Head Coach Scott Padgett on Adams
ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL
“The realistic thing about Eric is that we didn’t really recruit him in high school. It was actually just a lucky thing for our program in that his mom works in the law school here and he came in one day and asked if we had any tryouts for the team. He was 6-foot-6 as a true freshman at the time and we didn’t really have any big people on the team, so we let him practice with us and we found out that he’s very fast, very athletic and we thought that he would be a good addition to the team.”
DURING HIS TIME AT SAMFORD
“Eric’s athleticism has really helped out the program. Even early on last season, during his sophomore year, he really provided a good spark for us during the non-conference portion of our schedule. So far this season, he’s been very good and I don’t think we have anybody else on the team that’s as athletic as he is. He’s in great shape, he plays extremely hard and his athleticism is off the chart. He’s also grown some in the last couple years and is up to 6-foot-7, maybe 6-foot-8 at this point, so he’s been a big factor already this year.”
Junior (2016-17): Earned playing time in 30 of the team’s 36 games and started in outings against ETSU (Feb. 15) and VMI (Feb. 18) . . . tallied a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at home against VMI on Feb. 18, as the Bulldogs posted a key 80-61 victory in Southern Conference action . . . played a key role in the Bulldogs finishing the season ranked first in the SoCon in defensive rebounds per game (26.5) and total rebounds (1,300) . . . Samford also closed out the year ranked No. 4 in the nation in free throw attempts (868), No. 17 in assists (581) and No. 18 in 3-point field-goal percentage (39.5) . . . averaged 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in an average of 8.4 minutes per contest . . . tallied three blocked shots at home against Chattanooga on Feb. 22 . . . logged a career-high 36 minutes of playing time at Wofford on Feb. 9 . . . earned his third varsity letter.
Sophomore (2015-16): Nearly tallied the first double-double of his young, up-and-coming career on Nov. 16, as he finished with career-highs in both points (10) and rebounds (9) versus Auburn-Montgomery . . . against AUM, he also added two assists, two blocked shots and a steal in only 18 minutes of playing time . . . turned in one of his best all-around games against Miles College on Dec. 29, as he compiled five points, three rebounds and a trio of blocks in only 11 minutes of action . . . scored five points and added three rebounds in the Bulldogs’ 83-79 victory over Troy on Nov. 23 . . . notched five points and a pair of rebounds in only 17 minutes of playing time at North Texas on Nov. 24 . . . made his first collegiate start Nov. 13 at Louisville and played nine minutes at the center position . . . finished the game with two points, three rebounds and a blocked shot . . . earned his second varsity letter.
2014-15: Redshirted.
Freshman (2013-14): Looked good in his first playing time of the regular season on Nov. 15, as he registered career-highs in points (2), rebounds (1) and blocked shots (1) at No. 23-ranked Indiana . . . played a minute against Davidson on Feb. 6 in his first Southern Conference action of the season . . . earned three minutes of playing time against Miles College on Nov. 5 and finished with a blocked shot . . . earned his first varsity letter.
High School: Very athletic player who has a tremendous upside . . . scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds in Hoover High School’s 70-48 victory against Minor High School on Jan. 26.
Personal: Born May 14, 1995 . . . parents are Eric and Cassandra Adams . . . father played basketball at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. . . . majoring in public administration.
