Typically, college basketball play begins during the second week of November. Months before, interested fans are bombarded with stories about top-25 teams and superstar players certain to earn the next million dollar contract. Sports web sites and television networks provide hours of endless coverage about the big-name schools likely to have successful seasons. Often times, smaller programs with just as much to offer are swept to the side to make room for the next big name to grace the cover of our favorite sports magazine. These small programs deserve as much respect and often provide just as exciting a brand of basketball. Washington DC is a hotbed of talent for youngsters who excel at the game while hardly ever seeing their name in the headlines.
Over the next couple of weeks, look for previews of these more obscure programs.
American University: Patriot League
(24-8 Overall, 13-1 Conference)
With the exception of Georgetown University, one does not often equate the Northwest quadrant of Washington, DC with college basketball success. For the past few seasons, on cold winter nights, however, it would be hard to convince the American University faithful who fill the Bender Sports Center to cheer on their Eagles otherwise. Coming off two straight NCAA tournament appearances, AU fans have nothing but high expectations heading into the 2009 season.
Jeff Jones will be entering his tenth season as head coach of the American University Eagles. A year ago, Jones enjoyed his best season at the helm with a 24-win season. Seven seniors led American to their best record of the Jones era and to the NCAA tournament where they faced eventual Final Four participant Villanova in a heated contest. Leading by 10 at halftime and by as much as 14 in the second half, American was unable to hold on to the lead, eventually losing to the Wildcats. Coach Jones’ success was recognized as he was named Patriot League Coach of the Year as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 13 Coach of the Year.
Unfortunately for mid-major collegiate programs incapable of landing big time recruits, an experienced team with several poised seniors means one thing. Graduation. The seven seniors graduating after the 2008 campaign led the team in every statistical category. In stark contrast this season, American features one senior transfer from New York University, four juniors and several underclassmen. American also faces a grueling non-conference schedule which includes the back-to-back National Champion Florida Gators, Georgetown, DePaul and Penn State.
Backcourt:
American University will struggle this year as it goes up against bigger, tougher bodies throughout the Patriot League Conference. With all of their top outside scorers gone from a year ago, opposing coaches will have no problem playing zone and packing it against this smaller team. Crowding the lane will make it more difficult for the guards to get the ball to their big men, and in turn will make it harder for American to score inside baskets. Sophomore forward Stephen Lumpkins (6’8”) averaged just 3.4 points a contest as a freshman and will be expected to find a way to score even more points. Although Coach Jones lost a bulk of his offensive production from a season ago, a bright spot may be sophomore Riley Grafft. Still unproven, he provides another big body at 6’11”. Grafft displays a superb shooting touch from the outside despite being a big man and may be used to unclog the lane.
Frontcourt:
Coach Jones will look for his 6’3” junior guard Nick Hendra to pick up the scoring slack for the Eagles and provide some leadership. He averaged only 6.3 points per game last season, but returns as American’s top scorer. Transfer Matthew Wilson from NYU will also likely step into a leadership role although he averaged just over two points a game during his final season as a Bobcat.
Who to watch:
With American’s top seven players gone, several players will be provided opportunities to step up and make a name for themselves. It is obvious that somebody will have to step into a scoring role to make up for the deficit left by the loss of Garrison Carr, Brian Gilmore and Derrick Mercer. Look for Riley Grafft, Stephen Lumpkins and Nick Hendra to take over these responsibilities and become Coach Jones' go-to guys.
Final Projection:
American is an untested, inexperienced team. Depth will be a problem this season and Coach Jones will look to his seven freshmen to adapt quickly to his scheme. While the team will not finish near the top of the Patriot League, they could surprise some people by winning more games than expected. The returning players have had a taste of the NCAA tournament and with such low expectations have nothing to lose. Playing juggernauts like Georgetown and Florida will give the Eagles much needed experience going into conference play. Coach Jones is a proven teacher and with time, American University should be at the top of their conference again.
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