For the first half of the season Princeton’s shooters were in a slump.
Amongst those struggling was junior Kris Joyce.
That’s no longer the case.
Joyce averaged 15.5 points per game the first week of February, helping the Tigers to wins over Raleigh County foes Beckley and Independence.
For his efforts Joyce has been named the Week 9 Lootpress Player of the Week by the Lootpress sportswriters.
The award is sponsored by Bodyworks and the Law Offices of Brandon Steele.
For Joyce there was never a question as to how he should bust his early-season slump.
“I’ve just been in the gym shooting and I keep shooting,” Joyce said. “Our teamwork has helped too. We’re all getting a lot better and we’re coming along together and playing better team ball, we’ve just got to keep working.”
Team ball was a catalyst for Joyce’s big week. In the second half against Beckley his teammates found him stationed outside the arc on multiple fast breaks and he capitalized, converting on a pair of 3s. While the scoring has been a welcome addition, his coach, Robb Williams, notes its not the only thing Joyce does well that makes him a standout player.
“He’s developed into a three-area shooter,” Williams said. “He’ll get a rebound and put it back up. He’s got that nice little floater and a midrange and he can hit that 3 if you don’t respect that. From the offensive end he really has it all but what I’ve been on him about and what I’ve seen the difference in is on the defensive end and the rebounding. He rebounds a lot. I think he’s our third biggest rebounder behind our two bigs and for a guard that’s pretty good. He averages about five-and-a-half rebounds a game for us and he’s really been getting a lot of stars as well.
“He’s deceptively long so he gets a lot of interceptions in passing lanes. As he plays so do we. He takes the most grief from me and he responds well to that. I push him often and he responds well.”
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