(07-29-2019 06:12 AM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote: Alessandro Lever just had a Sophomore slump. Although most coaches claim a player develops most between the freshman and sophomore season, in Lever's case it did not translate to the court as well as many expected. I happen to think a player gains most of his confidence between his sophomore and junior season. At any rate, Lever still has two more season to redeem himself as a force in the WAC.
Okay, so you feel it was a "sophomore slump." Gleadley thinks he was a "disappointment" or "stagnated, maybe." Whatever. He certainly did not meet expectations. Lever was one of 21 college centers who were named to the watch list for the 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. A national committee of top college basketball personnel selected the candidates for the honor, which is presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
You said that the CBU big men "were serviceable" and I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment. Zach Pirog, their 6'11" big man averaged 14 minutes per game, mainly because he could not stay out of foul trouble. He did get 20 minutes plus twice in conference play:
Against Seattle: 23 minutes, 9 points, 7 rebounds, one block, 4 fouls
Against UVU: 21 minutes, 6 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 fouls.
Those were back-to-back games at home. If they can get 20 minutes a night from Pirog, he has as much value as Lever. If Pirog is serviceable, what is Lever? Lever was 4th in rebounding on GCU at 4.2 per game, just ahead of guard Carlos Johnson at 4.1 per game. Lever was tied for 9th on the team with Michael Finke with two blocks.
Lever is a good three point shooter, but beyond that he is kind of useless. He is a one-trick pony at this point in time. I thought coming off a good offensive performance in conference, which earned him first team All-WAC, he would work on improving his rebounding and shot blocking, while becoming a top three scorer in the WAC. I think the coaches and the media expected that as well when they selected him as the "WAC preseason player of the year." None of that happened last season. He did not meet expectations. He definitely will not be on the watch list for the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.