It’s 2026 and Fort Lewis College men’s basketball is 11 games into its season, so let’s look at what the strengths and weaknesses of the Skyhawks are so far this season.
The Skyhawks are 6-5 overall after one of the toughest non-conference schedules in Division II. It seemed like every time FLC took the court, it was against a top 25 team in Division II.
FLC started the season 2-0, including a win over now top 25 team Eastern New Mexico University, before losing four consecutive games (three of those teams have been ranked in the top 25). The Skyhawks bounced back with four consecutive wins against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foes before losing to No. 14 St. Edward’s University. Then, FLC went into the holiday break with its best win of the season, an 81-68 win over No. 13 St. Mary’s University.
After this gauntlet of a schedule, the Skyhawks have plenty of data to look at. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of FLC so far this season, compared to other RMAC teams, before FLC resumes play at home against Western Colorado on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Scoring
The Skyhawks have scored the ball well so far this year and are fifth in the RMAC with 80.8 points per game.
FLC was also good on offense last year, finishing third in the conference with 79.1 PPG.
Skyhawks head coach Jordan Mast wants his team to push the ball, and this is reflected in FLC’s scoring output. FLC also has had a lot of talented players and a lot of different player archetypes to help with their offense.
Inside the paint, FLC has two powerful inside scorers in forwards Keither Florence and Massal Diouf. The Skyhawks have versatile forwards, Chuol Deng and Cassius Carmichael. They have an elite athlete on the wing in Donald Bangham Jr; FLC has an elite shooter in Jaxon Smith, a defensive pest in Stewart Erhart and a facilitator in Yorgio Golesis.
In theory, the offense should get better as the season goes along as the new pieces gel. But, the Skyhawks lost Golesis to a torn ACL, which is a huge blow.
Offensive rebounds
One of Mast’s objectives in the offseason was to get stronger and bigger. He did that, and it shows with the Skyhawks ranking second in the RMAC with 13.5 offensive rebounds per game.
Offensive rebounds can be won by small players by out-hustling their opponents, but it helps when FLC has a player like Diouf at center, who’s listed at 6-foot-9-inches and 245 pounds, in the middle, carving up space. This frees up players like Deng and Carmichael at the forward positions to outrebound players at their position, unlike last season when they were battling bigger players inside.
Erhart is also an excellent offensive rebounder from the guard position, which isn’t surprising when considering his knack for the ball on defense.
Steals
Another category that isn’t a surprise is steals per game, since FLC was one of the best in Division II in this category last year. The Skyhawks are second in the RMAC with 9.45 steals per game.
FLC plays a high-pressure, trapping, full-court defense. This leads to lots of opportunities for steals with all the active hands on the court. FLC is helped in this category by Erhart, who is an absolute pain in the butt for opposing offenses with his ability to steal the ball. He leads the conference in steals per game.
Expect this number to only go up as the new players get more of a grip on FLC’s pressing defense, and the Skyhawks will play some easier competition in the RMAC compared to their non-conference schedule.
Opponent field goal percentage
When the Skyhawks don’t foul, they do a good job of forcing the opposing team to miss shots. FLC is fifth in the RMAC with a 43.7 opponent field goal percentage.
FLC’s defensive style speeds up opponents and makes them take bad shots. It also takes more time off the shot clock to break FLC’s pressure, resulting in less time to find a good shot.
If FLC can keep its opponents off the free-throw line and continue to force tough shots out of its press, it’ll have more defensive success.
Defense
The Skyhawks have been hit or miss on the defensive end with their pressing style so far, resulting in FLC ranking 10th out of 15 teams in the RMAC by allowing 83.9 PPG.
FLC likes to play at a faster style, which usually leads to more points for its opponents, but FLC has struggled to guard the 3-point line at times. The Skyhawks have been prone to lots of fouls at times this year with their aggressive style, putting their opponents on the free-throw line early and often.
3-point field goals made
FLC hasn’t excelled from the 3-point line so far this season, ranking 14th in the conference with 6.3 3-point field goals per game. FLC is also 10th with a 33.7 3-point field goal percentage.
The 3-point field goals made can be attributed to many things, with one reason being the Skyhawks have struggled to share the ball at times, leading to forced 3-pointers at the end of the shot clock instead of moving the ball to find open looks.
It also hasn’t helped FLC that it’s starting point guard, Golesis, was shooting 10% from 3-point range before his season-ending ACL injury. Deng, a player who’s shown an ability to make outside shots, is also only shooting 29% from 3-point range.
Another reason for this low ranking is FLC might not want to shoot as many 3-pointers as other teams, leading to a low average makes per game.
Assist-to-turnover ratio
The Skyhawks are toward the bottom of the RMAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 13th with a 0.73 assist-to-turnover ratio.
FLC has struggled with turnovers this year, with only two out of 11 games with a positive assist to turnover ratio. The Skyhawks have struggled to run sets at times, with players not being on the same page with what their roles are on the team.
Tough competition has something to do with a poor assist to turnover ratio, and the Skyhawks have had players in and out of the lineup with injuries, taking away consistency and a sense of roles on the team.
If FLC wants to compete at the top of the RMAC, it’ll have to clean up the turnovers and share the ball better. This will lead to more open 3-pointers and better defensive numbers, since turnovers usually lead to fast-break opportunities for opponents.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
