Bob Hoffman looks for sophomores to take next step
Stephon Jelks and Jordan Strawberry made strong contributions for the Mercer basketball team in their freshman season last year.
Head coach Bob Hoffman is expecting them to take the next step this year as sophomores.
The Bears open their season Friday against Allen at Hawkins Arena.
"They have been tremendous," Hoffman said. "Stephon has been hurt. He's just getting back from a torn labrum, and being the reckless guy that he is, that scares you as a coach because you don't want to take away that strength of his, which is getting on the floor and going after it all the time, but he's been great. He and Jordan are currently shooting the ball at a high level."
Jelks was picked to the Southern Conference's all-freshman team last year, averaging 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He led the team in field goal percentage, shooting 52.6 percent, and really picked up his game at the end of the season, scoring in double figures in four of his final five games.
He suffered a foot injury in the conference tournament and has been battling through the labrum issue during the preseason.
Strawberry played in 34 games last year, averaging 14.7 minutes, 4.3 points and 2.1 assists per game. His best game came at Georgia, where he scored 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
"Jordan and Stephon have, for sure, made a huge step forward," Hoffman said. "They played the most out of that group for us last year, and now they have made another stride that you will get to see when we start playing."
Hoffman is also expecting to see improvement from last year's other freshmen -- Demetre Rivers, Niklas Ney and Tyre Moore, who all played sparingly last year.
"There's another sophomore that I think could step up; he hasn't gotten there yet, but I believe he will, is Demetre Rivers," Hoffman said. "He's a 6-8 wing who is long, athletic, he can rebound. He really shoots it in drills. We need him to show it in a game, and I think he will before it's all said and done. Tyre Moore is another sophomore that can really shoot the ball. He has hit some shots. That group of guys, along with Nik Ney, all five of those guys were freshmen last season. It's going to be important that they make a stride this season."