Almonacy was able to help contribute to the Appalachian State Mountaineers earn an automatic bid in this years NCAA tournament. He is third on the team in scoring and leads the team in assist. Almonacy is a solid long-range shooter, shooting 36.3% from 3 which is actually a 4-percentage dip from his previous year 3-point shooting. Playing in the Sun Belt conference is known to be a weaker conference in Division 1 college basketball but has put solid numbers against high majored teams; Tennessee (9) and Auburn (15).
Averages: PPG(12.9), APG (2.9), SPG(1.4), RPG(4.2), TO(1.6) FG%41.3
Measurables: Age:23 Height:6’0 Weight:180lbs Length: N/A
Strengths: Spot Up Shooting Transition Movement without the Ball
Spot up shooting: Almonacy does a good job of relocating when the ball is not in his hands and finds softs spots in the defense for knock down shots. 34.8% of Almonacy play types are spot up shots in which he averages 1.102ppp per Synergy which ranks him in the 82% percentile and a very good rating. He has exceptionally good shooting mechanics and follows through on every shot he takes. At only 6’0, every jump shot he shoots, he gets good elevation under him enabling to rise over close-out defenders.
Transition: Almonacy averages 1.235ppp in transition which ranks in the 82% percentile with a very good rating. He can push the pace in transition when the ball is in his hands or when playing off the ball, he can run the wings in transition for the score. He has also shown the ability to be a 3-level scorer when in transition whether that’s pulling up for 3’s off the dribble, dribble pull ups for mid-range or catch and shoot opportunities, he can knock down those shots at a consistent rate.
Other areas Almonacy excels analytically is Isolation plays – 1.062ppp which he has scored 17 points on 16 possessions which equate to 4.3% of his play types and Off-Screen plays, scoring 1.364ppp or 15 points on 11 possessions with these types of designated plays, alluding to his movement without the ball.
Weakness: Creating Offense Turnover to Assist Ratio Athleticism
With someone who has the ball in his hand a lot, Almonacy does not create a lot off the dribble for him self and only averaging just under 3 assist shows he does not create a lot of offense for his teammate either. A lot of his scoring comes with in the flow of the game, which is not necessarily a bad thing but if you needed someone who can just go out and get a bucket its tougher for him to create his own. Almonacy has a 1.7 assist to turnover ratio which can be a little concerning for someone who is going to have the ball in his hands on most possessions and plays in a weaker conference. And at only 6’0 he is not a leaper, or someone who jumps off your screen with elite quickness, more so relies on angles and shifty moves to get past defenders.
Overall: Very solid player in the Sun Belt conference, who has shown the ability to score at a high clip – scoring 32 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in the conference championship. With more at stake to play for now and a chance to advance in the tournament, I would not be surprised if he becomes more assertive with his scoring knowing that this could be his last game as a collegiate athlete.