SIU looks to bounce-back in the 2nd game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Meet the Colonels:
The coach of the Eastern Kentucky is A.W. Hamilton in his 7th year as head coach. Hamilton was head coach for 6 years at Hargrave Military Academy (HS) after taking over for current NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. At Eastern Kentucky, Hamilton is 107-89 with his best season coming in 2023 (149 KenPom ranked). Hamilton usually runs a really fast paced offense (2nd in tempo in 2021) but he seems to have slowed it down in recent years (they're currently 161st in the country in adjusted tempo).
The Colonels have road wins this year at #171 East Tennessee State and #361 Chicago State and losses to #31 Clemson and #265 Ball State yesterday.
Coming into the season, EKU was picked 2nd in the ASUN Media Conference poll behind Lipscomb and 4th in the coaches poll behind Lipscomb, Austin Peay, and North Alabama.
Eastern Kentucky is 22nd in the country in offensive rebounding % but they've really struggled on the offensive end shooting this year. They're 202nd in the country in effective field goal % (49.4%) and 225th in the country in 2 point % (48.7%).
On the defensive end, the Colonels have been really good at turning teams over. They're 60th in the country in turnover % (21.2%) and 25th in the country in steal % (13.6%).
The leading scorer for EKU is 6-6 Senior Devontae Blanton averaging 16.2 points per game. Blanton is in his 5th year at Eastern Kentucky and was named the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year going into last season. Blanton is 94th in the country in % of possessions gone through him (29.2%) and 76th in the country in % of shots when he's on the floor (31.7%). Blanton was a unanimous member of the All-ASUN Preseason Team going into this year.
The leader in assists for the Colonels is 6-2 Sophomore George Kimble III averaging 5 assists per game. Kimbel spent his first season at Eckerd College (D2) where he earned conference Freshman of the Year honors. Kimble is 75th in the country in possessions gone through him (29.8%). He's also 124th in the country in assist rate (29.1%) and 29th in the country in steal % (5.4%).
6-8 Sophomore Mayar Wol came over from Charleston and leads the Colonels in rebounds with 7 per game. Wol was a 4 star recruit out of Hickory, NC and chose Charleston over SEC offers. Wol played 22 games off the bench last year playing 5 minutes per game and transferred after Pat Kelsey left for Louisville.
Links:
It will be interesting to see how the team rebounds after a disappointing loss yesterday to LaTech. Been really impressed with Hensley. Seems like Nagy has coached him up to a whole other level compared to last year. Also love the way this team crashes the boards. Never saw that much with Bryan's teams. And kudos to Sheridan Sharpe. He evidently is one of those that turns it up a couple of notches in game situations as compared to practices. Quite a performance yesterday stepping in to fill the gap left by Elliots injury.
This team is going to be what they are... They are going to play very hard, they are going to fight. They are limited offensively and there is a ton of untapped defensive potential. If they grow defensively they can be decent. They rebound hard, if they do that, they can be decent. I expect them to be very competitive all year in almost all games. I expect them to be a very tough out at the Valley tournament. There are probably going to be more frustrating losses than amazing triumphs along the way, but I am in no was discouraged by them. I still think there is a good team in there, its a journey to find it by February and March.
All that said, put me down for a Dawgs dub today. 84-78.
Ugly start. 4 turnovers and 0 points through 3 minutes
5 turnovers and a 10-2 deficit at the under 4 media timeout
18-4 Eastern Kentucky, SIU still hasn’t made a field goal
7 turnovers for SIU in 13 possessions, still no field goals made
9 turnovers for SIU in 8 minutes
This game is gonna break several records of futility for SIU. They’re down 20
I’d start Sharp for Mayo tomorrow and let him play
SIU is shooting 4-20 and is down 34-15 at the under 4 media timeout
Right now, Sharp looks like SIU's best player. Not sure what to make of that.
--Insert something witty here--
4-20 from the field and 10 turnovers in 16 minutes. Also, EKU 6-12 from 3. EKU 12 points off turnovers. Dreadful!
