The Hawk

Issue date: 11/10/06 Section: Sports

Ferg is the only returning starter.

Ferrgalici….defenit….no, wait sorry. It shouldn't be said.

Rob Ferguson, a junior forward from Ft. Meyers, Florida, does not like Finnish candy.

Not even a little bit.

"I live with Artur," said Ferguson. In response to laughter, "Yeah I don't know why everyone laughs at that. He is a great roommate. The only thing is that Artur's mom sends us candy from Finland, and it may just be the worst candy of my entire life."

Another thing Ferguson does not like or believes in are stats.

"I worry about winning the game," says Ferguson. "There is no such thing as a perfect game. Making mistakes is a part of the game."

Ferguson is right, stats are nothing more than numbers, but stats represent the growth of the player.

What a player does out on the court, shows up on the play.

Watching the game, however, is more fun than reading the stats.

Ferguson is the team's third leading scorer with 10.8 points a game. Holds the team's best shooting average at 50.2 percent from the field while hitting the three 39.8 percent of the time. Last season, Saint Joseph's was the nation's top free-throw shooting team, with Ferguson hitting 84.4 percent at the charity strip.

"Last year was a big year. I was more confident with my shooting," said Ferguson. "Instead of thinking about taking the shot, I took it. There were times when I had the open shot, but didn't take it. Then the coaches would push me to be better."

Against Duquesne last season, Ferguson shot 7-7 and went 2-for-2 at the line to score 16 points. Ferguson's season best his freshman red-shirt year was 5-for-11 in the game against George Washington.

Last season, his career high was 22 points against St. Bonaventure, notched double figures in 19 games, and started 33 games.

In 2004, Ferguson's career high was 14 points and tallied double figures on three occasions.

Improvement.

Ferguson received the Robert F. O'Neill Award for his impressive growth as a player and leader on the team.

The most exciting game for Ferguson was against Temple when he scored the game winning shot with 2.2 seconds left in fourth quarter. Ferguson recovered the ball after a failed shot by Jalloh for the game-clincher layup.

But that is all in the past. Right now, everyone is undefeated.

"I want to prove everyone wrong," said Ferguson. "Everyone keeps saying how young we are and that our youth is going to be a problem on the court. But we are prepared. It doesn't matter if you are young or old, everyone wants to win."

Continued...

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