Elon sophomore guard Jack Isenbarger has impressed the Southern Conference, Phoenix fans and, most importantly, his coach with his play this season.
“He’s gotten better,” Elon Head Coach Matt Matheny said. “He’s coming in as a sophomore, but he’s a sophomore-plus because of all the experience he got last year as a freshman, the European trip and all the minutes he’s playing this year.”
The Zionsville, Ind. native was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team last year by league media members and was third on the Phoenix in scoring despite coming off the bench in each of the team’s 31 games. He scored in double-figures 14 times, including Dec. 20, 2010, when he scored 21 points against then-No. 1 Duke University.
With the loss of senior point guard Chris Long, Isenbarger came into this season expecting to be a leader on a team with just one senior, guard Drew Spradlin. Matheny pointed Isenbarger out as someone who needed to step up.
“It’s tougher when you’ve only got one senior,” Isenbarger said at the beginning of the season. “A little less experience and less guys talking out there. We’ve kinda gotta fill that void by everyone talking and stepping up out there, but more specifically the captains. I worked on my leadership skills and being able to communicate with my teammates (in the off-season).”
Isenbarger began the season a starter against the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Nov. 11, but hurt his arm and did not play until the Phoenix defeated Princeton University Nov. 22. He then went on to score double-digit points in seven of the next nine games, including 19 points in a key conference win against UNC-Greensboro Nov. 5. All of these performances came when Isenbarger came off the bench, usually replacing freshman guard Austin Hamilton, who shone when Isenbarger went out.
“I want to come into any game ready to play,” Isenbarger said. “Whether it’s starting or off the bench, I need to be ready to come in and produce, to give this team what I can offer.”
He was reinserted in the starting lineup when Spradlin struggled during the month of January, making just his second start of the season against Samford University Jan. 19, a game in which he scored 15 points on 5-of-15 three-point shooting. Not the greatest of nights statistically, but it was only the beginning.
Isenbarger has scored in double-digits in every game since, eleven games in a row after he picked up 22 points in the Phoenix’s loss to Western Carolina University Feb. 18. The peak came Feb. 4 against The Citadel when he scored a career-high 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting. He was named the SoCon Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 7.
“I think he’s efficient with his energy,” Matheny said. “He’s a warrior. I think he’s constantly on the hunt offensively. He’s aggressive offensively and he has what great scorers have, and that’s amnesia. If he misses one, that is forgotten, completely forgotten. I think that even if he makes one, it’s sort of irrelevant to the next shot. And I think that’s good for any scorer.”
Isenbarger started at point guard for the first time since the opener when Hamilton did not dress for the Phoenix’s double-overtime victory over College of Charleston Feb. 2 and has thrived in the role. Since Jan. 19, he is averaging 4.4 assists per game, picking up a season-high in assists with eight Feb. 9 against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, while turning the ball over just 2.6 times per contest.
“I guess I’m just trying to improve on the one with Austin gone,” he said after Elon’s 82-59 victory over Appalachian State University Feb. 6. “He’s been so big for us this year and I’ve just been working on taking advantage of the opportunities that you get when you play the point.”
His scoring average jumped from 9.0 points per game before he started to 14.0 points per contest after the Western Carolina game. He sits eighth in the SoCon in that category, 13th in assists per game (2.9), fourth in free-throw percentage (84.1 percent) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (40.0 percent). Not bad stats for a sophomore
“He’s maturing,” Matheny said. “His basketball IQ is coming out because he’s starting to feel more comfortable in our system, playing at this level. And as a result, he’s playing really well lately. He’s becoming more confident. I think a lot of times in your late-sophomore, early-junior year, that’s when the dividends start to pay a little bit and you can see it with Jack.”