2011-12 Final grades: E.J. Farris

E.J. Farris - Junior
33 games, 1 start
 ________________________
Averages
9.2 minutes
2.8 points
1.2 rebounds
0.79 assists
34.8% - FG
19.4% - 3pt
95.7% - FT


As has been the case with everyone else so far, E.J. Farris' final grade will depend partly on what was expected of him going into this year. For a guy tasked with backing up the preseason WAC Player of the Year, the expectations weren't exactly through the roof for a guy most people are pretty sure is a walk-on (not dealing in absolutes there after the internet was all sorts of wrong about Morgan Grim being a walk-on).

Even with the low expectations, this season had a fair share of ups, downs and frustrations.

Positives: On a team that often struggled with free throws, Farris was magnificent! He missed a grand total of ONE foul shot all season, with that one coming in a blowout win over Idaho in the CIT second round. On top of that, Farris played his best basketball of the year about a third of the way through the season when Brockeith Pane was slumping through a lot of December and January. He averaged 11.9 minutes per game from the middle of December until the end of January, shooting 44 percent from the field, averaging 4.3 points per game, and making a perfect 18-of-18 free throws.

Negatives: While Farris made solid contributions for that month and a half span, before and after that he only averaged 1.75 points per game on 32.5 percent shooting. He also finished the season shooting 19.4 percent from behind the 3-point line. Walk-on, scholarship, starter, backup; whatever the role, those shooting numbers are bad.

Summary: The unfortunate reality is that Farris' highs might only generously be described as moderate, while his lows were pretty decently low. Again, he's a walk-on (supposedly), who saw a lot of his minutes during brief stints where Stew Morrill felt the need to chew out Pane on the bench for a bit. Still, poor shooting, marginal defense and 26 assists to 29 turnovers is not enough to make up for hitting 22-of-23 free throws. For an upperclassman, already with experience on the team and seeing the regular minutes Farris saw for much of the year, expectations have got to be a little higher. They were low to begin with, and so was his production for most of the season.

Final grade: C-