Sorry it's been so long between entries, friends and fans. It's been a long week what with the real world and the weekend and all that good stuff.
I've got to be honest, my beloved (and often befuddled) Miami Dolphins are on Monday Night Football for the first time since 2006, so I'd like to watch them wreck Peyton Manning's evening. In the interest of letting me do that, we're going to do this entry quick and dirty like a Holy Cross education. Ohhhh. Yep.
Before I start on the main point of this entry, which is to take a look at our incoming freshmen, I want to send a shout-out of support to the team. I've been seeing (via Twitter and Facebook, yes I use social media, you might even say I am "hip" to it) that the team's practices have been featuring ladders. For those of you who don't do much in the way of physical activity except for double-clicking your mouses to come to this blog, ladders are hellacious. Just thinking about when I used to run them for cross-country makes me nauseous. Not sure what flavor of ladder the team is running, but you can be assured they aren't the least bit fun.
With that said, I have two things to say to the team: THANK YOU and KEEP GOING. I know it's easy for me to say the second thing since I'm not the one out there busting my ass on the court. I get that. But you guys had better believe that the fans appreciate the work you do to get in shape for the season. We'll repay all that effort with Blue Crew frenzy come game time. It will all be worth it in the end when you're running all over your winded opponents in the last five minutes of games.
In any event, let's talk a little bit about the class of 2013. We'll start with the forwards.
Get to know...Jeff Holton
6'7" (though he's also been listed variously at 6'6" and 6'8"), 240lb, Germantown Academy, Ft. Washington, PA
Jeff Holton is going to have to step up this season and have the kind of season that Lumpkins had last season. Why? Because as documented in the last entry, our depth at the 4 and 5 spots is just not there this year, and if Lumpkins or Vlad the Impaler get into foul trouble, Holton is going to have to step in and play some quality, or at least not bad, minutes. Named the best senior basketball player in his high school league, Holton has also been highly praised by ESPN's Scouts, Inc. who called him a "very skilled pick and pop four man that can put on the floor and get to the rim or stretch the defense by knocking down the open three. He runs the floor and has an excellent basketball IQ. Holton is a constant threat on the offensive end of the floor." ESPN does note that, "One area that Holton must improve in is rebounding. If he can add the offensive glass to his game and help start the break on the defensive end it takes his game to another level. Overall tremendous skill and scoring ability." You can find that review here if you have an ESPN Insider account (free!). The inexplicable thing here is that although Scouts gives him a grade of 83, which amounts to "a solid contributor and two- or three-year starter at a mid-major program," wasn't enough to get him any stars from Rivals. Let's hope Rivals was wrong on him (but right on Jolivette and Munoz).
Get to know...Mike Bersch
6'6", 205lb, Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Mt. Holly, NJ
If nothing else, the talented Mr. Bersch fills what I personally feel is a critical role on the team: representing for the Garden State. Sure he's a completely different kind of player than the last guy to hold that position down (Derrick Mercer), but let's hope he's bringing the same level of talent. Bersch helped Rancocas Valley win Jersey's Group 4 championship (the most competitive of NJ's six groups) in his junior year, but they were unable to repeat his senior year because of a broken hand. Bersch seems to be right in the thick of things because he also suffered a shoulder injury and concussion in his senior year. Like a true gamer though, Bersch, who was supposed to miss 4-6 weeks from these injuries, came back in under three weeks and in his first game back scored 25 points. He went 2-3 from long range and 5-7 from the line. Like Holton, he's going to have to play solid minutes behind Vlad and Lumpkins. ESPN praises his passing ability and says that he can "make a living as a pick-and-pop guy or as a shooter that spots up and delivers 3-point daggers in transition." They do criticize his ball-handling a bit, which means he might not be able to penetrate into the paint too often. Hopefully the coaches will work with him on his handle, which will go quite nicely with what sounds like an absolutely lethal long-range jumper.
Get to know...Daniel Fisher
6'7", 220lb, Melbourne Grammar, Melbourne, Australia
I have to begin this part of this entry with an apology, I haven't been able to get much on our newest eagle from the southern hemisphere. This is the only article that I have been able to find about him, but I'm hoping that I will get some more information soon from our friends at AU athletics. Daniel, takes this as a lame I.O.U., I look forward to writing plenty about you in the blog over this upcoming season.
Well friends and fans, I wanted to give you details on all seven freshmen tonight, but we're already most of the way through the second quarter, and there's a lot to write about on the guards. So I'll have to offer you a raincheck for the night, and you can be sure to wait with bated breath for an article that will be packed with arbitrary Rivals star ratings and what is sure to be a very competitive battle for the team's 1 spot. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed getting to know these forwards. Learn these names, because they'll be taking the place (on the court, not necessarily in our hearts) of Frane, Brian, Jordan, and Frank (when he was playing the 3). Anyway, cross your fingers that Joseph Addai continues to have a poor game, that'll make me much happier when I come back to tell you about the guards.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
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