NCAA Basketball: Will Evansville become mid-major star of 2019-20?
By Connor Gluck
The trio of looking to prove themselves and lead this team to success
Three games into the season, Evansville has been led by the trio of Deandre Williams, Sam Cunliffe, and KJ Riley. The three are the leading scorers for the Purple Aces, all averaging at least 12 ppg, and will be the most important players on the team if they want to continue their early-season success throughout the year.
Deandre Williams is a 6’9” sophomore forward is playing in his first season this year after being declared ineligible to play his freshman year. Originally a 3-star recruit out of Houston, TX, Williams currently leads the Aces in points and rebounds per game, averaging 19.3 and 8.7 respectively. He has also shown some outside stroke as well, shooting 40% on 10 attempts from deep. Williams actually had his worst game in the upset over Kentucky, only scoring nine points and going 0-4 from three. This will likely be a trend throughout the year, as Williams should dominate against smaller opponents, but struggle a little more against teams with size like Kentucky.
Sam Cunliffe is a redshirt junior guard also playing in his first season with the Purple Aces. Cunlife started his freshman year at Arizona State before transferring to Kansas and finally ending up at Evansville. Though he averaged 9.5 ppg as a freshman, Cunliffe looks to be breaking out this year, averaging 13.3 ppg on 38.5% shooting from three. He has provided a very important spark off the bench, especially against Kentucky where he scored 17 and hit the two free throws to seal the deal for the Purple Aces. Cunliffe’s shooting and experience will be key for any run that Evansville wants to make this year.
The only senior on the team, KJ Riley fills an important leadership role for Evansville. The 6’5” guard has taken care of the ball this year (3 turnovers on the year) and is currently third on the team in scoring with 12.7 ppg on 57.3% shooting. Riley’s main weakness is his three-point shooting. Though he is shooting 100% on the year so far (a very impressive 2/2), his previous career shooting percentage from three was an embarrassing 16% (10/62).
This has not stopped him from putting up points though. Riley led the team with 18 points against Kentucky, going a perfect 8/8 from the free throw line, and hitting his two threes of the season. As long as he plays within himself and knows his limits, KJ Riley should be successful in leading this Evansville team, and all their talent, to many more wins this year.