Walter Eberz
Shooting Guard
Offensive Game:
Walt's game is a game of deception,
driving, and hitting open shots. He moves with a
purpose, and plays a very complementary game; he's not
the "go-to" scorer, but teaming him with a go-to scorer
makes the go-to scorer more productive. His outside
shot is somewhat streaky, but should be respected. His
preferred spot is along an angle toward the wing;
that's the shot you absolutely cannot give him.
On his cuts, he can be forced into
difficult, athletic finishes at odd angles, which he
struggles with. He's not going to beat you with sheer
speed, or athleticism, but with precision and method.
Finally, Walt isn't a big guy, and is going to have a few of
his interior looks turned back by a good shot-blocker.
He's a capable, although not masterful,
passer, and is willing to take the time to set things up and
get a good shot. He'll take a questionable shot every
once in a while, but not often. Expect him to set his
game up off of a teammate.
Defensive Game:
Defensively, Walt can best be described as
an alert pest. He's not going to turn in big numbers
in terms of steals or blocks, but his man isn't going to
have an easy time, either. If you're very, very big,
or very, very fast, he's going to go down, but he's not
going to go down easily. On a drive, he'll use his
body and move you in your drive, but he's generally not
going to be in a position to take a charge.
Walt is more liable to break up a play and
force a reset - e.g. knock the ball out of bounds, etc. -
than he is to turn a defensive stand into an offensive
possession.
The Mental Game:
Expect a team-oriented, subtle approach
from Walt. He knows his game, and he plays his game,
and you're not going to take him out of his game. But
in a critical situation, he's not going to be the
take-charge type to stop the bleeding either, although his
approach might make you think he'd be the perfect person to
do that.
He'll stick to his role, and can patiently
watch a team cough up a lead without losing his calm, cool
demeanor. A late-in-game play, to Walt, is pretty much
no different than an early-in-game play, and you can expect
him to make the same play. However, you're not going
to see him "ramp up" in response to tighter, more aggressive
and competitive defense down the stretch, meaning that as
the game gets tight, limits of his skills become more
obvious.
Walt's game is loaded with intangibles,
and his consistent approach puts him in the ultimate
state-of-mind and place to use them.
At his best:
...he's a critical glue-type player who
can contribute in small but significant ways to a team's
offensive game with scoring and ball-movement, and a team's
defensive game by breaking up plays.
At his worst:
...he'll either try to do too much as a
scorer or in making athletic plays, and take himself out of
his game - or he'll get ignored entirely because of his
quiet on-court nature.
Strategy for playing with him:
I adore Walt's game. He's my current
favorite target.
If you want to play successfully with
Walt, there's one thing that you MUST do: give Walt
touches. When Walt has the ball, he's not going to do
anything utterly stupid, although he'll have a turnover here
and there, especially on post-entry passes. But to
play with Walt and use him successfully, you've got to
involve Walt - and sometimes, it's easy to overlook him.
Strategy for playing against him:
Keeping Walt out of the game is reasonably
easy; just don't allow him touches. A lot of the
time, his teammates may do this for you. If he gets
touches, use high pressure, threaten the shot-block, and try
to get him in a one-on-one game. Under high pressure
is when he'll make the most damaging of turnovers.
Also, if you can get him to stand along the perimeter, a big
part of your job has been done.
You'll be tempted to sneak away from him
and play help defense on the lane. If his team is
ignoring him, you can get away with this just a bit.
But you have to be ready to recover, because once he gets
going, he's more likely to be noticed by his teammates.
Don't let him get going on outside shots; make him
drive into the teeth of the defense - especially towards the
shot-blockers.
Comparable Pro: Matt Harpring
Last updated: November 12, 2008
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