Dru Joyce

Height:
6-0
Weight:
165
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Akron, Ohio
High School:
St. Vincent-St. Mary HS

One of the Mid-American Conference’s most proficient guards, boasting almost double the amount of assists compared to turnovers in his career ... All-MAC Honorable Mention pick last season ... one of three local high school products on the roster ... quiet leader who does not get rattled in pressure situations.

as a Junior (2005-06): Earned his first career MAC East Player of the Week award on Dec. 27 ... played in all 33 games, and was in the starting lineup for 32 of those ... did not start versus Mount St. Mary’s (Dec. 19) in the San Juan Shootout, but logged 32 minutes ... 33 games played tied for the most all-time in a season in program history ... averaged a team-high 33 minutes per game ... led the team and ranked second in the MAC in assists with 165 (5.0 apg) ... assists-per-game number ranked 43rd nationally ... those 165 dishes established the school record for most in a season ... pushed his career assists number to 360, which lists him third all-time on the school career chart ... led UA in assists 22 times, including a career-high 11 at Buffalo (March 1) ... that was the fourth time in his career he had 10 dishes or more in a game ... had five or more assists in a game 17 times and four or more on 26 occasions ... 165 assists was countered by just 79 turnovers, generating a 2.1 assist-turnover ratio which ranked first in the MAC ... had more assists than turnovers in 26 games, including five zero turnover outings ... 10.0 points-per-game was third best on the squad, and ranked 27th amongst his league peers ... scored in double figures 18 times ... led UA in scoring seven times ... ranked third in the MAC in 3-point field goal percentage (40.6 percent/52-of-128) and finished the year 14th in the conference in 3-point field goals made (1.58 mpg) ... converted 5-of-5 3-point attempts versus Mississippi State (Dec. 20) in the semifinal round of the San Juan Shootout ... was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc at Kent State (Feb. 4) ... tallied a career-high eight rebounds twice (at Cleveland State/Jan. 16 and vs. Western Michigan (March 9 in the MAC tournament).

as a Sophomore (2004-05): Played in all 29 games, and was the starting point guard in 27 of those ... was not a member of the starting five in the final two games of the season, snapping a streak of 32-consecutive starts that spanned the final five games of his freshman season ... games played tied for fifth best all-time by a UA sophomore ... led the team in assists, accounting for nearly one third of the squad’s dishes (126/4.3 assist-per-game) ... those 126 assists ranked sixth best on UA’s single-season chart, and is the most in program history by a sophomore, besting the 111 by Nate Barnett in 1972-73 ... assists number ranked sixth in the MAC ... tallied two then career-high 10 assist games, one versus Hampton (Nov. 27) and the other against Buffalo (Jan. 12) ... also scored 12 points in that Hampton game, giving him his first career double-double ... recorded five assists or more 12 times ... tallied at least four assists in each of those zero turnover performances ... led the team in assists 17 times and in scoring twice ... seven double-digit scoring outings, including a season-high 15 points versus Central Michigan (Jan. 22) ... notched a season-high-tying five rebounds and a career-best five steals in a 20-point victory at Ohio (Feb. 16) ... played a season-high 37 minutes in back-to-back games, versus Toledo (Feb. 14) and at Ohio (Feb. 16) ... scored a last-second, game-winning shot in the Zips’ 71-69 victory at Bowling Green (Feb. 3).

as a Freshman (2003-04): Thrust into the role of starting point guard 10 times due to the spotty performance and late-season suspension of senior Johnny Hollingsworth ... tallied starts at Radford (Nov. 29), at Hampton (Dec. 1), versus James Madison (Dec. 6), at Cleveland State (Dec. 20) and against Western Michigan (Jan. 3) as well as in the last five contests of the season ... averaged 6 ppg, 5 rpg and 3 apg on the Radford-Hampton road trip Â his first two collegiate starts ... averaged 7.5 points, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals overall in his 10 starts ... scored 10 points in 21 minutes in his first collegiate outing at top-25 ranked Cincinnati (Nov. 22) ... had a career-high 23 points along with five assists and two rebounds in his start against Drake (Feb. 21) ... played a career-high 41 minutes in the Drake contest ... second-best offensive output of his career came at Eastern Michigan (Feb. 7), when he scored 17 points ... also went 5-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc, with all five treys coming in the last four minutes of the contest ... set a then career-best six assists twice, versus Wright State (Dec. 30) and at Ball State (Feb. 4) ... scored 15 points in the Zips’ MAC tournament first round game at Ball State (March 8) ... averaged 5.2 ppg and 2.1 apg in 18 league games ... scored in double figures four times and managed eight points or higher on nine occasions ... pulled down five boards three times ... 109 attempts from behind the arc tied for third most by a freshman in program history (David Tillis, 1995-96).

at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School: Member of the three-time state and national champion St. Vincent-St. Mary HS team ... the Irish posted a 103-5 record during his four seasons ... averaged 11.0 points and 8 assists during his prep career ... all-state selection ... teammate of fellow Zips’ senior Romeo Travis and NBA phenom LeBron James ... played for UA head coach Keith Dambrot for two seasons at SVSM.

Personal: Son of Carolyn and Dru Joyce II ... father is head boy’s basketball coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary HS ... joins teammates in regular trips to Akron’s Children’s Hospital ... communication major.