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Days Of the New - American Ready for Challenges of Patriot League
Eagles Feature 10 New Players on 2001-02 Roster

November 2, 2001

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Patrick Doctor was named to the Patriot League's All-Preseason Team. The senior is a two-time all-league selection in his career.

A new era of American Basketball begins with the start of the 2001-02 season, as the University embarks on its inaugural season as a member of the Patriot League.

With that era begins the process of restoring the proud tradition of the Eagles’ program. Charged with that mission is second-year Head Coach Jeff Jones, who is looking to quickly establish American as one of the elite programs in the Patriot League.

To put it simply, Jones is looking forward to that task.
“I feel very strongly that we can achieve a high level on the basketball court in the years to come,” Jones said. “We are going to have a challenging road ahead, but with attention to details, this can get turned around and American will become one of the beacons of the Patriot League.”

It is not lost on Jones that the league will offer stiff challenges from many different teams, and that his Eagle club will have to be ready each and every night.
“When you have a league that is as balanced and competitive as the Patriot League, your team has to be focused each time it takes the floor,” he continued. “There is never a break in the schedule, and especially in our case being the new kid on the block, teams are going to be keyed up to play us.”

American, coming off a 7-20 season, its last as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), is ready to shed that specter, and begin anew.

Established veterans Patrick Doctor (Brandywine, Md./Gwynn Park), Keith Gray (Longview, Texas/Pine Tree), Demek Adams (Washington, D.C./Carroll), Vladimir Buscaglia (Geneva, Switzerland/Wabash Valley CC) and Brian Williams (Richmond, Va./Hagerstown CC) will be counted on to lead the charge, and will be joined by eight new student-athletes.

With a new league and a bright outlook on the future, the Eagles have several components in place for what should be an exciting campaign in 2001-02:

• Patrick Doctor was an All-CAA Second-Team selection last season.
• Steven Miles begins his first season with the program after transferring from Coastal Carolina, where he was the Big South Conference Rookie of the Year in 1999-2000.
• American will enjoy a solid size advantage over its opponents this season, as eight players range from 6-4 to 6-10.
• Five outstanding recruits — Nick Boyd, Matej Cresnik, Patrick Okpwae, Ricardas Patiejunas and Glenn Stokes — have joined the program.

American gets it all rolling when it opens play at the University of Maryland, a 2001 Final Four participant, on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Eagles will play their inaugural Patriot League contest on Wednesday, Jan. 9, when they travel to Hamilton, N.Y., to face Colgate University.

DAYS OF THE NEW
In addition to joining a new conference this season, there are many other new things surrounding American Basketball. Joining Jeff Jones’ staff is first-year assistant coach, Kelvin Jefferson, who was previously at the University of Vermont.

The Eagles’ roster is also dotted with newcomers, led by transfers Joe Casper, Steven Miles and Andres Rodriguez, who all sat out the 2000-01 season per NCAA transfer rules. Also joining the mix will be Nick Boyd, Matej Cresnik, Ryan Graham, Patrick Okpwae, Ricardas Patiejunas, Jason Thomas and Glenn Stokes.

THE BACKCOURT
A little old and a lot of new is how one could describe American’s backcourt heading into the 2001-02 season. Experience is surely not lacking, though experience playing in AU red and blue is.

Four newcomers, all with previous collegiate experience will don the Eagle uniform this winter, and will join lone returnee Demek Adams, a junior guard who is a local product from Carroll High in Washington, D.C.

Adams averaged 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27 games last season. He will see valuable time this season, and will work into the rotation at the point.

Looking to take the reigns at the point guard slot will be junior transfer Glenn Stokes (Silver Spring, Md./Tallahassee CC), a local product by way of Tallahassee CC. Stokes was an All-Panhandle Conference First Team selection last season after averaging 9.7 points and 4.1 assists per game.

Junior Steven Miles (Alexandria, Va./Coastal Carolina), sophomore Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, P.R./Louisville) and freshmen Ryan Graham (St. John, New Brunswick/Brewster Academy) and Jason Thomas (Herndon, Va./Notre Dame Academy) will also join Adams and Stokes in the backcourt.

Miles, the 1999 Big South Conference Rookie of the Year while playing for Coastal Carolina, sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 9.1 points and 5.0 rebounds as a sophomore at Coastal.

Rodriguez, a transfer from Louisville, will provide depth at both guard slots. He will be eligible for competition at the conclusion of the fall semester.

Graham is a walk-on who prepped at Brewster Academy in Maine last year. He is a solid ballhandler who will look for time as the season progresses.

Thomas, whose father, Wilbur, was a star at AU in the mid 70’s, is an athletic guard. He averaged nine points and six rebounds per game last year at Notre Dame Academy in Massachusetts.

THE FRONTCOURT
Seniors Patrick Doctor, Vladimir Buscaglia, Keith Gray and Brian Williams are all back to lead the Eagles’ frontcourt attack this season. They will be joined by senior Joe Casper (Overland Park, Kan./Rhode Island), juniors Nick Boyd (West Orange, N.Y./Essex CC), Richardas Patiejunas (Vilnius, Lithuania/Vilnius College), sophomore Matej Cresnik (Velenje, Slovenia/Univerza V Ljubljani) and freshman Patrick Okpwae (Yaounde, Cameroon/Berkshire School [Fla.]).

Doctor is coming off a season in which he averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and earned All-CAA Second-Team honors. He will be counted on heavily for scoring and rebounding this season.

Buscaglia, a threat from beyond the arc, pumped in 9.3 points per game last season. He saw action in 21 games as a junior, his first at American after transferring from Wabash Valley CC.

Gray saw action in all 27 contests a year ago, earning nine starts. He averaged 6.3 points and 6.2 rebounds a year ago, placing second on the team in rebounding.
Williams is a solid forward who will provide depth in the middle. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 25 games last season.

Casper joins the program from Rhode Island. He sat out last season per NCAA transfer bylaws. He will bring added depth to the frontcourt attack, and will allow Coach Jones to go with a larger lineup at various times.

Boyd comes to AU from Essex CC in New Jersey. His athleticism will be an added bonus to the roster this season and he will fit in nicely to the rotation of big men.
Patiejunas is a skilled swing man who has good range. A hard worker, he will bring an added dimension to the Eagle lineup.

Cresnik brings solid knowledge of the game and strong fundamentals to the Eagles. He will work into the lineup immediately, and will be counted on for solid minutes.
Okpwae is a very athletic forward with great leaping ability, but has very raw skills. He will look to contribute inside scoring and solid defense this season.

THE SCHEDULE
The 2001-02 American schedule includes several rigorous dates. Highlighting the slate are non-conference road games at Maryland, a 2001 Final Four participant, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Radford and North Carolona A&T. Non-conference home contests include dates against the College of Charleston, Pennsylvania, Fairfield, Fairleigh Dickinson, Liberty and Wagner.

Following the always demanding Patriot League schedule, the 2002 Patriot League Tournament will be held for the first time at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md., beginning on March 2. The title game will be played on March 8 on the home floor of the highest remaining seed, and will be featured live in front of a national audience on ESPN.