NBA Draft

March Madness: Did Bennett Stirtz Prove He Can Play the Highest Level?

Bennett Stirtz continued to prove that his play translates to the highest level in Drake's win yesterday against Missouri.

Jordan Monaco

Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs guard Bennett Stirtz (14) dribbles against Missouri Tigers guard Tony Perkins (12) in the second half of a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs guard Bennett Stirtz (14) dribbles against Missouri Tigers guard Tony Perkins (12) in the second half of a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images
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The Drake Bulldogs defeated the Missouri Tigers 67-57 last night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, led by junior guard Bennett Stirtz.

Stirtz is a 6-foot-4 junior guard that played two seasons of Division II at Northwest Missouri State prior to joining the Bulldogs. He's having a tremendous season -- averaging 19.2 points, 5.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 0.3 blocks, and only two turnovers per game. He's doing this while playing an extremely impressive 39.4 minutes per game. Stirtz is shooting 72% at the rim (143 attempts), 36.9% on non-rim twos (141 attempts), 39.7% from beyond the arc (156 attempts), and 79.8% from the free throw line (178 attempts).

Additionally, Stirtz is in the 82nd percentile in points per possession for Pick-and-Roll Including Passes possessions (687 possessions), 83rd percentile in points per possession for Isolation Including Passes possessions (98 possessions), is shooting nearly 40.3% on runners (62 attempts), 45.5% on catch-and-shoot threes (44 attempts), and 37.9% on dribble jumpers (177 attempts).

Not to mention, Stirtz is recording a 4.6 stock percentage and is being tasked with creation for himself and others -- as he's unassisted on 76.6% of his made field goals this season while assisting an estimated 33.6% of his teammates' made field goals when on the floor. Stirtz will be 21.7 years old at the time of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Beyond stats and analytics, Stirtz has had an incredible season overall. However, he had only played high-major competition three times this season before yesterday and hadn't faced a high-major team since December when Drake beat Kansas State. In November, Drake defeated both the University of Miami and Vanderbilt. Stirtz appears to play up to competition -- Including yesterday's win, Stirtz is averaging 20 points, 6.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in those four games against high-majors. His turnovers were higher than his season average at 3.3 per game, but the 6.3 assists average in those four games is also up from his 5.6 season average. Lastly, he shot 70% at the rim (20 attempts), 47.8% on non-rim twos (23 attempts), and 33.3% from three (12 attempts) in those four games as well -- fairly in line with his season averages.

Regardless, yesterday was statement game from Stirtz -- a statement on the biggest stage that his feel for the game, self-creation, and passing translate to the highest level. Him showing up statistically against high-majors is just the cherry on top. Stirtz created advantages with a fundamental handle, utilizing angles, and a solid first step -- a seemingly translatable way to make an impact in the NBA as well. While an in-depth scouting report is necessary before declaring a draft range for him as a prospect and it's rarely a good idea to weigh a single game more heavily than an entire season's worth of film and data, it's hard to deny what we've seen so far from Stirtz. Going against an impressive Texas Tech tomorrow will be another fantastic opportunity to evaluate Stirtz as a potential NBA guard.

Writing about Stirtz also means an opportunity to highlight the tremendous job Head Coach Ben McCollum has done at putting his players in positions to succeed, and the sets and actions he ran last night combined with the visible buy-in of this Drake team speaks volumes about his potential to coach high major basketball in the future.

All play-by-play data is courtesy of Synergy Sports.

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Jordan Monaco
JORDAN MONACO

Jordan is a senior at Cornell University where he is an analytics consultant for the men’s basketball team and Co-President of the Cornell ILR Sports Business Society. He has also interned for Sports Aptitude, where he helped interview former front office members and current professional basketball players with the goal of improving the pre-draft process.

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