Despite Its Low Seed, AU Is Flying High
No. 15 Eagles Now Prepare for Second-Seeded Volunteers After Tournament Breakthrough

By Kathy Orton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 17, 2008

Jordan Nichols had been telling his American teammates all week he thought they would play Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He had been going online, poring over potential seedings and possible matchups, and studying the mock brackets; he was certain the Eagles would play the Volunteers.

"I was just excited about the whole thing," Nichols said. "I just wanted to get a head start on it."

Which is why when the team saw Tennessee was the No. 2 seed in the East Region, the players dressed in their blue warmup suits crouched forward in anticipation, shushed the crowd gathered at Mary Graydon Center and stared intently at the projection screen at the front of the room. Moments later, when No. 15 American appeared, the Eagles and their fans erupted in jubilation, cheering and hugging one another as CBS showed their reaction live to a nationwide audience.

"Definitely a dream come true," guard Garrison Carr said. "I've been saying that over and over, but right now sitting here and watching us actually on TV, jumping around and having a good time, it was just awesome."

Nichols, whose research proved correct, also was caught up in the moment.

"I was kind of overwhelmed," he said. "I got kind of choked up. I've been dreaming about the tournament my whole life."

American (21-11) had waited 41 years to make its first NCAA tournament appearance, but it didn't have to wait long yesterday to learn its fate. The Eagles were among the first 16 teams revealed. They'll play Tennessee (29-4) on Friday in Birmingham, Ala.

"To see us get picked that soon in the show was kind of surprising," forward Brian Gilmore said. "You figure you're going to have to wait for so long to finally hear your name. Sure enough, in the first five minutes we heard our name. It was just exciting for all of us. We're just really excited to be the 15th seed."

Gilmore particularly was thrilled to be playing Tennessee because one of his former AAU teammates plays for the Volunteers. Sophomore forward Duke Crews missed part of the season because of a heart problem, but has returned to the team.

"I'm sure I'll send him a message online or something, just tell him that we're looking forward to playing him and tell them they better be working hard, too," Gilmore said. "It will be fun. Duke's a great guy. They're a great basketball program. We know we've got our work cut out for us."

Coach Jeff Jones, whose emotional reaction following American's win over Colgate in the Patriot League tournament final was well documented, joked in his remarks before the show that he promised "not to start crying again."

Once he starts watching game film on Tennessee, that might change.

"Bruce Pearl, their coach, is a disciple of [former AU coach] Tom Davis," Jones said. Davis "played a very, very up-tempo style, and that's what Bruce Pearl does. A lot of pressure, they really, really push the basketball. They don't hesitate to shoot the three. . . . We're excited. We know we've got a big, big challenge in front of us. That's what makes it fun."

Ever since American received the automatic bid, the coaching staff has been taping games of teams the Eagles might play. But because Tennessee lost early in the Southeastern Conference tournament, they were only able to make two tapes of the Volunteers.

"When everybody was jumping around, I was trying to peer around" to see when American played, Jones said. "I knew it was Tennessee. I knew it was Birmingham. I just wanted to see what day it was. That's a good thing. It will give us a little bit more time to worry and get nervous, but that extra day of preparation from a coach's perspective is definitely good."

Jones went to 13 NCAA tournaments in 19 years as a player, assistant coach and coach at Virginia, which means this is nothing new to him. But this is the first time for his players. He was asked what he hopes his players will get out of the experience.

"A lot of fun and five or six wins," he joked. "We won't worry so much about what the result is going to be, but we will address our attitude going in. While I want it to be fun, that doesn't mean that we're not going to be serious about it. . . . We've got to come out and we've got to really, really work our tails off."

There was a bigger crowd at the student center for the selection show than there were at many of American's home games earlier this season. The players, however, don't seem to mind having so many people jumping on their bandwagon this late in the season.

"It's great for us," Gilmore said. "The past couple weeks have been amazing, especially today. To see this many fans and this many supporters locally just come to see where we're going to be seeded, it means a lot to us to know how many people we have supporting us and pushing for us to do our best."