Xavier 2016 season in review: Edmond Sumner player report card

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's Banners on the Parkway postseason player report cards. We'll be breaking down each player's grades for the rest of this week and on into next week, where we'll reveal the top finisher according to the community. We'll also be assigning and explaining our own grades of each player. We'll start with the player who got the lowest community ranking and work our way up to the MVP. Visit our 2016: Season in Review page for every player breakdown.

Seriously, who gave Edmond an F for the season? What was it you were expecting him to do that he didn't? Assuming that this is just the internet and that's how people are, we'll move on. Xavier's freshman point guard pulled a remarkably high grade for a guy who wasn't guaranteed a starting spot when the season got underway. The gap in As given between Ed and the player behind him was 89, by far the largest gap on the board and a representation of the space between the top five guys and the group below them.

Offense: B

11.0/3.4/3.6 is an incredible line from a freshman point guard thrown into the mixer in one of the best conferences in the nation. It may not have ended well, but it was a measure of the confidence that the team had in Ed that the ball was in his hands with the season on the line. (And he made the shot). Edmond scored 20+ four times this year, second on the team behind Trevon Bluiett. This grade would be an A if that's all there was to the story, but Edmond shot 39.7% from the floor and only 30% behind the arc. When the shooting percentages come up, the kid is going to be unstoppable.

Defense: C

Let's focus on the positive here for a moment, Sumner's steal rate was 2.7%. Those generally came from the wing of the 1-3-1, where Ed's length and speed were an asset in jumping in the passing lanes and disrupting offenses. Having a guy like that on the edge of a defense can get underplayed at times, but it is part of what made Xavier's zone so effective. In the man-to-man, however, Ed just wasn't good. It could be a part of still growing into his body, not having to focus on defense in high school, or just not having an aptitude for it, but Sumner has a long way to go when man up with an opposing point guard.

Overall: B

There is a narrative going around that the concussion slowed Ed a bit. That's both true and false. Prior to that horrific fall, he was averaging 9.9/3.4/3.3 on 44% shooting. After that injury Ed's scoring went up, but his shooting percentage took a pretty significant dip. Whether that is because defenses tighten up in conference or because he became somewhat less assertive into contact around the rim is hard to know. Even despite that shooting slump, Sumner was more than anyone could have reasonably expected from a freshman point guard on a top five team in the nation. With room to grow still in his game, it's hard to imagine what this kid might be.

Edmond Sumner GET UP! HUGE slam for @XavierMBB #CrosstownShootout https://t.co/tcAAJyYZJL

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) December 13, 2015