Media Day Report Part One - Hey, Mr. Willllsoooon

Before I get into the meat and potatoes that you're all hungry for, I want to say that overall I'm really happy with the way Media Day went, and I want to thank my friends over at AU Athletics for facilitating my attendance today. If you haven't read the LiveTweeting at twitter.com/auhoops, I suggest you do that because a lot of the choicest quotes from Coach Jeff Jones's introductory speech are there. From my shorthand, here's a lot more of his speech.

Bob Socci, Patriot League commenter, asked Coach Jones how the team was going to deal with the loss of so many talented players. JJ started with, "I think it's safe to say that a year can make a big difference.”

Here are some other tidbits from his speech:
- “[Losing guys] is something we're dealing with.”
- “Losing two assistant coaches further compounds the challenges that we face.”
- “It's a different kind of challenge and a year that allows us as a coaching staff to re-examine some of the things that we do to help the team achieve its potential.”
- “We've been pleased with the effort of our guys, but we have a long way to go.
- "Sometimes it's been baby steps, sometimes it's been one step forward, and one step back.”
- “The question is not if, but when, we're going to round into shape and be competitive in the Patriot League this season.”
- Coach Jones is excited about the young men on the team and “there will be some surprises as the season continues on”
- The Patriot League is “always competitive, tough when you have to go on the road, but as I look around this year, certainly Holy Cross is the team that everyone seems to be looking at, they will clearly be an outstanding team.”
- There is “amazing balance” in the Patriot League, and this could be “one of the most interesting PL seasons in my years in the league.”
- JJ is “Looking forward to the season.”
- Concludes with: “Let's hope that in a month we'll be much better off than we will be next Tuesday.”

I didn't, admittedly, pay as much attention to the other coaches' speeches because this is, after all, the AU Hoops Blog. The other speeches were okay, talk about past challenges and future potential, yadda yadda yadda, Laugh-ayette isn't winning anything, Lehigh's downplaying their team, etc. etc. Anyway.

After the press conference, I awkwardly stood around until Matt Wilson, who is a very friendly guy, agreed to talk with me (and two other actual people who are real journalists and not 20 somethings running a hobby blog because it fills in between times where he has to paint himself blue) about AU basketball.

Matt was great to have at media day for the team. The lone senior, Matt was well-spoken and gave very thoughtful answers to my myriad (and sometimes odd) questions. He clearly understands the transition that the team is undergoing, has a great knowledge of the game and his team, and he was a font of knowledge for me today.

Without further praise, here is Matt Wilson on a number of topics:

- On how practice has been going: "Practice has been going well. It's a long process as far as improving because we have so many new guys...it's a long road ahead of us, but we've all been working hard, and we're excited to have a lot of opportunities ahead of us."

- On changes to the team's plan this year: "We have to play a different style this year. We're playing a little differently in practice. We're doing different things...We're going to push the ball a little more. We don't have the personnel that we had last year. We don't have the solid point guard in Derrick Mercer, we don't have the explosive scorer like Garrison. We're going to have to try to work the ball around a bit." (then later) "Not so much more passing, but just how we initiate our offense. We're likely going to push the offense a bit more. We're going to try to create opportunities in transition a bit more and try to get the team when they're not exactly settled defensively. Because last year when we had Derrick he was able to get the ball wherever he wanted whenever he wanted...We're still going to play very good defense, and we're still going to be patient, but we're going to try for more opportunities...Likely we're not going to be as strong scoring in the half court, so we're going to have to score some in transition to make up for that."

-On his role this year: "My role is probably going to be that of a facilitator, as far as giving our best scores, that is Nick Hendra, Vlad (when he's eligible), and Stephen Lumpkins
opportunities to be successful. That's what we're all trying to figure out is exactly what our role is going to be."

-On Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Moldoveanu) not being eligible until the second semester: "It's a little disruptive, but Coach does a good job making sure that he plays with both the first and second teams."

- On the freshman who has made the most progress so far: "We have a kid named Daniel Fisher from Australia, and I'd say he's made the most progress thus far. He's a hard worker, and I think he's going to be good for us. He's good at getting post positions, getting other people open" - This is actually a sentiment that Jeff Jones echoed, but we'll get to that later.

- On the conditioning regimen: "Offseason was very very difficult, our strength and conditioning coach Jason Riddell is very good at what he does, and so our lifting regimen has been very strenuous. We conditioned three times a week, we did two days where we ran sprints and one day where we did agilities. So we've been just doing the best we can so we can be in the best shape possible when it's time to compete."

- On team leadership: "As far as leadership goes, myself, Steve Luptak, and Nick Hendra are the three who were here both years we went to the tournament, and we've really been trying to get the guys up to speed on the work ethic that that group of seniors (last year's) had and how to take care of the things they need to off the court."

- Me: "You guys have like nine guards...how is this going to work? Are you going to play a four guard set?"
Matt: "We are not going to play a four guard set, and that's one thing that we actually tried. Likely there will just be a rotation since obviously you can't play nine guards at once."
(to which I added, astutely, "but it would be sweet if you could")

Listening to the voice recording of this made me realize I sound like a complete valley girl about AU basketball. Ugh. Anyway, that's enough for one night. I'll get the Jeff Jones entry up sometime this weekend for all of you. Probably not tomorrow night, but maybe sometime Saturday. If I have to push it to Sunday, have a safe and happy Halloween!

ALSO: THE FIRST PRE-SEASON GAME IS ON TUESDAY! THIS TUESDAY! GET READY! GET PUMPED!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

You Like Us, You Really Like Us! Well, enough to come to our site I guess

We logged 92 unique visitors to the site yesterday! I couldn't be happier. Well, I guess I could, with, you know, 93, but I want to take a minute to thank you, the reader, for encouraging us to write just by showing up here.

Just a reminder to post your questions for PL media day or send them to AUHoopsBlog@gmail.com!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Submit Your Questions for Patriot League Media Day!

Thanks to our friends over at AU Athletics, I will be attending the Patriot League's Media Day this Thursday! I'll livetweet a little bit from there, take some pictures, and ask some questions, and then I'll let all you loyal readers know what I dig up about not only our Eagles but the other Patriot League teams.

This is your chance! Leave questions you want me to ask in the comments (either on this post or subsequent posts) and I will do my best to ask them if they're appropriate! Alternatively, you can e-mail me at AUHoopsBlog@gmail.com if you're uncomfortable with leaving a comment here.

I really am hoping you will help me to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity, so be sure to send in your questions!

On a different topic, I want to touch on a group of people who mean a lot to me and should mean a lot to you, too. Though they are often taken for granted, the Screamin' Eagles Pep Band does an exceptional job, not just for AU basketball (though especially for AU basketball) but for all of AU athletics. Today band members positioned themselves (before sunrise!) at the 25th mile of the 34th Annual Marine Corps Marathon and shouted encouragement and played music for the marathon runners. As someone who used to run cross-country, I can tell you that the encouragement they offered was deeply appreciated by the runners on that course. I'd be surprised if they receive much fanfare from AU for what they did today, because they don't get the fanfare that's due to them for the job that they do, but that's just the kind of people who comprise the band: hardworking, passionate, fiercely loyal to the athletic teams they play for (often when they're the only people in the audience), and fun. Next time you see them at a game in their jerseys, be sure to tip your caps to them. They'll appreciate it more than you know.

Pictures from today:





Thank you, Pep Band, you guys are the best.

E-MAIL ME YOUR QUESTIONS!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

AU Gets Verbal Commitment from First Class of 2014 Player

Thanks to a tipster, I'm happy to report that AU has a verbal commitment with Tony Wroblicky from Loyola High School in California. Read about him here, from ESPN (free membership required).

6'9 215 means he's pretty wiry. Needs to pack on some muscle, but could be a nice counterpart to Lumpkins on the inside.

A tidbit:

"July, 2009: As with most bigs, it takes time to see the finished product and Wroblicky is no exception. The lefty has come along nicely in recent years and now projects to being a solid mid-major prospect. He has deceptive bounce and excellent timing, especially on the defensive end. His hands are soft and he has a nice touch out to 15-feet. He needs to get stronger, but he has the frame and shoulder width to put on weight. Offensively, he is very comfortable scoring over his right shoulder, but he is a bit methodical with his post moves and he brings the ball down too often to gather himself. With continued development Wroblicky should be a nice fit in a motion offense and/or a pick-n-pop set because of his solid shooting ability."

And he earned a score of 90. Very nice! Well done!

According to Yahoo/Rivals Everyone Can Win the Patriot League Except AU!

Yahoo/Rivals issued their first team reports for the Patriot League today. AU's can be found here, and it's got some interesting tidbits in it...

The report doesn't mince words, saying that "it’s extremely unlikely the Eagles will make a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament." Well isn't that cute.

Obviously they've been getting their research skillz from this blog because they made sure to point out that the team is going to lean heavily on Hendra and Lumpkins. Well, obviously. What I do find a little curious is that they describe Lumpkins as "electric." I don't really know how I feel about that categorization. There isn't a whole lot of flash to his game. In fact, the reason he got so much play last year is probably because he's a pretty fundamentally sound player who hustles a lot and played maturely for a freshman. There's no, as Dick Vitale would say, razzle-dazzle, Shake n'Bake, or YEAAAAAAAAAAH BABY to his game. Whatever, it's one word, Bill, stop making such a huge flipping deal about it.

(I INTERRUPT THIS BLOG ENTRY FOR A RANDOM DOSE OF NAPOLEON DYNAMITE QUOTERY BROUGHT ON BY THE WORD "flipping")

Napoleon: Stay home and eat all the freakin' chips, Kip!

Kip: Napoleon, don't be jealous 'cause I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to become a cage fighter.

Napoleon: Since when, Kip? You have the worst reflexes of all time.

Kip: Try and hit me, Napoleon.

Napoleon: What?

Kip: I said come down here and see what happens if you try and hit me.

Napoleon: [comes down the stairs] Such an idiot...!

[After Napoleon tries and fails to hit Kip a few times, the doorbell rings]

Napoleon: I'll get it. [Slaps Kip in the face while he's not looking]

Kip: Geeeez!

(END NAPOLEON DYNAMITE CUT-IN)

Sorry about that. Anyway.

Conspicuously absent from Yahoo's team report are any mention of Steve Luptak, Matt Wilson, or any of the sophomores other than Lumpkins. I find that to be strange because the article notes that Coach Jones is "now turning to a batch of young players and those unfamiliar with the system," except that he has a bench full of people with a year or more of experience under his system. Strange.

Yahoo also managed to project the starting line-up:
G Nick Hendra, G Josh Snodrass, G Daniel Munoz, F Stephen Lumpkins, F Mike Bersch

All I can say about that is WTF, mate. I mean Hendra and Lumpkins were locks. It makes sense that either Bersch or Snodgrass would get to play at the 3 spot, but both of them, starting? Seriously, Yahoo? No Riley Grafft? I dunno, if I had to guess it would be:

G - Hendra
G - Munoz
F - Bersch/Snodgrass
F - Grafft (until Vlad the Impaler becomes eligible)
F - Lumpkins

The question I really have at this point is, what is Jeff Jones going to do with all of these guards? Are Simon McCormack and Joe Hill going to be career benchers? What is he going to do with Troy Brewer when he becomes eligible next season? I mean, I guess we'll be really deep and insured against injuries, but we're going to have to set some kind of PL record for substitutions with all the cycling through players that JJ is going to have to do.

I really encourage you to read the team report, as it has a lot of great information, even if I disagree with some of it.

For those of you interested in other PL teams, well, Holy Cross and Lehigh come out looking the best, mostly because they return a lot of players from last year.

Just got some breaking news, another entry coming momentarily.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

TWO WEEKS TO GO. INTRODUCING, "Speculation Tuesday!"

Sorry for the lack of new content lately, thanks to Josh for picking up the slack during my quasi-absence. As you can see from the post title, this time two weeks from now, your AU Eagles will be playing Randolph-Macon in Bender Arena!

God knows I'm excited about that. Hell, I bought my body paint for the year today! I want to share some links with you in case you want to get well-equipped for the upcoming season!

Blue Body Paint - 1 gallon

Giant Blue Foam Cowboy Hat

Red, White, and Blue Mardi Gras Beads

Eagle Mascot Halloween Costume

I'll have a Randolph-Macon preview for you soon, but for now I want to introduce a new regular segment here at the AU Hoops Blog. It's called Speculation Tuesday. Now, most of you are AU students or alums, so I think you're smart enough to figure out what the point of Speculation Tuesday is. I'm going to ask a number of questions that I don't know the answers to, and I want you all to post your thoughts on them in the comments.

Without further unnecessary explanation:

1. Who's starting the season at the point? Luptak makes sense, but there's a lot of hype about Daniel Munoz and Blake Jolivette.
2. If Luptak does start, will he be a suitable replacement for Mercer? How short will his leash be?

3. What is the team going to do at the four and five spots to start the season? Lumpkins is a lock to start at the five, but who will get the four? Riley Grafft, who played a grand total of seven minutes last season? Or one of the freshmen?
4. Last year Hendra didn't always necessarily make the right choice going inside, sometimes opting for the flashy play rather than the smart one. Is he ready to put this team on his back and be its leader?
5. Is this non-conference schedule going to toughen up our Eagles or demoralize them? I'm anticipating some major struggles early on as the team jells. Florida, Penn State, and Georgetown, among others. How's this going to play out?
6. How long will it take before we see the promise in the freshman class in action?
7. Which of the guards are going to emerge out of practices to back-up the starting one and two guards?
8. Will we see an increase in Bender attendance this season after two straight PL championships?

That's a good start. Have at it in the comments!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Kataja says sayonara, wait, that's not right, uh, what's "Goodbye" in Finnish again?

According to Derrick Mercer's Facebook page, his time with the Joensunn Kataja has ended.

Via Facebook: "I guess in Finland you finally help the team get their first win, then you get released. Back to the states on Tuesday."

Sorry to hear that it didn't pan out, for sure. We'll keep our fingers crossed here at AU Hoops that he finds another place to showcase his skills.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Midnight Madness...Just Not For The Eagles

Well, AU hoops fans, tonight is the official start of the college basketball season. The actual games don't start for a few weeks yet, but this weekend teams can officially begin to practice. Accompanying this is the event that so many college students and fans spend the first half of the fall semester eagerly awaiting (especially when there's no football) - Midnight Madness. It was with a heavy heart that I spent my night watching ESPN's 4 straight hours of coverage of Midnight Madness at powerhouses such as Duke, Kansas, Connecticut, Washington, Kentucky, Georgeclown, and oddly enough North Dakota State.

It wasn't that our Eagles were not on ESPN tonight that was depressing. Only 9 teams total were featured, eight of them in Andy Katz's pre-season top 25 (and when AU makes that list, hell will actually freeze over and everyone there will get a complimentary AU red and blue ice cream cone). No, it's that we must wait nearly another month for our own version of this tradition, American Madness, on November 11th.

Why must we wait so long to finally see our Eagles take to the court? Well, technically we don't, as there are exhibition games on both November 3rd and 8th, and as sure as a Garrison Carr three-pointer I will be at both. Plus, we should feel lucky to have such an event at all, as according to the archives of student newspaper The Eagle, Midnight Madness at AU was discontinued after the 2000 season for an indeterminate reason (not having a winning season for a decade will do that), and only re-instated last year as American Madness (a tournament appearance will do that). Nevertheless, I'm excited to see what's been cooked up for American Madness this year. Last year was exciting, but pretty basic, seeing as it was the first time in a decade they even bothered.

Definitely come down to check out American Madness if you are able, it should be a really good time and a great way to show support for a young team. Hopefully over the next year someone in the athletics department will come to the realization that the rest of the college basketball world starts the Madness in October. In the mean time, check out this 2008-09 highlight video to get sufficiently pumped up:

Go Eagles,
Josh

Suomi, täytä Derrick Mercer (that's "Finland, meet Derrick Mercer" for those of you not acquainted with Finnish, and really, who is?)

Here at the AU Hoops Blog, we like to keep you apprised not only of current AU basketball news but also, when possible to keep you informed about what happens to past Eagles (I say past, and not former, because you know the line: ONCE AN EAGLE, ALWAYS AN EAGLE).

Derrick Mercer, four year starter, point guard extraordinaire, who helped lead AU to two straight Patriot League titles and subsequent NCAA tournament appearances, is now playing with the Kataja Basketball Club in Joensunn, Finland. Kataja plays in Finland's Korisliiga, which is the top tier basketball league in Finland.

This is, according to EuroBasket.com the third American point guard that Kataja is trying out this season (the first two left of their own volition). Mercer, in his first game yesterday, played 29 minutes with no points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots.

Nice to see Mercer continuing his basketball career! I'll try to keep you updated with any notable happenings with him.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Ah, October is finally upon us. Despite the long-awaited (or dreaded, as the case may be) onset of cooler weather and the crazy shenanigans of Halloween, October is actually rather uneventful. Well, it does mean THERE IS LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON! By my count, in a mere twenty five days we will be donning our Blue and Red and taking to the bleachers of Bender to watch our Eagles fly again. Of course, the first game on November 3rd is only an exhibition against Division III Randolph-Macon, but to my basketball-starved mind it might as well be the the NCAA Tournament.

Although the season is not quite yet upon us, things have still been happening in AU Basketball Land. Today I'd like to discuss a few of these things, in the tried-and-true format of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (the latter replete in Holy Cross Purple, of course).

The Good

Suspicions that the AU student body is just as restless as I am for basketball season to begin are confirmed. How? For a few hours yesterday passerby on Ward Circle saw the stalwart figure of Artemas Ward decked out in the greatest t-shirt in college basketball.

Image courtesy of The Eagle's Twitter feed.

That's right, Artie is sporting a Blue Crew shirt! Some intrepid student thought it prudent to dress Artie up early yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately heavy winds took it off after only a few hours, but not before a photographer from The Eagle was able to snap a photo. Always the strong, silent type, Artie nevertheless looks pleased to support the Eagles. New tradition perhaps? Maybe the DC government wouldn't be so pleased, since Artie technically belongs to them. Oh, screw it. Viva La Artemas!

The Bad

As Bill previously reported, Army went out of their way to cause confusion by letting go of their head coach mere weeks before the season began. What does this mean for our Patriot League foe? Well, Army proved resourceful when they pulled Zach Spiker away from Cornell University to lead the Black Knights this season. While maybe not a household name like Connecticut's Jim Calhoun or Duke's Coach K, Spiker certainly has earned his basketball chops. He lead Cornell from the bottom of the Ivy League heap to becoming the first ever back-to-back Ivy champion whose name did not begin with the letter P.

It's well-known that the boys up at West Point excel at a good many things, but college basketball isn't particularly one of them. Can Spiker change that? I don't think there's too much to worry about this season, as no matter who you are it takes time to built up a program. But certainly a few seasons down the line our perennially basketball-challenged rival might claw their way to the top of the Patriot League heap. We'll have to wait and see.

The Ugly

Alright, this isn't particularly "ugly", but definitely weird. I certainly like to keep a few solid pieces of Eagles gear around, but who in the hell would ever want this?

Image courtesy of The AU Bookstore

That, friends, is the "spirit bell", and for a cool $115 it can be all yours. Wait, what? Whoever does the ordering at the bookstore should really lay off whatever it is the kids are dealing behind the South Side dorms. To quote avid Eagles fan Marc Tomik, "I love AU just about as much as I can, but I can't think of anyone who'd buy one of these." You hit the nail on the head, Marc. If you know of anyone who actually buys one of these, however, please let us here at AU Basketball Central know - we'd love to go ring it while wearing a sombrero (also Marc's idea).

Well, that's it for now, Eagles fans. Now I'm off to vote a few more times for the Eagles in the college basketball category of the Express' "Best of 2009" competition. Have you voted yet today? Here's the link again if you need it, and remember you can vote unlimited times:

http://www.expressnightout.com/bestof/

Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

WE MUST, SCRATCH THAT, *WILL* WIN THIS.

Courtesy of AU Hoops Blog contributor TheGirlfriend, comes this doozy of a link:

http://www.expressnightout.com/bestof/

http://www.expressnightout.com/bestof/

http://www.expressnightout.com/bestof/

http://www.expressnightout.com/bestof/

http://www.expressnightout.com/bestof/

If you do a CTRL+F for Basketball, or click Sports and Recreation and go down to College Basketball Team, or get really ambitious and scroll down to 3/4 of the way down the page, you will find the chance to vote for DC's Best College Basketball Team.

I'm not sure why this is even a competition, but apparently The Express desperately wants to give OUR Eagles, OUR Blue Crew, and OUR American University the chance to decimate other DC schools.

Turns out we can vote as many times as you want, and so it begs the question, why are you reading this when you could be voting for the Eagles?

Get out there and vote!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Can You Feel It?

If you don't get chills watching this video, you might be a cyborg.



Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!