Nate Kennell

[BUSongwriter]

I think Nate is a real key to our success. When we were rolling in January, Nate was rolling. In our only conference road win, Nate was on fire, scoring 25 points.

If he is hitting from the outside, defenses have to adjust and the inside is opened up for Donte, Elijah, and DB's drives.

We pretty much know what we're going to get night to night from Donte, D-Lo, Eli, and DB.

Nate's shot is a wild card. If he gets hot, we can beat anybody in the league. When he's cold, anyone can beat us. That's how I see it, anyway.

Let's hope his confidence is sky high in STL.

[pfcmsh]

Agree

I think Nate is a real key to our success. When we were rolling in January, Nate was rolling. In our only conference road win, Nate was on fire, scoring 25 points.

If he is hitting from the outside, defenses have to adjust and the inside is opened up for Donte, Elijah, and DB's drives.

We pretty much know what we're going to get night to night from Donte, D-Lo, Eli, and DB.

Nate's shot is a wild card. If he gets hot, we can beat anybody in the league. When he's cold, anyone can beat us. That's how I see it, anyway.

Let's hope his confidence is sky high in STL.

This is a great point you make. I have felt all along that Nate makes a big difference in how the Braves play. When he is hot, we play with a lot more confidence.

[BUfan39]

This is a great point you make. I have felt all along that Nate makes a big difference in how the Braves play. When he is hot, we play with a lot more confidence.

Speaking of, we're going to need a big game out of Nate tomorrow night to have any chance at winning.

[Da Coach]

I agree. If Nate isn't hitting the open shots he gets, there are other players who perhaps are better to be on the floor for defense.
But Nate is just a sophomore and still adjusting to D1 basketball. And he is a valuable player who has been a key contributor in many of Bradley's wins.

Recall the career of a similar player from Bradley's past. Jeremy Crouch had a very good freshman season for Bradley in 2004-05 (8.3 ppg and 37% from three), but he really fell off his sophomore year (4.6 ppg and 24% from three). He came back as a junior to average 13.8 ppg as a junior and lead the country in 3-point percentage (50%). He increased his average to 15.8 ppg his senior year.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/23016/jeremy-crouch

Some people like to refer to a "sophomore slump", and there may be something to that, since it happens to a lot of kids.
Even DLO had a bit of a "sophomore slump". He lead the team in scoring his freshman year with an average of 9.8 ppg, then averaged only 6.1 ppg his sophomore season. He has bounced back a little this year

In Nate's case, it is not really much of a "slump". Nate is still 3rd on the team in scoring with 9.0 ppg, and he is shooting 38.6% from three. He ranks 6th in the MVC in 3-pointers per game, and 17th in the MVC in 3-point percentage.