Sunflower Slate

DEANDRE EGGINS

This isn’t going to be about the Washburn women — I think I know how good they are. Ranked No. 2, 10-0 … yeah, you get the picture. They’re nice.

This is about the Washburn men and what I think could be one of the best in the MIAA.

And, just one question before I get into all of this: How are the Ichabods not ranked yet? 7-3 and 3-0 in the MIAA with that schedule? Come on!

TWO REASONS WHY I THINK THE WASHBURN’S MEN’S TEAM IS GOING TO BE PRETTY DARN GOOD AND ONE REASON (IN TWO PARTS) WHY THEY MIGHT NOT:

LEKHEYTHAN MALONE

1. Little Rock’s loss is Topeka’s gain

I know the game when it comes to most Division I transfers. Good athletes. Just not good enough to get time on the D1 level. That’s not the case with DeAndre Eggins and Lekheythan Malone, two players that came to Washburn from Arkansas-Little Rock. Here’s the thing, though: they were both, at different times and by all means, central figures at UALR. Eggins averaged double digits two season ago. Malone was the Sun Belt freshman of the year in 2005. But for some reason, they decided to leave. There’s always some logical connection when something like this happens, i.e., an old AAU coach, an old assistant knew somebody who knew somebody … whatever it was, they’re tearing it up. Malone, a 6-6, Antonio Gates-looking dude from Dallas, is averaging 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. Eggins, a 6-2 shooting guard, is fourth in the MIAA at 15.9 points per game. And he tore up No. 6 Brigham Young-Hawaii in Honolulu last week in a Washburn win.

Wait! Maybe that’s why they transferred! A free trip to Hawaii! Yeah right. We’ll get to the bottom of this.

2. Mr. Scott is here to assist you

There aren’t just two players on the team, despite what you may have just read on this blog. There’s also Mario Scott, a 6-1 junior who led the Ichabods in assists last season and is first in the MIAA this season with 5.38 assists per. So yeah, he’s not too bad.

3. The reason they might not

Part of the reason they might not is because the rest of the MIAA is pretty darn good. Especially Southwest Baptist and Matt Rogers, the No. 3-ranked team in the nation. And Rogers, a 6-11 junior, leads the MIAA in scoring (22.6), rebounding (9.8) … and 3-point shooting percentage (52.5). Dude is a freak. So they’ll have to get through them and Missouri Southern if they want to make any noise. The other part of the reason (or a separate reason all to itself, if you’re being picky) is that I understand how hard it is to bring in transfers and make them mesh as a team. If you don’t have the right mix of four-year, program guys on the roster to balance out the transfers … sometimes that mix can be combustible. And sometimes it can be magic.

So there you go.

I’m out.

-TA