St. Joseph’s Will Miss Shavar Newkirk

The St. Joseph’s men’s Basketball team find themselves struggling early on, and will try to overcome the loss of Shavar Newkirk.

Outside of Villanova, Philadelphia men’s college basketball has been underwhelming. St. Joseph’s is no exception. Sitting at 8-6 and 7th in the Atlantic 10, St. Joseph’s slow start can be contributed to many failed facets. One of them being a streaky season from junior guard and leading scorer Shavar Newkirk.

The load of the team’s success usually falls on the shoulders of the its leading scorer. Newkirk, the confident 5’11 guard from the Bronx, has seen a huge jump in scoring in his junior year. Moving into the starting role seemed to be an easy one for Newkirk, who has racked up eight 20-point games in his 12 appearances this season.

Huge scoring nights haven’t been a problem for Newkirk, but he has seen five games where he has shot under 45% from the field. St. Joseph has failed to alleviate his struggles on defense, where he has racked up a gaudy 105.9 defensive rating. Even through his struggles, he has found ways to contribute.

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Newkirk has gotten to the line at least 10 times in three of the five games he shot under 45%, contributing to the team’s scoring even on off nights. He is also an outstanding rebounder for his height, averaging 5.6 per game. He’s not the greatest distributor, but he finds ways to get the ball to open teammates around the rim.

His low assist numbers and high turnover rate is troubling when looking at his 28% usage rate. Fortunately, his way as a real offensive threat comes in his breakout shooting from behind the arc. He has made an average of 1.6 three-pointers per game on 4.0 attempts. In comparison, his sophomore season he shot just 2.1 three-pointers per game, making just 0.6.

Newkirk has been pivotal for St. Joseph’s this season, but without him, the team will struggle to pierce through the trying veil they are currently under. The upcoming schedule for St. Joseph’s is George Mason, Richmond, and UMass before squaring off against Penn at the famed Palestra.

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The schedule is one where Newkirk could have shown his dominance, and for the team to regain some needed confidence. If Shavar Newkirk was still healthy, St. Joseph’s would be looking a bit brighter this season. From role player, to star player, Newkirk’s game suddenly saw an incredible increase in weight. With his upsetting injury, the Hawks must find others to step up and score.