Elon makes their inaugural trip to Jadwin Gym on Tuesday night, where they will play Princeton for the first time. To get to know the Phoenix, I traded emails with Brian Hooper (most certainly not pictured above) AKA ElonFirefighter of Elon Phans for the fourth Know! Your! Foe! preview in as many games this season.
If you cover a team the Tigers will face down the line, let us know.
Bucknell fans, I'm now looking in your general direction!
What are the expectations for Elon in 2011-12?
Going into the season we were looking at a rebuilding year, giving our young talent a chance to develop. The media poll had us picked second-to-last in our division. As a fan base our expectations were not too high. After a strong showing in the first half at UMass and the South Carolina game, we have found a lot of hidden talent. It’s still too early in the season to gauge where we might finish, but I highly doubt we will finish in the bottom part of the conference.
How big a win for the program was last week's 58-53 victory over South Carolina?
Very big, the win not only helps with name recognition in the world of basketball, but also as a confidence builder for the team and fan base. While SC is not known for their basketball ability they do play in a major basketball conference. To have a team come to your gym and you dominate them in every aspect of the game can have a positive effect on the entire season. Our guys can no go into any game saying "we beat SC so why not..."
Looking at the stats I see four players in double figures. How much of that balance starts with 6'10" Louis Troutman inside?
I’m surprised at the number of people contributing. When Jack Isenbarger went down with a shoulder injury in the UMass game, I was worried. Last year he was averaging 10.4 a game as a freshman. But we had others step it up in his place. With Troutman, it always helps to have a tall man in the paint and with Elon’s effectiveness behind the arch you have two deadly aspects you need to cover. I think we have a good rotation on the bench which prevents us from relying on our starting five and not letting them get a rest or two during the game.
Elon is getting 42.5% of their points via three point shots. Is it mostly Drew Spradlin and Sebastian Koch firing from distance?
Ever since I started going to Elon games my freshman year back in 02-03 we always seemed to be a good three point shooting team. This year Spradlin and Koch do put up a majority of the threes but Austin Hamilton and Kevin Blake take their fare share too. If we get on a streak it’s hard to stop us from behind the arc but relying on the three can put us out of games if we go cold.
Is it fair to say the Phoenix have had issues taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers on the defensive end?
Watching the South Carolina game it appeared we did have a huge issue in this aspect. We were lucky that SC was not able to capitalize on their turnovers. We are a young team so this is a correctable trend. As the season progresses I believe Coach Matheny will be able to calm this team down and get them to control the ball better.
Please fill in the blank: Elon wins for the first time on the road this season if...
We score more points than Princeton. In all seriousness it comes down to who shows up to play. Usually this time of year we are on the Thanksgiving road trip, far away from home. We have suffered a few backbreaking losses and it seems the team’s spirits are low. If we play off the momentum we have now and the bench keeps contributing like they have been, we can win this game.
Princeton gets back to .500 if...
If Princeton can take the three ball away from us and protect the paint, they have a chance at killing our momentum. We are a strong first half team, so if Princeton can keep it close in the first and light it up in the second; it could spell trouble for the Phoenix. Elon’s fighting to keep the win streak alive and earn their first road win in this young season, while Princeton is trying to prevent from falling further behind the .500 mark. This game could come down to who wants it more.
Please tell people a bit about your message board! Feel free to plug whatever else you like before signing off.
My name is Brian Hooper (ElonFirefighter) and I am the current owner and moderator of Elon Phans located at elonfans.info. Elon Phans is a message board where fans of Elon as well as opposing fans can gather to discuss upcoming games as well as participate in a little pregame banter. We all enjoy a discussion with opposing teams’ fans and everyone is welcome to join in. If any of your readers would like to join in the conversation I would encourage them to do so. Here is to a good clean game, best of luck.
Thanks Brian. I certainly echo those sentiments!
