When: Tuesday, November 12, 7pm EST
Where: Easton PA, Kirby Athletic Center
Ken Pom: RMU 154, Lafayette 201
Storyline: RMU will play it's first road game against the preseason #2 team in the Patriot League, the Lafayette Leopards. This starts a tough stretch of games in which the Colonials will be on the road 8 of the next 10 games. Read more about that here: Tough Stretch
Link: The game should be available to watch via this link: Patriot League Network
Getting to know Lafayette:
The Leopards lost their first game of the season to Villanova 75-59, but don't be fulled, Lafayette was in the game up until the last four minutes.
(This section is done by City of Basketball Love's Josh Verlin).
Fran O’Hanlon has been at Lafayette for 19 years, and this is certainly one of his most talented teams in that time. The Leopards were picked to finish second in the Patriot League preseason poll, and the pieces are there for them to win a conference title and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000.
The biggest name to know is junior small forward Seth Hinrichs, a 6-7 wing who lead the team in scoring last year (14.5 ppg) while shooting 45.6 percent from beyond the arc. Hinrichs is on the short list for Patriot League Player of the Year headed into the season, and if he gets going can be a serious threat from all over the floor.
Hinrichs isn’t the only member of the team who do damage from the 3-point line. Sophomore Bryce Scott, an expected starter at shooting guard, made 42.7 percent of his treys, and should be taking quite a few attempts from distance on Tuesday night. Junior Joey Ptasinski, another starter on the wing, knocked down 37.8 percent of his 3-pointers.
Freshman Nick Lindner, the expected starter at point guard, is an average shooter but a fantastic floor general with a great basketball I.Q. and a high motor.
Up front, junior forward Dan Trist, who averaged 12.4 ppg and 3.7 rpg last year, is a solid mid-range shooter He’ll start at center but could slide to the ‘4’ if fellow Australian Nate Musters, at 6-10 the teams’ biggest body, comes in at center; Ben Freeland, Billy Murphy and others could see spot time at forward but don’t expect any of them to see serious minutes.
Keys to the Game:
1. Tempo: I love watching games where contrasting styles clash. That’s what this game is all about. Who ever can dictate the tempo will likely win the ball game. RMU loves to push it. They have a ton of three point shooters, and two electrifyingly quick PG’s with great vision. They’re athletic, fast, and versatile. Andy Toole wants that ball up the floor in seconds. If Ant and Kavon can push the ball and get all of RMU's weapons going (Karvel, Chuck, Luck, Big Mike, etc) then RMU will be tough to stop. In the second half of Saturday's game, the Colonials ran Savannah State right out of the building. Chris was getting sweaty just watching the action from press row!!! Lafayette wants a halfcourt game. They were at their best against Villanova when the game was played at a slow pace. Make no mistake, they will look to run at certain points, but if this becomes a track meet, give me the Colonials.
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| Myers-Pate should have an advantage Tuesday night. |
3. Three Point Party: Both teams love to let it fly, and have plenty of options to do just that. Lafayette shot 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the opener against Villanova. RMU went 11 for 21 (52%) against Savannah State in their first game. Last season, the Leopards shot 38.4% from deep, good for 18th in the country. RMU wasn’t far behind at 38.1%, 22nd in the nation. Both teams have plenty of options, and whoever shoots it better, or defends the long ball could determine who walks away with a victory. BOMBSS AWAY.
(I got to talk to coach Toole today, and he had a lot of things to say about his team, and coaching against one of his mentors. Here are some quotes....)
"It’s never easy. You never like to compete against someone that you have a strong relationship with. You’d much rather go against somebody that you don’t know or don’t like. I think Coach O’Hanlon is one of the best people in this business, not only as a coach, but as a person. Obviously he gave me my opportunity to be a Division One assistant coach and not only that, he completely welcomed me into Easton Pennsylvania," Toole said.
He went on to say that O'Hanlon "invited me over for dinner over and over and over. I spent a lot of time with his family, and he really took time to teach me how to do this thing the right way and that’s something that I’ll always appreciate and never forget and I‘m very, very thankful for."
When asked specifically about this match up, Toole said "It’s hard when you have to go out there and compete against somebody that you look up to and admire. It’ll be a little bit different, but just like he has a job to do, I have to be prepared and give our players the best opportunity they can have to go out and be successful."
Like Toole, Coach O'Hanlon had nothing but kind words to say.
"First off, I have so much respect for Coach Toole. I was so sorry to lose him but I knew he was going to go far in this business. He has everything you want in a coach. He’s smart, focused and knows how to teach young men," O'Hanlon said.
Coach O mentioned that this reunion wasn't really planned, but more out of necessity for both teams. "I gotta be honest, it’s not like I wanted to play him, that’s just the way the schedule fell. We were both scrambling for a game at the end. I’m cheering more for them then I am rooting against them. That’s just the way things worked out."
(We also talked about the progress of the newcomers, and how they're fitting into the program...)
"There are always players that will have a smaller learning curve and some that will have a little longer one. I think as a group there very competitive group, very energetic group. They’re not afraid to fight and compete," he said. "The thing they have to learn is the details that we are (coaches) talking about that through their careers they have been able to have success without following, are very important at this level. That’s the biggest struggle.
"To be a very good division one player, you have to learn, you have to be detailed. I think guys are buying into that, some guys quicker than others, but I think for the most part they all want to contribute, they all want to perform, and they all want to learn," Toole said.
On the daunting stretch that the Colonials are about to embark on....
"Hopefully we're still standing at the end of this stretch. It's certainly a difficult stretch, that will be a new experience for a lot of our guys. Some of the games have quick turn around's. We will see how well they can move on from one game to the next, how quickly they can pickup a scouting report, can they prepare themselves to go out an compete."
Toole mentioned that this is a perfect opportunity to prepare his team for Northeast Conference play because every set of games is a Tuesday/Saturday, and this stretch will let him know where the team stands.
Prediction: This is going to be a battle. Both teams could find themselves in the NCAA tournament come March, and have players that can take down anyone. If Ant Myers-Pate plays up to his capabilities, the Colonials should find away to pull this one out. RMU 71, Lafayette 69.
Lee Kunkel (@Kunkel5) --
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