Ewin me both, brother

Offseason Razorback Reels number two explores how the new Hog big man will help make the offense click

There’s a refrain in basketball discourse that is as common as the word corazon in Bachata music: what separates the good basketball players from the great ones is the ability to make their teammates better. As this article develops, if it feels like I’m laying the love for Malique Ewin on pretty thick, I want you to keep that cliche top of mind.

Ewin’s game pops off the screen at you like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero. Multiple times, as I watched three full games from last year, I had my favorite visceral reaction to anything on the basketball floor.

Damn!

Does Ewin make his teammates better? The jury is honestly out. On the one hand, Florida State was just 17-15 (8-12) last year despite having Ewin and All-ACC teammate Jamir Watkins. On the other hand, last year’s Seminoles squad won’t have nearly the same level of talent around Ewin that next year’s Razorbacks roster should. A sculptor is only as good as their clay.

What I can say—unequivically—is that Ewin brings offensive skills to the table that no Arkansas big man had last year. Those skills should make offense easier for everyone next season. That should be a scary exciting proposition for Razorback fans, and just plain scary for the rest of the SEC.

Let’s roll the tape!

The Running Man

The first pattern I noticed in Ewin’s game is something I can honestly say I’ve never seen from a big with Arkansas across their chest. Watch what happens after Ewin secures this defensive rebound.

Ewin takes the ball after the rebound and brings it up the floor himself. He doesn’t hold the ball, pivot into a handoff to a guard, and then jog up the floor. He brings it up himself and immediately initiates the offense out of the post. There is a total of nine seconds of game time between him getting the rebound and Florida State scoring a bucket in the halfcourt. That ability will work wonders for Arkansas’s tempo.

Here’s another example:

He brings the ball up this time and passes to the weakside corner for an open three. Eleven seconds off the clock and three points for his team. No guard touches the ball and they score that quickly with the opposing defense set up in the halfcourt.

He doesn’t just facilitate out of the post either:

He only ends up with one assist across the two clips, but they provide an exciting look at what he could bring to the table next year. It’s fun to imagine what the Razorback offense could look like with players like Trevon Brazile or Karter Knox on the opposite end of those passes.

Plus, when in doubt, Ewin will just take care of business himself:

That’s quite the finish at the rim through traffic, which transitions perfectly into the next pattern to discuss.

Jingle All The Way

Darius Acuff and DJ Wagner should be very excited about this next set of film clips. All the great point guards in the history of the game have had a teammate who can help finish plays. Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Stockton had Karl Malone, Chris Paul had Blake Griffin, Steve Nash had Amare Stoudemire, Tony Parker had Tim Duncan and on and on and on.

All those point guards are great, but they couldn’t have acrued the assist totals that made them elite without someone on the other end. For Acuff and Wagner, that someone is going to be Ewin, and his expert ability to score in the pick-and-roll.

Ewin’s weapon of choice: quickly slipping the screen to punish the defense before they can recover.

You see examples of defenses employing three different ball screen defensive strategies in these three clips. Ewin’s defender for Miami (sort of, but probably not well) hedged the ball screen. Ewin’s defender against Louisville was in drop coverage. SMU tried to ice the ball screen. The goal of all three coverages was to provide enough time for the ballhandler’s defender to get back in position so Ewin’s man could recover back to him.

The problem with those coverages is that Ewin doesn’t need much daylight to score. He uses his speed and agility to get to his spot, and the ballhandler gets him the ball before the defense can recover. Three well-delivered passes, three assists.

And, don’t worry, if teams defend the quick slip, Ewin can just go up and get it, too:

The Man With The Bag

You may ask yourself, “Max, what happens if Ewin puts his ability to rebound and go and his aptitude in pick-and-roll together?” Don’t worry, fictional inner monologue, I’ve got you covered.

I mean…what do you do with that? Ewin brings the ball into the frontcourt, fakes a dribble handoff, posts up, and shimmies past his defender into a one-footed reverse layup. I’ve watched this clip 1000 times. When he gets drafted, expect to see it on his highlight reel. It’s just wild, wild stuff to see a dude who is 6’11” just go get it on his own like this.

Key Takeaways

So, how will this improve Arkansas’s offense next year? For starters, Arkansas did not have consistent offensive production from the five spot last season. Zvonimir Ivisic had his stretch (pun intended) of games where he was lighting it up, but he also disappeared for long stretches. Jonas Aidoo also had a run where he scored points, but never on his own, and often at the expense of the offense slowing down while he pounded the air out of the ball in the post. Ewin will help speed up a team that was 70th in tempo last season, according to KenPom.

Let’s also not discount the obvious here: the more dudes you have on the floor who can facilitate and score, the more dudes the defense has to defend and account for. The times where Arkansas’s offense stagnated last year were largely because defenses could pack it in to prevent dribble penetration or tailor the defense to stop the one hot hand.

Ewin helps with both those things. If you double him in the post, he’s a good enough passer to get the ball to shooters for some open looks. On top of that, his ability to get past defenders with fancy footwork or finish through contact means defenses will have to be locked in at all levels.

John Calipari is trying to build a squad to eat opposing defenses for breakfast. And, right now, Ewin is very hungry.