
4. Speaking of which, let's look at how Maldo's Senior Season compares to those guys:
Adams: 88.2% of Minutes Played, 36.6% Possessions, 60% TS, 32.6 Assist Rate, 15.3 Def Reb, 17.2 TO Rate
James: 95% of Minutes Played (2nd in the nation!), 36.3% Possessions, 51.% TS, 33.0 Assist Rate, 22.4% Def Reb, 17.2 TO Rate
Maldo: 88.7% of Minutes Played, 28.1% Possessions, 58.4% TS, 34.1 Assist Rate, 13.7 Def Reb, 17.8 TO
He is definitely in the ball park of those guys. James had a bigger impact on the glass, and both Adams and James were required to handle even more of the possessions (aka, they didn't have Graham Ike). Maldo has a lower defensive rebounding rate (Ike effect again). They are each very different players, but Maldo is finishing his career at the same type of level as those guys.
5. That is interesting to me, because that is what I really thought was going to happen when Maldo was a Freshman and Sophomore (the year he got hurt). He played a lot as a freshman on a decent, but not great team (similar to Adams and James), but was not a primary player. He made an impact on defense as a young player like Adams did and the only weakness in his game seemed to be a developing a perimeter shot which was true of those other guys as well. What is interesting is that he did make it to that level, but he did it in a much different manner. He was never quite the athlete that those guys were (few are) and he never improved as a shooter (surprisingly). However, he just became a complete player and so skilled and crafty with the ball that he could control the game without being an above the rim player or challenging opponents from 3.
6. Finally, last but not least...he stayed. He didn't have to. He was recruited to a team that was a little over a year removed from the NCAA and a first round draft pick. He saw the program fall apart, experienced significant injuries, then a coaching change, a position change, another position change, COVID, etc. He has persevered through it all.
It is really easy to cheer for everyone on this team, but Maldo should hold a special place for Poke fans.
