2 Weeks 2 Go, Let's Get PUMPED UP!

With only two weeks to go until the Eagles tip off against Randolph-Macon on "Sweet, Sweet Revenge Day", I find myself desperately searching for any little nugget of AU Basketball goodness that I can get my hands on. Fortunately, Athletics threw us a bone yesterday and let us in on the team's first practice with a little video. Is it the same as having American Madness in October? No. Does it get me really, really freaking PUMPED UP? OH HELL YES IT DOES!

Just in case you didn't get enough the first time, watch it again. Is that Charles Hinkle making a trey from downtown? Check. Troy Brewer practicing posting up on (imaginary) centers twice his size? Check. Well OK, maybe their roles are reversed a little here, but that's called strategy! I just like seeing the two of them in AU colors. Other fun tidbits include Jones' sound bytes on "depth at every position", and his continued insistence that this isn't the same team that was 0-7 at some unimaginably depressing point last season (our [un]professional opinion: it is in fact not the same team).

Best of all, what do you notice at the 2:07 mark? Why, that's PG #4 Wayne Simon II making the most Derrick Mercer-esque shot off a Simon McCormack (Simon squared?) dish that I've seen since early 2009. His terrible form but incredible accuracy reminds me so much of Derrick that it brings a red and blue tear to my eye. Will Wayne see more playing time this year than we might expect from a freshmen competing with three very capable upperclassmen? Well, Coach Jones sure does love his freshman point guards, seeing as he was one himself back in the day. If you didn't catch our post in May when we first announced Wayne was joining the team, check out this highlight video of the high school game that I am convinced single-handedly got Wayne on the D1 recruiting radar: