Men's Basketball Preview: New Faces in Eagles Lineup Look to Surprise Competition in 2003-04
October 31, 2003

By Joe Monaco, AU Sports Information

In 1986, Roger Lyons started his first stint as head coach for the Ashland University men’s basketball team and found himself teaching his fast break offense to 12 new players, who collectively never ran his offensive scheme.

From the first day of practice, he became their teacher more than their coach. He taught his players the basic fundamentals of basketball by breaking them down individually and improving every little facet of their games

Lyons taught 12 new players how to run the offense from the first time the ball hit the floor to the time that one of his players scored with a layup at the other end of the court. Each step along the way, he was with them like a college professor working side-by-side with a student on a chemistry experiment.

He was teaching them how to play his style of basketball. He was teaching them that if they worked together as a team and improved with every practice then success will become a familiar companion.

Eighteen years later, Lyons finds himself in the same situation as the Eagles have 16 new faces in the program that have never run up and down the Kates Gymnasium floor sporting the purple and gold uniform.

That is one of the challenges for Lyons this season as the Eagles do not have one player returning from last season’s squad and will send out a team that is comprised of 10 freshmen, three sophomores and three juniors.

“I think that one of the biggest challenges for us is there is a complete lack of experience with these 16 guys. We don’t have one guy in the program who has been there and done that. What we do everyday in practice is teach stuff that is brand new,” Lyons commented.

Another obstacle facing Lyons comes in trying to make 16 individuals, who met each other two months ago for the first time, play as a team.

“One big thing that we’ve told our team from day one is that we have two basic themes,” said Lyons. “First, when the individual improves, the team improves. With a group of young players, they have to get better by getting stronger, more skilled and when they improve so will the team. Second, we want to have one team for one game. We don’t want individuals here. We want one ball club that’s trying to win one game at a time.”

Some people on the outside might question how such a young team will be able to perform in the always competitive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Lyons believes this team possesses more depth than some of the teams he has coached in the past. With a deep bench, the Eagles have the opportunity to rest some of the starters, which should pay dividends as the season reaches the homestretch.

“There isn’t a whole lot of dropoff from our fifth guy and our 10th guy. People might say, ‘Well, your fifth guy really isn’t that good,’ and I don’t buy that because I think that it’s the fact that we are this deep and we can go 10 guys and maybe 11 guys deep,” Lyons added.

Usually before the start of every season, the AU head coach will give his team a list of goals that he wants to achieve throughout the course of the season whether it’s a certain amount of wins, a spot in the conference tournament or a berth in the NCAA tournament. This season, the only expectation that the coaching staff holds for the Eagles is their ability to improve in every practice and game. In his eyes, Lyons stresses the importance of understanding that when the individual improves, the team improves.

Below is a preview of the 2003-2004 Ashland University men’s basketball team.

Point Guard
For four seasons, the one thing that Ashland never had to worry about was who was going to bring the ball down the court as the Eagles had four-year starter Angelo Edwards at the point.

However – this season, junior college transfer Michael Fowler will hold the responsibilities of starting the Eagles’ fast break system. Last season, the southpaw averaged 7.9 ppg. and dished out just under four assists per contest for Lincoln Junior College. Fowler will give the team experience in the backcourt.

“Michael is a very good defensive point guard. He’s very strong, but the area that he needs to improve is that he doesn’t play fast enough right now. We’re working with him to learn how to play much faster,” Lyons added.

The Eagles will have freshman Alex Jones as the backup to Fowler at the point. Jones will have an opportunity to get plenty of game time experience and should continue to grow by playing behind Fowler.

“Alex should play a lot because he’s an excellent passer and can shoot. The biggest thing that Alex has to learn is that he has to deliver the ball to players when they can use it,” commented Lyons.

One of the biggest strengths for the Eagles is their ability to play three deep at every position and at the point guard position will be freshman Tony Madalone.

“Tony should be one of those guys who’s pesky and competitive and makes guys work harder in practice. He gives us some depth at that spot,” said Lyons.

Shooting Guard
Last season, Ashland had the luxury of scoring points in bunches from the two spot with Isaac Kincaid, who finished sixth on the program’s all-time scoring list. This season, freshman Vahn Knight will have the daunting task of replacing Kincaid and will be asked to give the Eagles a scoring punch from the outside. A product of St. Benedictine High School, Knight signed early with Ashland and will have the rare opportunity to start for Ashland as a true freshman.

“Vahn is a good jump shooter and can slash to the basket. The biggest thing that he has to overcome is that he is extremely thin. He’s going to get beat up a lot earlier on because the two is a scoring position and he’s going to have to learn that.” noted Lyons.

Behind Knight will be another freshman in Chris Newell. Newell is one of the team’s most athletic players and coaches are expecting the Chicago native to use that characteristic to produce points for the Eagles.

“Chris is an outstanding shooter. He’s an athlete, maybe the best athlete on the team. His biggest liability is that he has no clue on defense because he never had to play man-to-man defense. We are working on completely breaking down his game,” Lyons pointed out.

Findlay native Rob Young will also compete for playing time at the two spot. The coaches hope that Young will able to make a contribution to this season’s squad.

“Rob came to us late. He has been working hard to get into shape and we are hoping that he’ll continue to improve,” added Lyons.

Small Forward
In Owens Community College transfer Mark Church, the Eagles are getting a player who is not only physically built, but has a tremendous mind for the game. The left-hander excites coaches because he brings experience to the floor and knows what it takes to compete at the college level. That’s an important trait with this season’s team.

“Mark is a probably the strongest guy on the team. He has the ability to take the ball to the basket and his defense is a great asset for the team. His only drawback is that he’s a very short three – he’s only about six feet tall,” Lyons commented.

The Eagles will have a second option at the small forward position in freshman Ryan Lee.

“Ryan is an outstanding jump shooter, but similar to Vahn Knight, he’s extremely thin for his 6-5 frame. He’s going to have to put on some muscle and some weight to be able to hold his own.”

Wilberforce transfer Roman Mims will have an opportunity to compete for the backup role. Coaches have been pleased with his ability to come to the gym and put forth his maximum effort in every practice.

“Roman is really an unknown because we really don’t know too much about his game, but we’re learning. He has worked extremely hard in the fall,” admitted Lyons.

Power Forward
The power forward position was occupied by two seniors – Justin Larrick and Pat Rush – last season, but this season Lyons will count on junior college transfer Kevin Shorter to pick up where those two left off.

The 6-8 junior will play a new position this season as he was predominantly a center last season at Owens Community College, but will be asked to play around the perimeter. Shorter has the ability to post up players along with the ability to shoot the 15-footers.

“Kevin is extremely athletic and he’s an outstanding runner of the floor. He could be very difficult for other teams to guard because he is a good jump shooter. The only drawback to Kevin’s game is he has too much junk in his game, which we will eliminate immediately,” Lyons noted.

Thirty years ago, Lyons was teammates with Randy Emmons and now 30 years later, the AU head coach will have the opportunity to mentor his former teammate’s son in Greg Emmons.

Emmons comes to Ashland from down the street at Ashland High School and is a player that coaches believe can catch the ball and shoot, set screens and get teammates open. He is a player that is compared to Rush.

“Greg will be an outstanding player in our program. He’s smart, tough and certainly has the right mentality to be a four. Right now, his drawback is that he’s still trying to use high school moves in college,” commented Lyons.

Another local native, Dan Peters, a Wooster product, transfers to AU from Geneva College where he averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. He is finding his fit at the four.

“Dan is a small four who has been working hard to improve his game,” added Lyons.

Center
The newest player to the Eagles that could have the biggest impact is sophomore Justin Brown. Brown is a transfer from West Liberty State where he was named a WVIAC All-Rookie selection as a freshman. He averaged 8.7 ppg. and 6.9 rpg. and finished with four double-doubles. Brown is the only player who has witnessed GLIAC basketball when playing for the Hilltoppers.

Coaches are estatic about Brown’s upside along with his mentality on the court, but they worry about is that the Columbus, OH native only knows how to play the game to the max, which could cause him to wear down as the season gets longer.

“The one thing that excites us about Justin is his ability to run the floor and catch the ball on the move, which is important for our centers. He’s every bit of 6-8, but he’s thin and he’s going to have to rely on his quickness. We want to make sure that he understands the physical nature of being a five in this league,” Lyons explained.

Backing up Brown will be a pair of freshmen in Greg Mayes and Matt Engler. Mayes is a product of Austintown, OH and has a great leaping ability, which will be a big asset for the Eagles for snatching rebounds and blocking shots.

At 6-8, Engler has the ability to run the floor and possesses a nice shooting touch. He will be tested early for playing time with Mayes.

“Greg is very athletic and can run the floor, but his only drawback is that he doesn’t have an inside game, which we are working on right now,” Lyons said. “Matt really has his best basketball in front of him, but he’s thin and needs to get into better shape if he’s going to compete at this level in the years to come.”

The future looks bright for the Ashland University men’s basketball team. As long as the Eagles continue to follow Lyons’ expectations of improving with every practice and learning from every game, then AU could surprise some people during the 2003-2004 season.