By Freddie Kiger

"Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case [this] remark…would often apply with justice and force: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.’”

Mark Twain’s oft-quoted line was published back in 1906.  Some would argue it’s so in 2012, particularly, in the hands of basketball in-game analysts and statisticians.  For my part, here’s what I monitor on a nightly basis:  Field Goals, 3-Point Field Goals, Time Outs, Team Fouls, Turnovers, Points Off Turnovers, Team Free Throws, Transition Points, Points-in-the-Paint, Offensive Rebounds, Second Chance Points, Individual Fouls, Individual Free Throws, Individual Career Highs, Ties and Lead Changes. 

I always leave one stat column open and provide wide margins because you never know when an analyst may want to “track” something else.  They’re called “specialty stats” and they’re kept to gauge a very specific aspect of an individual or team’s performance.  Over the years, I’ve had to track some unusual things. 

For example, Dan Bonner likes for me to track a subset of Points-in-the-Paint. He calls them Power Points and refers to points scored in the paint only by posted big men. 

ESPN’s Debbie Antonelli and I have tracked what we call “Murphy to Manteo.”  We used the logo of the state at center court to portray where a turnover occurred—backcourt or frontcourt—and what happened.  For Jay Bilas, my friend Bob Page kept an ESPN specialty stat that recorded Antawn Jamison’s shots/points and how many seconds it took to amass them.  These are three of hundreds of specialty stats dreamed up by analysts over the years.

With Carolina, again in the national spotlight, those same analysts continue to find new ways to break down the Tar Heels’ game.  Here are a few specialty stats I’ve already charted this season and for whom:

For Jay Bilas-How many Carolina offensive possessions were in transition or five-on-five.

For former Manhattan Coach Fran Fraschilla-How many of Kendall Marshall’s assists were “coach’s assists”—passes to players that resulted in a good shot though it didn’t go in or led to a player being fouled and sending him to the free throw line.  Both are not official NCAA assists but coaches note them.

For Hubert Davis-How many times Tyler Zeller was double-teamed at the block and what happened.

For former Duke star Jay Williams-How many of Carolina’s assists came while Marshall was on the floor and how many when he was on the bench.

For Mike Gminski-How many John Henson shots and blocks came with his left hand.

It’s a simple game, but to players, coaches and analysts, these specialty stats go far beyond simple basic numbers and give insight into strengths and weaknesses that, often, are hammered into the collective minds of teams, coaches and players who prepare to play North Carolina.

Mark Twain may have maintained that statistics were worse than lies. In evaluating the true mettle of this Tar Heel team, maybe not.