AMHERST – The conversation around Luwane Pipkins has long been about his scoring abilities.
After leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring last year, Pipkins is once again back near the top of the scoring charts again this season. The difference is the junior from Chicago is also leading the league in assists this year with 6.2 helpers per game. Only two players in conference history have led the league in both stats in a season — St. Bonaventure’s Marques Green in 2002-03 and George Washington’s Shawnta Rogers 20 years ago — and Pipkins is an excellent candidate to be the third player.
He is such a focal point of the offense that he has been involved in nearly 44 percent of the Minutemen’s shots made and is basically even on assists (74) and field goals (75).
“Luwane is arguably the best guard in the league,” coach Matt McCall said. “It’s not just his scoring, he’s leading the A-10 in assists and last year he led the A-10 in scoring. He continues to stuff the stat sheet there. … He’s continuing to make the right play and play the right way.”
Pipkins’ offensive capabilities are well documented, but he’s made just as big of an impact on the defensive end as well. He’s laid his body on the line by absorbing several key charges throughout the season and has scrapped his way on the glass to help out the rebounding attack. He’s averaging a career-best 5.4 rebounds per game and has grabbed five boards in a game seven times already this year, matching his total from last season.
As the undisputed leader, Pipkins’ energy has been vital to UMass’ success this season. And that effort is not lost on his teammates, many of whom draw energy from the encouragement Pipkins gives them on a daily basis.
“He’s an awesome basketball player,” center Rashaan Holloway said. “He brings the best out of everybody on the team, that’s just his role. We go as he goes. He wants to be aggressive, he wants everybody to be aggressive. We follow our leader and he does a very good job at it every single day.”
PIERRE EFFECT: The biggest predictor of how UMass is playing is how many points Carl Pierre has scored.
The sophomore guard is averaging 14.1 points per game in the Minutemen’s seven wins, reaching double figures in six of those games. In contrast, he’s only scoring 5.8 points per game in UMass’ five defeats, and has been held to two or fewer points twice in that span. The scoring discrepancy is even more major when you consider that if Pierre had reached his double figures in every game this year, the Minutemen would have three more victories.
“Carl’s one of our leading scorers, so he has to make shots, and he has to score for us to win,” redshirt junior wing Jonathan Laurent said. “Every single loss we’ve had besides Nevada has been five (points or fewer), so when he comes in and he’s making shots, and he’s in a good place, and he’s feeling it, it’s just a burden off everybody’s back. It’s easier because he opens the floor for everybody. He starts making shots, defenders start closing out on him harder or they start cheating over more, so the lane is open to drive for me or Luwane Pipkins. … We definitely need him going, we definitely need him in a good place.”
BAPTISTE IMPACT: For weeks now, McCall has been hinting at how much Djery Baptiste’s arrival would impact the Minutemen. The time is now for the Vanderbilt transfer, who will be eligible for the first time on Sunday at Georgia.
Baptiste gives UMass the type of defensive option on the interior that it has lacked for most of the season. He’s two inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than Sy Chatman and he’s an inch taller and 15 pounds lighter than Khalea Turner-Morris. He’s a true shot blocker with the agility to be the Minutemen’s best big-man at defending the perimeter.
For most of the second half against Fairleigh Dickinson, McCall was quick to substitute Holloway and Turner-Morris interchangeably, depending upon whether UMass was going to be on offense or defense. He said he’ll likely do the same thing with Baptiste and Holloway to make sure the Minutemen are able to benefit from Holloway’s offensive prowess and hide some of his defensive liabilities.
“We’ve got a guy on the bench right now that will helpfully change our defense a little bit,” McCall said after Friday’s win. “He can really move his feet and he’s a shot blocker. That’s not to put pressure on Djery, we’re really excited that he’s here, but you’ll see us do more of (the quick substitutions) with him here, too.”