Down 11 points with 9:33 remaining in the Northeast Conference (NEC) quarterfinals, it was shaping up to be another ho-hum season for Saint Francis University basketball. There was some progress worth highlighting, but a 9-21 final record would’ve given the Red Flash four straight seasons of failing to reach ten wins, and 23 consecutive years of falling short of the NEC semifinals. Continue reading “Krimmel Optimistic Saint Francis Will Contend”
Tag: Ronnie Drinnon
NEC Team Capsule: St. Francis (PA) Red Flash
Head Coach: Rob Krimmel, 1st season
Last Season: 6-23 (5-13 NEC), failed to qualify for the NEC playoff
NEC Preseason Coach’s Poll: 12th out of 12 teams
State of Program: Rebuilding mode
Key Players Lost: Scott Eatherton (14.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 62.5% EFG), Chris Johnson (5.8 ppg, 5.8 apg, 1.4 spg, 2.3 A/TO)
Incoming Players: Ronnie Drinnon (PF), Gregroy Brown (G), Ben Millaud-Meunier (G), Stephon Mosley (F)
Previous Posts: St. Francis (PA) Recruiting Recap, Rob Krimmel Interview
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Stephon Whyatt (7.2 ppg, 2.6 apg, 0.8 spg)
G: Umar Shannon (medical redshirt last season)
G: Anthony Ervin (11.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 37.6% 3PT)
F: Tony Peters (2.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
C: Storm Stanley (1.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg)
Key Reserves: Greg Brown (G), Ronnie Drinnon (PF), Ollie Jackson (G), Earl Brown (G/F), Kam Ritter (G/F), Dominique Major (G), Ben Millaud-Meunier (G)
Major Storylines:
- Forget What Could Have Been – It’s easy to gloss over what could have been, especially if Scott Eatherton stayed in Loretto and starting point guard Chris Johnson wasn’t dismissed from the team. Instead, the Red Flash find themselves in the midst of yet another rebuilding project, this time with head coach and son of the athletic director Rob Krimmel calling the shots. The energetic and optimistic Krimmel is ready to begin writing his chapter of St. Francis basketball, but can he end the viscous cycle of mediocre basketball?
- Plenty of Competition to Go Around – In his first offseason, Krimmel is attempting to build his team the good old-fashioned way – by having an open competition at several positions. Only Umar Shannon and Anthony Ervin are guaranteed to play big time minutes, with plenty of opportunity available for the remainder of the roster. It’s a philosophy that Krimmel hopes will force his mostly inexperienced players to step up, whether it’s on the perimeter or down low.
- Replacing Scotty – Eatheron was the best frontcourt presence on the roster last season, so the challenge will be to replace his high quality minutes. It’s a daunting task, yet the coaching staff is optimistic that 6-foot-11 big man Storm Stanley can fill a majority of the minutes at the “5”. Freshmen Ronnie Drinnon, who has promise long-term, and the high-motored Stephon Mosley will also have a chance to contribute. Others such as tri-captain Tony Peters and Earl Brown could also provide an impact.
Analysis: At this time last year, no one envisioned seeing the Red Flash at the bottom of the 2012-13 NEC preseason coach’s poll. The 2011-12 team had a veteran backcourt in Chris Johnson and Umar Shannon to look forward to. Unfortunately, neither was on the active roster after 8 games, thanks to a season ending knee injury for Shannon and team dismissal for Johnson. As a result, St. Francis slumped their way to a 5-13 conference record and fired head coach Don Friday, nearly eight weeks after the season had already ended. One day later, long-time assistant Rob Krimmel emerged as the next head coach, leading to questions of nepotism by the fans and media members alike. Now without Eatherton, Krimmel must pick up the pieces and rebuild from stratch. At the very least, Krimmel will have his star guard Shannon fully back from injury. Shannon and a respectable backcourt with Anthony Ervin, Stephon Whyatt, and Kam Ritter should contribute in a big way. Freshmen Ronnie Drinnon and Greg Brown have impressed in the preseason and are expected to log significant minutes for the Red Flash. Storm Stanley sits as the biggest wildcard for this team, if he can provide 20+ quality minutes a night at the “5” for Krimmel, then Stanley is a NEC Most Improved Player candidate. Minutes at the “4” are wide open with players like Tony Peters, Earl Brown, and Drinnon expected to play.
Coach’s Quotes:
“He’s continuing to make the strides we needed [Storm Stanley] to make … We really made it an emphasis with our guards to get him the ball in the block, because when he gets the ball in the block, he scores 75-80% of the time. Our strength is going to be our guards, but we can’t run around and shoot all the ball and not give the big fellow a look.”
– Krimmel, when asked how Storm Stanley has looked in the preseason
“Greg [Brown] has been our most consistent performer. He’s really put together five or six consecutive practices where he’s understanding his role and what he can bring to the team. And Ronnie Drinnon, Ronnie had 16 rebounds in practice … he just brings a different motor to it. So those would be the two kids that have since practice has started consistently performed.”
– Krimmel, when asked which freshmen have progressed the most this preseason
Predictions:
Ryan – With most of the NEC much improved, St. Francis will have difficultly finding wins within the conference. They’ll earn a few victories at home, but I find it hard to believe that they’ll return to the NEC postseason, especially with their inexperienced frontcourt.
John – I actually don’t think that that SFPA is the least talented team in the NEC. If Rob Krimmel can make players responsible for their actions on and off the court the Red Flash could finish as high as 10th. They’ll miss the NEC postseason, but they’ll be competitive.
Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s basketball for Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride
Rob Krimmel optimistic despite tough road ahead for St. Francis
It was one of the more tumultuous offseasons in recent memory, but you would have never detected it in the voice of first time head coach Rob Krimmel. The newly hired Krimmel has one of the most difficult jobs in college basketball these days; he’s been asked to rebuild a St. Francis team that has missed the NEC postseason in five of the past seven seasons. Within that time span, the St. Francis Red Flash have posted a record of 50-154.
And if the job ahead wasn’t daunting enough for Krimmel, it was made that much more arduous when Scott Eatherton, the Red Flash’s leading scorer, rebounder, and NEC Most Improved Player of the Year, unexpectedly transferred to Northeastern University a few weeks after Krimmel’s hiring.
“I was a little surprised, but it wasn’t out of the blue,” said Krimmel. “It was really bigger than basketball, [Eatherton] wanted something a little different then what St. Francis had to offer. St. Francis is a great place; it’s a beautiful school, great tradition, great academic reputation, but like a lot of other schools, it’s not for everybody.”
Eatherton’s departure leaves the Red Flash rife with inexperience in the frontcourt, but there’s now plenty of opportunity for the incumbent players to step up. Krimmel is particularly excited about 6-foot-11, 270 pound Storm Stanley, who enters his junior season as a relative unknown. Despite limited playing time last season, Storm has progressed nicely this offseason in the coach’s eyes.
“He’s come a long way from where he was a year ago from the injury” said Krimmel. “His development has more so been in between the ears. He’s a talented kid, but we’re trying to get him to play with a little more confidence. He’s benefitting tremendously from working with Eric.”
The Eric being referred to is St. Francis alum Eric Taylor, who after a 13 year professional career, joins Krimmel’s staff as a first time assistant coach. Taylor was selected to three All-NEC teams as a member of the Red Flash, and he currently has the 4th most rebounds in school history. His presence on Krimmel’s staff could very well pay dividends for the frontcourt in the long run.
Those also expected to benefit from Taylor’s instruction is senior tri-captain Tony Peters, sophomore Earl Brown, and incoming freshmen Ronnie Drinnon and Stephon Mosley. Both freshmen come into Loretto as moderately hyped recruits, with Drinnon expected to eventually mature into one of the better big men of the NEC. For now, Krimmel is cautious about projecting Drinnon’s immediate future, even though he’s been practicing with the team since January.
“Ronnie will be one of the guys that competes for [Eatheron’s] minutes,” said Krimmel. “Ronnie is a guy who brings a ruggedness, a physicality, he’s probably our best passer as a power forward. He brings a lot of things to the table, but he’s still going to be a freshman.”
One bright spot in a tough offseason has been the progression of junior tri-captain Umar Shannon, who returns after tearing his ACL last November. Now healthy, Shannon will be leaned upon to score for a team that averaged a meager 0.93 points per possession last season. The 5-foot-11 playmaker averaged 15.8 points per game, with solid shooting percentages of 0.410/0.380/0.803 in his sophomore campaign. Shannon will feature as the Red Flash’s shooting guard, but he could certainly run the point if needed.
Besides Shannon, Krimmel has a number of versatile combo guards and wings that will be asked to contribute. Senior Anthony Ervin was the second most valuable player last season behind Eatherton, based on win shares. Stephon Whyatt, perhaps one of the fastest guards in the NEC, will man the point more often than not this season. Kameron Ritter isn’t much of a scorer, but his defense (he was 7th in the NEC in steal rate at 3.28%) and ability to share the basketball (assist rate of 19.5%) should make him a mainstay on the floor. Freshmen guards Greg Brown and Ben Millaud-Meunier could serve as nice scoring options off the bench, with the former making an impact with his defense and ball handling skills.
It’s a bevy of guards at his disposal, and with this roster Krimmel will implement a more up-tempo offense. Then again, it won’t take much for the St. Francis to play at a faster pace. Last year, the Don Friday coached Red Flash averaged 64 possessions per game.
What you have is multiple players competing for minutes at almost every position, with the exception of Shannon. And that’s exactly what Krimmel wants to see. “If an experienced player isn’t bringing it, we have a couple of guys biting at his heels ready to take his minutes. As a competitor, as an athlete, that’s what makes you better.”
It will be a rebuilding year, but at the very least the St. Francis faithful will have the energy of their head coach to look forward to. Krimmel refuses to let his team settle for modest goals, even though St. Francis will probably finish 11th or 12th in the NEC preseason poll.
When asked what his team’s goals are for this season, Krimmel said, “I hope I don’t come across as being arrogant, but our goal is to win the Northeast Conference championship. Why put the uniform on if everything you do isn’t geared toward winning a championship? Why try to finish 4th, or 7th, or why try to finish just to make the playoffs? I know we have a little bit more to prove than the next team, but everything we do on and off the court is geared toward winning a Northeast Conference championship.”
Maybe Krimmel’s confidence and optimism will finally push St. Francis out of a decade long slump. This coach is just too proud to let his alma mater fall into Division I irrelevancy, although it will take quite an effort to lead St. Francis back to its glory days.
Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s basketball for Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride
Top 10 Recruits of the Northeast Conference – The rich get richer
With many of the top NEC programs returning most of their talent, playing time will be scarce for a majority of the recruits coming in. Nevertheless, we here at Big Apple Buckets painstakingly created our consensus list of the top 10 NEC recruits. Ranking them wasn’t easy – information on most newcomers is limited at best and there are easily 20 players that could have an immediate impact on their team.
We apologize in advance if your favorite recruit missed the list. This is the time of year when every fan-base believes their newcomers will push their team to great heights. Just remember, all of those Youtube clips of your favorite team’s recruits are highlight videos. Everyone looks good on those. They edit out the bad plays for a reason.
(Cut to the confused Monmouth fan asking, “Wait, you mean to tell me Tyrone O’Garro won’t finish every play this year with an alley-oop jam??”)
Later this week, we’ll submit our NEC recruiting class rankings for all 12 teams. For now though, we give you our 2012-13 Top 10 preseason newcomers of the NEC!
10) Ronnie Drinnon, PF, St. Francis (PA) – With Scott Eatherton heading to Northeastern, Drinnon will see significant minutes in a brutally thin Red Flash frontcourt. There will be struggles early on, but Drinnon’s high basketball IQ and nose for the basketball should serve him well in his freshman season. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Drinnon practiced with the team a semester early.
9) James Ford, SG, Quinnipiac – Ford does one thing that none of Quinnipiac’s other newcomers can do as well – shoot lights out from beyond the arc. With the Bobcats’ need for a shooter to stretch the defense, Ford should occupy a niche role as he improves in other facets during his rookie season.
8) Eric Fanning, SG, Wagner – We have difficulty placing Fanning any higher on this list, due to Bashir Mason’s crowded backcourt. Nevertheless, Fanning should have the opportunity in limited minutes to display a wide array of scoring abilities, which allowed him to score over 1,000 points at two different stops in high school. His athleticism and length at 6-foot-4 should also help on the defensive end.
7) Tariq Carey, SG, Quinnipiac – Tom Moore made it a priority in the offseason to bolster his backcourt, and Carey may have been his best acquistion. The moderately recruited combo guard has a chance to make up part of James Johnson’s production on both ends of the floor, given his ability to attack the basket, get to the charity stripe, and defend with tenacity.
6) Matthew Hunter, F, Central Connecticut – After two very productive seasons at junior college, Hunter persevered to earn a Division I scholarship after a difficult upbringing. The “stat filler” – as Howie Dickenman likes to call him – should help Kyle Vinales make up 56% of the scoring CCSU lost due to last year’s graduating class. After all, Hunter was offered by three DI schools for a reason.
5) Shivaughn Wiggins, PG, Mount St. Mary’s – Wiggins is the type of player Jamion Christian covets – a celebral athlete that makes excellent decisions with the basketball in transition and the half-court set. This season, he’ll most likely share time with Josh Castellanos, but make no mistake, Wiggins is the player with more potential.
4) Vaughn Morgan, PF, Robert Morris – An athletic freak who reeks havoc in the paint, Morgan will contribute to a deep Robert Morris team that returns their top seven players in terms of efficiency. Morgan should see the majority of Lawrence Bridge’s minutes if he can grasp the mental aspect of the game and let his athleticism shine.
3) D.J. Griggs, SG, LIU-Brooklyn – The Blackbirds lost a potential NEC star in Waller-Prince, but Griggs is certainly a nice consolation prize. LIU has a thin bench, so the opportunity is there for the Texas native to grab the final spot of LIU’s backcourt rotation with Jason Brickman, C.J. Garner, and Brandon Thompson. As a high schooler Griggs was a high-scorer, averaging 22.6 points per game and scoring 2,590 points, so he should provide a spark off the bench for the Blackbirds.
2) Karvel Anderson, SG, Robert Morris – A prolific, yet efficient scorer at every level he’s played at, Anderson should serve as a nice offensive weapon off Andy Toole’s bench. His insertion into the Colonial’s rotation will take pressure off of Coron Williams – who struggles at times creating his own shot – and will give Robert Morris the reliable deep threat they dearly missed last season.
1) Dwaun Anderson, SG, Wagner – This was the easiest pick by far. It’s not very often when Tom Izzo has recruited and signed a future NEC player. Anderson’s athleticism will make him an impact player immediately, especially when he’s allowed to create in transition or off the dribble in half-court sets. We’d be shocked if he wasn’t a finalist for NEC Rookie of the Year at season’s end.
Other newcomers we considered:
E.J. Reed, G, LIU-Brooklyn
De’Aires Tate, PF, Sacred Heart
Jalen Wesson Palm, PG, Monmouth
Aleksandar Isailovic, G, St. Francis (NY)
Sekou Harris, PG, Fairleigh Dickinson
Another season of rebuilding ahead for St. Francis (PA)
St. Francis Red Flash – 6-23 (5-13 NEC), Did Not Qualify for NEC Tournament
Players Lost:
PF Scott Eatherton (transfer) – 14.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg, NEC Most Improved Player
PG Chris Johnson (expelled) – 8 games, 5.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.3 assist/TO ratio
F John Taylor – 5.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.9 apg
Incoming Players:
Ronnie Drinnon, 6’7″ PF – Greenview High (OH)
Ben Millaud-Meunier, 6’3″ G – Vanier High (Quebec, Canada)
Greg Brown, 6’2″ PG – Archbishop Spalding (MD)
Aric Gresko (walk-on), 6’0″ G – Penns Manor (PA)
Zachary Vigneault (walk-on), 6’1″ G – Central Cambria High (PA)
Since the 2004-05 season, the St. Francis Red Flash have averaged 7 wins per season, forcing every subsequent offseason to feel like a rebuilding year. This offseason is no exception. After a tumultuous year that led to the unexpected firing of head coach Don Friday, the sudden hiring of Rob Krimmel, and the surprising transfer of future star Scott Eatherton, the Red Flash are once again starting from scratch. It’s a difficult situation to be in, with the rest of the Northeast Conference improving, but first year coach Krimmel has no choice as he attempts to rebuild a long suffering program back to respectability.
The rebuilding effort, for the 8th season, begins this time around with skilled big man, Ronnie Drinnon. The 6-foot-7 Drinnon was an accomplished player in high school, earning the honor of being named the All-Area DIII Player of the Year as a junior. But then on Halloween night of 2011, Drinnon made the critical mistake of crashing his car while drinking. He paid dearly for his mistake, as Greenview High suspended him for the 2011-12 season. Despite the costly mishap, Drinnon has said and done the right things since his suspension.
Now with Eatherton’s gone, Drinnon will be expected to contribute immediately. He has excellent footwork and a soft touch around the basket, and despite his reported lack of athleticism, Drinnon always found a way to rebound the basketball at the high school level. He’ll need to add muscle to bang down low with the rising class of NEC power forwards, but his intensity and nose for the basketball should help him and his team, which finished a staggering 342nd in rebounds per game last season. Playing time is plentiful in St. Francis’ thin frontcourt, so an All-NEC Rookie Team selection at season’s end certainly isn’t a stretch, given that most of the promising rookies from the NEC will be perimeter players next season.
Coach Krimmel and his staff next focused their attention on improving the backcourt. With this in mind, St. Francis signed playmakers Greg Brown and Ben Millaud-Meunier, who should form a solid rotation of guards with captains Umar Shannon and Anthony Ervin leading the way.
Of the two backcourt recruits, Brown may have more of an impact his freshman season, because of his ability to play both the “1” and “2” positions on the floor. Chris Johnson’s dismissal from the team last season leaves the roster devoid of a true point guard, so for the time being, Brown will be asked to partially fill this role. Based on this Youtube clip, Brown possesses a tight handle, is very shifty in the open court, and has the ability to drain the three. He led his high school team in scoring, but now in college, he’ll be asked to facilitate more often, especially when manning the point. It’s a nice opportunity for the versatile Brown, who has the potential to carve out a productive career in the NEC, if developed properly.
The second playmaker was discovered by the Red Flash north of the border. There, Millaud-Meunier used his excellent court vision, high basketball IQ, and solid outside jumper to dominate in the high school ranks. Millaud-Meunier isn’t the first Canadian, or Vanier High student for that matter, to play for the Red Flash. Former great Deon George also hailed from Vanier, and led St. Francis in scoring and rebounding for a couple of seasons. Perhaps Millaud-Meunier can find the same magic that George did for the Red Flash in the early 90’s.
Finally, it’s probably worth mentioning 2 walk-ons, Aric Gresko and Zachary Vigneault, who were recently added to the Red Flash’s roster. Both players could find limited minutes on the court, especially since Coach Krimmel’s roster is barren with upper-class talent, sans Shannon and Ervin. After all, Mount St. Mary’s walk-on Kelvin Parker narrowly missed out from making last season’s All-NEC Rookie Team, and this St. Francis club is even less experienced than the Mount was last season.
St. Francis is obviously not expected to compete in the short term, therefore these incoming freshman can garner valuable on-court experience in the hope that they’ll someday serve as the foundation of a competitive team. It’s the first step in what has proven to be a brutal rebuilding process in Loretto, PA. Find lesser known DI prospects that can develop after a couple of seasons. Then, maybe their moderate success will lure better high school prospects onto the St. Francis campus, which unfortunately is a difficult place to attract basketball talent. Krimmel now has a mammoth challenge ahead of him, yet if he can somehow pull it off, he’ll be revered as a coaching god for the remainder of his St. Francis career.
Ryan Peters covers Northeast Conference men’s college basketball on Big Apple Buckets and Pioneer Pride. You can follow Ryan on Twitter here.
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