Individual Performances

[Wufan]

Only one game left for the Valley in November (Drake at Nevada) so I thought I'd look at some of the best performers in the early season.

Top 9 returners:

Doug McDermott, CU - 21.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 53.3% FG, 40.0% 3FG
Jeff Early, SIU - 18.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.2 spg, 61.9% FG
Jackie Carmichael, Ill St - 16.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.5 spg, 2.5 bpg, 58.5% FG
Jordan Clarke, Drake - 12.4 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.5:1 A:TO, 1.0 bpg, 1.4 spg, 66.7% FG
Jake Odum, Ind St - 13.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.8 apg, 2:1 A:TO, 1.6 spg
Carl Hall, WSU - 13.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 bpg
Tyler Brown, Ill St - 18.8 ppg, 40% 3FG
Ben Simons, Drake - 17.4 ppg, 42.1% 3FG
Deon Mitchell, UNI - 14.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, 53.8% FG, 40.0% 3FG
Walt Lemon Jr, BU - 13.2 ppg, 4.2 apg

Best Player for Evansville, Missouri State (didn't make top 10):

Troy Taylor, UE - 4.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.3:1 A:TO
Anthony Downing, MSU - 15.7 ppg

Top 5 New Comers:

Desmar Jackson, SIU - 13.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.6 spg
Tyshon Pickett, BU - 12.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 53.6% FG
Cleanthony Early, WSU - 13.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.9 bpg
Richard Carter, Drake - 10.4 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.6 rpg, 54.5% 3FG
Malcolm Armstead, WSU - 7.3 ppg, 3.6 apg, 2.0 spg

Top 5 Freshman:

Marcus Marshall, MSU - 11.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.7 apg, 40.7% 3FG
Kaza Keane, 4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.3 A:TO, 1.3 spg
Dorrian Williams, 5.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 4.3 apg, 46.7% 3FG
Joey King, Drake - 9.2 ppg, 42.9% 3FG
DJ Balentine, EU - 8.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.7:1 A:TO

[Wufan]

Surprise performances to this point in the season:

#1 Jeff Early has been dominant as the #3 scorer, #2 rebounder and #1 thief in the conference. His averages of 8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 1.2 spg as a JUCO transfer last year did not foreshadow the output of 18.2, 9.0 and 2.2 we are currently seeing.

#2 Gavin Thurman got some pre-season hype and looked poised for stardom after his debut against Philander Smith where he had 19 and 8. Since then he's averaging 2 points and 2.6 rebounds.

#3 Evan Wessel of WSU was written off by most WSU fans as the 12th man in the rotation. To this point he has started 8 games and played solid yet unspectacular basketball as a glue guy.

#4 Seth Tuttle was the most efficient scorer in the conference during his freshman of the year campaign. Rather than moving into the ranks of the elite individual players, Tuttle has regressed slightly and is shooting 47% from the field versus the 65% he shot as a freshman.

#5 The first year starting point guards in the Valley. New to job point guards are expected to struggle, but that hasn't been the case this season. Five teams have a new quarterback in the Valley, and all are performing well. Chatman of Creighton played sparingly as a freshman last year, but is averaging 8.8 ppg, 4.8 apg and only 2.5 TOs. Armstead of WSU is the only other new PG in the Valley with D-I experience. He's averaging 7.5 and 3.4 with 2 steals to boot. Richard Carter at Drake is a JUCO transfer with 11.3 points, and 3.8 to 2.2 A to TOs. Also shooting 53.8% from 3. Freshman Kaza Keane at Illinois State is second in the conference with 5.8 assists per contest and only 2.5 turn overs to go with that and Missouri State's frosh, Dorian Williams is one of the lone bright spots on a struggling team.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Surprise performances to this point in the season:

I think it is important to keep quality of opponents in mind when comparing numbers across teams. For example, Tuttle's numbers are down from last year, but UNI has played a pretty tough schedule. Likewise, although I like Early, SIU has played a pretty soft noncon, so his numbers are probably a bit better than they will be later.

[Wufan]

I agree DJA. The SOS has played into the numbers for both.

[Khan4Cats]

Surprise performances to this point in the season:

I think it is important to keep quality of opponents in mind when comparing numbers across teams. For example, Tuttle's numbers are down from last year, but UNI has played a pretty tough schedule. Likewise, although I like Early, SIU has played a pretty soft noncon, so his numbers are probably a bit better than they will be later.

Tuttle, in addition to the competition level, also seems to be a little off in his confidence right now. He is missing a lot of easy shots in close and was missing them even before going to Atlantis. He actually only had like 10 shots in the three games in Atlantis, so those games didn't impact his numbers as much. UNI needs him to get out this funk, he will make things a lot easier for others if he is getting some points inside for us.

Otherwise I agree, it is early to compare too many numbers and I usually don't get caught up in too many of those, though the numbers on the new PG's are interesting.

[valleychamp]

I would add as a pleasant surprise, 6'9 Soph F Nate Buss of UNI. He is seeing his first game action this year after redshirting two years ago, and missing last year due to a broken arm.

Thus far, he is only averaging around 14 minutes off of the bench (I wouldn't be surprised to see his minutes keep rising), but is averaging 8.3 PPG, while shooting 69% from the field and 60% from three. He has really been instant offense for UNI off of the bench, a very versatile scorer and has provided a scoring spark for UNI.