The (non) Armenian Assassin doing big things.
I can’t tell you exactly how stout the competition at the 2017 FIBA U20 European Championship was, but I can tell you that new big man Steven Enoch was among the statistical leaders at the event.
Playing for Armenia, Enoch averaged 22.5 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in four games. All three of those averaged rank second among all players through the group phase of the competition.
Enoch leads the event in free throw percentage, connecting on 81.8 percent at the line (27-of-33), and is the championship's most efficient player (25.8 efficiency per game rating). He shot 46 percent from the field (26-of-63, sixth best), including making 5-of-13 three-pointers.
Armenia did not advance to the quarterfinals after posting a 1-3 record in the five-team Group A. However, Armenia handed Poland its only group phase loss, with Enoch providing an outstanding effort in the 56-47 victory. Below are Enoch's individual game statistics in the championship:
July 14 vs. Finland – 21 points, 13 rebounds, two steals
July 15 vs. Belarus – 22 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots
July 18 vs. Poland – 26 points, 25 rebounds, three steals, two blocked shots
July 19 vs. Belgium – 21 points, 10 rebounds, two blocked shots
The championship marked Enoch's second stint with Armenia. After his freshman year at UConn, he played for the Armenian National Team in the July 2016 FIBA U20 Division B European Championships in Chalkida, Greece. He led his team averaging 17.3 points, 15.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots as Armenia posted a 3-3 record in the event.
Enoch has no Armenian heritage, but he attained dual citizenship with the country last summer in order to be able to play in this event.
Again, I’m not sure how good the post players Enoch was going up against in this event were, but regardless, the numbers here are encouraging. It’s obvious that the Louisville staff thinks Enoch deserved more of a shot than he got at UConn, and in 18 months or so we’re going to find out whether or not they were right.
For now, we praise the best U-20 big man in the history of Armenian basketball.
