Jeff Jones Not Leaving for Green (and Yellow) Pastures

This is how I will always see Jeff Jones in my mind

First, my apologies for letting the blog sit idle lately. I'm graduating in about a week and things have been a bit hectic, while Bill's been preparing to ship off to grad school. That being said, there are no excuses for someone as AU Basketball-obsessed as myself, so please bear with me as we move further into the off season. I'm also going to fix that pesky bug that's only showing one story at a time this week most likely, in case it's bothering anyone else as badly as it is me.

The big news lately are the coaching vacancies at two nearby institutions, namely George Mason and George Washington. Jim Larranaga left a little over a week ago to take the head job at Miami, while GW's new athletic director "let go" of Karl Hobbs shortly after taking over. Jeff Jones, logically, was named as a potential candidate for both positions by major media outlets and the college basketball blogosphere alike. Fortunately, The Washington Post reported today that Paul Hewitt, formerly of Georgia Tech, has taken the Mason job. While the GW job is still open, it's fortunately looking more and more likely that we'll have a few more years of Jones sticking around Tenleytown.

I for one am thankful for this, as the thought of losing Jones made my heart briefly stop. Love him or hate him, he's turned our program completely around, and replacing him would be a tall order. In my opinion, there's not a better coach out there for us at the moment, although I'm sure some might disagree. That being said, Jones is rooted down in the area and likes it here (and his job security, I'd expect), and really the only positions that might be able to draw him away are local ones (unless, you know, we pull a Butler or VCU next season), so the timing of both GW and GMU losing their coaches in the span of a week wasn't particularly great. Oh, and we lost our award-winning wrestling coach to Oklahoma less than a month ago to boot.

Any thoughts on the DC coaching merry-go-round? Let us know in the comments. We'll be back to full strength shortly, so keep checking back for updates. My goal is to come up with a relatively regular posting schedule I can stick to a whole lot better than last summer, so stay tuned.

Pro Deo Et Patria,
Josh

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.

Eagles Must Stay Grounded Despite Clinching Second Seed

With two games left against lesser teams in the Patriot League, it would be easy for the Eagles (19-8, 9-3) to pack it in and take the next few games off. They've clinched second place in the tournament - their best finish since 2008-09, when they finished first - and can't move up or down.

The Eagles have senior night against Navy (10-18, 5-7) on Wednesday and a road game at Lafayette (10-17, 5-7) on Saturday.

"I wouldn't call either of those games tune-up games," senior guard Nick Hendra said. "Earlier in the season we got our butts kicked up at Navy. So we're looking to come out for senior night at home ready to play."

"I'd be shocked and disappointed if these guys needed me to say much of anything to get them ready against [Navy] on Wednesday night," Head Coach Jeff Jones said.

AU Must Learn How to Win Without Moldoveanu

"That's what you would call an old-fashioned butt-kicking," AU head coach Jeff Jones said as he sat down to talk to the media after the Eagles' 75-60 loss to Bucknell. On a night full of hard lessons for the Eagles, they were nearly dealt a devastating blow.

With just over three minutes left, AU's superstar senior Vlad Moldoveanu took a hard fall. Just as he has the ability to ignite a crowd, Moldoveanu took its entire breath away when he landed on his right shoulder and began writhing in pain.

"The angle I was at, the way his shoulder looked, it looked bad," Jones said. "I grimaced, in fact I looked away."

But somehow, just over a minute later, Moldoveanu stood up. The fans started cheering when he first sat up, let alone when he put weight on both shoulders to propel himself off the ground and returned to the bench.

"They said he was okay to come back but it made no sense to do that, the game was already out of hand," Jones said. "We'll keep an eye on it overnight and if, as I anticipate, it's sore tomorrow then we'll try to hold him out and try to ease him back into things. Probably wouldn't hurt our other guys to play and figure out how to get some stuff done without relying on him so much."

For that brief moment, Eagles coaches, players, and fans were left to wonder if they'd seen the last of Moldoveanu, and what the team might look like without him.

Picture the first 37 minutes of tonight's game, because it was pretty much the same.

Moldoveanu scored just seven points, and the Eagles were bulldozed by Mike Muscala, whose 33 points led the Bison over AU by what Jones said was the largest margin he could remember in his time at Bender.

The Bison dared the Eagles to shoot jump shots all game. Moldoveanu was double teamed with the ball at all times, and Muscala took care of Stephen Lumpkins on both ends of the floor for most of the game. The Bison were happy to allow the Eagles to chuck up threes, and AU did: they shot 5/24 from long range. Meanwhile, Bucknell shot 23 free throws and made 20 of them. AU made all five of their attempts.

In a game in which the Eagles were crying out for someone to pick up the scoring load, nobody answered.

"Collectively we didn't rise to the occasion," senior Nick Hendra said. "It's as simple as that. It was a big game and in games like that everybody has to rise to the occasion. You have to be the cream of the crop and the better team will win. It's as simple as that."

But after the game there was some disagreement as to why the Eagles looked so rusty early.

"No matter what their scheme was, they could have taken away the middle but we weren't knocking down shots," junior Troy Brewer said. "We got the ball down low and we weren't making layups. The way we started out, we weren't prepared to play."

"From an individual standpoint and from a collective standpoint I felt like we were not prepared for today's game," Hendra said.

"I'm going to interpret and hope that what [Brewer and Hendra] meant was that we didn't come out and play nearly as well [as we did against Lehigh]," Jones said. "I think it's a cop-out to say we weren't ready. I think we prepared hard, our players were excited for this game. Bucknell just played better."

The Eagles will pack their bags and head to Colgate for a game Saturday. Three of the next four games will be on the road against conference opponents.

The blueprint to beat AU is out there. Unless the Eagles can develop a consistent threat from mid-to-long range on offense outside of Moldoveanu, they will see similar defenses.

"If you think it's hard to win at home, it's about twice as hard to win on the road," Hendra said.

Open Practice and Coach Jones' First "Chalk Talk": A Musical* of Epic Proportions

*This is not actually a musical

Our Eagles tipped off this week with a veritable smorgasbord of new events, which helped to feed my insatiable hunger for AU basketball. First on the docket was the first open practice I've ever been to in my time as an Eagle, followed by Coach Jones' first official "Chalk Talk." As you can tell by the title, it was not actually a musical, but it was not your average song and dance either. See what I did there? I know you come here for the great puns. No, you come here for the basketball? Well fine, let's get to that right after the jump.

Reminder: Open Practice and Chalk Talk with Coach TONIGHT

Just a reminder for those of you out there in AUHoops land, at 5:30 tonight the Eagles will hold an open practice followed by Chalk Talk with Coach Jones. What will be discussed? Almost certainly the benefits of dustless chalk vs. non-dustless chalk when drawing up plays that will BRING YOUR TEAM TO ITS THIRD PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP IN FOUR YEARS.

See you there.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Eagles Point Guard Battle Continues

Going into Thursday’s exhibition against Randolph-Macon, Eagles coach Jeff Jones said that his point guard race was a toss-up between Steve Luptak, Danny Munoz, Blake Jolivette, and dark horse contender Wayne Simon II. If Friday night was any indication, be prepared to see a lot of Luptak and Munoz.

“We wanted to approach it like it was a game, and we knew it was a quality opponent,” Coach Jones. “As you can see, we wanted to win the game. We weren’t just trying to get everybody minutes. We were trying to play as if the game counted.”

If that’s the case, then Jolivette and Simon could be in for a long year. Neither one of them cracked the rotation Thursday, as Munoz played 22 minutes while Luptak started the game and played 18 minutes.

Neither one had a flashy line, but the two combined for sufficient point guard play. Luptak scored four points (all free throws) with four rebounds and two assists with one turnover. Munoz put up seven points, two boards, two assists and a blocked shot, but he also committed three turnovers.

“I think different guys have different strengths,” Jones said. “I think Luptak is our best defender at that spot for sure. Danny’s the guy that if we were putting him in the first half to try to get some dribble penetration because I think he’s more comfortable doing that than Steve is.”

The depth at point guard might be a logjam, but it’s one that Jones prefers. He says this team’s total depth is among the best American has ever had. Both Luptak and Munoz could see starts this season.

“To be honest with you, I know they probably do, and maybe their girlfriends and parents care, but I don’t care who starts,” Jones said. “It’s been a very competitive battle – much more competitive than it was a year ago. We want both of them to continue playing well.”

Jones said that Jolivette was in the thick of the battle, but he never left the bench. He and other scratches will have their chance to impress coaches soon.

“The scrimmage on Saturday is a closed scrimmage,” Jones said. “So there really won’t be any public observation of it and we’ll have an opportunity to play more people.”

The scrimmage against Youngstown State won’t be a game, but it’ll be three second-halves in order to “build in” the late game pressure.

If Jolivette and Simon want playing time at the one, there’s the chance to earn it.

Until then, the Luptak/Munoz battle will power the team. There’s nothing quite like a coach giving totally equal playing time to two players fighting for one spot. Everything’s equal, and it’s up to each of them to make the most of each minute.

“We’re all just working,” Jones said. “But they’ve been competing to try to make that a strong position for us.”

Milan Brown Throws Down the Gauntlet...We Need AUJeffJones.com

As much as it pains me to send you there, check out MilanBrown.com, which is the home of Holy Cross's first year head coach Milan Brown. Let's be honest folks, this site is simple and sleek. Recall my recent lament about there needing to be a stronger two-way connection between the team and the fans. What you're looking at here is that connection, bringing fans closer to the guy stalking their favorite team's bench.

I've already done some research for Athletics, and unfortunately, JeffJones.com is already occupied by a Marketing Anthropologist (a Marketing Anthropology Wonk?). However, there is a perfectly fine option left: www.AUJeffJones.com. Additionally, www.freeMikeBersch.com is also available. Just saying.

Now, of course, I wouldn't trade Coach Jones for Milan Brown for all of the blue body paint on the east coast. Having a Twitter account and a sleek website doesn't have any correlation to being a better X's and O's coach. I think it does have something to do with building the connection I'm always talking (read: ranting) about. Tweet at me soon, Jeff Jones! I'll be sure to retweet you to all my friends.

Actually, on second thought, maybe Matt Wolff, who is younger and arguably more likely to be savvy with navigating the series of tubes (rest in peace, Senator Stevens) that is the Internet, can pick up a Twitter and connect with the multitudes of AUHoops fans on Twitter. This will give Coach more time to pick amongst the 12 point guards on the team and see who is going to get play time.

Just a thought.

Stay tuned, I should have some info on THE BLUE CREW 2 coming up before you know it!

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Thoughts American Minute with Jeff Jones (Updated)

Be sure to check out this Youtube video featuring Jeff Jones for the "American Minute" that Josh posted and wrote about in his Monday/Friday Update (video embedded there). Be sure to notice a couple of things:

1. The excellent foliage in the background, complete with birds cheeping and insects buzzing. Really adds ambiance to the whole situation.

2. The effusive praise of the Blue Crew 1/2 of the way through the video.

3. The way the screen seems to take on a Vaseline-esque transparency on the close-up at the 2:40 mark; very strange.

UPDATE
So a couple of other things, let's break this down section by section on the video:

"Jeff Jones on...the 2009-2010 season."

I like how coach says, bluntly, that at the start of the season "we just weren't very good." He can be a slippery eel on getting a straight answer on some things, but this cuts right to the heart of it. With the addition of Vlad, he notes, things started improving and we made big strides. He commends the team for working extremely hard and developing chemistry.

"Jeff Jones on...the 2010-2011 season."

Coach notes that almost all D1 programs are hopeful right now, and we're no different. JJ cites all of the returners this year and the improvement from last year as positives and notes that we have "the makings" of a good basketball team but the proof is on the court. Not really much here in terms of specifics, just the normal chatter that every coach of any sport will give you. Hard work, determination, getting it done on the court. Etc. etc.

"Jeff Jones on...playing in a full Bender Arena."

Let me be as blunt here as JJ was in the beginning of this video. He almost shanks this 10 yard "gimme" field goal when he's asked about playing in a full Bender Arena when he says, "a full arena anywhere is an advantage for [the home team]." But then he converts the field goal and says, "When Bender Arena is really rocking it is as good a home court advantage as there is." Phew. If he hadn't rectified that, what a goof that would've been. He goes on to note that when Bender is full and when it's a sell-out or near sell-out (note the conditions), it makes a big difference and amps up the team. YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS, BLUE CREW. BE THERE. BE BLUE. BE AU.

"Jeff Jones on...men's basketball alumni and supporters"

Annnnd now we get the pitch. JJ notes several areas of vital importance: facilities, budget, and the alumni community's support. "It might be the biggest thing for us to continue to be successful or even ratchet it up." He notes, "We need people to feel connected to the program and be engaged in supporting the program...recruits notice that. The alumni support, the support of the entire university community makes a huge difference in the success or lack thereof of our program." Amen, all of that is true.

No disagreements from me here in theory, on that, Coach. Buuuuuuut I do take umbrage with said theory and then how it's put into practice. AU men's basketball has a good thing going on right now. I'm not positive, but I'm willing to say MBB gets more fan support than a lot of the other athletic programs at AU, if not any other program. I do feel some connection to the program, but then again it's the only one I follow at AU. I've got great memories of being in Bender, traveling for the tournament games, waiting 6-7 hours in the cold for tickets, etc. But do I really feel connected to the program in the way that Coach Jones is talking about? I don't, actually. Connection has to be a two-way street. I can buy season tickets and go to every home game (and liveblog every away game), and I can follow religiously this team on this blog with all of you die-hard fans, but that's a one-way fanship, not a two-way connection.

It's no secret that I like a lot of the things that George Washington's basketball program does. I'm not saying AU should be GWU because making a carbon copy of their program isn't going to do much for me either; we need to find our own way to make this connection. But, just for fun, let's compare the end of AU basketball games with the end of GWU basketball games.

AU: Game ends, players line up, teams shake hands, AU Eagles immediately go from the lines and sprint into the locker room. They do not return to the court. AU Pep Band (the best pep band in DC, by the way) plays the AU Fight Song. Generally we're asked to leave by security within about 90 seconds of the Fight Song concluding.

GWU: Game ends, players line up, teams shake hands, GWU Pep Band plays GWU fight song (which the entire arena, led by the student section, belts out, by the way), GWU Colonials and spirit program members get together in a circle with their arms around each other and lead the crowd (which has not left, by the way) in a singing of the school's alma mater (which the crowd knows, by the way). Then there's rousing applause, some players stay to talk to the students in the student section, and then they head to the locker room. The crowd, after about 5-10 minutes is asked to move to a specific section of the arena if they're going to stay and watch the post-game press conference (I can't knock AU for not broadcasting the post-game presser as we don't have the technological capacity to do this...yet).

Notice the difference? See how in one scenario there's a connection made amongst members of the crowd because they're singing the fight song together, have just watched the game together, etc. but the connection between the crowd and the team isn't made because the team is hustled off the court? See how in the other there's, at least ostensibly, an attempt at interaction and cooperation between the crowd and the team and that connection reinforces that both players, fans, and alumni are parts of an overarching institution that they all have a connection to?

Now, all of this isn't to say that there's never any player-crowd interaction at AU. In my time as a fan it's happened twice: after winning the PL Championships. It was awesome. It means the world to fans to see people like Brian Gilmore, Derrick Mercer, Garrison Carr come into the crowd and say thank you and give out some high-fives. Probably one of my top five moments as an AU fan. It took 45 seconds. 45 seconds to give fans an interaction with the team that is meaningful.

I didn't intend for this to be an extended rant or an indictment of athletics or the way Jeff Jones does things. It's gotten heated on this blog a few times in the past year about Coach's pros and cons, and I come down on the side that he is a phenomenal coach for a program like ours. I'm not saying I'd trade Jeff Jones for Karl Hobbs (I wouldn't). What I am very much saying is that when you look at a guy like Hobbs, who makes it a point in his post-game pressers to encourage fans to come out for particularly important games and who ran a Twitter account to connect directly with people, you see little bits of evidence of a program that is making (or trying to make) a two-way connection with fans. Coincidentally, this is the same connection that Coach Jones lauds as critical in the American Minute video and the same connection that we need to do a better job with here at AU. It's those little things that make a huge difference to building connection with a fanbase. We need to do those little things. We need that huge difference.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Your Morning Dose of Jeff Jones

Just some quick links this morning:

Jeff Jones on the Kojo Nnamdi show from Monday

Requires Facebook, but JJ on the teleconference call Monday with all of the league coaches

A little dated since they take place before the Navy game, but still valuable.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Speculation Tuesday Has Something Pretty Obvious to Speculate About

Goooood afternoon and welcome to the snowbound AU Hoops blog Speculation Tuesday. When will it stop? Will it ever stop? Oh God, what if it never stops? These are all questions weighing heavily on other people's minds, but not mine. I'm all about it coming down for a week straight, at least until it knocks out my power, in which case, I will be happy to have it end. Luckily, I don't have to speculate too much on any of these questions because we know the answers to all or most of these questions. One more uppercut to the collective face of the District of Columbia in terms of a snowpocalypse, snowmageddon, snowgasm, snoverit, whatever, and then smooooth sailing into Thursday's game against the Bucknell Bacon-covered Bison Burgers. So what will I speculate about today? Well, join me after the jump and see!

Monday Wrap-up

Evening folks. Lots of stuff to talk about, so let's get down to business and spare the niceties.

The Great Battle of the Jones (aka Spank That Lion, Jeff!)

The Great Battles of the Jones? What? Have I finally lost it? Well...yes and no. Yes, because I am crazy enough to predict our first winning streak of the season. No, because this is actually a battle between two coaches named Jones. How will our Eagles down the Lions? How will the announcers tell the coaches apart? Will one actually spank the other? Find out the answer to these questions, and oh so many more, after the jump!

The Fact That I'm Writing This Based Off of the Liveblog, the Recap, and the Box Score Could Make It GOOD, BAD, and/or UGLY

Gooooooooooooooood evening AU Eagles fans! I hope you're all well-rested and ready to go for another fun time here with the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY. This game certainly had elements of all three. I have to come clean, I was working my way through a plate of kung pao chicken with my dad and sister while the game was going on, but I tried to do my homework and get a picture of exactly what happened against the Florida Gators. I'd like a little help with this one (though admittedly, I've already had some). If you feel I missed something or got something wrong, please let me have it in the comments. Sometimes I need a little help from my friends, or at least anonymous blog community members who post insightful things that I don't think of but then agree with. Anyway: box score, recap, and off we go!

When I'm Particularly Annoyed About a Loss, It Is GOOD, BAD, and UGLY

No time for niceties tonight. Here's the long and the short of it: we blew the game in the second half again. For those of you who weren't there or haven't heard, we lost to the Albany Great Danes tonight 51-50. Just like at St. Francis, the wheels came off the whole operation in the second half, and we blew a halftime lead. At this point I've got to think that conditioning is playing a part in this; we're just gassed by about the 10 minute mark in the second half. Some of that is that we've got a young team with players whose bodies don't have the benefit of 2-3 years with collegiate trainers and training regimens.

Before I get into this, nice to see play out of Mike Bersch tonight. The good news is, he got his first collegiate bucket. The bad news is, he went 0-3 from behind the arc.

Ugh what a bitter loss. Still incredulous that we lost this game. Still, there were some highlights, which brings me to...

This is Madness! THIS IS...THE RECAP!

Last night AU celebrated its storied basketball teams with the second annual American Madness pep rally. What we're all wondering now is, of course, "Was it any better than the first?" Well, as the Burger King commercial so wisely states, "that's more of an...opinion." This blogger's opinion, if it means anything, is that it was a step forward, if not a particularly big one.

For those of you who weren't able to make it to Bender Arena yesterday evening, whether it was because of work, great distance, or just the freezing rain keeping you indoors, it's OK - we've got you covered. The teams first danced their way to the court to the familiar tune of "The Final Countdown" (masterfully played by Bender's unsung [pun intended] heroes, the Screaming Eagles Pep Band) and clumsily missed a few baskets on purpose so that some students could win some fun prizes in good conscience. Sophomore Guard Joe Hill would have none of that, of course, proudly announcing he would beat three cocky Blue Crew members in a 3-pointer shooting contest by five. Amazingly, he won 8-3. Well done, Joe! Let's show St. Francis that same attitude on Friday!

The coaches then made their obligatory heartfelt speeches. Coach Jones echoed many of his sentiments from Patriot League Media Day (if you haven't read Bill's interview with Jones yet, check it out here), offering this succinct piece of insight which I think sums up this year quite well,

"We are not the Patriot League defending champions. That was last year's team. We have our own identity, and we're still searching for what it is."

Well said, coach, well said. The faithful Blue Crew responded with some pretty serious applause, which gives me hope that this year's growing pains will be seen as just that and nothing more sinister. On that note, attendance was pretty decent considering the cold, rainy weather that likely had many hunkering down in the dorms for the night. Not fantastic, mind you, but alright for the circumstances. If you weren't there, one awesome thing you did miss was the freshmen men's dance number with the dance team/cheerleaders. It lasted about three minutes, and all I know is that even if Blake Jolivette doesn't make a single basket this entire season, at least he can GET DOWN (Blake, if you're reading this, don't worry, I know you will score many, many points this season). Check out Hannah Rubin's great video, or my endearingly low-quality cell phone version below:

That's all for tonight, AU Hoops Fans, check back later for an exclusive AU Basketball Central preview of our season opener at St. Francis (PA).

GO EAGLES,
Josh

According to Yahoo/Rivals Everyone Can Win the Patriot League Except AU!

Yahoo/Rivals issued their first team reports for the Patriot League today. AU's can be found here, and it's got some interesting tidbits in it...

The report doesn't mince words, saying that "it’s extremely unlikely the Eagles will make a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament." Well isn't that cute.

Obviously they've been getting their research skillz from this blog because they made sure to point out that the team is going to lean heavily on Hendra and Lumpkins. Well, obviously. What I do find a little curious is that they describe Lumpkins as "electric." I don't really know how I feel about that categorization. There isn't a whole lot of flash to his game. In fact, the reason he got so much play last year is probably because he's a pretty fundamentally sound player who hustles a lot and played maturely for a freshman. There's no, as Dick Vitale would say, razzle-dazzle, Shake n'Bake, or YEAAAAAAAAAAH BABY to his game. Whatever, it's one word, Bill, stop making such a huge flipping deal about it.

(I INTERRUPT THIS BLOG ENTRY FOR A RANDOM DOSE OF NAPOLEON DYNAMITE QUOTERY BROUGHT ON BY THE WORD "flipping")

Napoleon: Stay home and eat all the freakin' chips, Kip!

Kip: Napoleon, don't be jealous 'cause I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to become a cage fighter.

Napoleon: Since when, Kip? You have the worst reflexes of all time.

Kip: Try and hit me, Napoleon.

Napoleon: What?

Kip: I said come down here and see what happens if you try and hit me.

Napoleon: [comes down the stairs] Such an idiot...!

[After Napoleon tries and fails to hit Kip a few times, the doorbell rings]

Napoleon: I'll get it. [Slaps Kip in the face while he's not looking]

Kip: Geeeez!

(END NAPOLEON DYNAMITE CUT-IN)

Sorry about that. Anyway.

Conspicuously absent from Yahoo's team report are any mention of Steve Luptak, Matt Wilson, or any of the sophomores other than Lumpkins. I find that to be strange because the article notes that Coach Jones is "now turning to a batch of young players and those unfamiliar with the system," except that he has a bench full of people with a year or more of experience under his system. Strange.

Yahoo also managed to project the starting line-up:
G Nick Hendra, G Josh Snodrass, G Daniel Munoz, F Stephen Lumpkins, F Mike Bersch

All I can say about that is WTF, mate. I mean Hendra and Lumpkins were locks. It makes sense that either Bersch or Snodgrass would get to play at the 3 spot, but both of them, starting? Seriously, Yahoo? No Riley Grafft? I dunno, if I had to guess it would be:

G - Hendra
G - Munoz
F - Bersch/Snodgrass
F - Grafft (until Vlad the Impaler becomes eligible)
F - Lumpkins

The question I really have at this point is, what is Jeff Jones going to do with all of these guards? Are Simon McCormack and Joe Hill going to be career benchers? What is he going to do with Troy Brewer when he becomes eligible next season? I mean, I guess we'll be really deep and insured against injuries, but we're going to have to set some kind of PL record for substitutions with all the cycling through players that JJ is going to have to do.

I really encourage you to read the team report, as it has a lot of great information, even if I disagree with some of it.

For those of you interested in other PL teams, well, Holy Cross and Lehigh come out looking the best, mostly because they return a lot of players from last year.

Just got some breaking news, another entry coming momentarily.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Army Releases Its Head Coach, and the Timing Couldn't Be Stranger

From GoArmySports.com, Army basketball releases seven year coach Jim Crews.

Seems like very strange timing given that Army took AU to the last minute last year in the semi-finals, and the team looked like it was going to be a contender this year. Sure Crews has never had a winning season in seven years and his winning percentage was only .302, but if you were going to let him go, why not let him go at the end of last season instead of a mere 40 days before this one starts. Bizarre.

Who knows how the Black Knights will respond to their new coach, whoever that ends up being.

Sure makes you happy that we have some stability in Jeff Jones, even though we never get a smile or wave out of the guy before the game starts and he doesn't acknowledge our "Jeff Jones" chants, and even though I end up yelling at Jeff Jones more during a given game (for yelling at our players) than I do the opposing coach, still makes me happy that we won't have to go looking for a new coach any time soon (God willing).

Anyway, short little check-in here. I'm waiting on some information before I give you another big post. Hoping to look at some of the other Patriot League teams' non-conference schedules for an upcoming entry.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

A Very, Very Strange AU Basketball-Related Dream

Normally I wouldn't post about this, but it is so bizarre that I feel the need to. I dream pretty vividly, but most of the time I don't remember my dreams. However, last night I had a dream that I remembered quite vividly and, after retaining memory of it for the entire day, I decided I had to post it.

I had a dream that I went to the season opener in Bender Arena last night but that the bleachers on the sidelines had been removed and replaced with lawn chairs. That in and of itself is perverse, but it gets a lot weirder. Why? Because our beloved AU Eagles' starting five consisted of the following individuals:

The kid on the movie poster for the God awful movie "Baby Geniuses"


Jonathan Lipnicki, the little kid from Jerry Maguire

and, of course, since no ridiculous AU basketball dream sequence could be complete without them, the remaining three AU starters were...


EWOKS from Stars Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

But that's not all folks. When, in the dream, I realized who Jeff Jones had started, I was justifiably upset. I stood up from my lawn chair and screamed out, "Coach, let me play!" This was the part where I knew it was a dream because Jeff Jones actually turned and acknowledged me in the stands. He surveyed me with that piercing glare and stoic grimace of his and screamed at me, "Sit down, your legs are too short!"

I'm just under 6'4" and am gangly and have very long legs. The illogic of Coach Jones's assessment of me was enough to wake me up, where I then realized that I should probably lay off eating multiple racks of ribs in a sitting. To be fair, I'm not sure I can play basketball better than an ewok, but you've got to imagine my game is a little tighter than six-year-old Jonathan Lipnicki.

No matter how this season shapes up, AU basketball fans, at least we know we won't be starting ewoks, and as far as my messed up subconscious is concerned, that already puts us way ahead of the curve.

Happy Labor Day.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!

Eagles Spend Summer Getting Buff

Courtesy of AUEagles.com comes this video highlighting the Eagles' summer workouts under strength and conditioning coach Jason Riddell. This isn't a particularly incisive video, to be sure, but hey, when it's August and you're basketball-starved it looks like an ice-cold Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA with spicy Mexican food (what, just me?) The good news here is that three of the incoming freshmen are on-campus taking summer classes, so they're getting a head start on their conditioning. I recognized Blake Jolivette, who I think is Josh Snodgrass, and a third, as yet unidentified player (sorry about that, I'll get to know all your vitals before you know it) practicing with junior guards Steve Luptak and Nick Hendra. Team godfather Derrick Mercer and class of 2008 forward Travis Lay also make appearances in the video training, as does new Director of Basketball Operations Bryce Simon.

I have to say I like the attitude that Hendra shows in the video as he notes that "The key thing is to just work as hard as possible as we possibly can at any given moment and that'll set the right example for the younger guys who are coming in..." If that's the attitude that Luptak and Hendra are taking in earnest as the season starts, we can expect to reap the benefits as a team down the line; I think good work ethic can overcome a lot of faults on a team (not that I'm saying this team does or doesn't have them, but solid work ethic sure as hell never hurts). Luptak mentions that this summer is definitely the hardest he's had since coming to play at AU; not surprising given that this will definitely be the hardest season the Eagles face since Luptak has arrived.

Definite bonus for Jolivette to be getting practice time early with the more experienced guards, especially Mercer. Coming in as a two-star recruit, you have to believe Jolivette is the leader of the Eagle backcourt in two years, the faster he gets ahead of that learning curve the better.

Not sure what the rest of the team is up to in terms of training regimen for the summer, I'll try to do some research on that and report on that in the next week or so. This is both looking back and pretty far ahead at the same time, but the reason the Eagles are 0-2 the past two years in the NCAA tournament isn't for lack of talent, it's for lack of gas in the tank over the final eight minutes of the game. It's very hard for a team like AU to play the physical level of ball that they do in the Big East, SEC, or ACC when teams like Colgate and Lafayette just don't have the same big bruisers. It's nice to see the Eagles bulking up and building their endurance (seemingly running 400m laps at the end of the video) in preparation for what will undoubtedly be a grueling season.

Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!