American University (aka AU or American) is a private research university located in the District of Columbia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, although the university's curriculum is secular.
Roughly 7,200 undergraduate students and 5,230 graduate students are currently enrolled at American University. As a member of the Division I Patriot League, the AU sports teams compete as the American University Eagles.
The Head Coach for men's basketball at American University is Mike Brennan, now in his third season. Brennan is a former Elizabeth (NJ) High and Princeton University standout,
As an undergraduate at Princeton, Brennan was a four-year starter under legendary head coach Pete Carril. Brennan helped lead the Tigers to Ivy League championships and the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and 1992. He was named Second Team All-Ivy in 1994.
After earning his B.A. from Princeton in 1994, Brennan played professionally in the European Basketball League for teams in Germany, Belgium, and Portugal.
During his two seasons as head coach, Mike Brennan has given American University their two greatest years in program history. In 2013-14, his first season as head coach at American University, Coach Brennan led the Eagles to Patriot League Regular Season and Tournament Championships, advancing the school to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Last season, American finished with a 17-16 overall record, going just 8-10 in Patriot League regular season play yet still achieving a return trip to the Championship game of the Patriot League play-offs, ultimately falling to Lafayette in a thrilling tournament final.
However, three key starters from last year's team have since graduated: all-league point guard Darius "Pee Wee" Gardner and fellow backcourt stalwart John Schoof and bigman Kevin Panzer.
Joining this season's list of eligible Eagles players are five in-coming freshman and two now-ready-to-play transfers. The challenge of blending those seven new guys into a depleted line-up may be the reason that the Patriot League coaches and sports information directors chose the Eagles to finish fifth in the league this season (behind Lehigh, Bucknell, BU, and Army).
This season, American University in the pre-season played two "secret scrimmages" ("secret" in that they were conducted in private, without publicity, and with no recorded boxscore) but have played no exhibition games, which with so many new players makes the current edition of AU mens basketball a difficult team to scout and preview at this point in their schedule.
The Eagles' roster (with the probable starters shown in bold) is as follows:
- Kevin Brown (5-8 160) Freshman guard from West Orange, New Jersey, who played his high school ball in Montclair, NJ, at Montclair Kimberley Academy. After graduation from MKA, the diminutive Brown had originally been headed to SUNY-New Paltz to continue his basketball career; however, former Montclair High standout Craig Brandon, who helps train 'KB' in his hoops workouts, made contact with American's Coach Brennan (who just happened to be one of Craig Brandon's former AAU players), and then helped arrange for Kevin Brown to become a preferred walk-on at American University.
- Alex Paquin (6-0 198) Sophomore point guard from the Montreal area; he played his CEGEP ball at Champlain College in St.Lambert, Quebec. Last season at American he played in 13 games, all as a reserve. Not likely to be a major presence against Rhody on Friday.
- James Washington (6-1 160) Freshman guard from Norwalk, California, where he attended Frederick Price School in Los Angeles and played AAU for Team Fast. An excellent student and a dynamic player who can score, pass, and create shots for other people, Washington was ranked as a three-star recruit by Scout.com.
- Jalen Rhea (6-2 205) Junior guard from New Albany, Ohio. Averaged 2.7 ppg and 0.9 rpg. This guy is definitely in the rotation.
- Jack Weinstein (6-4 177) Sophomore forward from Long Island. Walk-on practice player.
- Charlie Jones (6-4 185) Junior swingman from Manchester, Maryland. Last season, he started 31 games and averaged 8 ppg.
- Jesse Reed (6-5 185) Senior guard from Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, is one of two returning starters and the key leader on the team as he is the only returning player with any significant playing time. Last season as a junior, Reed averaged 14 points per game, and also led the team in rebounds (5), minutes played (38.5), steals (33) and blocks (19). This season, he was selected to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
- Delante Jones (6-5 195) Freshman swingman from Lynchburg, Virginia, where he attended Virginia Episcopal School and played AAU for Team Takeover DC. He earned first team All-State honors last year and was ranked a three-star recruit by ESPN. In high school last season, he averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 49% from the field, 39% percent from distance, and 78% at the charity stripe. This year, if he does not start, he will one of the first guys off the bench. Likely candidate for Patriot League Rookie of the Year.
- Marko Vasic (6-5 200) Senior forward from Belgrade, Serbia; prepped in the USA at Aim High Prep (Michigan). Roommate of fellow senior and team leader Jesse Reed. Last year down the stretch, Vasic was a difference maker: he averaged 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds over the last six games of the 2014-2015 season. Although Vasic may not start, he will likely be one of the first guys off the bench.
- Lonnie Rivera (6-6 195) Freshman forward from Spring Valley, New York, who attended Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey, and played AAU for the B.C. Eagles. Though just a freshman, Rivera has a wealth of international experience, having played for the Puerto Rican National Team this past summer as well as traveling to Dubai for the U-17 FIBA Championships.
- Yilret Yiljep (6-7 235) Junior forward from Kaduna, Nigeria. As a freshman at American, he played in 13 games, but sat out last season with a medical redshirt. Unknown status but the guy is likely to be rusty should he return to action against Rhody.
- Leon Tolksdorf (6-8 225) Junior forward from Berlin, Germany. Transfer from UConn, he sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Averaged 1.5 points in 24 games for Connecticut during his two-year stint as a Huskie. Likely to start against Rhody.
- Paris Maragkos (6-9 243) Junior center originally from Athens, Greece; he played his American prep ball at Blue Ridge (Va.). Transfer from George Washington, where he was a reserve player during his two years with the Colonials; he sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Likely to start against Rhody.
- Andrija Matic (6-10 220) Freshman forward from Belgrade, Serbia, where he attended the German School of Belgrade and played three seasons for KK Mega Vizura, averaging for the 2014-15 season 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Coach Brennan has been quoted as saying that Andrija is a versatile, skilled post player with a good feel for the game and is a quick learner. Evidently, Brennan expects this young man to contribute this season. By the way, this in-coming freshman is the son of Veselin Matic, a Serbian professional basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Lebanon national basketball team and was formerly the head coach of the Iranian national team from 2009 to 2012.
- Gabe Brown (7-0 230) Sophomore center from Stony Brook, New York; he attended Ward Melville High School, where he was cut from his junior varsity team in 10th grade (he did earn All-County honors and the Most Improved Player award in his senior year). Last year for the American University Eagles, he played in 12 games (averaging 0.6 ppg and 0.6 rpg). He may play Friday against URI, although he remains a bit of a project.
Look -- it really does not matter who Coach Brennan decides to start for the game on Friday. It also doesn't really matter that the URI will be facing a tough, resilient opponent that for the past two seasons has been known to run a Princeton-style offense. When the ball goes up at the center jump next Friday night at the Ryan Center, the only thing that will matter is that this long-awaited season has finally started, and that the Rhody goal will be to win the first game of the season. And in successfully doing so the Rams players will take their first step towards returning URI to the NCAA tournament.
GO RHODY!
