Area Men Competing in NCAA DIII Basketball-The Numbers
There are some big numbers being put up. One in particular is barrelling towards big benchmarks, and climbing all-time lists.
I track and report on the NCAA athletic experiences of those who graduated from Missouri and Kansas high schools. If you know anyone who is “Playing On”, you need to get your free subscription so you can keep up with what they are doing at the next level.
Today, we look at the 96 area men competing in DIII Men’s Basketball. Travis Lien (Kirkwood/Franciscan Univ. of Steubenville) continues to lead the area grads in scoring. His 17.6 points/game not only leads his Baron teammates, but is the second highest in the President’s Athletic Conference. Travis gets that done in less than 24 minutes a game because he is shooting 45% from the floor and 85% from the line. That free throw shooting is the best in his conference.
When is it too early to start looking at career numbers? That depends who you are. If you are the player, then that is a subject best left alone. Ahhh, but if you are a fan, like me, then that is fair game! After all, the word “fan” is a derivitive of the word “fanatic”. And fanatics are given more leeway in that regard. Right?
We have an area grad who is putting up good scoring numbers, big rebounding numbers, and shot blocking numbers that are, well, prodigious. Karl Moore, Jr. (Jennings/Webster Univ.) is just a sophomore, less than half way through his collegiate career. But about those numbers. Let’s look first at the most common benchmarks. Scoring 1,000 points is a big thing. That is a lot of points and it takes a really good career to achieve that number. Twenty-four games into his sophomore season, Karl has 516 points. Things can happen along the way, but he is on track to surpass 1,000 career points. There are only 14 in Webster University’s history to have breached that benchmark. Rebounds come in smaller numbers than points. Well, for most basketball players. But not for Karl. Through those 24 games this year, he has 527 career rebounds. He could become that rare player who gets 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. The career record for Webster? That would be 738. Karl’s 527 places him 6th all time for the Gorloks. Earlier, I used the word prodigious. Ok, then let’s talk about blocked shots. Karl has blocked 72 shots this season. That is 5th best in all of DIII. That is on top of the 84 shots he blocked as a freshman. That total of 156 is already No. 1 in school history by 28 blocks. His two individual season totals would rank 4th and 5th on the career chart.
Here are the YTD number of all 96 athletes:
I mentioned Gorloks. As in the Webster University Gorlocks. What is a Gorlock? That is a good question. Personally, I love school nicknames and their histories. I grew up a Wildcat both in high school and in college. I am very proud of that. But, I will admit that is somewhat pedestrian when compared to a few others. The Gorlock was created by a student contest in 1984. The name comes from the campus intersection of Gore and Lockwood avenues. The visual Gorlock is made up of three parts. It has the paws of a cheetah, the horns of a buffalo, and the face of a St. Bernard. Therefore, the mascot embodies speed, agility, and stamina in an atmosphere of fairness and good conduct. That great history is explained on the Webster University website.
I would like to hear from you about school nicknames. Please comment below with your favorite ones. It could be from your past or one that is embraced by another school. What are your favorites? If you don’t know how the nickname came to be, I will chase that down for you!
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