Road Struggles Continue for UIC

Despite the return of Zion Griffin and RayQuawndis Mitchell, the Flames lost both games by a combined six points.

UIC had a chance to cement itself in the top-three of the Horizon League but the Flames faltered on the road against Northern Kentucky. The offense received much needed help from juniors Zion Griffin and RayQuawndis Mitchell, as the duo returned after missing the previous six games. But UIC (8-7, 5-5) could not close out against Northern Kentucky and its productive perimeter trio of Trevon Faulkner, Bryson Langdon and Marques Warrick.

Roles Shift

For the first time since December 20th, UIC had its full arsenal available. But head coach Luke Yaklich went with the same starting five. Another first for the season was redshirt junior Teyvion Kirk not leading the team in assists. The absences of Griffin and Mitchell proved to form a massive void, especially from the 3-point line. Both Kirk and redshirt senior Rob Howard struggled as Griffin and Mitchell ate into to their usage. Jamie Ahale and Maurice Commander remained steady.

Kirk struggled immensely in game one, only scoring eight points and chipping in two assists compared to four turnovers. His shot selection in the final stretch was questionable. Kirk missed a three with 1:06 left in the game while Northern Kentucky nursed a 65-61 lead. Griffin did crash the offensive glass, but it eventually led to another missed three from Kirk. He was able to redeem himself after an offensive rebound from Michael Diggins, finishing a layup to cut the lead to two points. Kirk missed another layup with 29 seconds left as the Norse closed out the game.

In a late-game situations, Kirk needs to work from the mid-post area and hunt for a shot from the paint. If not available, Kirk is a more than capable passer who can find a teammate for a perimeter shot. Shots from beyond the arc from a player who shoots 29.3% from three are not high-quality shots. As Kirk improves in late-game situations deciphered between scorer and passer, UIC’s success will surely follow.

Ahale and Commander remain firmly entrenched in the rotation despite the presence of Griffin and Mitchell. Ahale should benefit greatly with other shooter’s sharing and spacing the floor. He totaled 18 points across both games, shooting 6-12 from three. Commander was the second leading scorer both games and he appears more and more comfortable by the day. He is now averaging 10.3 points per game and shooting 39% from three on five attempts. Commander continues to make the easy, functional plays while taking care of the basketball and only committing 0.6 turnovers per game (!) in 33.6 minutes per game.

Griffin Flashes Potential

Griffin was impressive in the first game against Northern Kentucky. He scored 15 points, chipped in seven rebounds and a team-high five assists while shooting 2-3 from three. Griffin did all of this in 21 minutes off the bench. There have been several instances of Griffin flashing playmaking ability this year, and his 13.1 assist rate according to KenPom.com is higher than Commanders’ (12.4). His key assist to Kirk with 48 seconds left in game one cut the Northern Kentucky lead to 65-63.

Griffin struggled in the second game, totaling three points in 19 minutes. If he can make improvements defensively, Griffin would command more playing time. He is an explosive athlete in terms of verticality, but it has not translated to blocks or steals. Griffin has yet to register a steal in 249 minutes of play and only has blocked two shots. For an athlete of his stature, these figures need to go up. Blocks and steals don’t necessarily mean a player is strong defensively, but those statistics do highlight defensive awareness.