Milik Yarbrough: SLU’s Next Star

Leading by 16 at one point, SLU couldn’t hold off a superior veteran opponent in George Washington on Wednesday. Plenty of story lines from the match-up, including Austin McBroom rotating out of the starting lineup in favor of Marcus Bartley, as well as the no call on Mike Crawford’s game-tying three point attempt (#contact). Other takeaways include Davell Roby playing his best game of the year (14 points and 5 boards), while Ash Yacoubou played a very forgettable one (2-7 from the field). But look at the bigger picture. Milik Yarbrough just officially landed here. He’s the “next one”, whether this university and city are prepared or not.

Bold predictions are the cornerstone of sports journalism. And more often than not, those predictions fall short. Well here comes another one from a young, unproven, and slightly chubby journalist with a lazily kept beard. Milik Yarbrough will be the face of SLU (aka the poster on Grand), and a first round NBA pick by 2018.

Before you stop reading, let me make my case. The first I heard of Milik Yarbrough was a cold winter day during the 2013-2014 high school basketball season in Chicago. Never seeing him in person, his freakish athleticism and scoring ability didn’t register fully. 3 minutes of highlights changed the minds of non believers like myself (See below). However, a tremendous knack for scoring and rebounding coupled with athleticism rarely seen (7’2” wingspan) met a lack of basketball IQ and “smoothness” that scared away many high-major programs. Not helping Yarbrough was an extremely talented 2014 class coming out of Chicago, headlined by Tyler Ulis (Kentucky), Jahlil Okafor (Duke), and Cliff Alexander (Kansas). Jumping at the opportunity was Jim Crews’ assistant coach Calbert Cheaney, who “showed how he will work with me, how he did it, and how we will work together,” according to Yarbrough.

But as we know about our beloved Coach Jim Crews, high school stats don’t mean much in college. From day one, the focus was on that lack of basketball IQ that scared away high major programs. “I said, ‘Milik, I know you really want to be a good player, but you have no idea how to be a good player’”, said Crews. According to the old ball coach, Yarbrough doesn’t bat an eye at the statement. “He knows he doesn’t know the answers,” which is “why he’s getting better”.

Game by game, Milik’s play improved. Currently, he’s second on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg) behind Austin McBroom, and double-digit scoring games (8) and rebounding (5 rpg) behind Ash Yacoubou. On top of that, he’s recorded one of two double-doubles for the Bills this season, recording 10 points and 13 boards against Vermont back in December, leads the team in field goal percentage (55%), and offensive rebounding (2 per game). A stat book stuffer to say the least.

“I said, ‘Milik, I know you really want to be a good player, but you have no idea how to be a good player.'”-Jim Crews

Luckily for SLU, Yarbrough’s finding his groove in sync with the start of conference play. Over the last 4 games, Yarbrough’s averaging 17 points and 8 boards, which hit the climax with a 26 and 6 outpouring at George Washington on Tuesday. With off-games from McBroom and Yacoubou as mentioned before, Yarbrough stepped up to take the leadership role from the vets by playing 38 (!!) minutes, reiterating his workhorse reputation.

Back in November, I placed Yarbrough as a possible third option down low, behind Manning and Agbeko. Fast forward to January, he’s handling the ball better than the point guards, scoring better than the 2 or 3 guards, and rebounding twice as well as the “big” men. One of the only irreplaceable parts of the lineup, Yarbrough is SLU’s midseason MVP, and in the conversation for the A-10 All-Freshman team (possibly Freshman of the year if his scoring/rebounding trend continues).

Still just a Billi-kid, there’s work to be done to become a Billi-man in Crews’ system (I hate myself for both of those nicknames, but let’s move past it). As the cornerstone, the brunt of the leadership falls on him as this young team grows old together. Learning from leaders like McBroom and Crawford help, but the eventual authority to create his own leadership strategy falls on himself, which comes with time. Once he matures to that point, the sky’s the limit. Get ready Bills fans. We’ve found our next star.