Top Departing #9: Joe Eberhard

I am counting down the top 20 players that are departing the Big Sky via graduation, transfer, or any other way.

Joe Eberhard played two years for the Sacramento State Hornets, and had a little bit of a strange short career. Here are some numbers comparing his junior and senior seasons:

Junior - 53.5% twos, 45.8% threes, 11.1 PPG
Senior - 38.4% twos, 37.8% threes, 6.9 PPG

For some reason, his offense left him. He went from being a perfect offensive role player to a guy that was not very good inside the arc, and saw a sharp decrease in his three-point shooting. If we go based on his junior season numbers, ranking him #9 is probably a little low. If we go based on last season, #9 is probably too high.

He was a solid rebounder on the wing, with a 13.7 DR% as a senior. He pulled in over five rebounds per game in both of his seasons. As a senior, he became very good at protecting the basketball, dropping his TO Rate to 12.9. That is one of the reasons his ORtg only dropped to 108.6 (which is solid) from 114.7 the year before, even with the sharp decrease in shooting percentages.

Eberhard was also very durable, and could play all day long. As a junior, he averaged over 35 minutes per game, playing 89.3% of the team's possible minutes. As a senior, that dropped to 80.2%, which is still a big number, and was probably lower due to the Hornets having a little more depth.

Eberhard is a tough guy to rank because of the dropoff from his junior year to his senior year, but the Hornets will miss his versatility. He could do a little bit of everything, and they will miss that on both ends.

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Derrick Barden Is A Star

Since conference play began, Derrick Barden has played like an all-conference player. On Saturday night, he played like the best player in the Big Sky. In Northern Colorado's 78-64 win over Sacramento State, the Hornets simply had no answer for Barden on either end.

Let's start with the numbers. Barden had 15 points and 10 rebounds... in the first half. And that was even after he went down for a few minutes with a leg injury. He finished the night with 21 points, 14 rebounds (6 offensive), and shot 10/11 from the field. 

Offensively, I thought he was very assertive from the get go. He used his quickness and strength to establish great position down low, and scored when he got the ball down there. He was a monster on the offensive glass, and turned most of his offensive rebounds into easy baskets. He scored on the drive. All of his baskets were within five feet (at least, that I can remember)... and he is 6'3''! There's nobody else like him in the Big Sky.

Defensively, he executed the game plan very well. After getting burned a bit by UNC's guards in the first meeting between these teams, the Bears made an effort to jump all back screens and show, and nobody was better at this than Barden. After jumping the screen, he forced the ballhandler to dribble back a few feet, and then was quick enough to get back to his man. That was a big reason why the Hornets offense was out of sorts for most of the night, and Dylan Garrity and Mikh McKinney couldn't really get anything going all night, finishing with nine points apiece.

I have said all year long that UNC has the third highest ceiling in the Big Sky, and Barden is the reason. He is a lot of fun to watch.

A few other notes:
- Tate Unruh had another nice day, finishing with 20 points. He moves off the ball as well as anyone else in the Big Sky.
- Tim Huskisson was also a big factor for the Bears. He had 15 points and was good on both ends. He is still a little bit inconsistent as a sophomore, but he is on the cusp of being a really good player. It will be fun to watch his development.
- Joe Eberhard was a non-factor for the Hornets in this game. He had two points and two rebounds in 20 minutes, and it seemed like his impact was even less than that. He was such a good player for them last year, but seems to be lacking in some confidence now.

The Bears and Hornets are now part of a four way tie for fifth in the Big Sky at 7-9. Northern Colorado feels like it's hitting its peak right now, while Sacramento State's once promising season seems to be falling off the rails. It will be an interesting final two weeks.

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Weber State Improves to 2-0 in Big Sky

As expected, Weber State took care of Sacramento State on New Year's Eve afternoon, beating the Hornets 74-63 in Ogden.

Weber State jumped out to fast start, and though Sacramento State was able to keep it within the 10-15 range for most of the day, they were never really able to threaten.

Damian Lillard again led the Wildcats with 22 points, 19 of which came in the second half. He also had 8 rebounds. He did not shoot overly well, but he got to the line often, making 10 of 11 free throws. Scott Bamforth threw in 19 points (though he also struggled with his shot), and Kyle Tresnak had 20 (on 9/12 shooting) for Weber State.

For Sacramento State, they did some things well, but could not force any turnovers and just couldn't hit enough shots. John Dickson led them in scoring with 20 points, but it took him 19 shots to get there. Joe Eberhard also continued his solid season with 15 and 7, but nobody was really able to get it going for the Hornets.

At the end of the day, Weber State improves to 2-0 in the Big Sky, a mark matched by Montana (and Northern Arizona could match as well with a victory tonight), while Sacramento State joins Portland State at 0-2. Weber State will travel to take on Eastern Washington in what should be an excellent game Thursday night, while Sacramento State will host Northern Colorado Thursday.

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Sacramento State Falls to SE Missouri State

In the most exciting Big Sky game of the night, Sacramento State lost a close game to Southeast Missouri State, 77-76.

Lucas Nutt made the first of two free throw attempts with 3.3 seconds left to give the Redhawks (5-7) the lead. When he missed the second one, John Dickson attempted a buzzer-beater from behind half court that was well short.

The Hornets were down by 10 with 4:39 to play, including tying the game with 38 seconds left, but it was not enough to pull out the victory. The loss snaps a two games winning streak for Sac State, and drops them to 5-6.

Freshman PG Dylan Garrity has struggled of late, but he was excellent in this game, posting his first career double-double. He had 11 points (he was very good at getting to the FT line), and finished with a sparkling 12:0 A:TO ratio. It is good to see him get back to the way he was playing at the beginning of the year.

The Hornets got a lot of other nice contributions as well, notably from John Dickson (10/19 FG for 24 points), Joe Eberhard (15 & 8), and Josh McCarver, who had 12 points in 18 minutes. Ultimately, they just didn't get a solid performance from their defense per head coach Brian Katz.

“I don’t think I’ve ever coached a game where we could not get stops,” Katz said. “It was unbelievable.”

Sacramento State will open conference play with a trip to Northern Arizona on the 29th.

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Sacramento State Beats UC Davis In The Causeway Classic

Sacramento State's impressive start to the season continued with a victory over UC Davis in the Causeway Classic on Tuesday. The Hornets trailed by as many as 17 in the first half, and outscored the Aggies 47-29 in the second half en route to a 69-61 victory.

Different guys stepped up for the Hornets, which is one reason Brian Katz is so excited about this group. Last week's Big Sky POW Joe Eberhard contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds, also getting to the line 9 times. Walter Jackson was a bit more efficient with his 14 points and 6 rebounds, most of which came in the second half. Konnor Veteto had an extremely productive day, scoring 14 points and pulling down 9 rebounds in only 19 minutes. He was a terror inside, going 8/9 from the line.

One of my favorite storylines so far this year is the A:TO ratio of Dylan Garrity. He had 6 assists and 2 turnovers in this one, bringing his season totals to 31 assists vs 6 turnovers. Before the game he was ranked in the top 5 nationally in assists, now he sits just outside the top 5.

For the Hornets, who have not had a winning season in over 20 years, the fact that they now sit at 3-1 is extremely positive. That they won a rivalry game on the road by coming back from a big deficit has to make it even sweeter. Up next for Sac State is a home date with McNeese State on Saturday and a chance to move to 4-1.

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Eastern Washington and Sacramento State Lose Tight Ones

At one point last night, it looked like both Eastern Washington and Sacramento State would beat Pac-12 teams. While moral victories ultimately don't mean anything, both teams have to be encouraged by their play on Thursday night.

Eastern Washington led Oregon by as many as nine points in the second half, but couldn't hold off a Ducks rally late, as they fell 73-65. It was their second straight tight loss against a high level opponent, as they fell in the season opener to Gonzaga.

The culprit was poor shooting for the Eagles. Cliff Colimon led them in scoring with 14 points, but he was just 4/14 from the field. Tremayne Johnson was next with 12 points (and 7 rebounds), but he shot just 4/15 from the field. Collin Chiverton had been averaging 25 PPG in his first two efforts, but he was plagued by some foul trouble in this game, as he only played 15 minutes before fouling out. He finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds.

I am sure that Jim Hayford has to be disappointed with his two close losses rather than having a signature win, but the Eagles have looked very competitive this year, with the consensus being that they look like one of the top three teams in the Big Sky. They travel to Hawaii next Tuesday, a game I am sure they believe they can and will win.

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Meanwhile, Sacramento State put together a great effort against Washington State, leading all of the first half and parts of the second half before losing 73-65 to the Cougars.

The Hornets used an eight-man rotation throughout the game, and built leads of 7-0, 25-12, and 29-16 during the first half. Neither team had a lead larger than four points the first 9:28 of the second half before a layup from Faisal Aden gave Washington State their largest lead - at the time - of five points with 10:32 remaining. The Cougars led the rest of the way as the Hornets were down just six points with 4:37 remaining before a DaVonte Lacy three-pointer put WSU up nine points.

John Dickson led them in scoring and had a real nice game, scoring 21 points (on 9/18 FG) and grabbing 6 rebounds. They need him to be their star, and he delivered in this game. He is probably their most talented and athletic player.

Reigning Big Sky POW Joe Eberhard was also big, finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He continues to be a great find for Brian Katz, as he is averaging 13 points and 8.7 rebounds per game so far this year. The other star was a guy I have been praising all year, and that is Dylan Garrity. He has not provided much scoring this year (5 points in this one), but he continues to dish out assists and make plays at a great rate. He had 12 assists in this game, and for the year he has 25 assists to 4 turnovers. He could quickly become one of the best PGs in the Big Sky.

Eagles and Hornets fans, what did you think of your teams' performances?

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Sacramento State Starts 2-0

Sacramento State kept their non-conference schedule light this year for obvious reasons. They wanted to get off to a good start in the win column, and get some momentum heading into conference play. After 18 wins in the past three seasons, I like this strategy.

So far, things are going as planned.

They opened their season with an unimpressive 70-56 win over Menlo College, but then had a nice 75-54 home victory over Central Arkansas. They may not have played the toughest competition, but 2-0 is still 2-0, and they have to be pleased with the start and the way they have taken care of business.

Against Central Arkansas, a lot of guys stepped up. John Dickson (16), Konnor Veteto (16), and Joe Eberhard (12) were all in double figures, and as a team the Hornets shot about 57%. The biggest star might have been Dylan Garrity. The true freshman PG doled out 9 assists compared to 0 turnovers (and chipped in 5 points and 4 rebounds). For the season he has 13 assists to 1 turnover, a great rate even if he wasn't a freshman. I had him on my preseason Third-Team All Big Sky, and he is showing why so far.

Sacramento State's next 4 games are - @ Washington State, @ UC Davis, McNeese State, and @ Cal Poly. Winning at least 3 of these 4 games is not out of the question, and would put the Hornets in a very nice position early in the season in their quest for their first .500 season in 20+ years.

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Sacramento State's Joe Eberhard Named Player of The Week

From the Big Sky official site:

Sacramento State’s Joe Eberhard has been selected as the first Big Sky Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week after leading the Hornets to their first 2-0 start since the 2000-01 season.

Eberhard, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound junior forward from Newport Beach, Calif., averaged 11.5 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game as the Hornets picked up home wins over Menlo College and Division I Central Arkansas of the Southland Conference.

Not a bad start for the JUCO transfer. Hopefully he can keep it up once the level of competition ratchets up!

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A Look At Sacramento State's Recruiting Class

After a last place finish in the Big Sky, Sacramento State is in need of some hope. They hope their four-man recruiting class will provide that.

The best of the bunch appears to be Dylan Garrity, who is also the only freshman recruit the Hornets are bringing in. At 6'2'', he is a solid all-around guard that will likely be asked to play a lot of minutes right away. He averaged at least 17 PPG each of his last three years of high school, including 20.6 PPG his senior year. He also had 3.7 APG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.8 SPG. He is a solid outside shooter (45% from downtown). He was all-state twice in high school, and holds his school record for points and assists. If the program is going to turn around under Brian Katz, Garrity will likely be behind it.

They also signed 3 JUCO guys. One of them is Anthony Costentino, who is 6'7'' and played at Southwestern College in Chila Vista, CA last year. He was named the conference MVP both of his years there, and last year put together a line of 18.7 PPG AND 6.9 RPG. He is dangerous from everywhere on the court, as he shot a respectable 38% from beyond the arc. “Anthony is very versatile player who has perimeter skills and can go inside and post up,” says Brian Katz. “He comes from a basketball family and has grown accustomed to winning at every level he has played.” He figures to be in the mix for playing time at the 3/4.

Another G/F combo is Joe Eberhard, who comes to Sac-Town after playing two years at Irvine Valley JC. Last season he averaged 11.1 PPG and 6.3 RPG. He is a very versatile player, and could see some minutes at a couple of different spots for the Hornets.

The last guy they brought in is combo guard Jordan Estrada, who played at Diablo Valley JC in Concord, CA. He averaged 13.2 PPG to go with 1.8 APG last year. He also showed a propensity to hit the deep ball, making 40% last year. He will be in the rotation for minutes at the guard spots, though he doesn't look to me to be a starter.

What do you think of the class? Who is the best, and what do you expect from them?