Can the Red Flash Fly With the Eagles?

I always thought Red Flashes looked like this

Without question, this week has been nothing less than a delicious whirlwind of AU Basketball. Fortunately, it's not over yet, as we have the first real game of the season coming up this evening at 7:30 PM when we take on the Red Flash of St. Francis (PA) in the friendly confines of Bender Arena. I am, of course, here to provide you with everything you need to know in order to cheer the Eagles on to victory. It's only a few hours to tipoff, so without further adieu, let's get to it after the jump!

Flash back to our season opener last year (ha, see what I did there? OK that was the prerequisite pun for today) in Loretta, PA. The Eagles are defying expectations and having a very strong showing against a similarly inexperienced opponent away from Bender Arena. They lead by 11 at the half, 31-20, and with 13 minutes to go in the second push the lead to 13, 36-23. Then, as if we were playing Villanova in the NCAA Tournament, it all crashed and burned and the world suddenly became a very dark place.

All melodrama aside, the Red Flash walked away from last year's matchup with a slim 65-61 victory and bragging rights. This year, we're going to take them back! OK, so that's a pretty common theme with this year's team, but we have a lot of ground to make up for. The first thing that I find telling is how St. Francis itself is painting the matchup. They state in their press release that they face "Patriot League power" American. Now, I'm sure there's someone out there saying, "Patriot League power, that's an oxymoron if I've ever seen it." Well, I prefer a more optimistic outlook, and I'm proud to see that one of our most frequent opponents (this is the third time we've opened the season with St. Francis in the past four years) considers us a consistently strong team in our conference. Of course, I find this even more gratifying because for some reason, St. Francis has decided it wants to compete in the Patriot League this season.

What? St. Francis in the Patriot League? That's crazy! Well, if you can call their first four opponents this season all being from the Patriot League crazy, then you're right. After they limp away from their drubbing in Bender Arena, they'll be facing up against Colgate, Lafayette, and Bucknell, in that order. They're not done, though, as they come back for more with a matchup against Lehigh in December. They have a chip on their little red shoulders too, as last season they went 1-3 against the League (yes, we were that 1). Why so much Patriot League in their schedule? Well, Head Coach Don Friday is a former Bucknell assistant, and for all my bad puns and silly jabs I must say I respect anyone that comes off the Pat Flannery coaching tree. For an analysis from someone who knows the Pat Flannery style much better than I, make sure to check out Hoop Time Online's St. Francis Preview - yes, St. Francis has become so much of a de facto measuring stick for the League that they've earned a Hoop Time preview. 

So enough tangential rambling, let's get to business. Last year's St. Francis team featured seven freshmen, went 11-19, and 9-9 in the NEC. That looks pretty darn close to our stat line from last season, if you ask me. Let me put your mind at ease and tell you that both the Red Flash and the Eagles are very different teams this year, and it's not in St. Francis' favor. Our advantages are obvious - home court, Vlad and Troy being eligible, losing almost no one (we miss you, Matt Wilson) to graduation. St. Francis, however, returns only 6 of the 10 players who stepped onto the hardwood against us last year. Their top two scorers, Devin Sweetney and Cedric Latimer, have moved on to the NBA D-League and a pro league in Finland, respectively. Sweetner and Latimer put up a combined 31 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals against us last year.

St. Francis does reload somewhat, however. Like us, their now-sophomores received a trial by fire, and are ready to come back with a vengeance. Sophomore forward Will Felder, who put up 17 points on us last year, returns as well. St. Francis also grows a few inches this year, with the additions of 6'7" Mislav Jukic, who was injured last year and is a phenomenal post player, and 245 lb. 6'11" freshman Storm Stanley, who had previously had a verbal commit to Bob Huggins at West Virginia before things went awry and he landed at St. Francis. 6'8" freshman Scott Eatherton also joins the Red Flash this year, while 6'8" Tony Peters might see minutes off the bench. 6'6" Jon Taylor can finally play the three spot instead of being an undersized 4-man as well.

What does all this growth mean? Last year, Riley Grafft used his height to put up 14 points at St. Francis, with Stephen Lumpkins adding another 10 down low. This year, I doubt Riley will see much court time, but it will definitely be more of a challenge for our big mean to score in the post. I suspect that Lump and, hopefully, Tony Wroblicky will be up the challenge. Similarly, St. Francis will be moving their game inside a bit, to a slower playing style favored by coaches like, say, Pat Flannery. This is Coach Friday's third year behind the helm of the Red Flash, and only the second year that he's really had a chance to shape a recruiting class, so they're going to be better as they become more adapted to his preferred playing style. This year's longer, bigger, more athletic players are going to help with that. 

You don't really need a primer on our main weapons, however. It was close last year without the help of Vlad and Troy from beyond the arc, and with them, I don't really see any of the Red Flash's new additions dominating. I suspect our starting five will be the same we saw at Randolph-Macon, with Steve Luptak starting at point, with Nick Hendra, Troy Brewer, Vlad Moldoveanu, and Stephen Lumpkins behind him.

Could this game close? Certainly, and I don't really see anything like the 67-46 face-smashing we handed them two seasons ago. Still, I fully expect to stand tall and belt out the AU Fight Song after a solid victory this evening. As I said, the Red Flash are becoming a bit of a measuring stick for Patriot League success, so starting off their mini-Patriot League schedule with a loss will be an important out of conference metric. I hope to see you there as we start off a season 1-0 again.

I'll also leave you this afternoon with a dedication. November 12th is none other than the birthday of celebrated Eagle #14 Brian Gilmore! I'd like to dedicate tonight's victory to Brian, who brought his professional career to Poland this year. Make sure to check out his blog to find out just how much his hapless Polish opponents wish he never left the Patriot League!

Happy Birthday Brian!

Finally, for those keeping track, I still owe you my impressions of the Faculty/Staff Classic and American Madness pep rally from Wednesday (scroll down a bit or go to our video page to catch the always entertaining freshman dance). Don't worry, those will be coming up shortly after the St. Francis recap, along with some other news from around Eagles Nation. No matter how much the "real world" tries to slow AUHoops down, we will always prevail, even if not entirely in chronological order. Before then, however, I hope to see you in Bender Arena tonight at 7:30. BE LOUD, BE BLUE, BE AU!

PRO DEO ET PATRIA AND GO EAGLES!
Josh