Here is What Our Local Talent is doing in DII Men's Basketball
There are 157 men from Missouri and Kansas who are playing basketball in NCAA Division II. And 11 of them are leading their team in scoring. Take a look at who is getting done as the Play On.
These results are for games played through January 17. Games are played every day of the week, so you need to subscribe to keep up to date as much as possible. This data isn’t available anywhere else.
The leading scorer is junior Owen Long (Sikeston/Emporia State) who is averaging 17.1 points per game. Owen is a great example as to why you need my Playing On Sports Newsletter. The extenion of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to Covid-19 has changed college sports in many ways. When you add on top of that the ease and speed at which an athlete can change schools through the transfer portal, knowing where they are is a difficult task. Unless of course you subscribe to Playing On Sports. That is what I do. So you don’t have to. For every Missouri and Kansas graduate competing in NCAA Division I, II, or III. Why is Owen a good example? Those of you in the Sikeston area may recall that after Owen hit 90 treys his senior year as a Bulldog, that he Played On at Maryville University in St. Louis. He hit 46 treys his first year. Taking advantage of the Covid-19 rules, he was a freshman once again in the 2020-21 season. His second freshman year resulted in him leading the Saints with 19.3 points per game and being named All-Great Lakes Valley Conference. With only one year of eligibility used, Owen transfered to Youngstown State for the 2021-22 season where he played in 30 games. That brings us to 2022-23. As noted above, he leads the Emporia State Hornets with 17.1 points per game. Three schools in four years, with more to play after this year. Many others are following similar circuitous paths. So, do yourself a favor and subcrive now!
To see that Owen is not an abberation, just look at the third leading DII scorer from this area. That would be Marty Jackson (Hogan Prep/St. Leo’s). After leading his Rams to the 2017-18 Missouri Class 3 State Championship, he matriculated at North Central Missouri College, a community college in Trenton, Mo. By his second year, he was named a First Team All-American and the Region XVI Player of the Year. After transfering to the University of Missouri at St. Louis, he led the Tritons in scoring for two consecutive years. Taking advantage of the Covid-19 eligibility rules, he is now the leading scorer for the Saint Leo Lions which competes in the Sunshine State Conference.
The only sure bet of where an athlete is competing is a true freshman, like Bennett Stirtz (Liberty/Northwest Missouri State). Bennett is scoring 13.6 points per game due to his efficient shooting. He is shooting 62% from the floor, 48% from beyond the arc, and 84% from the line.
The leading rebounder is Deshaun English II (Pittsburg/Pittsburg State) who is averaging 9.8 boards per game. He has also blocked 21 shots in his 16 games.
Leading in assists per game is Malek Davis (Cardinal Ritter/Cal State Poly-Humbolt) who has dished the ball successfully 4.07 times per game. Showing great discipline with the ball is a freshman, Matt Enright (Webster Groves/Missoui-St. Louis). Matt combines his 56 assists with only 19 turnovers. That is an outstanding 2.95 assist to turnover ration.
I noted above how efficient Bennett Stirtz is in scoring. He is also a thief, averaging 2.18 steals per game. To further prove his efficient time on the court, consider that he has 56 assists, 22 turnovers, and 37 steals. That is an assist/turnover ratio of 2.55 while getting 1.68 steals for every turnover. And he is a freshman.
Here is the entire list of 157 NCAA DII athletes, listed by points per game.
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