THE RED FLASH REVIEW
THE
RED FLASH
REVIEW
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF SAINT FRANCIS MEN’S BASKETBALL
JUNE 2015 VOL 1, ISSUE 1
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The Red Flash reached the NEC Tournament semifinals in consecutive years for the first time ever SFU hosted a postseason game for the first time since 1991 with a CIT first round game vs. Bowling Green The Flash finished the regular season with a 15-14 record, the first winning regular season in 10 years Saint Francis played seven teams that played in the postseason, including four in the NCAA Tournament The Red Flash’s six non-conference victories were the most for the program since winning seven in 1997-98 The Flash joined the 1997-98 team as the only two Saint Francis squads to win three games in November
AROUND THE PROGRAM EARL BROWN LEAVES HIS MARK
Senior forward Earl Brown was named All-NEC First Team, marking SFU’s first player on the First Team since 2010. Brown was also a nominee for the Mr. Frankie Award, the highest award given to a graduating student. During the annual athletics award banquet, Earl was named the Turano Award winner, which is given to the most outstanding men’s senior student-athlete.
WELCOME, COACH HELTON
The Saint Francis coaching staff welcomed Andrew Helton back to the program when he was named the new associate head coach earlier this month. Helton’s last stop was as the head coach at Eastern New Mexico University for five seasons. He served as an assistant at Saint Francis from 1994-99.
SEVEN OPPONENTS IN POSTSEASON
The Red Flash played seven teams in 2014-15 that appeared in a postseason tournament. Along with NEC rival Robert Morris, SFU played three other NCAA Tournament teams in Texas, Cincinnati and Albany. The Flash defeated Robert Morris and Albany. St. Francis Brooklyn qualified for the NIT, and Mary-
land Eastern Shore and NJIT each made the CIT. The Flash defeated Maryland Eastern Shore in November. In all, the Flash went 3-6 against postseason tournament teams.
SFU CELEBRATES GRADUATION
The men’s basketball team said ‘goodbye’ to several members of the team during graduation ceremonies in May. Aric Gresko, Stephon Whyatt, Ollie Jackson, Dom Major and Earl Brown earned bachelor’s degrees. Graduate assistant Jordan Miller earned his master’s degree after two years at SFU.
SUMMER PREVIEW
The returning Saint Francis players come back to Loretto on June 21 to run the team’s youth camps June 22-26. The players will also begin summer workouts while on campus in anticipation for next season.
KEVIN PORTER’S NO. 10 RETIRED
In a ceremony prior to SFU’s win against Albany, the university retired Kevin Porter’s No. 10 to the rafters alongside Maurice Stokes’ No. 26 and Norm Van Lier’s No. 12. Porter played for the Flash from 196872 and is fourth on the all-time scoring list.
A MESSAGE FROM COACH I hope everybody is enjoying the start of summer! Many great things have occurred in our program and on campus over the course of the year. I was pleased with our progress during the 2014-15 season but know that we still have much more to accomplish. We are going to miss our five seniors who all represented SFU in a first class manner during their time in Loretto! I would like to thank all of our alumni for the support we received throughout the year. Whether it was an email, a phone call, a visit to campus, or catching a game on the road, we always love visiting with those that helped pave the way for our current players. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is ever anything we can do for you! Have a great summer and Go Red Flash!
A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER December 2014 will go down as one of the most successful non-conference months in recent memory for the Red Flash. In a three-game stretch, Saint Francis defeated Albany, Duquesne and Rutgers. Albany was on its way to a 24-9 overall record and third straight America East Conference championship. The Flash earned its first win over Duquesne since 1990, snapping Duquesne’s 11-game win streak in the series. It was also Saint Francis’ first win at Duquesne since 1966, breaking a 16-game streak. Three days after the Duquesne victory, the Red Flash went to Rutgers and upset the Scarlet Knights, 73-68. The win was the first ever for a Northeast Conference school against a Big Ten opponent.
The SFU bench celebrates after Ollie Jackson hits the winning shot at Rutgers on Dec. 20 (Jim O’Connor)
UPCOMING EVENTS AUG. 7-8 SFU HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
Two former men’s basketball players, along with the 1990-91 men’s basketball team, are among the honorees of the 2015 Saint Francis Hall of Fame induction class. Nick Leasure (1975-79) and Clarence Hopson (1971-74) will be inducted in the ceremony on Aug. 8. Leasure is 14th on the scoring list with 1,360 points. Hopson is the 24th leading scorer in school history with 1,148 points. The 1990-91 team is the program’s only NEC Champion. The team, led by head coach Jim Baron, defeated Fordham in an NCAA Tournament play-in game at DeGol Arena.
MEET THE STAFF Rob Krimmel Head Coach Fourth Season Saint Francis ‘00 [email protected] Andrew Helton Associate Head Coach First Season Miami University ‘92 [email protected]
SEPT. 21 STOKES GOLF OUTING
Eric Taylor Assistant Coach Fourth Season Saint Francis ‘98 [email protected]
THE SIXTH MAN
Will Holland Assistant Coach Third Season Mount St. Mary’s ‘10 [email protected]
Join the Stokes Club for a day of golf at the Indiana Country Club on Sept. 21. More information to follow!
Thanks for supporting Saint Francis Men’s Basketball!
CONTRIBUTORS SINCE JAN. 2015 Harry Castle ‘64 Marty Chambers ‘56 Tom Connors ‘62 William Coyle ‘67 Joe Pishioneri ‘67 Don Appleman ‘65 Steve Rogers ‘82
Luke McConnell Director of Basketball Operations Third Season Saint Francis ‘12 [email protected]
RED FLASH
REVIEW
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF SAINT FRANCIS MEN’S BASKETBALL
JUNE 2015 VOL 1, ISSUE 1
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The Red Flash reached the NEC Tournament semifinals in consecutive years for the first time ever SFU hosted a postseason game for the first time since 1991 with a CIT first round game vs. Bowling Green The Flash finished the regular season with a 15-14 record, the first winning regular season in 10 years Saint Francis played seven teams that played in the postseason, including four in the NCAA Tournament The Red Flash’s six non-conference victories were the most for the program since winning seven in 1997-98 The Flash joined the 1997-98 team as the only two Saint Francis squads to win three games in November
AROUND THE PROGRAM EARL BROWN LEAVES HIS MARK
Senior forward Earl Brown was named All-NEC First Team, marking SFU’s first player on the First Team since 2010. Brown was also a nominee for the Mr. Frankie Award, the highest award given to a graduating student. During the annual athletics award banquet, Earl was named the Turano Award winner, which is given to the most outstanding men’s senior student-athlete.
WELCOME, COACH HELTON
The Saint Francis coaching staff welcomed Andrew Helton back to the program when he was named the new associate head coach earlier this month. Helton’s last stop was as the head coach at Eastern New Mexico University for five seasons. He served as an assistant at Saint Francis from 1994-99.
SEVEN OPPONENTS IN POSTSEASON
The Red Flash played seven teams in 2014-15 that appeared in a postseason tournament. Along with NEC rival Robert Morris, SFU played three other NCAA Tournament teams in Texas, Cincinnati and Albany. The Flash defeated Robert Morris and Albany. St. Francis Brooklyn qualified for the NIT, and Mary-
land Eastern Shore and NJIT each made the CIT. The Flash defeated Maryland Eastern Shore in November. In all, the Flash went 3-6 against postseason tournament teams.
SFU CELEBRATES GRADUATION
The men’s basketball team said ‘goodbye’ to several members of the team during graduation ceremonies in May. Aric Gresko, Stephon Whyatt, Ollie Jackson, Dom Major and Earl Brown earned bachelor’s degrees. Graduate assistant Jordan Miller earned his master’s degree after two years at SFU.
SUMMER PREVIEW
The returning Saint Francis players come back to Loretto on June 21 to run the team’s youth camps June 22-26. The players will also begin summer workouts while on campus in anticipation for next season.
KEVIN PORTER’S NO. 10 RETIRED
In a ceremony prior to SFU’s win against Albany, the university retired Kevin Porter’s No. 10 to the rafters alongside Maurice Stokes’ No. 26 and Norm Van Lier’s No. 12. Porter played for the Flash from 196872 and is fourth on the all-time scoring list.
A MESSAGE FROM COACH I hope everybody is enjoying the start of summer! Many great things have occurred in our program and on campus over the course of the year. I was pleased with our progress during the 2014-15 season but know that we still have much more to accomplish. We are going to miss our five seniors who all represented SFU in a first class manner during their time in Loretto! I would like to thank all of our alumni for the support we received throughout the year. Whether it was an email, a phone call, a visit to campus, or catching a game on the road, we always love visiting with those that helped pave the way for our current players. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is ever anything we can do for you! Have a great summer and Go Red Flash!
A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER December 2014 will go down as one of the most successful non-conference months in recent memory for the Red Flash. In a three-game stretch, Saint Francis defeated Albany, Duquesne and Rutgers. Albany was on its way to a 24-9 overall record and third straight America East Conference championship. The Flash earned its first win over Duquesne since 1990, snapping Duquesne’s 11-game win streak in the series. It was also Saint Francis’ first win at Duquesne since 1966, breaking a 16-game streak. Three days after the Duquesne victory, the Red Flash went to Rutgers and upset the Scarlet Knights, 73-68. The win was the first ever for a Northeast Conference school against a Big Ten opponent.
The SFU bench celebrates after Ollie Jackson hits the winning shot at Rutgers on Dec. 20 (Jim O’Connor)
UPCOMING EVENTS AUG. 7-8 SFU HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
Two former men’s basketball players, along with the 1990-91 men’s basketball team, are among the honorees of the 2015 Saint Francis Hall of Fame induction class. Nick Leasure (1975-79) and Clarence Hopson (1971-74) will be inducted in the ceremony on Aug. 8. Leasure is 14th on the scoring list with 1,360 points. Hopson is the 24th leading scorer in school history with 1,148 points. The 1990-91 team is the program’s only NEC Champion. The team, led by head coach Jim Baron, defeated Fordham in an NCAA Tournament play-in game at DeGol Arena.
MEET THE STAFF Rob Krimmel Head Coach Fourth Season Saint Francis ‘00 [email protected] Andrew Helton Associate Head Coach First Season Miami University ‘92 [email protected]
SEPT. 21 STOKES GOLF OUTING
Eric Taylor Assistant Coach Fourth Season Saint Francis ‘98 [email protected]
THE SIXTH MAN
Will Holland Assistant Coach Third Season Mount St. Mary’s ‘10 [email protected]
Join the Stokes Club for a day of golf at the Indiana Country Club on Sept. 21. More information to follow!
Thanks for supporting Saint Francis Men’s Basketball!
CONTRIBUTORS SINCE JAN. 2015 Harry Castle ‘64 Marty Chambers ‘56 Tom Connors ‘62 William Coyle ‘67 Joe Pishioneri ‘67 Don Appleman ‘65 Steve Rogers ‘82
Luke McConnell Director of Basketball Operations Third Season Saint Francis ‘12 [email protected]
