Amid the Shock, Uncertainty Ahead for Eagles

There are dozens of ways that this could have happened differently. Jeff Jones could have called for a foul to send Lafayette to the line for two at the end of regulation, instead Ryan Willen ties the game at 53 with a long three. Troy Brewer's three could have rolled in instead of out. Vlad could have hit that three in the corner with six seconds left in the second overtime.

AU had a shot to win the game at the end of regulation and the first overtime, and a chance to extend their lead with a few seconds left in the second overtime. But they didn't get it done. Lafayette had one hectic chance with time expiring in the second overtime, and Jim Mower buried it over a diving Nick Hendra. All of the sudden, that was it. The next full-court inbounds was a formality. Nick Hendra tried to find Vlad Moldoveanu, but his pass was plucked out of the air.

"I'm really sorry," Hendra said through tears, "that this team couldn't bring back the championship to where it belongs. And I feel personally responsible for that."

"I'm not really sure what happened," Moldoveanu said. "We were up six [in the second overtime], and it felt like the next second the game was tied.

"They made big shots, and we - slash, I think I - missed big shots. And kind of like Nick said, I feel really guilty for it. Last year's playoffs, now this year, this game, I got to take a lot of blame for it."

AU had been down most of the second half, but they had always kept the deficit manageable. Five points, three points, but you always knew they would cut it down. If they could make an 18-6 run against Colgate, they could squeak out a 7-0 run on Lafayette.

"I don't think we played well," Jones said. "We played awfully hard."

That might be the epithet written on the 2010-11 Eagles' tombstone. The effort was there, as was the goodwill, but there was always a stretch - however small - of bad play that would come back to doom them, or at least expose their mortality.

What makes tonight's example so excruciating was that the Eagles had their chances. It wasn't sloppy turnovers. It was a three pointer rolling out of the basket.

"Whether you're college age or a 50-year-old coach, it's the kind of thing that sticks with you," Jones said. "Hopefully with time, that pain and that disappointment will subside a little bit."

Maybe. But part of what makes this so shocking is that this year's senior class includes three starters, and Moldoveanu joined the 1,000 point club tonight after just 53 games. He will wind up tied with Gordon Stiles, who scored 1,012 points between 1967-1970. Replacing Moldoveanu's production will no doubt be done by committee. But it will be a committee of unproven players who didn't play much this season.

Stephen Lumpkins will be back. Brewer will be back. Charles Hinkle will be back. We'll probably get our first real look at Wayne Simon II. Jordan Borucki will get more than the six minutes he got this season. Warren Flood, Jr. may get an expanded role. Incoming freshman forward Kyle Kager looks promising. But we don't really know what next year's team will look like. We can guess, but we don't know.

That is the question for the next eight months while Jones and his staff assess the status of the roster. As much as I loved Moldoveanu, and he was one of the best players we will see in Bender for a while, here's hoping the next iteration of the Eagles is more balanced offensively. The difference between the '08-'09 teams and the '10-'11 teams was that you knew who would produce in those first two years. But In the last two seasons, it was Vlad and the rest. It was difficult to judge who else would provide meaningful production every night.

These Eagles gave us great moments. The double overtime win last Friday at Lafayette, the 5-0 start, the Cable Car Classic win, the one-point win at Lehigh, and that magical second half run to put Colgate away last Wednesday. All told, it was another 20-win season, the team's third in four years. After the game, Jones gave a farewell to the three players that won't be here to make another run next season.

"I wanted to thank them," he said. "I hope each of their teammates has an opportunity to thank them. Not just for what they've done as far as basketball, but for them as people and their contributions across the board. You look at it, and Luptak and Hendra are kind of your typical [player]. They've grown up so much and they've come so far. With Vlad, it's hard to believe that somebody in just a year and a half can have as much of an impact on a program. People will either believe me or they won't, but they need to understand, that with Vlad it's not just about him being a good player. He's a damn good player. But he's a great teammate. He's just an outstanding young man and I think has made my job easier and hopefully his teammates have enjoyed playing with him. I think it's rare that you play with someone that good who's also that good a person."

A toast to the 2010-11 AU Eagles. You went before your time, but it was a sweet ride.

Kager Has Company in Class of 2015

Image courtesy digitalsports.com

Only three days after the first member of the Class of 2015 made a verbal commitment to play at AU, he has been joined by another promising recruit. Yesterday The Washington Post's Recruiting Insider announced that John Schoof, a 6'5" forward-guard from W.T. Woodson High School in Virginia, made a verbal commitment to play for the Eagles beginning with the 2011-2012 season.

Schoof, like Kager, is a great catch. ESPN gives him an 82, a solid score largely based on his sophomore year of high school. Why his sophomore year? In December 2009, in the last practice before the season began, Schoof suffered a serious ankle injury during practice, taking him out of the game for most of his junior season. After a round of surgery and rehab, he played this summer for the AAU Team Takeover. He'll be back on the court this season for W.T. Woodson, and says that he feels just as good as he did prior to his injury. He still has plenty of time to improve, and is likely flying far under the radar as far as recruiting potential is concerned.

According to ESPN, "John is a long and active wing player...he makes good decisions with the ball and plays with a simple approach..." Players who respect fundamentals usually do very well under Coach Jones, and it's when they start trying to add too much flash they they run into trouble. Schoof is a pure shooter, as evidenced by this video, this video, and this video. Impressed yet?

Image courtesy Rivals VirginiaPreps

Schoof had to decide between multiple offers, including local rival George Mason and Patriot League defending champion Lehigh. According to Northstar Basketball, he also received interest from William and Mary, Davidson, Drexel, Penn, and Harvard, along with offers from Princeton, Mt. St. Mary's, and Lafayette. He was quoted as saying just last month "I like Princeton and Davidson, that's my two, I don't know, it's still open." According to WaPo, he also had a strong desire to stay close to home. Considering his array of options, Schoof made a great decision.

As there will be three seniors graduating in May, we'll be keeping our eyes out for the third and final freshman/transfer recruit for next season. As soon as we hear anything, you'll be able to find it here, with all the juicy details that we can't live without.

Finally, in the tradition of terrible puns that has developed here on AUHoops, we ask - is the competition ready to be "Schoofed?" I hope so. I quote user John K on our message board in saying,"I smell 5 straight titles starting with this year." Share his optimism? Let us know on the boards or in the comments!

Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES!

Josh

BREAKING NEWS: First Recruit of the Class of 2015 Chooses AU Over Patriot League Rivals, Georgetown

 Image courtesy New England Recruiting Report

Rivals announced today that Kyle Kager, a 6'7" forward attending prep school in Deerfield, MA has chosen to play at AU starting with the 2011-2012 campaign. Although he still has to make an official visit, and an official announcement cannot come until November, he appears to be solidly on our verbal commit list on both Rivals and ESPN.

I actually saw Kyle touring campus today, accompanied by Kieran Donohue, Lamar Barrett, and Matt Wolff. It was immediately apparent that he was someone we wanted, because the attention being heaped on him was pretty significant.

 Image courtesy Deerfield Academy

Kager also received offers from Holy Cross, Lehigh, and Furman. He was also being recruited by Big East teams Georgetown and Providence, the latter of which was on his top 3 final choices. He credits AU's strong out-of-conference schedule (thanks Coach Jones!),  coaching staff, training program, campus, and academics as his reason for committing early. It thrills me that not only did he choose us over those purple knuckle-draggers in Worcester, but the defending Patriot League Champions.

Although Kager has no stars on Rivals, a 40 on ESPN, and has yet to appear on Scout.com, he is described as "a versatile player who can face up the basket to make jumpers or play on the interior", which is going to be crucial when we lose Vlad to graduation after this season. He looks like a long, quick big, the type that usually does pretty well under Coach Jones (he currently weighs in at 193 lbs, with plenty of time to add a little muscle). He was also on the Team Texas Elite 17U team, along with commits to Texas A&M and Kansas State. While he may not be the most lauded recruit at the moment, had Kager decided to pursue a Big East team more vigorously, I'm sure some rankings would already be out, and we will likely see some as he enters his senior year. We'll be sure to let you know if anything pops up.

On a related note, Kager specifically cited our upcoming matchups versus "Maryland, Florida, and West Virgina." For those keeping track, Maryland was not previously announced in the draft schedule we got our hands on a few weeks ago. Final negotiations with Gary Williams are likely a big reason that our schedule has not yet come out, so stay tuned for more as we find it.

Finally, make sure to keep up with the latest on Kager, and more Eagles recruiting news, on our new Message Board!

Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES,
Josh

UPDATE: Although completely unrelated to Kager, it's worth noting that the deadline for Stephen Lumpkins to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates passed on August 16th. He will remain with the Eagles this season, although he is still draft eligible.