Welcome to Part Two of my Western Illinois newcomers preview, this time focused on four frontcourt additions I think will make an impact this season. If you haven’t checked out Part One yet, click here.
Stats Glossary (can skip and come back to reference if need be):
GP: Games Played
GS: Games Started
PPG: Points per game
RPG: Rebounds per game
APG: Assists per game
TOPG: Turnovers per game
SPG: Steals per game
BPG: Blocks per game
2P: 2-point percentage
3P: 3-point percentage
3PR: Percentage of shots that came from three
FT: Free throw percentage
MPG: Minutes per game
PPP: Points per possession
Jesiah West #4 6’5 Forward
1 year at Goldey-Beacom (DII). 2 years at Southeastern Iowa CC (JUCO).
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
2021-2022 season: 29/29 GP/GS. 13.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.4 TOPG, 1.52 SPG, 1.31 BPG, 59.1% 2P, 35.7% 3P, 5.5% 3PR, 62.8% FT.
Jesiah comes in at 6’5, a bit of an undersized forward, but then you look at his numbers during his career and realize well that didn’t really seem to matter. Yes, I know that Division 1 size is much different, but let me show you why Jesiah is still more than capable of making an impact on the interior.
During his Division II season (a lot of JUCO schools don’t track minutes accurately so we’re reverting back to his DII season in 2019-2020), he blocked 1 shot every 10.6 minutes he was on the court. For reference, Western’s starting big men last season blocked 1 shot every 51.7 (Tamell Pearson) and 79.6 (Luka Barisic) minutes during their careers. The Summit League’s best rim protector a season ago (by block rate) was Oral Roberts’ DeShang Weaver; he averages a block every 23.6 minutes for his career. Among qualified Division 1 players last season, only 30 guys blocked at least 1 shot per 10.6 minutes played, a list that includes 7-foot NBA prospects like Chet Holmgren, Mark Williams, and Walker Kessler. I think you’ll believe me now that his ability to block shots is special, even despite being 6’5, but if you still don’t here are some fun clips from throughout Jesiah’s career.
He’s clearly a very long and bouncy athlete that can play well above the rim at just 6’5. This frame and athleticism help him make an impact in many facets of the game. His 9.3 rebounds and 1.52 steals from a season ago should translate to slightly lesser but, regardless, still productive contributions for this year’s Western Illinois team.
Last season, Jesiah West was an 82nd-percentile offensive player on a PPP basis. He’s not going to be a focal point of any offense but certainly can contribute. His creation ability isn’t going to pop off the screen, but he does demonstrate a solid overall feel for the game, knowing when to cut and making good decisions on when to give the ball up (he did average 2 assists per game last season). Only about 7% of his FGAs last season were jumpers, but he did make 5 of his 14 three-point jumpers so defenses can’t completely leave him outside. Where he does most of his damage however is around the rim. It almost all comes on cuts/dump-off passes, offensive rebounds, post-ups, or in transition. Much like his defensive game, his offensive game will be highlight filled. He’s unsurprisingly going to dunk, and dunk a lot with great explosion. He might have some of the best highlights of any player in Summit come year’s end.
Steph Gabriel #15 6’7 Forward
1 year at Bradley (D1). 1 year at Hutchinson CC (JUCO). 1 year at Highland CC (JUCO).
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
2021-2022 season: 22/19 GP/GS. 16.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.9 TOPG, 1.91 SPG, 1.14 BPG, 51.2% 2P, 29.8% 3P, 30.2% 3PR, 57.5% FT.
Steph (Stephan) Gabriel is yet another guy brought in by Coach Jeter with an intriguing athletic profile. He has a strong build and at 6’7, Gabriel is a lot more involved on the perimeter than his 6’5 teammate Jesiah West is. Gabriel’s efficiency numbers don’t jump off the page offensively (57th-percentile overall at the JUCO level), but watching through his film many of his looks were created in unstructured settings and by himself. Hopefully, Coach Jeter’s offense and Massner’s creation abilities can help his efficiency numbers improve this season despite taking a jump in competition level.
From inside the arc, he shot a solid 51.9% last season and got those shots in a variety of ways.
One element of Gabriel’s game that could be a huge swing skill for the Leathernecks is his outside shot. On paper, it’s easy to see he’s been working on the shot since entering the college level, and his confidence is certainly growing. After shooting only 12 threes as a freshman at Bradley, he shot 39 his 1st JUCO season taking one every 13.4 minutes he was on the floor. As a junior, those numbers jumped all the way to 94 three-point attempts and one attempt somewhere around every 6 minutes (again, minutes played in JUCO are often tracked relatively poorly). I don’t know that Coach Jeter will look for the rate at which Gabriel gets up threes to continue to grow with the shooting prowess of Trenton Massner and Alec Rosner on the roster, but it’s a really good sign that Gabriel’s comfort from the outside is rapidly improving. Perhaps shedding some volume for higher efficiency could help unlock the Leathernecks’ offense.
As is often the case with JUCO-level players (especially for 16 PPG guys like Gabriel), the motor was on and off for Gabriel on the defensive end of the floor. However, the athletic profile and flashes he had defensively make it possible that Gabriel can become a plus-level defender on 3s and 4s at the Division 1 level. He was a defensive playmaker averaging almost 2 steals and 1.14 blocks per game. Here you can see a couple of his blocks from a season ago.
Vuk Stevanic #12 6’8 Center
2 years at Highland CC (JUCO). 2 years at St. Francis (NY) (D1).
Eligibility remaining: 1 year
2021-2022 season: 22/11 GP/GS. 1.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 TOPG, 0.23 SPG, 0.27 BPG, 36.0% 2P, 0.0% 3P, 24.2% 3PR, 83.3% FT.
2020-2021 season: 19/19 GP/GS. 6.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.1 TOPG, 0.37 SPG, 0.58 BPG, 36.0% 2P, 0.0% 3P, 2.4% 3PR, 74.3% FT.
Vuk’s stats from last season certainly don’t tell the whole story, so I decided to include the year prior as well. While he started 30 of 41 games he appeared in during his time in the NEC, he struggled to see consistent playing time outside of his shifts to open each half (only averaged 9.9 MPG despite starting 11 games last season). His peculiar substitution situation made a divorce between him and the St. Francis program feel inevitable.
This lack of consistent playing time makes evaluating Vuk’s potential for this Leathernecks team increasingly difficult. However, I was thinking perhaps there are some parallels here, so I looked over the stats.
| Stats | Vuk Stevanic (2020-2021) | Player X (2020-2021) |
| PPG | 6.3 | 5.3 |
| RPG | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| APG | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| BPG | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| SPG | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| 2P% | 56.6% | 48.5% |
| 3P% | 0.0% | 30.0% |
| FT% | 74.3% | 85.7% |
It’s actually not far off…
Who is Player X you ask? To build dramatic effect I’m gonna drag on a little bit longer so it’s tougher to skim ahead and ruin the surprise but anyways I’ll get to the point now. It’s Luka Barisic from his last season at UTSA… Rob Jeter has done it before… can he do it again this season with Vuk?
The main area shown in the table where Vuk falls short of Luka is the three-point shooting. While I certainly don’t expect Vuk to step in and be the high-volume three-point shooter Luka was last season (5.6 3PA per game), is it reasonable to think he can knock them down at a rate around Luka’s 32.4% he posted for WIU? I believe so. Despite never making a three in a game at the Division 1 level, there is certainly shooting ability there for Vuk. He only got 10 three-pointers up in his 41 D1 games, mostly due to scheme. In fact, at Highland CC (yes, Gabriel’s JUCO from last season… you also might recognize that from a few other places but I’ll get to that in a second), Vuk made 21 of his 65 attempts from deep, good for 32.3% only 0.1% short of Luka’s number last season. His shot didn’t magically break overnight, don’t let the small sample fool you.
Another reason to have hope that he can regain his shooting is that his touch in other areas still remains good. He’s a career 75.6% from the charity stripe and has continued to show that he has good touch scoring around the basket, especially out of the post where he can score with either hand.
It’s also rare that you see a true big man with a career 1.65 assist-to-turnover ratio in Division 1 basketball, but that’s where Vuk sits at coming into the season. It’s not going to be flashy behind-the-back or over-the-head passes, but he’s just a solid decision-maker that is more than willing to move the ball to open teammates.
Taking a quick sidenote from the player deep dives because I said I’d get back to the Highland CC connection. Interestingly enough, Vuk and Luka Barisic were teammates once upon a time at Highland in the 2018-2019 season. Recent Highland rosters have also included Cam Burrell, JJ Flores, Adam Anhold, and Steph Gabriel. That’s six different players that have been on the Western Illinois roster over the last two seasons. Leatherneck fans might want to keep an eye on that JUCO from Northwest (Freeport) Illinois.
Elijah Farr #22 6’8 Forward
2 years at Olney Central (JUCO). 1 year at Murray State (D1).
Eligibility remaining: 2 years
2021-2022 season: 21/20 GP/GS. 16.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.1 TOPG, 0.71 SPG, 0.33 BPG, 52.8% 2P, 38.0% 3P, 32.9% 3PR, 76.6% FT.
After a standout year at Olney CC in which he was an NJCAA second-team All-American while averaging 16.3 points and 7.0 rebounds, Farr spent half of the 2021-2022 season on Murray State’s roster. He suffered a concussion right before the season started, and never was able to make it back into the lineup before leaving the program as the calendar flipped to 2022. This year Farr is back healthy and adds another much-needed frontcourt presence to this WIU roster.
He’s a big body standing at 6’8, 240 lbs that has also provided some nice floor spacing in the past. Overall, he was a very impressive 87th-percentile jump shooter and took 32.9% of his FGA from three. He will certainly be used in this offense as a pick-and-pop option.
At the JUCO level, Elijah showed the ability to get shots in just about every way and do so with remarkable efficiency. In all seven main categories he qualified in on Synergy, he grades out as “excellent” efficiency-wise, those being: post-up, spot-up, P&R roll-man, transition, offensive rebound, cut, and isolation. He’s capable of attacking off-the-dribble and can seal defenders with his body. Around the basket, he often uses that frame to bully defenders which is hard to stop when you also have to also be able to guard his jumper and the soft right-hand hook shot that he possesses.
Defensively, Farr isn’t going to be the most versatile player. He’ll likely struggle on the perimeter guarding quicker guys but should provide good resistance on the interior with his strength. He was one of the best post defenders at the JUCO level two seasons ago allowing opponents to score only 0.638 PPP in their post-ups. He also does a good job contesting shots without fouling averaging only 1.87 fouls per game, a really good number for a big man.
That concludes my two-part, seven-player breakdown on the Western Illinois newcomers I see making the biggest impact for this team this season alongside Trenton Massner and K.J. Lee. If you enjoyed it, I’d greatly appreciate you sharing this content with anyone who may have interest! I will release a more team-oriented preview for the season before Monday night’s season opener right here on Reaching The Summit.