Hit the gas JJ…

I’m just a fan with a coaching record that is considerably shorter than that of the accomplished AU coach Jeff Jones. But sometimes it seems like the fans work up more of a sweat than the players on the court. Now this is not an attempt to say that the Eagles don’t work their a**es off when they step on that court. It’s hard not to run like a bat out of hell when you’ve got JJ breathing down your neck.

The Zen Master

What I am trying to say is AU seems to favor a slower half-court style offense when they have the personelle to do the exact opposite. At times, their scheme almost looks like a Phil Jackson-esk triangle offense. This year, the Eagles have done their best to imitate the age old Lakers’ offense that in the recent past has utilized the strengths of superstars Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol (or Bynum). Think of what Eagle Nation would do to the Patriot League with any one of those studs on the roster. However, American’s version utilizes their stars, Brewer, Hinkle and Wroblicky in a mildly successful half-court set. Not to mention, substituting the hot headed Jones for the Zen Master.

Brewer

Although this slower half-court style has yielded early success, the Eagles lineup is prime for playing uptempo basketball. Despite the impressive development of Munoz (see Eagle Vision: Danny Munoz), he is not a point guard that can command a team in the half-court like Mercer once did for the Eagles. However, Munoz has displayed the basketball IQ to make things happen in the fast break. With the exception of the big men, every player on the roster has the ability to get up and down the court in a hurry. Not allowing Brewer to utilize his athleticism in the open court is a crime (see Brewer’s last second dunk against Hampton). When Riley Graft went off for 21 against Howard, it was sparked by a huge (HUGE) fast break two-handed slam in transition. Charles Hinkle has the ability to knock down shots off the dribble, which fits perfectly as a trailer in an uptempo offense. Also Simon McCormack, with his throwback baby hook, can provide the legs off the bench to fuel the fast break scheme.

The X-Factor

The x-factor in this transition system is junior, Blake Jolivette. After sitting on the bench for the majority of his career thus far, Jones has started to give him a chance. With his opportunities, Jolivette has shown a serious ability to take players off the dribble and knock down that fading 15 footer or finish at the rim. At times he has looked like a fire ball with the ability to slash to the lane past even the most athletic defenders or dish the rock effectively (when he wants to).

The Eagles too often opt to conservatively pull the ball out and not take advantage in fast break situations. The old guard of Eagle Nation still dream of the relentless fast break attack led by Mercer, kick outs to the silky smooth Carr or Gilmore and hard nosed put backs by the big Jordan Nichols. It’s time to hit the gas and light a fire under the red, white and blue.

- Eagle Nation

AU Diaper Dandy

Every AU Basketball fan knows Jeff Jones marches to the beat of his own drum when it comes to recruiting. If eagles had eyebrows, they would have been raised a few times over the years at some of the additions to the AU roster. Honestly, it’s as if Jones has found a never ending fountain of white 7 footers with no right hands (cough cough Stephen Lumpkins).

Schoof

However, this year Eagle Nation has struck gold in the form of 6-5 matchup nightmare John Schoof. Any self respecting fan has noticed the composure that this freshman has displayed while starting 11 of his first 11 games as an Eagle. Although he seems a bit gun shy on the offensive end, he has the natural athletic ability to be an asset on defense. Listed at 6-5, 205 lbs, he can fill the shoes of a big 2 or decently sized 3. Although he has only hit 4 of 16 threes on the year, he has a smooth stroke from what seems to be decent range. Once again, it comes down to confidence and experience. That being said, Jones had the trust to keep the freshman in during the final seconds of the Hampton barn burner. He displayed the ability to handle the pressure of Hampton’s tenacious full court D on multiple occasions.

Jeff Jones didn’t have to go far to find this up and coming star. A product of Fairfax, Virginia, Schoof played at W.T. Woodson High School, captaining his senior year. However he was probably spotted at an AAU tournament while playing for one of the best travel teams in the country, Team Takeover. As a starter on Takeover, he played with teammates that would go on to play for impressive colligent teams of Duke, Georgetown, Virginia, Rice  and South Florida. Keith Stevens, his coach at Team Takeover said of the freshman, “He’s hardnosed, a great glue guy that makes shot, and is more athletic than people know. He’s a real good ball player.” It was rumored that Jones out recruited Lehigh, George Mason and Harvard for Schoof’s services.

All jokes aside, Jones does a pretty good job acquiring talent. As much as we love Bender Arena, it isn’t the easiest job selling the 10×10 varsity work out facility to serious athletes. As a result, he and his coaching staff have racked up the frequent flyer miles tracking down ball players. Notable players on AU’s roster, past and present, have come from every part of the country including: Garrison Carr (Washington), Vlad Moldoveanu (Romania), Daniel Fisher (Australia), Stephen

Moldoveanu

Lumpkins (California), Riley Graft (Wisconsin), Frane Markusovic (Croatia), Cornelio Guibunda (Mozambique), Charles Hinkle (CA/ME), Simon McCormack (New Hampshire)… you get the point.

Jones has also displayed the ability to acquire talent through the transfer market. Anyone can admit that Matt Wilson, transfer from NYU, probably isn’t the best example to illustrate this. However, AU basketball has recently banked on the mid-career transfers including Vlad Moldoveanu (George Mason), Charles Hinkle (Vanderbilt) and Troy Brewer (Georgia). JJ doesn’t seem shy when it comes to poaching

Matt Wilson - 1.3pts, 1.0 rbs /game

players, but the success can probably be attributed to his Virginia coaching days prior to taking the reigns at American.

Getting back to the original inspiration of this article, Eagle Nation has something to get excited about in John Schoof. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but he could provide the anchor AU needs for the next generation of Patriot League dominance.

- Eagle Nation

Eaglevision : Daniel Munoz

 

Daniel Munoz

For those of you old enough to remember our Nate Robinson-esk point guard Derrick Mercer, we had high expectations for the 6-1 white boy out of Florida. Three seasons later what have we come to expect? Smart Basketball.

Over the years we have seen Danny Munoz (6-1 G) grow into a leading point guard. His Freshman year he started 20 out of 31 games alternating with Steve Luptak to get a feel for college ball. Averaging 23 minutes a game he finished with 142 points on the season. In 2010-2011 he spent more time on the bench finishing with an average of 16 minutes per game putting up 93 points.

Numbers, numbers, numbers…not looking so good? Here’s the full picture. In losing about a third of his minutes, Danny only left behind 10 assists compared to his previous season and upped his field goal percentage 7% from the field AND from three. The fun doesn’t stop there… In the past 5 games he’s shooting 40% from the field, 46% from distance, and averaging 3.6 assists per game.

With all that said, the most impressive quality Danny has brought to the Eagles is his court composure. How many times as an Eagle’s fan have you cringed at rushed breaks and botched passes? I can count more than a few shameful looks to my fellow neighbor… With Danny on the court I don’t have to prepare myself for those awkward encounters.

When hosting Quinnipiac and their rigorous full court press, center Daniel Fischer brought the ball over half court (an awe-inspiring moment in itself) and dished it back to Danny. With Fish’s high screen, Stockton and Malone would have been proud to see Danny thread the ball through three defenders back to Fish for the finest pick and roll I’ve seen all season. In our most recent battle of NBA prospects (see post NBA Scouts Spotted in Bender) Danny in particular took some serious heat from the Hampton bench and second string guard Aaron Austin. How does he respond? A nasty three in front of Hampton’s bench with a royal ‘suck it’ glare at their bench…

Overall I would say that Danny has done nothing but improve in his three years at American. His impressive growth in statistics and on-court composure has given the Eagle Nation some serious hope for this season, and the next.

- Eagle Nation

 

 

The Patch Wants You!

Who are the men and women behind the Lumpkin Patch, you ask? We are fans. We are students. We are Tavern connoisseurs. We are a group of young men and women brought together by one unifying force: American University Basketball. Simply put, we are a patch. A patch of pumpkins not with aspirations of becoming your run of the mill jack-o-lanterns. More appropriately, a patch of lumpkins driven by the dream of winning the Patriot League (that one’s a stretch, I know).

We ask that you join us on our journey to help propel the Eagles to mid-major royalty. We shall cheer. We shall boo. We shall make turkey calls during the opposing team’s fall shots. We shall adamantly convince the referees that their calls are in fact comprised of bullshit. We shall jump up and down while screaming, and make Bender Arena the new Cameron Indoor. Maybe if we’re lucky, Coach Jeff Jones will gratuitously belittle us for some miniscule mistake. Most importantly, we will band together in an effort to restore the glory of Bender Arena.

Fear the Eagle.

Fear Eagle Nation.

Your opinion please…

NBA scouts spotted in Bender

Darrion Pellum

Last nights barn burner against Hampton University was probably closer than it should have been. Regardless, the Eagles extended their winning streak to 8. However, the real story line was watching two of the nation’s top scorers (statistically that is) go head to head. I can’t help but raise the question, did the NBA take notice of this exciting match-up?

Let’s break down the numbers shall we?

Charles Hinkle: 6’5″, 205 lbs senior transfer from Vanderbilt. Currently the 5th leading scorer in the nation, averaging 23.5 points per game. He has a knack for finding the open space and knocking down NBA range threes.

Darion Pellum: 6’6″, 205 lbs senior star on the Hampton University Pirates. Averaging 19.4 points per game puts him at a respectable 36th in the country for scoring. Judging him on the game against American (25 pts, 3 stls), he is an aggressive slasher looking to finish at the rack. Having said that, he opened up the driving lanes by dropping a handful of deep threes.

So do either of these guys have a shot at making an NBA roster? It is difficult to separate the impressive numbers that the two have put up early in the season from the questionable competition they have done it against. However, both have NBA type frames that will allow their names to at least make it onto an NBA scout’s radar. The question is whether the skills are there for either of them.

Charles Hinkle

As mentioned before, Hinkle has a knack for finding the gaps and knocking down open looks, from impressive range too. However, his ability to mix it up and drive to the whole has not been proven. NBA shooters like Kyle Korver and Ray Allen know how to give a shot fake and finish at the rack. Right now, Hinkle reminds me more of a rookie JJ Reddick. Great shooter in college, but lacks the complete game and struggles a bit on defense. However, this can all be fixed if Hinkle were to do one of two things. He could either bulk up and try to play as a versatile, but undersized four or he could slim down and increase his agility to play a two or three. Nonetheless, he has a smooth stroke that all coaches like to have in their arsenal.

It is difficult to judge Pellum on just one game, but he had a much more complete game last night. Despite the fact that he seems to be a little skinny, there is no doubt he is an athletic beast. He showed the ability to drive the lane and either finish at the hoop or pull up. He also complimented the driving with impressive outside shooting. Near the end of the game he showed yet another part of his skill set, the mid range step back jumper on the baseline. At 6’6″, 205 lbs he most certainly has the frame to play in the league. It is inevitable that he needs to eat some meat and potatoes and bulk up a bit. He could benefit from gaining 10-20 pounds of muscle to become a Rashard Lewis type of player. Pellum has the formula that NBA teams look for. The only draw back to his game was an overtly bad attitude and lack of tenacity on the defensive end. On second thought, he’ll fit right in with the NBA culture.

Who do you think has a better chance to play in the NBA? Hinkle? Pellum? Graft?

- Eagle Nation

Riley Graft, NBA Prospect?

The Eagle Flame

Once upon a time, AU basketball had a dream of dominating the Patriot League. Jeff Jones had compiled an impressive three headed monster in the likes of Stephen Lumpkins, Charles Hinkle and Troy Brewer. These three musketeers provided the basis for a year full of hope and then the story broke. Lumpkins, the second coming of Kermit Washington (maybe) decided to sell his soul to the MLB… Some how, he chose the 42nd round and the Pittsburgh Pirates (THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES) over the rambunctious atmosphere of Phil Bender arena.

...now a Royal

But readers, let’s not dwell on the past. Today is a new day and the surviving members of American Basketball have continued fighting the good fight! We too, the fans, shall continue to be a part of the most intimidating place to play in all of the Patriot League. We shall not shun our fallen conrad, Stephen Lumpkins, but use his selfishness as fuel to feed the Eagle flame!

-Eagle Nation