John Groce Gives Jon Ekey A Rave Review

Jon Ekey has embraced every question surrounding his transfer and answered them by knocking down threes and winning ball games. He's been terrific. Moving forward, there's a lot of promise, in large part due to the addition of Jon Ekey.

Coach John Groce agrees on all points, something he made clear in this mornings UIC press conference. When asked about Ekey perhaps being underrated in the eyes of the media, Groce responded with the following:

"He's certainly not underrated in my mind. I thank God everyday we got him. He's smart. I've said that before. He knows our system inside and out, he picked it up very quickly. He can play multiple positions. He anticipates well. He's our leading rebounder. He makes a lot of those plays that you're talking about, that don't show up on a stat sheet--the intangible plays, tipping balls, keeping them alive, making the right cut at the right time, just because his fuel and his instincts allow him to do so. He's been really, really good for us. He's shot it well. He takes care of the ball. He's a great teammate. He cares about winning.

The kid is a winner. That's what he is. He's a winner. John is one of those guys that's smart enough and cares enough, that he's going to win in whatever he does in life."

I couldn't have asked for a more encouraging review. I love it all. Here are Ekey's numbers through 12 games this season.

You can listen to the entire press conference here.