Both Fort Lewis College basketball teams have played at least 10 games. Therefore, now is a good time to see how Skyhawks players from the men’s and women’s teams rank in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual statistics.
The women’s team is 3-8 overall and 1-3 in the RMAC. The men are 8-5 overall and 2-2 in the RMAC. Neither team has played since Dec. 20 and both teams resume play on Saturday against Navajo Technical University in Ignacio. The individual statistical rankings are from the whole season, not just the RMAC games.
Points per game: Biko Johnson
Johnson’s talent has been on display since his first game in a Skyhawks uniform. The senior guard has great size, skill and athletic ability that made him a Division I talent before he came to FLC. So it’s no surprise Johnson is fourth in the RMAC in scoring with 16.2 points per game.
The only game Johnson hasn’t scored in double-figures was FLC’s first game of the season in Florida against Point Loma when he had eight points.
Johnson has struggled with efficiency at times as he’s acclimated to a new team and new offensive system. He went 2-13 shooting from the field against Bowie State and 3-13 from the field against Regis. But he can shoot from 3-point range, get to the basket and the free-throw line.
Arguably, his top performance this season came in FLC’s win against West Texas A&M on Dec. 20. Johnson finished with a season-high 27 points, going 13-15 from the free-throw line, 6-14 from the field and 2-7 from 3-point range.
If FLC wants to contend at the top of the RMAC, Johnson will need to continue to score and draw fouls.
Rebounds per game: Chuol Deng, Darla Hernandez
One similarity between FLC’s men’s and women’s teams is the lack of size. FLC women’s basketball senior forward Darla Hernandez is 5-foot-10-inches and men’s basketball senior forward Chuol Deng is one of the tallest players on the men’s roster at 6-foot-7-inches.
Despite the lack of size on both rosters, someone has to battle for rebounds on each team; Deng and Hernandez are doing it very well.
Deng is third in the RMAC in rebounds per game at 8.5. He’s not far behind William Becker of UCCS, who’s in first with 8.9 RPG.
At only 208 pounds, Deng is rarely the biggest forward on the court. But he uses his length and athleticism well to crash the boards and his teammates trust him to gobble up defensive boards; he’s first in the conference with 6.9 defensive rebounds per game.
Deng has had 10+ rebounds in five of FLC’s 13 games, including a season-high 13 rebounds against New Mexico Highlands on Dec. 10.
Hernandez isn’t the vertical athlete Deng is but positions herself very well to grab rebounds. She’s very strong for her size so it’s not shocking to see her fifth in the RMAC with 8.6 RPG. Like Deng, she carries a lot of the rebounding responsibilities for the women’s team; senior forward Eva Kingston is second on the team with 3.5 RPG.
In six of FLC women’s basketball’s 11 games, Hernandez has had at least 10 rebounds. Her season-high so far is 14, which came on Dec. 20 against Northern New Mexico.
Assists per game: Tru Allen
Fifth-year guard Tru Allen has had the ball in his hands a lot this season for FLC men’s basketball. As the team’s primary point guard, he’s ninth in the RMAC with 3.1 assists per game.
Allen has a poise and maturity that only comes from lots of playing time in his college career. He rarely makes mistakes with the ball and finds his teammates with a lot of simple, yet smart and effective, passes for buckets.
His season-high in assists was seven against Regis on Dec. 7. Allen’s had at least four assists in five games this season.
Blocked shots per game: Chuol Deng
Deng’s a good shot blocker and for a lot of the same reasons, he’s a good rebounder. He has good timing, length and athleticism. He’s second in the RMAC with 1.5 blocks per game. Becker from UCCS leads the conference with 1.6 BPG.
Since Deng is usually guarding the opposing team’s biggest and tallest player, he’s usually in a great spot to either block that player’s shots or provide help defense from the weak side with some powerful swats.
He’s had multiple blocks in six games this year, including a monster six-block performance against New Mexico Highlands.
Steals per game: Stewart Erhart, Biko Johnson, Malachi Coleman, Cassius Carmichael, Tru Allen
Arguably, the most impressive statistic in this article is FLC men’s hoops have five players in the top 10 of the RMAC in steals per game.
FLC men’s basketball head coach Jordan Mast made it a priority for his team to press on defense and be active on that side of the ball. At times, FLC’s best offense this season has been in transition off steals.
Redshirt freshman guard Stewart Erhart leads the RMAC with 2.0 steals per game despite coming off the bench. Erhart has at least three steals in five games.
Johnson is fourth with 1.6 SPG, Coleman is sixth with 1.5 SPG, junior forward Cassius Carmichael is seventh with 1.5 SPG and Allen is 10th with 1.4 SPG.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
