Cross Your Fingers and Hope for Vlad

Tonight is the night that the top college players in the country dream about: the 2011 NBA Draft. Starting at 7 PM in Newark, New Jersey, 30 teams will call out the names of tomorrow's superstars. All in Eagles Nation will be watching with bated breath as we eagerly wait to hear the name of Vlad Moldoveanu. Hell, we don't even care if they pronounce it right this time.

So this is a reminder to flip on ESPN at 7 PM tonight, cross your fingers, and root for Vlad. He gave us a year and a half of some of the best basketball I've ever seen, so let's make sure to give him a few hours of our time tonight. If every NBA team makes the mistake of not picking him, then we all know he's going to have an incredible career in Europe. Still, there's that glimmer of hope that the greatest Romanian player since Gheorghe Mureşan will have his chance to shine at the highest level.

If you haven't read it yet, make sure to check out the The Washington Time's piece on Vlad's quest to find employment in the NBA.

Finally, I'll put my money where my mouth is and pledge that if Vlad is chosen by the Wizards, I'm buying season tickets tomorrow. You hear that, Wizards? Good.

Here's to you, Vlad. Impale 'em!

IMPAAAAAALED,
Josh

AU Great Kermit Washington A "Forgotten Legend"

Image courtesy AUeagles.com

Thanks to the AUeagles facebook page for linking to a great CollegeHoops.net feature on AU legend Kermit Washington '73. CHN writer Jon Teitel sat down with Kermit about a week ago in an installment of their "Forgotten Legends" series. 

It's a great interview with some good sound bytes from Kermit, particularly surrounding his choice to stay at AU despite a big offer from the Nets after his junior season. I wish that Teitel avoided the inevitable question about "the punch", although I'm glad it focused on public misconception and appeared close to the end. I'm sure our readers have varying opinions about Kermit due to this incident, but the handful of times that I've met him, he was truly an incredible, humble guy, so I'm prone to see him for what he should be remembered for (on this blog at least): being the best AU basketball player of all time. 20 ppg and 20 rpg, 'nuff said.

I do want to briefly point out that CHN's list of "best pro players in Patriot League history" is slightly in error, as every player it mentions played for their respective alma mater years, or even decades, before the Patriot League was founded. It also fails to mention the myriad of great players that played or still compete professionally outside of the NBA/ABA. Still, that minor detail doesn't detract from the interview or the recognition that many of the Patriot League schools have produced truly great professional athletes in their histories.  

Check out the CHN article here. Then watch the 7-part series The Kermit Washington Story: Redemption, narrated by Forrest Whitaker. It's a great piece that brings together Kermit, Rudy Tomjanovich, and even former AU Head Coach Tom Young and talks about the infamous "the punch" incident in the context of Kermit's entire life and career.




Once an Eagle, Always an Eagle,
Josh

Vlad Moldoveanu Gearing Up For NBA Draft

After the Eagles lost to Lafayette in the second round of the Patriot League Tournament this past March, Vlad Moldoveanu took a week off. He began synthesizing his workout plans, because the NBA draft was just over three months away.

On June 23, Moldoveanu will look to accomplish something no Eagle has done in 38 years: be selected in the NBA Draft.

Bulking Up

When Moldoveanu looked at the average size of a power forward in the NBA, he found that he had some work to do.

"One of my goals is to get stronger, and that's a long process,” Moldoveanu said. “I looked at the list of the average weight of the power forward in Europe it's about 230-235 punds, and in the NBA it's about 240-245. So I want to get to that 235 range."

He’s been working out six times a week ever since spring break ended with Eagles Assistant Coach Lamar Barrett. And team managers Ryan Eskow and Tiana Hakimzadeh have helped him practice shooting. He works out mostly at Bender Arena, but when that’s in use, like it was during graduation weekend, he goes to St. John’ High School, where he played before going to college.

Moldoveanu had a few goals heading into the spring besides gaining muscle. Among them, he wanted to improve his free throw shooting (he finished last season with an 83.2 percent success rate at the line) to around 90 percent.

He’s also been trying to quicken his release time and altering his footwork. He’s found inspiration from his favorite player.

"I like watching Dirk [Nowitzki], and the way he uses his feet. It looks weird, but I've been working on those fade-aways," he said. He’s tried them during pick-up games and says that the move works for him.

But Moldoveanu will need to be more than a shooter for the NBA to come calling.

Vlad Moldoveanu Works out for the Wizards

Vlad Moldoveanu worked out with the Wizards this morning. Media were only allowed access to the last 10 or 15 minutes, but here is a shooting drill that Vlad did towards the end. He had to make eight elbow jumpers, but every time he missed one, he had to sink a layup and it took away from one of his makes. He looked to be on his way to nailing them all in a row but had trouble with the last few shots, which set him back. He did pretty well compared to some of the other players in his group.

"It was an honor to be here," Moldoveanu said. "I've been in D.C. for seven years, and I've been following the Wizards since then. I was watching them when they were the Washington Bullets and they had Gheorghe Muresan so I know a lot about the organization."

Moldoveanu also enjoys a few unique connections with the Wizards. Aside from being friends with Muresan, the Wizards Director of Player Development, Ed Tapscott, was the head coach at AU from 1982-1990. Wizards President and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld is also Romanian, but Moldoveanu says he doesn't know Grunfeld that well.

With the draft coming up around the corner, Moldoveanu isn't trying anything new.

"I think at this point and time really, with a week and a half left before the draft, you can't really blow anybody's mind," Moldoveanu said. "You're not really going to show something that they haven't seen before. These guys have been scouting for years. They go to games, sometimes they go to practices, they talk to a lot of people about you, and it's not something where you're going to come and just blow their minds. You just got to be confident and you got to do what you do and do it really well. That's what it is about the NBA; every guy is really really good at what they do."

Here are a few photos from the workout.

Lumpkins Will Sign with Kansas City Royals

We'll have analysis/coverage about this in the coming days, but for now, be sure to read Josh Barr's article regarding Stephen Lumpkins' decision to sign with the Kansas City Royals.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Lucky Round 13 for Stephen Lumpkins

Stephen Lumpkins pitching for the Bethesda Big Train last summer

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We'll start off our big return this week by covering the latest headline, which is that Stephen Lumpkins has again been drafted by a Major League Baseball team. The fact that it's baseball is not quite as surprising as last time (my jaw only made it halfway to the floor at first), but his improvement over last year is something to take note of. In 2010, Lumpkins was the 1257th overall pick (42nd round) by the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2011, after only playing a total of six games with a local baseball league, he was picked in the 13th round (somewhere around 400th overall) by the Kansas City Royals. Yup, that's a 30 round jump after not exactly a whole lot of baseball. OK, now pick your jaws up.

Lumpkins is set to break out his left-handed pitching arm again this summer, playing for the Laconia Muskrats (based in Laconia, New Hampshire) of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He's looking to beat the performance last summer that got him on scouts' radar, where he struck out 11 batters in 10.2 innings while allowing four earned runs (these may be the most baseball stats you'll ever see on this blog). Of course, 6'8" left-handed pitchers probably don't show up in the New England Collegiate Baseball League every day, so I have high hopes for his chances.

This thing is fierce!

Of course, the real question is - will Lumpkins head to the MLB, or stick around for his senior season? It goes without saying that the loss of Lumpkins would be a huge loss for our program next season. The only silver lining I could see would that it would open up a scholarship, but at this point in the year that would most likely go to a transfer who wouldn't see play for at least a year. Not much to smile about there. Still, let's think about Lumpkins. What sort of opportunity is this for him? A 13th round pick is definitely more enticing than a 42nd, but is forgoing his final year of college (on scholarship) worth heading to the minor leagues? This may be his last chance to have real leverage with a baseball team, and there's little chance (read: no chance) of him getting drafted by the NBA.
Update: It looks like Lumpkins would be facing stiff competition as well - according to sbnation, in the first 13 rounds, the Royals picked 9 pitchers. Of the 9, 3 are left-handed pitchers (including Lump), and both the 12th and 13th picks are 6'8" (Kansas City Star).

According to Athlon Sports, every year that there's been a draft (with the sole exception of 1975), at least one 13th round pick has made it to the majors, most notably Albert Pujols (402nd overall pick in 1999). So, his chances aren't terrible, but it's also far from guaranteed. This is going to be a tough decision for him, and wherever he goes, AUHoops will follow (so these may not be the last baseball stats we see, in fact).

The AUeagles press release does hint that he will be back, citing the milestones he'll be able to reach next season if he stays on the hardwood. Last year, they gave no such indication, so read into that as you will. Although he sometimes got lost behind Vlad, Lumpkins is already in the top 20 in program history for rebounds, and top 5 all-time for blocks (19th and 4th, respectively). Next season, he could become the 11th Eagle to score 1,000 points and pull down 500 boards. Should I mention again how much of a hit it would be to lose him?

Ultimately, Lumpkins knows how much he means to this team. It's going to come down to how much he wants to be a professional athlete, and what he feels his chances are after he graduates. We'll keep our ear to the ground and keep you updated with the latest. In the mean time, vote in this week's poll to let us know what you think Lumpkins will do, and of course, share your thoughts in the comments.

One final silver lining - if Lumpkins does have a meteoric rise in baseball, he could likely finance the return of varsity baseball at AU, last played in 1986. We can dream, right?

If you want to catch Lumpkins on the mound (and happen to be in or around New Hampshire), the Laconia Muskrats will be playing their season opener at home against the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide (what an incredible name) this Friday, June 10th, at 7:05 PM. The Muskrats' Robbie Mills Field is located at 15 Eastman Road in Laconia, New Hampshire.

Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

*Image courtesy Harvey Levine, SmugMug.com

We're Alive, We Promise!

We awaken from our slumber...

As many of our loyal readers have brought to our attention, it's been over a month since we've updated the blog (35 days, to be precise), which is pretty much the longest downtime we've had since we started this thing. For this, we feel terrible. While AUHoops does give us all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings, the people we really write this blog for are you all. So, when we don't write anything for a month, we expect some people to start calling us out on it. Fear not, for we really are alive, we promise! It's been a bit of a transitional period for Bill, Bobby, and myself, but we're back and ready to deliver your Eagles fix all summer long until the sweet sound of victory echoes in Bender again. First, let's dispel some popular rumors:

1. We were kidnapped and held hostage in the basement of a Holy Cross dormitory.

2. We fell asleep behind the bleachers in Bender.

3. We were eaten by zombies (see above).

4. We were eaten by a furious Jeff Jones (we can only hope this is how we eventually go).

5. We were driving up and down the East Coast warning each of the ACC schools that they'd be "the next Maryland of 2007."

6. We had signed up as Vlad's personal cheerleading squad as he tried out for the NBA.

7. We gave up on AUHoops because there are better things in life than blogging about mid-major college basketball (Editor's Note: there aren't).

8. We discovered we were Jedi and flew off to a galaxy far, far away.

9. We succeeded Dr. Kerwin as co-Presidents of American University.

10. We wanted to play a very long game of "guess when they'll next update AUHoops."

Needless to say, none of the above are true, and if word on the street is to be believed, it may take some time to dispel these vicious and widespread rumors. We trust all of you, of course, to spread the truth. In return, we're going to write a post every day for the rest of the week, catching you up on a month's worth of Eaglemania. Let me say that again -- check back every night this week for a new post.  Consider this our big double-overtime comeback over Lafayette (because we all still dream about it).

You want it. We want to give it to you. You deserve it for being the best fans we've ever written for. Welcome back to AUHoops.

Pro Deo Et Patria,

Josh