John Blanchette: EWU, Stuckey appear stuck in neutral

Two minutes and change left and the game about one empty possession from being a lost cause for Eastern Washington, coach Mike Burns cupped a hand around his mouth and issued an order to Rodney Stuckey.

“Chicago,” Burns barked.

Question is, was that the play he wanted run or the NBA team he expects will draft his star next summer?

Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

As it happened, the Bulls weren’t in the house Thursday night at Reese Court. Orlando Magic assistant general manager Dave Twardzik showed and Danny Ferry from the Cleveland Cavaliers asked that a pass be left but didn’t appear to make it, so the expected pro presence to eyeball Hot Rod was only half what it was supposed to have been.

Which sort of meshed with Eastern’s presence.

The Eagles, with another chance to make hay in the Big Sky Conference basketball hootenanny, instead made hay’s inevitable by-product, falling to Northern Arizona 91-80 – and outcome that can probably be boiled down to two telling statistics:

NAU shot it better from behind the 3-point line (12 of 20) than Eastern did from the free-throw line (8 of 22).

But then, the Lumberjacks weren’t being guarded as closely.

This was particularly true of Stephen Sir, the name that’s launched a thousand nicknames – yes, no, thank-you-may-I-have-another. NAU’s remarkable marksman made 7 of 10 from beyond the arc, including two pitifully open shots a few minutes into the second half when Eastern’s zone over-rotated to one side and couldn’t hope to get realigned in time.

Of course, that begs the question of why a zone was prudent when a guy shooting 65 percent from 3 in Big Sky play was on the floor – and had already proved himself capable of keeping it up. But then, it’s not as if the Eagles have been lockdown wonders in man-to-man this year, either.

“We just have to guard better,” admitted Stuckey.

Well, yes. It would be nice to say the Eagles have made strides in that department since the Gonzagas and UNLVs and Oregons on the schedule have turned into Northern Colorado and Montana State. But it wouldn’t be true.

And now EWU is 3-4 just a game away from the conference round-robin’s midpoint and no longer able to “rationalize splitting games at home,” as Burns said, especially with the best player in the Big Sky saddled up.

The burden of greatness is … wait, reset.

The burden of being really good is that more is always expected, and no one understands this better than Stuckey, last season’s national Freshman of the Year on a team that finished third and graduated just a single starter. The anticipation for this season was almost unbridled, but it’s turned into vague disappointment – and that shadows Stuckey as well as his teammates.

Yes, he led the Eagles in points (24), rebounds (eight) and assists (five) Thursday night. He also led them in missed free throws, including two front ends of late 1-and-1s that punctured any remaining hope. So he also led EWU in regrets.

“I thought we’d be way farther along,” said Stuckey. “This is like the most talented team that ever came through Eastern and things are not clicking like we want it to be.”

Hmm.

In the history of Division I basketball, only 12 freshmen have been named their conference’s player of the year – a list that includes the famous (Bernard King, Karl Malone, Wayman Tisdale) and the forgettable (Harry Kelly, Tony Dunkin). The 11 that came along before Stuckey had one thing in common: None of their teams took a step backward the next year – and that was true even for California when Shareef Abdur-Rahim bolted for the NBA.

Eight of their teams got measurably better. Five – King, Malone, Dunkin, Gary Trent and Quentin Richardson – led their teams to the NCAA tournament as sophomores after not making it the year before.

At the moment, Stuckey isn’t elevating the Eagles like that.

On the other hand, they aren’t elevating him, either.

The unique obligation that comes with having a player like Stuckey happily show up at a place like Eastern is assembling other talent that’s good enough to challenge him – and allow them all to make one another better. Nineteen games into the season, this doesn’t seem to have been the case – or if it is, as Stuckey maintained, then it’s not being realized.

Asked why the Eagles have been unable to string together more than two wins all season, Burns was stumped, noting only that “the inconsistency is troubling.”

Stuckey was more specific.

“We’re rotating too many guys in the game,” he said. “When a guy gets a feel for the game and you take him out, he loses his feel. Limiting the rotation some would probably help. It’s a rhythm thing.”

They have installed a railing in front of the student section at Reese to keep the kids off the court, and now it’s being suggested one go up in front of the Eagles bench, given the constant shuttle – and, yes, Burns might have the only 11-man roster in college basketball that has everyone averaging 11 minutes a game or better.

On the other hand, aside from Stuckey and forward Paul Butorac, it’s not as if any of the other Eagles have announced with their play, “You can’t take me out.”

In fact, the Eagles haven’t announced much of anything yet.

But we’ll keep listening.