Men’s Basketball Preview Part II: Starter Profiles (Jake Wolfin)

Men's Basketball

5- JAKE WOLFIN, SENIOR, GUARD, 6’2″
2011-12 stats: 30 GP, 29 GS, 30.3 MPG, 8.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.2 APG, 38 STL, 7 BLK, .661 FT%, .379 3PT%, .400 FG%

Since his arrival in 2009, Jake Wolfin has started 77 of the 88 games played by the Panthers. Over the course of those three years, he has averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 assists per game. He will be running the point again this year, and is without a doubt the best passer in the NESCAC. His arsenal of passes, from full court lobs to no-look dishes in traffic, is better than that of the rest of the conference combined. In addition to his superlative vision and creativity, Jake has a great pull-up jump shot and a surprising ability to score in traffic. He is the type of player who can be relatively quiet from a scoring perspective for much of a game before hitting a few clutch three pointers or driving for a tough basket in the paint, right when it matters most. His team-first offensive game sets the tone for the Panthers, and he will be called upon to create opportunities for all of the many weapons in the rotation this season. How well the pieces come together for this Middlebury team depends in large part on Wolfin’s facilitation, and we expect him to come through. One area which Wolfin needs to improve upon this year is his free throw shooting, which was a weak spot last season.

On defense, Jake’s quick hands are menacing to opposing passers and ball-handlers, and he is likely to be near the top of the NESCAC in steals once again this year. While he is not a lockdown type man defender, his opportunism and playmaking on defense are the perfect complement to the low-risk style of most of his teammates.

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