Samford University Athletics

Jeffrey Merritt
 
2011 SAMFORD MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSE AWARD
2011 SAMFORD REBOUND AWARD
2011 SAMFORD CHARGE AWARD
2010 GLOBAL SPORTS HOOPS SHOWCASE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
2010 SAMFORD MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSE AWARD
2010 SAMFORD REBOUND AWARD
 
Last season’s leading scorer . . . versatile forward who can play every position on the court . . . possesses strong leadership skills . . . excels at scoring around the basket and off the dribble . . . worked hard to improve his 3-point shooting . . . defends on every possession.
 
Junior (2010–11): Received a trio of highly-acclaimed awards at Samford’s annual end-of-the-year banquet as he earned the Most Outstanding Defense award, the Rebound award and the Charge award . . . started in 30 of the team’s 31 games and averaged a team-high 10.3 points per contest . . . finished the season with an average of 6.3 rebounds per game, a total which proved to be Samford’s best annual average since former Bulldog great Marc Salyers pulled down 7.2 boards per contest during the 1999-2000 campaign . . . named to the All-Tournament Team of the 2010 Global Sports Hoops Showcase as he helped lead the Bulldogs to the championship title of the four-team, three-day competition hosted by Auburn University . . . in the Global Sports Hoops Showcase, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as Samford registered victories against Auburn and Campbell . . . scored a team-high 12 points in the Bulldogs’ thrilling come-from-behind victory over Campbell in the tournament finale . . . tied for eighth in the SoCon in rebounding with 6.3 per game . . . also finished the season ranked third in the SoCon in defensive rebounds (4.7), tied for 12^th in the league in steals (1.2), 13^th in the conference in field-goal percentage (.470) and 27^th in the SoCon in scoring (10.3) . . . has started in 60 of the team’s last 62 games dating back to the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign . . . the only time he wasn’t listed in the starting lineup this season was at Wofford (Jan. 22) . . . averaged a team-high 31.3 minutes per game and finished second on the team with a 47-percent shooting mark from the field . . . also finished first on the squad in steals (37), and second on the team in both assists (61) and blocked shots (11) . . . played a key role in the Bulldogs’ defense that finished second in the SoCon in both scoring defense (66.8) and field-goal percentage defense (43.2) . . . tallied the first double-double of his collegiate career on Nov. 12 against Youngstown State as he led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 11 rebounds . . . finished the game a near-perfect 8-of-9 from the floor and 2-for-2 from 3-point range . . . registered his second straight double-double on Nov. 15 against Tennessee Wesleyan as he tallied 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds . . . registered a career-high 20 points and added nine rebounds versus Appalachian State on Dec. 4 . . . also finished 9-of-13 from the field . . . earned his third double-double of the season on Jan. 15 at Chattanooga where he finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds . . . earned his third varsity letter.
 
Sophomore (2009–10): Led the team in rebounding with 4.5 per game and finished the year ranked second on the team in steals with 31 . . . concluded the season ranked 14th in the Southern Conference in defensive rebounds per game with a team-high average of 3.5 . . . played a key role in Samford’s offense that finished the campaign ranked No. 35 in the nation in 3-point field goals per game with eight per contest . . . earned playing time in all 31 games and started in 30 . . . averaged 27.2 minutes of playing time and 6.1 points per outing . . . earned significant playing time in all 18 SoCon matchups and led the team with a 47.1 shooting percentage from 3-point range . . . registered Samford season-highs in rebounds twice with nine against both The Citadel (March 5) and Chattanooga (Feb. 20) . . . led the team in rebounds 11 times, and paced the Bulldogs in both scoring and assists twice . . . scored in double figures six times . . . helped lead the Bulldogs to a 60-54 home victory against Chattanooga Feb. 20 as he scored a career-high 18 points and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds . . . also finished six of eight from the field and five of six from 3-point range . . . tied his career-high of 18 points in only 26 minutes of playing time against Georgia Southern Feb. 22 . . . also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds . . . scored 13 points against Chattanooga Feb. 10 as he finished four of five from the field and three for three from 3-point range . . . turned in one of the best all-around games of his career Dec. 12 against Spring Hill . . . finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists in a career-high 37 minutes of playing time . . . scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds against UAB Nov. 15 . . . was four for four from the field and two for two from the free-throw line . . . earned his second varsity letter.
 
Freshman (2008–09): Earned playing time in 24 of 32 games as a true freshman and averaged 8.0 minutes per contest . . . finished the season with a 38.5 percent mark from beyond the arc . . . averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game . . . tweaked his right knee in practice Jan. 5 and missed three games with the injury . . . returned to action and played in 15 of Samford’s last 17 games . . . tied his career-high with 8 points versus Davidson Jan. 3 as he was three for five from the field and grabbed four rebounds . . . also finished the game with a team-high three rebounds . . . scored 8 points on three-of-seven shooting from the field against Chicago State Dec. 20 . . . finished with two 3-pointers . . . finished with 4 points and four rebounds Nov. 17 in the 72-52 home victory against Spring Hill . . . played in the first collegiate game of his career Nov. 14 and scored 2 points against Belmont . . . scored a basket the first time he touched the ball against Belmont by connecting on a 6-foot turnaround jumper . . . tallied 4 points, three rebounds and an assist in 13 minutes of action against Georgia Southern Jan. 29 . . . earned his first varsity letter.
 
High School: Averaged 10 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as a junior at Bishop McGuinness High School . . . compiled a 39.0 shooting percentage from 3-point range . . . led BMHS to three consecutive 4A Oklahoma State Championships and guided his team to a 24-5 ­overall record as a junior . . . earned Honorable Mention All-Oklahoma City accolades from the Daily Oklahoman in 2007 . . . named first-team All-Tournament in the Bishop McGuinness Classic and the Ardmore Classic.
 
Personal: Born Jan. 22, 1990 . . . son of Paul and Suzy Merritt . . . two of his four older brothers, J. Robert and Joe Ross, also played basketball at Samford . . . J. Robert is ranked seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,584 points . . . Joe Ross was a three-year starter . . . majoring in business management.
 
ONE-ON-ONE WITH MERRITT
I can’t imagine going a week without: my cell phone
Favorite place to eat: Salem’s
Favorite food: steak
Favorite TV show: “Suits”
Favorite athlete: Kevin Durant