One of the biggest keys for Northern Arizona and their competitiveness this year will be Gabe Rogers.
In 2010, he shot 47% from downtown and was one of the best shooters in the Big Sky. He looked primed for a big junior year in which he would become the lead scorer. However, last offseason, he hurt his shoulder and had to have surgery, and simply wasn't the same player when he came back. He shot 31% from the floor, and his true shooting percentage dropped nearly 20 points.
With a coaching change and some new personnel, the Lumberjacks need Rogers to step up and be a big offensive weapon for them. That said, Jack Murphy has to be happy with what he has seen through the first two exhibition games this year.
In the first exhibition game, Rogers led the team with 29 points, shooting 12/21 from the field and 4/7 from downtown. In their second game, he had 26 points (along with six rebounds and five assists) on 10/22 shooting, 6/11 from downtown.
They are only exhibition games, but Rogers struggled so much last year after injury that to see him putting up these types of numbers is impressive and encouraging. NAU struggled to score last year, but if Rogers plays like this, he has the talent to be an all-conference guy,
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