WSU player grades: Freshman Jamarius Burton turns in complete performance vs. Catawba

In a new feature this season, The Eagle’s Taylor Eldridge will hand out grades for each player after watching a replay of the game and studying more than just the box score stats.

The grading scale is from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best performance. Players begin each game at a 6, so that is considered an average performance.

Here is how Eldridge graded out the Shockers following their 75-64 exhibition win over Catawba on Tuesday night. These grades will not carry over to the player’s season grade.

Jamarius Burton (8.5) About as well as a freshman could play off the bench in an opening game. Showed maturity and always looked in control. Only took good looks and as a result made 6 of 7. Rebounded well (five) and finished with three assists. Displayed a high basketball IQ several times on top of terrific on-ball defense. Only negative was three turnovers.

Samajae Haynes-Jones (7.5) Scored a game-high 19 points on a good shooting night. Consistently beat his defender off the dribble to create open looks, but settled for a few too many long twos for my liking. Didn’t create much for others, but also only had one turnover. Defense was acceptable given his offensive burden.

Erik Stevenson (7) Nothing flashy, but did a ton of the small details that it takes to win. Also showed high basketball IQ with his positioning and never tried to force things on offense. Played terrific defense, hustled for loose balls, rebounded well (five) and had two (should have been three) assists.

Rod Brown (6.5) An under-the-radar good performance. Did everything WSU asked him and did it well. Gets after it defensively and crashes the glass hard. Plays bigger than 6-6. Played his role perfectly on offense as a cutter and finished twice inside. Only negative was two sloppy turnovers.

Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler (6) Foul trouble limited his minutes, but it was telling Marshall had him on the floor with the game on the line. WSU even responded with its best stretch of the game with him out there. Looked the most natural on offense of all the posts and showed some nice range with a 15-footer. Troubling he failed to record a rebound in six-plus minutes.

Morris Udeze (6) Has a nose for the ball rebounding and showed his rim-protecting skills with a volleyball spike block. WSU even ran a set to open the second half to get him a post-up chance and he converted. But Catawba exploited him defensively when it made him guard around the perimeter.

Markis McDuffie (5.5) Salvaged his night with a great 5-minute stretch late with clutch shots. But the first 30 minutes saw him constantly rush himself on offense and fall victim to too many defensive lapses for a senior. Pulled the trigger on a lot of contested shots and made some open looks he did have tougher than they should have been.

Chance Moore (5.5) Looked confident attacking and flashed late in the first half on a drive and finish. Ball-watching is an issue with his defense and caused a late reaction that led to him fouling a three-point shooter to end the first half.

Asbjorn Midtgaard (5.5) The botched wide-open layup is what many will remember, but Midtgaard was aggressive pursuing rebounds and had several tip-outs that gave WSU extra possessions. Did well to catch a bullet entry pass and finish through contact for a slam dunk. Still, WSU’s offense struggled when he was on the floor.

Dexter Dennis (4.5) Didn’t leave an imprint on the game because of foul trouble for most of his 13 minutes. Pressed on offense which led to forcing a handful of contested shots and an 0-for-5 night. Never had opportunity to showcase his athleticism.

Jaime Echenique (4.5) Never capitalized on his size advantage. Only grabbed one rebound in nine minutes and missed a box-out that led to giving up an offensive rebound. His stroke from deep looked good, but missed both shots. Not many mistakes, but not many positive plays either.

Ricky Torres (4.5) Looked out of rhythm in this game. Struggled defensively and died a little too easily on screens. Finished 0 for 4, but took three great looks that just didn’t fall. WSU wasn’t good on either end in his 15 minutes.