A.J. Merriweather - A Little Larger than Life
When A.J. Merriweather was being recruited by the Bucs, he was generally listed at 6’5”. Therefore it came as a shock and surprise when he was announced to be only 6’2”. That’s a pretty radical difference. It’s common enough for a guy to “lose” an inch in the recruiting process hype. But how can people think that a 6’2” guy is 6’5”?
The answer came when the energetic, enthusiastic freshman burst onto the court as the most exciting part of the Bucs first few games. Through the first 10 games, against some of the best competition that the Bucs would see all year, A.J. was averaging 7.4 rebounds, 11.4 points (on .556 shooting, 40-72)and 1.1 steals in 28.7 minutes. He may have been closer to 6’2”, but he certainly played like 6’5”. There wasn’t a single 6’2” D1 freshman in the country who could rebound like A.J..
That was the peak for his rebounding numbers, but he continued to shine going into conference till his points and steals peaked at 15 games in, after the first Mercer game. At that point he was averaging 6.7 rebounds, 12.1 points (63-111 .568)and 1.6 steals in the same 28.7 minutes.
He seemed to tire in the last 7 games as many freshmen do. From the second Jacksonville game through Towson his numbers fell to 5.4 rebounds per game, 5.6 points on 17-48 for .358 in an average of 24.1 minutes in that 7 game period.
That brought his final season total to 6.3 rebounds, 9.5 points on .482 shooting in 26.5 minutes. Steals (1.4), rebounds (6.3) and 3 point production (.433 on 13-30)remained about the same. Turnovers per game actually improved to 1.6 over the last 23 games from 2.5 in the first 13, as he became much better with the ball as his freshman year progressed.
Although A.J. scored mostly on slashing to the basket, he could certainly hit the 3 when open, making 13-30 for an excellent .433 on the season. A.J. could develop into another really strong perimeter option for the Bucs. But mostly nobody was running plays for A.J.. He just went and got the ball and scored.
Some guys (Mike Smith, Lester Wilson) slump a bit in the sophomore year. Others (Tommy Hubbard, Rashawn Rembert, Petey McClain) really improve. Freshman year is a different thing, anything you can do for the team is generally a pleasant surprise. Sophomore year performance, and improvement, is expected. So there's more pressure. The Bucs really hope that the energetic A.J. works his way into that second category. And here’s hoping that he never loses that infectious enthusiasm for the game.
Some freshman year comparisons:
Lester 6’4” FR.: 13.0 ppg on .422, .366 from 3 (75 made), 5.3 rpg, in 31.9 min.
Mike S 6’6” FR.: 11.0 ppg on .469, .378 from 3 (48 made), 3.7 rpg, in 25.7 min.
Ben Rhoda 6'4": 8.6 ppg on .515, .176 from 3 ( 3 made ), 3.0 rpg in 22.5 min
A.J. M. 6’2” FR: 9.5 ppg on .482, .433 from 3 ( 13 made ), 6.3 rpg in 26.5 min.
PS: A.J. would have been 5th in the SoCon in steals with 1.4, and the best freshman rebounder in the conference of any size with 6.3.
(This post was last modified: 10-17-2014 12:09 PM by swvabucsfan.)
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