Shooting guard: Allonzo Trier vs. Jovan Mooring
The biggest beneficiary of Johnson playing the point has been Jovan Mooring, the JC transfer who was the lead ball distributor a year ago. He certainly didn’t play bad, averaging four assists while leading the team in scoring.
This time around, he’s playing more off the ball where he’s thriving at the moment. His shooting numbers across the board are up, including 92% from the line. He’s been in double-figures in scoring in each game so far, but still took what he learned as a point guard into this year, averaging even more assists at 4.3 apg. UNLV now has two ball handlers on the court and a backup when Johnson sits down.
However, he’s going up against an All-American shooting guard in Allonzo Trier, who’s one of the best scorers in all of basketball. The preseason Jerry West award watch list player has already shown why, averaging 24.5 ppg while shooting 40% from deep.
Trier’s numbers would be even more daunting if it wasn’t for his off-game versus Purdue. He only had eight points on 3/10 shooting, but one bad game can be forgiven since every other game he’s had at least 22, including a trio of 30 point games. There’s a ton of issues with Arizona right now, but Trier certainly isn’t one of them.
Edge: Trier