Sports
Rio’s Warmack Surpassed 1,000 Points, Landed In The Record Book
By: Justin Holbrock
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Rio Grande senior point guard Jermaine Warmack is now the 25th member in school history to reach 1,000 points as a member of the RedStorm.
Warmack eclipsed 1,000 last Thursday night as he dropped 21 points in Rio’s 100-96 home loss to the No. 13 Georgetown Tigers.
“It’s a great career accomplishment and he has earned this,” head coach Ken French said. “It’s rare top see someone play all four years in Division I of the NAIA especially in this conference but he’s a rare type of player.”
In a season in which he paces the team with nearly five assists and 2.1 steals per game, Warmack has come through in a leading role for the nationally ranked RedStorm. Warmack averages 11.7 points a game, his best season average during his four-year career with the team. To compliment his points per game, Warmack has already scored more total points (257) this season than he did as a junior last year (241).
A big reason for Warmack’s scoring success is due to his uncanny ability to knock down foul shots as he currently ranks 11th in Division I of the NAIA in free throw shooting percentage at 86.8 percent. Through 22 games this season, Warmack has already made more shots from the charity stripe than his freshman and junior years combined.
Warmack also poured in a career-best 28 points earlier this season in a 132-121 double overtime win over the Campbellsville Tigers back on Jan. 18.
Not only has Warmack improved in the scoring department but he has also cut down his number of turnovers by nearly half when he committed a total of 76 last season. This correlates to Warmack ranking at No. 16 in the NAIA in assist to turnover ratio with a 2.7 average.
Warmack, one of only two seniors on Rio Grande’s roster, has helped propel the RedStorm into the Top 25 for the first time since 2008 when they were still in Division II of the NAIA. Rio Grande is also tied with Georgetown for second place in the Mid-South Conference with an 8-3 league record.
“He’s playing like a senior point guard should. This is Jermaine’s last year and he’s playing his best basketball this year,” French said. “He’s been there done that and he has the experience of playing in this conference that most of our guys don’t have. He’s not the most vocal person out there but when he does talk his teammates listen and respect what he has to say.”
Warmack and the RedStorm are coming off an exhilarating 99-96 overtime win over the Cumberlands last Saturday. Rio Grande looks to continue its success under the leadership of Warmack as it hits the road Saturday afternoon to take on Shawnee State University.