Leyma Coruña's star player is absorbing an excessive amount of the team's offensive load with unprecedented usage statistics
There are times when statistics confirm exactly what you're seeing on the court, and the case of how Alonzo Verge is driving the offense for the team coached by Carles Marco is one of them. Anyone who has watched all of Leyma Coruña's games will have enjoyed the spectacular play of the Illinois native, but will also have had the sense that he's finishing a very high number of his team's possessions.
At Pirates del Basket, we typically conduct analysis focused on advanced statistics, and one of our favorites for evaluating certain players is USG%. In an article about Markus Howard, we wrote the following: "One of the statistics that has come to us in recent times is precisely the one that measures the percentage of possessions that each player finishes based on those he's on the court for. It could be said that it's the statistic that measures the 'ball hog' more reliably than mere field goal attempts."
Here you can see the articles dedicated to Markus Howard:
The former Baskonia player set USG% records in EuroLeague, also doing so in terms of field goal attempts per minute in both European competition and the ACB. In the case of the Liga Endesa, he "only" finished second, as his 36.1% USG% from the 2022-23 season did not reach the 36.4 of Askia Booker, another renowned "ball hog," in 2019-20.
Over these first five games, Alonzo Verge is averaging a remarkable 41.1% USG%
Without a doubt, that figure deserves to stand alone. His numbers in this category at the start of the season show an offensive usage never seen in these parts and well above the historical record. Other numbers that highlight how impressive that average is are those of his immediate pursuers, all of them players who absorb a lot of the game, such as Nicolas Laprovittola, who sits at 34, or Dylan Ennis, who averages 33.4.
Another very interesting statistic for evaluating players who finish the most plays for their teams relative to their court time is the number of field goal attempts per forty minutes. The ACB record remains in the hands of the aforementioned Askia Booker, who in 2019-20 "shot until his shoes fell off," or in other words, 25.3 field goal attempts per forty minutes of play.
In the first five games, Dylan Ennis is matching that historic figure. Alonzo Verge is averaging above that with 27.5 field goal attempts per forty minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSFqmA9N5Fw
The numbers show that Alonzo Verge is absorbing a lot of offensive usage in this early part of the season, but it's also worth noting that Leyma Coruña is still a team coming together and that the former Rasta Vechta player is one of the most outstanding offensive talents in the ACB with averages of 18.6 points and 5.6 assists. Combining Verge's great individual offensive abilities with more balanced team play is the current challenge for the Coruña team's coaching staff.