James Eayrs is a big, big guy and every time he takes the floor for the Milwaukee Panthers, he grows a little more.
That growth isn't physical - it would be hard for Eayrs, who according to Panthers Sports Information Director Kevin O'Connor, weighs in at 310 pounds, to add on to his 6-foot-7 frame.
Instead, Eayrs is growing into a more complete basketball player with every game. That's good news for the Panthers (10-6 overall, 5-1 Horizon League) ... but bad news for opponents.
The big fella is third on the team, scoring 8.6 points a game and is the Panthers' fourth-best rebounder, pulling down 4.1 boards per game. He came off the bench Monday night and scored 22 points with 12 rebounds in Milwaukee's 70-59 victory over SIU-Edwardsville.
Closing out the first half, Eayrs scored eight of the Panthers' final 10 points to give Milwaukee a 31-27 lead heading into the intermission.
Aside from his - pardon the pun - growing presence in the paint, Eayrs has a couple other skills, too, that opponents are quickly discovering. Namely, the kid can shoot the ball from outside. He's shooting 36.5 percent from beyond the arc (19-for-52) and is getting more and more confident with his shot.
"I've been trying to get down to the low block a lot because I haven't been shooting the three real well lately," Eayrs says. "If I'm open, I'm going to shoot the three."
The ability to go inside and outside with relative ease makes him a natural fit for Jeter's version of the "Swing offense," which he learned from mentor, former UWM and current Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan. The offense is based upon constant motion and finding the best shot or driving through the lane to either score or draw a foul.
Eayrs excels in all three categories.
"It's critical to what we're trying to do," Jeter says of Eayrs' versatility. "Inside play is something I really believe in. With a player like James, you like to see him on the perimeter but you also like to see him down in the post.
"He's establishing an inside game and we need to get him more touches."
The junior came to Milwaukee after two years at the North Dakota State College of Science, where in two years, he scored 1,156 points to place second on the Juco program's all-time list.
He averaged 24 points per game last season - the third-best mark in NJCAA Division I - and shot 49.7 percent from the field to lead his team to a 25-6 record. He chose to come to Milwaukee in large part because of the coaching staff's persistence in recruiting.
"(Assistant coach Brian Bidlingmeyer) came to one of my practices," Eayrs says. "Rob came to the next practice and offered me a scholarship right away. It was a no-brainer and I took it."
Eayrs is also something of a joker. He's got some flair to his game. Against SIUE, he showed a little of that flair with some pump-fakes and fancy passes that he attributes to watching Hakeem Olajuwon play.
"We teach him those moves," Jeter jokes.
Still, his work ethic, dedication to constant improvement and his light-hearted personality make him a good fit on a close team with good chemistry.
"He keeps things light; he's perceptive," Jeter says. "He's a good teammate and fun to be around.
"No doubt about that."
