Season averages:
Minutes per game – 8.2
Points – 3.0
Rebounds – 1.0
Assists 1.0
Steals – 0.6
Field goal percentage – 48.9%
Three-point percentage – 35.7% (5/14)
Free-throw percentage – 80% (16/20)
Season highs:
Points – 12 at Michigan
Rebounds – 3 at Michigan and vs Sacred Heart
Assists – 4 (three times)
Steals – 2 at Michigan and vs Marquette
Overall thoughts:
It is tough to evaluate Chris Jeffrey’s season, as he played inconsistent minutes out of the gate and subsequently injured his knee. His first appearance
was a promising one, scoring 11 points against BYU and playing down the stretch (over Acaden Lewis). He was one of only two players to show up at Michigan. But his eventual meniscus injury against Pittsburgh cost him roughly seven weeks of action. Arguably more important than the games missed were the practices missed. But to Jeffrey’s credit, he fought to come back and did not waste the season to preserve a redshirt.
You could see in glimpses how much potential the freshman has. He’s a strong guard who excels in pressuring his opponent the length of the court. To average 0.6 steals in less than nine minutes per game means he would project to lead the conference in steals per game with starters’ minutes.
On offense, most of his shot attempts are quality ones. He will need to improve as a shooter, but his percentages on limited attempts were encouraging. Jeffrey also showed the ability to orchestrate the offense, accruing 22 assists to only five turnovers on the year. It would be interesting to see how those numbers fare in a larger role.
That is where the issue arises: how does he get a larger role next year? If the current backcourt returns, it’s hard to see that happening. Perhaps Jeffrey is content with being the first guard off of the bench, rather than the second one. Setting up to take over as the starter in year three. He has shown that he’s willing to commit to Kevin Willard. But it’s also understandable if he wishes to go somewhere that would afford him a clear starting opportunity. Only playing two minutes in the game against Utah State is unfortunately the final impression that we have from this season.
I think that with his defensive ability, Jeffrey works well with Lindsay as a backcourt mate moving forward. The Lewis and Jeffrey combination is a bit more complicated, as the shooting at the present time would be a genuine concern.
Jeffrey’s commitment to this season and to the program will always be appreciated. As we saw and Kevin Willard explicitly said, that’s not exactly common in today’s game. I also would welcome Jeffrey back to the team with open arms, as I strongly believe in his long-term ability. But that said, it seems that it will be difficult to both get bigger across the frontline and keep all of the remaining backcourt intact.
