Evansville Doing a 180

McCarty Has the Athletic Roster He Wants

(St. Louis, MO) – Attendance at Evansville basketball games was up 40% last season and athleticism has grown by that much this year. The Purple Aces lacked the athletes to play Walter McCarty’s style of basketball, but this season Evansville is doing a 180 in that department.

True to his NBA and University of Kentucky roots, McCarty wants to play an up tempo, full court game, filled with NBA offensive sets when confined to the half court. You need a certain kind of roster to play that way. McCarty has built that kind of roster.

The second year head coach knew he had to survive last season while laying the original foundation in his program. He had some talented players sitting out that would change the dynamic this year.

So he scheduled a summer foreign trip for this summer. He wanted his new lineup to get a jump on playing as a team and learning one another’s abilities.

McCarty says there is a buzz around the Missouri Valley Conference team and the foreign trip was highly successful.

 

 

Better Size and Talent

DeAndre Williams was an elite level player coming out of high school. The 6’9 Houston native was academically ineligible last year and will play as a sophomore this season. While in high school he was invited to the NBA’s prestigious Top 100 camp.

Williams was electric during the Aces’ trip to Europe (see MVC International Travels Updated), leading the team in scoring and making some dazzling plays.

Sam Cunliffe is a Kansas transfer who also played a season at Arizona State. While fulfilling his one year of mandatory transfer obligations, the 6’6 Seattle native, grew. He grew physically stronger and mentally more mature.

McCarty says those two players benefited from the year of sitting out and they are major reasons the Purple Aces are doing a 180 on the athletic and talent front.

 

 

 

What Does Doing a 180 Mean?

According to KenPom.com, the Purple Aces’ offensive efficiency rating was the Valley’s second worst. They allowed the most points (71.6 per game) and had the Valley’s worst rebounding margin (-3.9). The fact that they were a poor shooting team (9^th in the league) and yet finished with the second highest scoring average (69.8) is a testament to how hard they worked to put points on the board.

Led by K.J. Riley’s 176 free throws, the Aces took (660) and made (476) more free throws than anyone in the league.

McCarty says Riley was the only player on last year’s team that could create his own shot, and that teams physically dominated them on the defensive end.

 

 

Key Returners

Riley is the team’s leading returning scorer. He led the Aces in scoring (13.6 ppg), free throws (he was 16^th in the nation with 176), assists and steals. Shockingly, he did not land on any of the Valley’s all-conference teams.

McCarty describes the 6’5 Riley as a ‘gym rat’. Last year’s scoring average was exactly doubled from his sophomore year and has totaled 651 points during his two seasons.

Other returners include, leading rebounder John Hall (6.6 per game), Noah Frederking, Evan Kuhlman, Shamar Givance and Jawaun Newton. All played valuable minutes and averaged more than three points per game.

Givance was second to Riley in assists with 75 in only 17 minutes per game. Kuhlman led the team with an 88% free throw percentage. Frederking is a reliable three-point shooter and Newton is looked at as a defensive stopper.

Riley says the blend of key returners and uber talented newcomers makes this a dangerous edition of Evansville basketball. He is impressed with the talent of the rookies and the transfers.

 

 

Enthusiasm and optimism surround the entire Evansville program. After an 11-win season, doing a 180 would land them near the top of the Valley standings.

Do Good