Erik Stevenson

[ShockAzs]

It's time we started a thread of his own for the man. His fire and tenacity cannot be denied. Nor has it been! He is the current leader and heart and soul of this team.

And here's MY bold prediction. By the time he is done here, he will record a quadruple double! Bold indeed, but think about it... Is it really that far fetched for the man?

[shock-it-to-me]

It's time we started a thread of his own for the man. His fire and tenacity cannot be denied. Nor has it been! He is the current leader and heart and soul of this team.

And here's MY bold prediction. By the time he is done here, he will record a quadruple double! Bold indeed, but think about it... Is it really that far fetched for the man?

Yes. Yes it is. You think he’ll get 10 blocks or 10 steals to go with the points, rebounds and assists? That would be crazy for sure.
Erik is playing great right now. A true “basketball player”. Doing the big things, the little things, things in the box score and things not in the box score.

[ShoxRoxMySox]

ES is everything I want in a shocker, the dude embodies shocker basketball 100% in the way that not many can. When he bumps up his 3 pt %, look out!

[im4wsu]

ES is everything I want in a shocker, the dude embodies shocker basketball 100% in the way that not many can. When he bumps up his 3 pt %, look out!

Hopefully a trend has begun, first 5 games, 5/24 (22%) and last three games 8/21 (38%)

[JVShocker]

I would just say THANK YOU to ES for everything he does. I hope he continues to play tough.

[AZ Shocker]

Looks like a different player lately. Way more relaxed and playing smart! Good stuff!

[Dan]

At least we’re not talking about the other Shocker favorite, Eric Stephenson

[ShockAzs]

Yes. Yes it is. You think he’ll get 10 blocks or 10 steals to go with the points, rebounds and assists? That would be crazy for sure.
Erik is playing great right now. A true “basketball player”. Doing the big things, the little things, things in the box score and things not in the box score.

I will have to go with steals. 10 blocks would be a challenge for Hakeem Olajuwan!

[ShockingButTrue]

He's playing with that Shocker confidence that GGG covets in his players. It developed late last year, obviously. There are some young kids on this squad who aren't there yet, but they will be. It'd be nice to see it happen with some of the younger guys tomorrow in Oklahoma.

[Shocker Mama]

When Erik was playing, we outscored Central Arkansas 48-21.
https://twitter.com/tayloreldridge/s...012719105?s=21

[Shockm]

When Erik was playing, we outscored Central Arkansas 48-21.
https://twitter.com/tayloreldridge/s...012719105?s=21

I’m not crazy about this particular analytical stat because there are a lot of variables regarding who else is on the court at the same time. However, the lopsided numbers are telling that he is currently our best player. But I could have told you that prior to seeing that stat.

[im4wsu]

I’m not crazy about this particular analytical stat because there are a lot of variables regarding who else is on the court at the same time. However, the lopsided numbers are telling that he is currently our best player. But I could have told you that prior to seeing that stat.

Other than FT%, what other stat doesn't have a lot of variables regarding who else is on the court at the same time?

[1972Shocker]

Other than FT%, what other stat doesn't have a lot of variables regarding who else is on the court at the same time?

And that includes what players are on the court for the opponent at the same time as well as which teammates are on the floor at that time.

[Aargh]

I was down on Erik last year. Opponents were absolutely abusing him as a defender and his shot was off.

For most improved player, I think Stevenson is ahead of Burton. Burton has gone from a "shooter" to a "maker", but he was a pretty solid PG last year. Stevenson has gone from a guy who got beat on defense and couldn't shoot to a guy who's doing a pretty good job at...EVERYTHING!

He said he felt quicker with the weight loss he had over summer. It's hard for someone with the build he had last year to lose weight. It requires LOTS of time in the weight room, because he had to do many, many reps to build strength without building muscle mass. That's a lot of hours of incredibly boring activity. Then he had to spend a lot of time in the gym working on his shot. In addition, he had to absolutely accept any and every coaching instruction.

Put all that with his motor, hustle, and "refuse to lose" attitude and that's how he got from last year to this year. That type of effort is contagious. IMHO, we haven't seen a player who could affect the rest of the team that way since Baker and VanVleet graduated.

[Cdizzle]

I was down on Erik last year. Opponents were absolutely abusing him as a defender and his shot was off.

For most improved player, I think Stevenson is ahead of Burton. Burton has gone from a "shooter" to a "maker", but he was a pretty solid PG last year. Stevenson has gone from a guy who got beat on defense and couldn't shoot to a guy who's doing a pretty good job at...EVERYTHING!

He said he felt quicker with the weight loss he had over summer. It's hard for someone with the build he had last year to lose weight. It requires LOTS of time in the weight room, because he had to do many, many reps to build strength without building muscle mass. That's a lot of hours of incredibly boring activity. Then he had to spend a lot of time in the gym working on his shot. In addition, he had to absolutely accept any and every coaching instruction.

Put all that with his motor, hustle, and "refuse to lose" attitude and that's how he got from last year to this year. That type of effort is contagious. IMHO, we haven't seen a player who could affect the rest of the team that way since Baker and VanVleet graduated.

Great post. I was excited when I heard he spent all summer losing weight in an attempt to gain quickness....with the stated reason of needing to be better defensively.

That's a lot of hard and boring for something that doesn't show up in stat sheets and highlight reels. Very excited it's paying off for him and the team.