Heading into this season, Emporia State’s DeAndre Townsend knew he already had the reputation of being a scorer.
He told himself that wasn’t going to be enough.
“I just wanted to show the league a little something different in my second year,” Townsend said. “I’m not just one-dimensional. I’m not just all scoring.”
The senior has shown that through his first 12 games this year, and, so far, he’s also been able to pull off a rare statistical feat.
Not only is Townsend the MIAA’s leading scorer, averaging 20.7 points per game, he’s also turned himself into the league’s best passer.
The ESU guard leads the conference in assists with 6.17 per game, which is almost two assists more per game than anyone else in the MIAA.
Townsend’s numbers are up from last year, when he averaged 17.2 points and 4.1 assists.
“He told me before the year that he really wanted to get his assists up,” ESU guard Andrew Davison said. “That’s one thing that’s surprising. You won’t even notice it, and he’ll have 20 (points) and eight (assists) in a game.
“It’s crazy how people can do that — the Jason Kidds of the world — how they can score and distribute at the same time. It’s a very cool thing to see.”
In ESU’s last game against Washburn, Townsend — who is called “Bear” by his teammates — played a lot more like was applying for the nickname “He Hate Me.”
Townsend, after hitting a 3-pointer two minutes in, immediately started to talk a little in the direction of the Washburn players.
The energy seemed to pump up the Hornets, who opened with an 11-0 run and later held on for a 92-87 victory.
“He’s definitely a quiet scorer, but when he scores, he’s not quiet, if that makes any sense,” Davison said. “ ... We all get fired up from him. He’s our engine. He keeps us going, and the more he goes, the better we are.”
Townsend is aware that oftentimes the jawing helps him play at his best.
He also knows teams around the MIAA are starting to figure it out.
Townsend’s heard a rumor that one conference team’s scouting report on him said, “Don’t talk to him. It gets him motivated.”
He can’t deny that’s the case.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to win — by any means necessary,” Townsend said. “I’m not going to cheap shot nobody or nothing like that, but if it takes me to run my mouth and get a player a little rattled and have the coach get on his back a little bit, I’m all for it.”
So what exactly is it that Townsend says out on the court?
The guard said he’d leave that to the fans’ imagination.
“Sometimes I get the motor-mouth treatment and I talk too much,” Townsend said. “All the fans say they wish they had a microphone on me so they can hear what I’m saying, (but) I don’t need no microphone.”
Davison knows that he’s oftentimes sparked by Townsend’s play and energy, but he also admits that if he was playing somewhere else in the MIAA, he’d probably despise Townsend just as much as the next guy.
Townsend smiles because he knows that’d probably be the case as well.
“I think each and every one of these guys,” Townsend said, “would hate me.”
After proving himself as a scorer, then a passer, Townsend has once again decided that there’s another area in which he could improve.
Now, he’s pushing himself to become a better defensive player.
“It’s coming a little slow, but I’m definitely trying to work at it,” Townsend said. “This is another challenge.”
And another way to show the conference that he’s more than just a scorer.