Kauffman pours in 27 points in 29 minutes for Adams State
There’s something special about the first game of the season for Anchorage’s Justin Kauffman of Adams State University.
In last year’s season opener he accounted for 18 points and four 3-pointers.
Tonight he made his season debut with a career-high 27 points and five 3s in a 93-90 win over South Dakota School of Mines.
It was his first game since he switched from football to basketball at the NCAA D2 school in Colorado.
“It felt really good to get back on the court and play some basketball,” he told me. “My points were pretty spread out, some were in transition, some were set plays and some were off dribble-drive kickouts.”
Kauffman, of West High fame, sank 8-of-12 shots including 5-of-8 3s.
“I wasn’t expecting that, but he’s really smart, he’s really tough and he’s obviously not the fleetest of foot but he just knows how to play the game,” Adams State head coach Louis Wilson of Anchorage told the Rapid City Journal.
“He plays football for us and had a 40-yard touchdown run his last game. I told him that 40-yard touchdown run was great coaching because it allowed them to milk the clock since it took him about six minutes to run that far,” Wilson joked.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder is a bruising running back with the Grizzlies. This season he rushed for 455 yards and two touchdowns and he also caught 17 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games.
He is an effective spot-up shooter who has the ability to attack the rim like open space at the line of scrimmage.
On the basketball court, Kauffman last year averaged 6.6 points and shot 36 percent on 3-pointers to help Adams State reach the NCAA Tournament.