I was impressed with LU transfer Maurice Kirby's 14.7 rp40m (better than any returning MVC player), scoring (14.8 pp40m), FG shooting (54%), and lack of fouling (1.1 fp40m), but his shot blocking stats didn't seem to be out of the ordinary.
However, when I took a second look, I discovered that his performance was solid, improving the more he played.
For his first 14 games of the 32 he played, he had only 4 blocks (0.5 bp40m). But as he adjusted to the move from high school to junior college, he had 18 blocks in his last 18 games (2.0 bp40m).
You can compare the 2.0 bp40m to the whole LU team last year that only averaged 2.3 bp40m (all 15 players combined).
There are only 2 returning MVC players who averaged a block per game or better (like Kirby did in his last 18 games). They are Evansville's 6'10" Mockevicius and Missouri State's 6'11" McCullough.
Not only am I impressed with Kirby's shot blocking, but also his ability to learn and improve the more he plays.
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