By the Numbers... top Aussie College Ballers so far this season...
Pepper, Goodrick, Rillie, Dell'Orso and Williamson current stat category leaders..
Well, it's that time of year again, the Christmas and New Years break is in full swing and while most of us are stuffed with turkey and ham, it's time to take a look at the Aussie's who have been stuffing the stat sheet so far this D1 college basketball season. As previously discussed stats aren't everything, because we must consider quality of conference and opposition, but it certainly helps to tell a story and understand where some of the Aussies are at through the first third of the season.
Scorers
Leading all Aussie scorers is Elijah Pepper. The 6'4 Super Senior is putting up an incredible 20 points per game for UC Davis. Pepper was born in Shepparton Australia, where his father was playing professionally, but was raised in Washington in the Pacific Northwest . The number one scoring option for UC Davis knows how to put the ball in the basket. Shooting 38% from deep on 8 attempts game and 93% from the free-throw line on almost 4 attempts game, the Aggie Guard is having a phenomenal year, and broke the all time scoring record for UC Davis this year. A record that stood for 44 years.
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Second on the scoring list is 6'4 senior Jayden Stone. After eligibility issues derailed his season four Detroit Mercy last year the Perth guard is scoring 18.9 points per game to lead the Titans. Detroit are currently 0 and 13 looking for their first win, but Jayden was ballin until leaving the LMU game after four minutes of action and missing the last two games. A super athletic shooter, Stone can do it all and will likely have a long pro career.
Third on the scoring list is Portland's Tyler Robertson at 16.3 points per game. The senior point guard is a stat machine adding 3.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game as Portland's leading play maker. At 6 foot 6 the Victorian point guard is sure to be high on a lot of NBL teams radars.
Coming in fourth, Anthony Dell'Orso, the Victorian sophomore, starring for the Campbell Camels. After almost leading Campbell to the NCAA tournament last year, Delly has picked up where he left off averaging 16.2 points per game with 6.1 rebounds 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals. A 6 foot 6 athletic wing Delly can shoot the three, get to the rim and create his own shot.
Achor Achor, the 6'9 Melbourne forward is having a huge year for Samford averaging 14.2 points per game 6.5, rebounds 1.1 assists one point one steals and 1.6 blocks per game. An elite defender with size and length who can defend multiple positions, his offensive game has grown this year from averaging only 6 points per game season. Shooting an impressive 42% from three and 70% from the free-throw line Achor appears to have been hard at work on his shooting over the off season. Sky's the limit for the Bulldogs leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker.
Rounding out the top 10 is Charlestons sharp shooter Reyne Smith at 12.7 points per game at 6th. Fellow CAA conference player Max McKinnon is averaging 11.5 points per game for Elon which gets him seventh on the list. Hunter-Jack Madden comes in at eight with an impressive 11.3 points per game for ACU. Jason Spurgin, Bowling Greens 6'11 big man is averaging 11.1 points per game for ninth. And at 10th Elias Cato is averaging 10.8 points per game for Central Arkansas.
Rebounders
Leading the Aussie rebounders is 6'7 Hunter Goodrick for CBU with an incredible 9.9 rebounds per game. The Sydney Junior is grabbing boards at incredible rate with three double doubles already this season for the Lancers.
Second on the list is amazing freshman Alex Condon. The 6'11 center is averaging an impressive 6.8 rebounds per game for the Florida gators in the SEC. At only 19 minutes per game the freshman has started his college career at an incredible pace, with big things to come.
Achor Achor makes the rebounding list at third with 6.5 rebounds per game. Averaging only 20.2 minutes per game, the Bulldogs forward is playing extremely well.
Anthony Dell'Orso's 6.1 rebounds per game is good enough for 4th. The sophomore does a lot of everything for the camels.
Fifth on the list of rebounders at 6.1 rebounds per game is Stephen Olowoniyi for VMI. The 6'8 Melbourne forward is doing this averaging only 18.8 minutes per night. Very impressive things so far from the freshman.
Passers
Leading the list for assists is Jaron Rillie for Northern Colorado at 5.3 assists per game, on only played 6 games played so far for the year. Jaron has hit the ground running with plenty of dimes to his teammates.
Second on the assist list is Duke’s Tyrese Proctor the 6'5 point guard is averaging 4.8 assists per game for the Blue Devils and is the teams leader on the floor. Likely NBA draft lottery choice next season Proctor is doing this in the ACC, one of the best conferences in college basketball.
Tyler Robertson comes in third at 3.9 assists per game for Portland. The 5th year Senior has always been an elite passer and this year is no exception.
At fourth will Johnston is handing out 2.7 dimes per game for LMU. Having transferred from UTRGV last season, the 6'3 point Guard is finding his feet at LMU, averaging 9.5 points per game to go with his solid numbers.
Max McKinnon rounds out the top five with 2.5 assists per game for Elon. The sophomore is a big focus for the Phoenix offense as a 6'5 playmaker and shooter.
Steals
Topping the list for steals amongst the Aussies is Anthony Dell'Orso with 1.58 steals per game.
Second is Elijah Pepper with 1.55 steals per game. Third is Detroit Mercy's Jaden Stone with 1.45 steals per game. Coming in fourth is Central Arkansas is Elias Cato with 1.42 steals per game. Rounding out top five is Seattle's 6'8 forward Kobe Williamson, with 1.25 steals per game.
Blocks
Topping the list of shop blockers is Seattle's all-time leading block man Kobe Williamson At an impressive 1.83 blocks per night. Kobe is a defensive stopper and paint presence and with his 1.25 steals per game he is at an elite 3.08 stocks per game.
Second on the list is Samford's Achor Achor at 1.62 blocks per night. At third Florida freshman Alex Condon has 1.3 blocks per game. Fourth on the list at 1.25 blocks per game is Bowling Green, Jason Spurgin and impressive freshman Josh Hughes for the university of Evansville.
As we were only a third of the way through the season, there's plenty of time for movement in the stat rankings. Impressive all around starts to the season from Elijah Pepper, Tyler Robertson, Max McKinnon, Anthony Dell'Orso, Achor Achor and Kobe Williamson. Freshman, Alex Condon, Josh Hughes, and Stephen Olowoniyi have all been very impressive in their first few games of College Basketball. And pre-injury Tyrese Proctor was playing some incredible ball for Duke. Let's see how the next part of the season goes as we roll into conference play.