In this new era of unfettered player movement in college basketball, where year-to-year roster overhaul seems a given, Saint Francis (Pa.) has avoided being on the wrong side of the trend.
Among 16 Red Flash players, 14 logged minutes last season, one redshirted with an injury and another is an incoming freshman. Entering his 10th season as head coach, Rob Krimmel has apparently discovered how to keep his players happy.
“I’m excited that these guys are back and are going to put us in position to make a run at this thing,” Krimmel said of the team’s upcoming pursuit of a Northeast Conference title.
On Thursday night, St. Francis (1-1) will face a team much more representative of the current state of Division I basketball as it travels to Virginia Tech (3-0).
The Hokies are off to a strong start behind a trio of players who began their careers in other programs.
Keve Aluma, a transfer from Wofford, is the team’s top scorer at 12.7 points per game. Justyn Mutts, a former starter at both High Point and Delaware, has scored 11.7 per game and leads the team in rebounds (7.3). Storm Murphy, a four-year starter at Wofford who came to Virginia Tech as a graduate transfer, averages 11 points per game.
At both ends of the floor, Virginia Tech has thrived at the 3-point line. On offense, they’ve made 27 of 63 shots (42.9 percent), with Murphy (6 of 14) and Hunter Cattoor (7 of 16) leading the barrage. On defense, the Hokies have harassed opponents into 9 of 71 shooting (12.7 percent) from the arc.
“Elite-level communication,” said Hokies coach Mike Young, after his team held Radford to 2 of 24 shooting from 3-point range on Monday. “I thought we guarded pretty well.”
Looking to crack Tech’s formidable defense will be balanced Saint Francis, which boasts five starters who score in double figures. Ramiir Dixon-Conover leads the team in scoring (15.0 per game) while also averaging 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Mark Flagg (14 points, 13.5 rebounds) is the top rebounder.
Maxwell Land (14 points), Myles Thompson (13 points) and Ronnel Giles Jr. (11.5 points) round out the Red Flash attack.
–Field Level Media
