There are fast drivers, and then there is Samford’s Josh Sharkey.
At 5 feet 10 and 170 pounds, Sharkey is a human blur on a basketball court, going from zero to hero in 94 feet.
“Shark, to me, is probably the quickest guy I’ve seen in college at our level,” said Samford coach Scott Padgett, whose Bulldogs play Hawaii in today’s 3:30 matinee in the Stan Sheriff Center. “The only person I’ve really seen who is as fast as him with the ball, I coached at Kentucky, when John Wall was there. Wall’s a little faster than him. But I don’t think I’ve seen anybody else that’s faster than him with the ball.”
Sharkey missed about 10 days of training camp with an ailment. He played in the first two games, but when it was apparent he was not at his healthiest, he was held out to recover. He returned against Troy, amassing 14 assists, then averaged 19.2 points in the next five games. Before he was fully healed, the Bulldogs were shooting about 40% from the field. In the past five games, the Bulldogs are 50.9% from the field, including 46.5% on 3s. Sharkey is the NCAA’s leader with 9.6 assists per game.
“Josh Sharkey is the straw who stirs our drink,” Padgett said. “We play two different ways, really, when he’s in and when he’s out.”
Padgett noted the Bulldogs’ offense is more deliberate when Sharkey is on the bench. “We probably run a little more pick-and-roll when he’s in the game,” Padgett said.
Similar to other do-everything guards, Sharkey often tries to do everything. “Shark thinks he can make a play on every play,” Padgett said. “It’s a positive thing because he’s so talented that he can. But sometimes you have to tip your cap to the defense and say, ‘All right, I’m just going to swing this to my teammates, and let them make a play.’ He’s so talented, you don’t want to pull that string and say, ‘Hey, calm down.’ If you put the brakes on him, it’ll affect us, that he’s not able to make as many plays as he does.”
Chris Gerlufsen, UH’s acting head coach, acknowledged Sharkey is a “special, dynamic player,” but reaffirmed, “We never game plan for one guy. It’s a collection. They have a really good team, top to bottom.”
In recent games, guards Drew Buggs and Eddie Stansberry have emerged as 1-2 leaders. “They can influence a game in a big way,” Gerlufsen said. “One night it might be Eddie, one night it might be Drew.”
For 20 minutes a week ago, it was Stansberry leading the way as the Rainbow Warriors played to a tie at the intermission against nationally ranked Oregon. But the ’Bows skidded early in the second half, then fell hard, in a road loss.
“When the game starts getting away from us, we have a tendency to look to Eddie or Drew to make a play,” Gerlufsen said. “We need to come together collectively, and realize if you get down eight points, it’s not the end of the world. We’ve made a run like that against (San Francisco) and other teams. … We need to play a full 40 minutes.”
A year ago, Stansberry, who transferred from City College of San Francisco, deflected leadership to Buggs and three seniors. This year, Stansberry has expanded his game from a catch-and-shoot deep threat. “He’s guarding,” Gerlufsen said. “He’s scoring off the bounce. He’s scoring cutting, which he didn’t do much his first year. That all comes with getting comfortable. That happens a lot with JUCO guys. You see in their second year they become more comfortable.”
Stansberry said: “I have great players around me, great guys around the perimeter. Having great players around me builds my confidence, and builds theirs. This isn’t a team that has one or two great players. It’s balanced.”
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UH BASKETBALL DOUBLEHEADER
Today at Stan Sheriff Center
WOMEN
Hope International (9-2) vs. Hawaii (5-5)
>> When: 1 p.m.
MEN
Samford (6-5) vs. Hawaii (6-3)
>> When: 3:30 p.m.
>> TV: Both games on Spectrum Sports (Ch. 12)
>> Radio: Both games on 1420-AM / 92.7 FM
