After suffering through an injury-plagued 2015-16, the ?16-17 edition of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks has not fared much better.
In less than 24 hours, the Lumberjacks (3-11, 0-1 Big Sky) lost a pair of starters for the foreseeable future to add to the one out since the beginning of the season. Senior guard Jaleni Neely went down at the team?s practice a day before Saturday?s Big Sky Conference opener against Southern Utah. Then senior forward Ako Kaluna left with an ankle injury 11 minutes into the contest, leaving Northern Arizona shorthanded as it heads to North Dakota for its first conference road trip.
Coupled with Torry Johnson?s ACL tear suffered during the offseason, Northern Arizona will play without three of its original starting five going forward.
?I still feel like we can compete. We played earlier this month against Little Rock at home without Mike (Green) or Jaleni and were very competitive,? said Lumberjacks head coach Jack Murphy. ?In that game, Ako really didn't have that great of a game, so it isn?t like we were missing out on that production right there. We have guys that have proven they can play and compete, we just have to pull it from them on a consistent basis.?
Playing 30 minutes against the Thunderbirds, Brooks DeBisschop reached double-digits for the third time this season and topped his career-high with 6 of 7 made free throws. The freshman also reached five rebounds for the third time in the past four games.
Holding a team-best 123.2 offensive rating in his 195 minutes across 11 games, well ahead of any freshman Lumberjack from last year, DeBisschop provides a solid presence both inside and on the perimeter as a 6-8 forward.
?He has been playing really well as it was and in a lot of minutes,? Murphy said of DeBisschop. ?So really the guys that are going to have to step up are Isaiah (Thomas) and Corey (Brown). They are going to have their minutes increase probably and they gave to have to have their production increase.?
Averaging 15 minutes per game, each playing in 10 of Northern Arizona?s 14 games, Thomas and Brown have seen less time on the court as sophomores. With Jordyn Martin back from an injury and DeBisschop playing well, neither forward has found consistent playing time.
Brown averaged 12.1 minutes per game a year ago, starting 14 and playing in 30, while Thomas averaged 8.6 minutes across 30 games and six starts.
?Both of them in limited minutes have done OK and they obviously produced in individual games last year,? Murphy said. ?Not consistently, but that?s what we have to look for.?
In Neely?s absence, it will also fall on the Lumberjacks? depth to fill up minutes. Averaging 25.6 minutes in 12 games so far, Neely scored an average of 8.7 points. When Neely missed Northern Arizona?s near upset of Little Rock earlier this month, it was Aziz Seck, Chris Bowling and Felix Rivera-Vega who filled 50 minutes for the team.
Rivera-Vega also missed Saturday?s game, with Murphy saying ?some things are going to keep him out for the foreseeable future,? and he won?t be in line for an uptick in playing time. Instead, it will be Seck, Bowling and Kye de Laveaga who will need to produce according to Murphy.
?Once again, we are left with a whole bunch of underclassmen,? Murphy said. ?Freshmen and sophomores that are kind of being thrown into the fire. It is going to be good experience for them this year and good experience when we do hopefully get Ako and Jalani back toward the end of this year.?
HEADING TO NORTH DAKOTA
Picked third by the coaches and fourth by the media, the Fighting Hawks (6-6) finished their first week of Big Sky play with a 1-1 record. Falling to Portland State 99-62 on the road Thursday, North Dakota bounced back with a 90-82 overtime victory against Sacramento State Saturday.
Ranking 85th in 2-point field goal percentage, where 56.9 percent of their points come from, North Dakota?s offense runs through the paint. Three different Fighting Hawks hit better than 55 percent from inside the arc, including Carson Shanks (24 of 40), Geno Crandall (35 of 61) and Conner Avants (44 of 66).
Senior Quinton Hooker, a Big Sky Conference First Team honoree last year, leads the team with 17.9 points per game while setting the tone for the team?s gameplan.
?They have great guards that create those baskets. Geno Crandall and Quinton Hooker are two of the best guards in the league,? Murphy said. ?Cortez Seales has been paying very well for them and Corey Baldwin, their perimeter guys are outstanding. Conner Avants, Drick Bernstine, Carson Shanks, those guys get good shots around the rim because of those guards.?
Northern Arizona struggled to contain Southern Utah?s guards in Saturday?s loss, with Randy Onwuasor scoring 37 points and 12 rebounds while hitting 5 of 12 from inside the arc. James McGee also hurt the Lumberjacks, scoring 32 points while hitting 3 of 5 from 2-point range.
While the two hurt Northern Arizona from outside with their 3-point shooting, the guards combined to hit 13 of 19 from the free-throw line.
?They are effective around the basket, they score layups well. We are really going to have to do a good job defensively squeezing off the paint,? Murphy said of North Dakota.
?We just have to get progressively better, there?s no magic pill that makes our defense outstanding overnight, but we can get better,? Murphy said. ?We have been a good defensive ball club here in the past and we have that ability again, we just have to do it and show some signs of life with it Thursday at North Dakota.?
In less than 24 hours, the Lumberjacks (3-11, 0-1 Big Sky) lost a pair of starters for the foreseeable future to add to the one out since the beginning of the season. Senior guard Jaleni Neely went down at the team?s practice a day before Saturday?s Big Sky Conference opener against Southern Utah. Then senior forward Ako Kaluna left with an ankle injury 11 minutes into the contest, leaving Northern Arizona shorthanded as it heads to North Dakota for its first conference road trip.
Coupled with Torry Johnson?s ACL tear suffered during the offseason, Northern Arizona will play without three of its original starting five going forward.
?I still feel like we can compete. We played earlier this month against Little Rock at home without Mike (Green) or Jaleni and were very competitive,? said Lumberjacks head coach Jack Murphy. ?In that game, Ako really didn't have that great of a game, so it isn?t like we were missing out on that production right there. We have guys that have proven they can play and compete, we just have to pull it from them on a consistent basis.?
Playing 30 minutes against the Thunderbirds, Brooks DeBisschop reached double-digits for the third time this season and topped his career-high with 6 of 7 made free throws. The freshman also reached five rebounds for the third time in the past four games.
Holding a team-best 123.2 offensive rating in his 195 minutes across 11 games, well ahead of any freshman Lumberjack from last year, DeBisschop provides a solid presence both inside and on the perimeter as a 6-8 forward.
?He has been playing really well as it was and in a lot of minutes,? Murphy said of DeBisschop. ?So really the guys that are going to have to step up are Isaiah (Thomas) and Corey (Brown). They are going to have their minutes increase probably and they gave to have to have their production increase.?
Averaging 15 minutes per game, each playing in 10 of Northern Arizona?s 14 games, Thomas and Brown have seen less time on the court as sophomores. With Jordyn Martin back from an injury and DeBisschop playing well, neither forward has found consistent playing time.
Brown averaged 12.1 minutes per game a year ago, starting 14 and playing in 30, while Thomas averaged 8.6 minutes across 30 games and six starts.
?Both of them in limited minutes have done OK and they obviously produced in individual games last year,? Murphy said. ?Not consistently, but that?s what we have to look for.?
In Neely?s absence, it will also fall on the Lumberjacks? depth to fill up minutes. Averaging 25.6 minutes in 12 games so far, Neely scored an average of 8.7 points. When Neely missed Northern Arizona?s near upset of Little Rock earlier this month, it was Aziz Seck, Chris Bowling and Felix Rivera-Vega who filled 50 minutes for the team.
Rivera-Vega also missed Saturday?s game, with Murphy saying ?some things are going to keep him out for the foreseeable future,? and he won?t be in line for an uptick in playing time. Instead, it will be Seck, Bowling and Kye de Laveaga who will need to produce according to Murphy.
?Once again, we are left with a whole bunch of underclassmen,? Murphy said. ?Freshmen and sophomores that are kind of being thrown into the fire. It is going to be good experience for them this year and good experience when we do hopefully get Ako and Jalani back toward the end of this year.?
HEADING TO NORTH DAKOTA
Picked third by the coaches and fourth by the media, the Fighting Hawks (6-6) finished their first week of Big Sky play with a 1-1 record. Falling to Portland State 99-62 on the road Thursday, North Dakota bounced back with a 90-82 overtime victory against Sacramento State Saturday.
Ranking 85th in 2-point field goal percentage, where 56.9 percent of their points come from, North Dakota?s offense runs through the paint. Three different Fighting Hawks hit better than 55 percent from inside the arc, including Carson Shanks (24 of 40), Geno Crandall (35 of 61) and Conner Avants (44 of 66).
Senior Quinton Hooker, a Big Sky Conference First Team honoree last year, leads the team with 17.9 points per game while setting the tone for the team?s gameplan.
?They have great guards that create those baskets. Geno Crandall and Quinton Hooker are two of the best guards in the league,? Murphy said. ?Cortez Seales has been paying very well for them and Corey Baldwin, their perimeter guys are outstanding. Conner Avants, Drick Bernstine, Carson Shanks, those guys get good shots around the rim because of those guards.?
Northern Arizona struggled to contain Southern Utah?s guards in Saturday?s loss, with Randy Onwuasor scoring 37 points and 12 rebounds while hitting 5 of 12 from inside the arc. James McGee also hurt the Lumberjacks, scoring 32 points while hitting 3 of 5 from 2-point range.
While the two hurt Northern Arizona from outside with their 3-point shooting, the guards combined to hit 13 of 19 from the free-throw line.
?They are effective around the basket, they score layups well. We are really going to have to do a good job defensively squeezing off the paint,? Murphy said of North Dakota.
?We just have to get progressively better, there?s no magic pill that makes our defense outstanding overnight, but we can get better,? Murphy said. ?We have been a good defensive ball club here in the past and we have that ability again, we just have to do it and show some signs of life with it Thursday at North Dakota.?
