There is a reason Kim English took to a game of 1:1 to keep Jayden Pierre last offseason. He knew that lead point guards with his speed, athleticism, and offensive repertoire don’t grow on trees, especially players who have three years of college eligibility remaining.
Pierre’s sophomore season was a big step in a positive direction. His minutes played increased by approximately 19 minutes from his freshman year (11 minutes to 30 minutes), and he started 31 games as the lead guard for the Friars. His scoring increased drastically from 2.5 points to 9.5 points and assists per game from 1.9 to 3.2. Everything is pointing towards a potentially explosive junior year for the guard from New Jersey.
His increased role from freshman year to sophomore year is a sign he is developing positively, and we can anticipate Pierre making a similar leap this year as he did last year. While I personally don’t expect to see Pierre increase his points per game by 7 points again this year, I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibility to see Pierre average 12 – 15 points per game. His last few games of the season show his scoring ability, averaging 17.3 points in the last 3 games against quality teams in Creighton, Marquette, and Boston College. He can fill it up offensively.
For me, I want to see Pierre not only become one of the lead assist men in the Big East, but also prioritize taking care of the basketball. His assist to turnover ratio of approximately 1.44 needs to improve. For reference, that would put him at 289th nationally last year, so there is a ton of room for improvement. Expanding more on this, Pierre was top 10 in turnovers a game last year in the Big East at 2.2 turnovers/game, but was only 15th in assists per game at 3.2 assists/game.
I think back to the home game against Connecticut where Devin Carter put on his cape early to build a sizable lead for the Friars, but Pierre let the Huskies back into the game with a string of really bad live ball turnovers in the first half. His 6 turnovers and 0 assists are the type of games that cannot happen to Pierre this upcoming year as lead man alongside Bensley Joseph, and I don’t anticipate that happening. The Xavier win, on the other hand, showcased his well-rounded offensive potential, scoring 17 points with 5 assists and only 2 turnovers.
I also want to see Pierre pull the trigger more from deep. He was 36.6% from deep, while he was 54.5% from deep his freshman year on an admittedly much smaller sample size. If Pierre can be a high 30/low 40% three point shooter, it allows him to open up driving lanes by spreading the defense out while also using his speed off the dribble to beat his man and finish at the rim. If help comes to guard him in the paint, he can pad his assist stats by kicking out to the open man in the perimeter.
Throwing the stats out the window, I want to see Pierre be a true leader on this team on and off the court. I recollect his leadership abilities his freshman year, being the first one clapping off the bench despite not getting a ton of playing time. His enthusiasm for the game is infectious. He is an easy guy to root for, and I think no longer being the young guy in the locker room will allow his leadership abilities to blossom. We’ve seen a few clips from the social media team this offseason, and one of the constants being brought up is Pierre’s leadership capabilities.
The last thing I will say is that I think it will do wonders for Pierre to have Bensley Joseph on this team. I look at Pierre as more of a scoring guard first and true point guard second, and I think tasking Joseph with some of the lead guard duties will give English more freedom to play Pierre to his skill sets. Joseph can also be a mentor to Pierre, citing his deep runs in March at Miami. This was a very underrated pick-up that will pay dividends all season, especially if the Friars run into an injury bug.
Would it shock me to see Pierre be nominated for All-Conference awards at year’s end? Absolutely not. A lot of the old guard in the backcourt for the Big East are gone (Kolek and Newton, to name a few), and Pierre could easily be the next wave of lead guards in the Big East.
My prediction for stat line for Jayden this year: 13 points and 5 assists on his way to honorable mention All-Conference awards.
Season Ticket Holder Opinions
Pete, Class of 2011: JP: I think JP is undisputed leader of the team going into the season. Hopkins may be the most talented or get the attention from other teams, coaches, media, accolades, etc. but JP is the head of the snake this year. The tip of the spear. This team will go as JP goes. Even in some of the early videos from offseason workouts or day one in practice there are guys talking about out Jayden’s leadership. See the clip with Christ talking about JP talking through terminology, etc. I think last year was tough for him because when BHop went down DC had to just put the Batman cape on and be a super hero, including running point at times. With the weapons around him this year, additional guard depth next to him and some real bigs to play in and out with, I think Jayden can shine. If he can look like he did down the stretch at MSG and NIT game, that would be great. And I think that’s a reasonable expectation. Probably plays 25-30 mpg and let’s say 12/6/3/1. He doesn’t need to put up more points than that. But can he push to be the league leader in APG?
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