A Thought on Ed

[bball30]

Just a thought here, but after reading the board for awhile, and listening to people talk, they are pretty sold on Ed as the complete player. Now I have to admit, I was hard on the guy earlier in the year, during his slump. I agree his scoring has emerged as of late, BUT and I mean a huge BUT do you think that down the stretch here he needs to distibute the ball a little bit more? I mean, the 1.7 asst/game stat needs a little improvement, just wondering your guys' take, also his 2 reb's a game?

[Spike1057]

Bball i dont think he is a complete player, but I will say he is a hell of a shooter, playes good D, and since most plays are ran through him he makes it easier for other to score. So maybe hes not leading the team in dishes, but if it were not for him many of the other players would not be scoring as much. He makes the players around him better.

[kaygee]

Ed draws a lot of attention and works hard to score his points, his scoring average is about the same as last year, but getting those points has been much harder without Dylan around. Also dont forget Ed usually guards the other teams best scorer every game and is rarely in foul trouble. And is definitely the boss on the floor, routinely chatting with Pearl much like Clay used too.

[pnthr30]

Good post Spike.......I agree with you 100%. Ed is not the complete player that Clay was (i.e. doesn't stuff the stats), but that does not diminish his importance to this team. He may not get a ton of rebounds, assists, steals, etc., but he is a gamer. If a play NEEDS to be made, I have all the confidence in him to make it. Also, like Kaygee said, he often draws tough defensive assignments (Banks in the second half of the UIC game) - not to mention working his butt off just to get his shots up (not unlike Banks). At the end of the day, Ed is not the player that Clay or Dylan were, but is just as important to this team - all of them made/make others around them (and the team as a whole) better, and that is what being a team leader is all about.

[Womack]

Ed is awfully good. I somewhat agree with what you all have said. He is not the total player that Clay was, however Clay did not play in the system that Ed is playing in. Not even when Pearl was here his first did they run the exact same thing as they are now. The players around them are different as well.

Ed is an excellent defender, IMO as good as Clay and I dont say that lightly cause Clay was a hound on the ball. I feel that Ed is a better penetrator than Clay was and he can create his own shot better than Clay. However, Clay did all the intangables which made his team better, whether it be scoring, rebounding, passing or steals..He did whatever it took. Ed is the best shooter UWM has ever had and is certainly very key come the end stretch of hte season.

However, when he leaves next yera I am totally confident that Boo Davis can and will step in to be the stud that Ed is this year. REturning four of the five starters and then getting Walter, I see UWM really really relaly being tough...This is getting to be a trend that is awesome, where we lose our best player and we consistently have someone to step in and do just as good if not better. This is great for the program