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Radford Basketball: In-depth look at Highlanders forward Ed Polite Jr.

By Bryan Mauro

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 13: Ed Polite Jr. #24 of the Radford Highlanders and Randy Phillips #32 of the Radford Highlanders attempt to keep the ball away from Raiquan Clark #23 of the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds during the game at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 13: Ed Polite Jr. #24 of the Radford Highlanders and Randy Phillips #32 of the Radford Highlanders attempt to keep the ball away from Raiquan Clark #23 of the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds during the game at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Ed Polite Jr. #24 of the Radford Highlanders shoots the ball against Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Ed Polite Jr. #24 of the Radford Highlanders shoots the ball against Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Expectations for Polite Jr. in 2018-2019

As mentioned earlier, Radford has remade the roster, and now has the most talent Polite has had in his entire 4-year career. Coach Jones is going to be able to create more mismatches for Polite on the offensive end of the floor. On the defensive end of the floor, Polite will not be relied upon as heavily on the defensive end of the floor as his new Radford teammates are also known for their defense as well.

The senior is not a good three-point shooter overall. While he can make them occasionally, the Highlanders are not going to rely on him to make three-point shots. Even though Polite is not a great shooter from deep, he is not shy about shooting them. He fired 80 attempts from deep last year and made 22 of them which was good for 27%. If his career trajectories are true, the forward will improve dramatically on his three-point shooting next year. If he is able to improve on these numbers like he has on every other statistic this is going to make Radford really hard to defend, as Polite will then be able to score at all three levels.

Averaging a double-double for the season is something that the senior forward has yet to accomplish yet. His sophomore year he was close as he averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per game. With the added roster flexibility this season, and Polite’s ability to move around freely on both ends of the floor. This could finally be the year that he averages a double-double.

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Even though Radford is the overwhelming favorite to win the Big South conference, the Highlanders are expecting and are going to need a huge year from Polite.