Sophomore forward Chaise Daniels likely suffered an ACL injury during the first half of Quinnipiac’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 76-72 loss to Niagara on Dec. 4 and didn’t return, according to head coach Tom Moore after Quinnipiac’s win over Canisius.
Daniels arguably affected the game more than any other Bobcat through the team’s first five games.
In Quinnipiac’s losses to Sacred Heart, Vermont and Albany, Daniels averaged 6.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 22 minutes per game. However, in the team’s two wins with Daniels in the lineup, he averaged 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in 33.5 minutes while posting lower marks in turnovers and fouls per game.
Daniels is largely the reason why the Bobcats once led the nation in block percentage. Since his injury, Quinnipiac has slipped to fifth in the nation at 17.4 percent, but even that number is considerably higher than the Division I average of 9.2 percent.
The loss of Daniels for an extended period also means coach Tom Moore will have to roll out a different starting lineup.
According to college basketball advanced analytics site Kenpom.com, Daniels appears in each of Quinnipiac’s top five most-used lineups. The most common lineup that Moore has utilized that doesn’t include Daniels features Giovanni McLean, Daniel Harris, James Ford Jr., Abdulai Bundu and Donovan Smith.
In Quinnipiac’s win over Canisius, the team’s first game without Daniels, Smith got his first career start. Smith finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while shooting an efficient 77.8 percent from the field.
Prior to the team’s game against Niagara, Daniels played in 133 of a possible 200 minutes and owned a 26.2 usage percentage, which is a statistic that estimates the number of team possessions a player uses while he is on the court.
The usage percentage statistic rewards a player for a possession that ends in a positive result (a made basket or assist) and punishes for possession that end in a missed basket that isn’t rebounded by the offense or a turnover. Daniels’ usage rate is second highest on the team to Giovanni McLean.
Rebounds and blocks aside, the Bobcats will miss Daniels’ shooting from inside the arc. The Bobcats are shooting just 39.3 percent on two-point field goals, which ranks the team 337 out of 351 Division I teams. Daniels is picking up the slack, shooting 45.5 percent on such field goals.
The Bobcats play four games throughout the rest of December with the hope that Daniels will be able to return before season’s end. Quinnipiac concludes their regular season on Feb. 28.
