Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2005 10:34:36 GMT -5
St. Francis (PA) University Red Flash – Home Saturday, 12.3.05
15 – 13
RPI 203
GONE, GONE, it’s all gone! That has got to be the way St. Francis coach Bobby Jones is feeling. Jones lost his leading scorer, two time All-NEC player Darshan Lucky, his leading rebounder, Jason Osborne, plus a third starter (Joey Goodson) and his sixth man (Rodney Gibson). These departures take with them 54% of the minutes played, 65% of the total points, and a mind numbing 80% of the rebounding.
Because of these departures, Jones – who likes to coach a three guard, up-tempo, transition style of basketball, brought in 8 new faces, 5 freshmen and 3 transfers, to retool his roster.
Even with all these new faces the Red Flash offense will be in the very capable hands of Garrett Fahra (5.9-3.1-6.9assists). Fahra, a 5-10 senior point guard from Cloud Community College in Kansas, is a pass first type of point that is exceptional in the open court. As a sophomore at Cloud, Fahra led the Jayhawk conference in assists and was third in the nation. In his first year at St. Francis, Fahra had a very good assist to turnover ratio of 2.3/1. Because of the departures of players like Lucky and Osborne that number may go down. Also, look for Fahra to shoot more this year, which may not be a bad thing, he connected on 47% of his three’s last year.
Running along side Fahra will be 5-11 senior Rahsaan Benton (11.4-2.1). Benton, an undersized shooting guard from Cleveland can really fill it up from three, as a sophomore he finished second in the NEC in three point percentage with 45%.
Providing some experienced depth will be red-shirt sophomore Darnell Evans (2.5-1.1 as a freshman). The 6-4 Evans sat out last year rehabbing a knee injury. Said to be an athletic wing, Evans may find himself buried on the bench behind a plethora of new additions.
Junior college transfer LeShawn Hammett is the probable third starter in the 3 guard offense for Jones. The 6-0 Hammett is the all-time leading scorer at Luzerne CC with 1,212 points in two years. Hammett is a good scorer that can put the ball in the basket, he is said to be “very good in transition and has the ability to get to the basket."
Freshman Devin Sweetney gives Jones a bigger option on the wing. The 6-6 Sweetney was one of the most underrated players in the DC area according to the Washington Post. A cousin of former Georgetown Hoya and current NY Knick, Michael Sweetney, Devin is said to be a “very good shooter, but an even better finisher.”
A couple of more freshmen that will get a chance to show their stuff in Jones’ three guard offensive will be Grant Suprenant and Marquis Ford. Suprenant, a 6-5 wing, was ranked as the 40th best player in Illinois by the High School Elite website. According to this website, Grant is “one of the state’s premier marksmen”. He is said to be terrific standing still or off screens with a very, very quick release.
Ford is a 5-11 point guard that starred in Florida. A two time All-County selection, Ford was also the MVP of the Pinellas County All-Star game. Jones says Ford is an “outstanding playmaker with the ability to push the ball, attack the basket and finish.” He will see minutes as the back-up point.
The final freshman in the backcourt is Steve Profeta. Profeta, a 6-5 guard saw most of his time as a post player in high school and will need time to adjust to playing on the wing in college, in fact, St. Francis was the only D1 School to offer him a scholarship. Profeta is said to have a good shooting touch.
As much as the backcourt is talented and deep, it is the polar opposite in the frontcourt. The Red Flash return part-time starter J.R. Enright and will look for two incoming players, Jelani Lawrence and T.J. Lundy to make immediate contributions.
Enright, a 6-10 junior that transferred from the University of Nebraska, is more comfortable facing the basket and is said to possess an accurate jump shot from 15-17 feet. Enright averaged 3.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game last year and will be asked to triple his rebounding output.
Jelani Lawrence, a 6-6 junior college transfer from South Plains College in Texas, will be the starting power forward. Lawrence, who started his college career at UNC-Greensboro, averaged 12.5 and 6.1 last year for the Texans. A rugged forward, Lawrence will complement Enright nicely since he prefers to hang around the hoop and not stray too far from 10 feet.
TJ Lundy is also expected to contribute immediately in the post. Lundy, 6-7, 220 pounds was a late summer addition to the Red Flash roster. He is said to be a “very powerful inside player that can really defend at the low block and rebound the basketball.”
The X-factor may be Winston Robinson, a 6-7 senior. Robinson, who originally signed with Virginia Tech before enrolling at Allegany CC, averaged 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds last year. Known as an “in-your-face defender, with a reputation as a tenacious rebounder”, Robinson actually had more rebounds and blocked shots then Enright in 92 less minutes.
The final athlete Jones has added for this year is Bassirou Dieng. Dieng (6-9), played with former Bonnie Calvin Brown last year at Norfolk State and will be required to sit out this year as per NCAA transfer rules.
As Bona fans have seen in the past, to start a transition style of basketball you need to rebound and defend the post, St. Francis of PA will struggle here. They have the guards to press on defense and spread the floor and shoot the three on offense, but no proven talent is around to rebound missed shots or defend the post.
PROBABLE STARTERS
PG GARRETT FAHRA 5-10 SR. 33.6 – 5.9 – 3.1
SG RAHSAAN BENTON 5-10 SR. 26.6 – 11.4 – 2.1
C JR ENRIGHT 6-10 JR. 11.6 – 3.7 – 1.6
F JELANI LAWRENCE 6-6 JR.
G LASHAWN HAMMETT 6-0 JR.
BENCH
F TJ LUNDY 6-7 FR.
WG DEVIN SWEETNEY 6-6 FR.
PF WINSTON ROBINSON 6-7 SR. 8.9 – 1.6 – 2.2
PG MARQUIS FORD 5-11 FR.
SG GRANT SURPRENANT 6-5 FR.
SG DARNELL EVANS 6-4 SO.
G STEVE PROFETA 6-5 FR.
15 – 13
RPI 203
GONE, GONE, it’s all gone! That has got to be the way St. Francis coach Bobby Jones is feeling. Jones lost his leading scorer, two time All-NEC player Darshan Lucky, his leading rebounder, Jason Osborne, plus a third starter (Joey Goodson) and his sixth man (Rodney Gibson). These departures take with them 54% of the minutes played, 65% of the total points, and a mind numbing 80% of the rebounding.
Because of these departures, Jones – who likes to coach a three guard, up-tempo, transition style of basketball, brought in 8 new faces, 5 freshmen and 3 transfers, to retool his roster.
Even with all these new faces the Red Flash offense will be in the very capable hands of Garrett Fahra (5.9-3.1-6.9assists). Fahra, a 5-10 senior point guard from Cloud Community College in Kansas, is a pass first type of point that is exceptional in the open court. As a sophomore at Cloud, Fahra led the Jayhawk conference in assists and was third in the nation. In his first year at St. Francis, Fahra had a very good assist to turnover ratio of 2.3/1. Because of the departures of players like Lucky and Osborne that number may go down. Also, look for Fahra to shoot more this year, which may not be a bad thing, he connected on 47% of his three’s last year.
Running along side Fahra will be 5-11 senior Rahsaan Benton (11.4-2.1). Benton, an undersized shooting guard from Cleveland can really fill it up from three, as a sophomore he finished second in the NEC in three point percentage with 45%.
Providing some experienced depth will be red-shirt sophomore Darnell Evans (2.5-1.1 as a freshman). The 6-4 Evans sat out last year rehabbing a knee injury. Said to be an athletic wing, Evans may find himself buried on the bench behind a plethora of new additions.
Junior college transfer LeShawn Hammett is the probable third starter in the 3 guard offense for Jones. The 6-0 Hammett is the all-time leading scorer at Luzerne CC with 1,212 points in two years. Hammett is a good scorer that can put the ball in the basket, he is said to be “very good in transition and has the ability to get to the basket."
Freshman Devin Sweetney gives Jones a bigger option on the wing. The 6-6 Sweetney was one of the most underrated players in the DC area according to the Washington Post. A cousin of former Georgetown Hoya and current NY Knick, Michael Sweetney, Devin is said to be a “very good shooter, but an even better finisher.”
A couple of more freshmen that will get a chance to show their stuff in Jones’ three guard offensive will be Grant Suprenant and Marquis Ford. Suprenant, a 6-5 wing, was ranked as the 40th best player in Illinois by the High School Elite website. According to this website, Grant is “one of the state’s premier marksmen”. He is said to be terrific standing still or off screens with a very, very quick release.
Ford is a 5-11 point guard that starred in Florida. A two time All-County selection, Ford was also the MVP of the Pinellas County All-Star game. Jones says Ford is an “outstanding playmaker with the ability to push the ball, attack the basket and finish.” He will see minutes as the back-up point.
The final freshman in the backcourt is Steve Profeta. Profeta, a 6-5 guard saw most of his time as a post player in high school and will need time to adjust to playing on the wing in college, in fact, St. Francis was the only D1 School to offer him a scholarship. Profeta is said to have a good shooting touch.
As much as the backcourt is talented and deep, it is the polar opposite in the frontcourt. The Red Flash return part-time starter J.R. Enright and will look for two incoming players, Jelani Lawrence and T.J. Lundy to make immediate contributions.
Enright, a 6-10 junior that transferred from the University of Nebraska, is more comfortable facing the basket and is said to possess an accurate jump shot from 15-17 feet. Enright averaged 3.7 points and 1.6 rebounds per game last year and will be asked to triple his rebounding output.
Jelani Lawrence, a 6-6 junior college transfer from South Plains College in Texas, will be the starting power forward. Lawrence, who started his college career at UNC-Greensboro, averaged 12.5 and 6.1 last year for the Texans. A rugged forward, Lawrence will complement Enright nicely since he prefers to hang around the hoop and not stray too far from 10 feet.
TJ Lundy is also expected to contribute immediately in the post. Lundy, 6-7, 220 pounds was a late summer addition to the Red Flash roster. He is said to be a “very powerful inside player that can really defend at the low block and rebound the basketball.”
The X-factor may be Winston Robinson, a 6-7 senior. Robinson, who originally signed with Virginia Tech before enrolling at Allegany CC, averaged 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds last year. Known as an “in-your-face defender, with a reputation as a tenacious rebounder”, Robinson actually had more rebounds and blocked shots then Enright in 92 less minutes.
The final athlete Jones has added for this year is Bassirou Dieng. Dieng (6-9), played with former Bonnie Calvin Brown last year at Norfolk State and will be required to sit out this year as per NCAA transfer rules.
As Bona fans have seen in the past, to start a transition style of basketball you need to rebound and defend the post, St. Francis of PA will struggle here. They have the guards to press on defense and spread the floor and shoot the three on offense, but no proven talent is around to rebound missed shots or defend the post.
PROBABLE STARTERS
PG GARRETT FAHRA 5-10 SR. 33.6 – 5.9 – 3.1
SG RAHSAAN BENTON 5-10 SR. 26.6 – 11.4 – 2.1
C JR ENRIGHT 6-10 JR. 11.6 – 3.7 – 1.6
F JELANI LAWRENCE 6-6 JR.
G LASHAWN HAMMETT 6-0 JR.
BENCH
F TJ LUNDY 6-7 FR.
WG DEVIN SWEETNEY 6-6 FR.
PF WINSTON ROBINSON 6-7 SR. 8.9 – 1.6 – 2.2
PG MARQUIS FORD 5-11 FR.
SG GRANT SURPRENANT 6-5 FR.
SG DARNELL EVANS 6-4 SO.
G STEVE PROFETA 6-5 FR.