Fresh off a Speculation Tuesday that all but served as the coronation of Navy's Chris Harris as the Patriot League Player of the Year, Harris has a Vlad-versus-Bucknell performance and drops this hideous line against the Black Knights:
2-17 from the field, 0-7 from 3, 0-1 from the line, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls.
Yeccch.
The Black Knights drop the Mids 69-50, which is fine news for us.
Just keeping you all in the loop.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
Now, if only Kyle Roemer and Zahir Carrington drop games like these next week...
ReplyDeleteand people questioned why I thought ARMY may beat us at home and they nearly did... now they stun Navy.. each of the teams in the league have really bad match ups vs. various other teams. A team we may do well against gives Lehigh or Navy fits. Really an odd year, that's why I think AU is not out of it yet. Should be interesting to see who draws who in the first round..
ReplyDeleteWe match up well with Colgate (still can't believe we lost that game last week) and Lafayette. Okay with Navy and HC. Army...not sure. We have size, they have quickness. Not well with Lehigh and Bucknell. Obviously sneaking, somehow, into the fourth spot and hosting Lafayette would be our best scenario going into the tournament.
ReplyDeleteUp in Holy Cross for the game today. Hope to talk to the coaches a little prior to the game. Get a feel for what they are thinking. NJJ, you should have been at the game at Colgate, lol, think watching the game on the net was tough to watch unfold? I could sense something although when we went up five with 10 seconds I was pretty sure it was over knowing it would take a basketball miracle for Colgate to pull something out, but when the guard (#2) hit that three after Roemer hit his when we were up by 6 with 40 seconds to go you could almost feel it. Not sure why we rushed throwing the ball inbounds, I mean we really panicked after the three and just got sloppy. Lost control and the rest is history. Hoping today is a good win. Love the feedback in here, sometimes I think some are too high in their expectations. I truly am enjoying this year as much as last. I have really no expectations, just hope. I really think the majority of the players on this years team should not be D1 players. But when you have the squads we had the last two years, I think if I am going to blame the coaches for anything it is that they didn't work hard enough to leverage two NCAA appearances into better recruiting. We really do not have the athletes this year. I for one, truly think this team may have that one lone win if not for Vlad becoming eligible when he did. I think we are winless in league without him. I think we do pretty well next year when the transfers become eligible but then we have these same players to count on for DEPTH unless we get some real recruits. Have a great rest of the weekend everyone and GO EAGLES!!
ReplyDeleteLumpkins is one of the best recruits I've ever seen at AU. A 4-year big man who can maneuver around the basket, defend, and rebound like he can has been a rarity at AU, even when we were in the CAA. Vlad has to be considered a result of our recent success. And I have never seen a PL or CAA player who can hold onto the ball like he can when surrounded by pressure. His ability to do this is impressive. The other players we have like Grafft, Hendra and McCormack fit in closely with the type of talent AU has recruited over the years. We are missing the kind of 6-5 and 6-6 players we used to rely on who had a combination of strength and speed, but were mostly ineffective on offense when they began their career. I'm talking about David Small, Tim Fudd, Matt Brown, Jernavis Draughn, and finally Jordan Nichols.
ReplyDeleteTeams recruit, in general, according to their conference. Bucknell twice won games in the NCAA, and they have been pretty weak since. Holy Cross used to have a reputation for developing big men, but I think that is now destroyed.
Our problem is not recruiting overall, but the fact that we are so lacking leadership at the PG spot. It really is the One Thing You Cannot Do Without. Every team out there relies on their PG.
For next year, it could remain a major sticking point for AU if the two freshmen do not develop.
Anonymous, if you should talk to the coaching staff today and want to share the fruits of your labors with us, well, I wouldn't hate it.
ReplyDeleteI worry too about the PG spot. On one hand, I think Troy Brewer has the potential to fill in that gap. However, if he starts to get all the minutes then it may stunt the development of Danny and Blake, who we will have for longer than Troy.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I am just crossing my fingers and hoping one of them has an absolutely breakout year like Garrison Carr did his junior season.