Russell Monroe

[PAmedic]

in addition to a big game tonight- congrats to the newly named "Student Athelete of the Week"



Russell Monroe - Men's Basketball

Russell Monroe has been acknowledged by the Liberty University Athletic Department as this week’s student-athlete of the week. Monroe is a part of the Liberty University Flames basketball team. He is a Sport Management major and holds a 3.34 GPA. His ability to excel on the field as well as in the classroom is the reason for this honor.

[PAmedic]

I know what the problem is now. He doesn't LOOK mean enough. He needs a 'stach and goatee.



now HERE'S a THREAT in the middle:

[theinsider]

Russ looks mean with a goat!

[PAmedic]

my thoughts exactly. usually LUConn has something witty to say about my graphic art expertise!

[PAmedic]

1. I'm telling you: FACIAL HAIR!
2. Nice to see SCAR weasled his way into this piece. Wondering what the price for that jem was?

Flames ask Monroe to be more assertive

By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
December 21, 2005

For one moment, at least, Russell Monroe had come out of his shell. During a blowout loss Nov. 30 at Longwood in which Liberty basketball fans were hard-pressed to find any sort of bright spot, Monroe swatted a Lancers' shot so fiercely that it ended up a good 20 feet from the court.
Then, he nodded his head and chirped a bit. And there it was: a rare, genuine display of emotion from LU's 6-foot-11 sophomore center.

He's got all the physical tools to succeed at the Division I level. What's lacking is the aggressiveness, the passion, the little part inside his head that says, 'hey, get that weak stuff out of here!' when an opponent throws up a lazy shot in the lane.

"We've got to get him to play with emotion a whole lot more," Liberty guard Larry Blair said. "That comes with playing and experience."

Monroe recognizes he needs to get better at being aggressive, which should be a given for a guy who is close to seven feet tall. But explore his basketball background a bit, and you'll see why aggressiveness isn't his strong suit.

Tim Scarborough, a former Flame player and assistant coach who calls LU games for the Flames Televison Network, saw some footage of Monroe's days at the Butternut Home School program in Michigan, and what he saw was tantamount to a man against boys situation.

"You ought to see those tapes," he said with a chuckle. "It looked like everyone around him was like 5-10."
"Usually, the competition wasn't very strong," Monroe said. "In general, I would say not very competitive."

How Monroe's tape got to Liberty is still up for debate. Monroe said he had never heard of the school until LU coach Randy Dunton contacted him, but he quickly gained interest because of Liberty's Christian background. MAC school Central Michigan was the only other school to offer him a scholarship.

Dunton said a Liberty alum tipped him off to Monroe, who is from Alma, Mich., a rural community about 50 miles north of the state capital of Lansing.

It was difficult to get a gauge of just how good Monroe was, though. He had the skills, the deft shooting touch from inside, the big, physical body. But he was going against much smaller players who didn't have the talent or the size to challenge him.

"He played in what most would way was the most rinky-dinkiest league in the state," Butternut coach Steve Crouse told the Lansing State Journal in May 2004.

Monroe didn't play any AAU basketball and didn't go to many summer camps. Monroe was the first home schooled player from Michigan to ever sign at a Division I school. So Dunton was taking a major flyer when he offered Monroe a scholarship. The upside in natural ability was enough for Dunton to take the chance.

The downside is that Monroe is about as raw as any big man in Division I basketball.

"It's been a little slower than my level of patience would like to see," Dunton said. "But Russell's such a great kid that he wants to process everything. He tries to think through everything that he's doing. He does try to concentrate on it.

"Right now, we've got to get him away from being a dot-to-dot player. In basketball, it's about contingencies. You've got to be able to shift from A to B, but all of a sudden, the defense does something different, and you've got to go B to E. That's a problem for him, although he's getting better."

Patience is rarely a coach's strength, and Dunton's has clearly been tested by the slow progress in Monroe's development. Monroe's teammates understand, however, why he has been slow to turn into a dominant Division I big man. Before arriving at LU last fall, Monroe had never even stepped foot in a formal classroom.

"We're just trying to instill it in him each play and each day, to play aggressively," Blair said. "I definitely see the talent. He worked over the summer hard, and it's showing from conditioning, to the way he's been practicing."

During a 78-62 loss at Lipscomb University Dec. 10, Monroe played 19 minutes and went 3-for-3 from the field. He had just one rebound and committed four fouls, something that left the Liberty coaching staff puzzled.

In all, Lipscomb outrebounded the Flames 42-22, a startling discrepancy.

"I don't think I took it personal enough," he said.

Once he starts to "get it," most agree Monroe has the physical tools to be a force in the Big South.

For Dunton and the Flames, Monroe can't "get it" fast enough.

"Maybe a half a season is all he needs," Blair said, "to break through and be a full-on force."

[SCAR]

Nice to see someone giving me some love! A Train I'm still waiting for my feature article in the Champion man! :-)

I may have to work a Chris Lang mention into a future broadcast!!!

[GOAT]

Make sure they shrink your head to fit in the Champion. They will definitely have to zoom out like crazy to get a quality picture.

[ATrain]

LOL...the only way I think I can get an article about you Tim is when I become an editor...and I got beat out by the hook-up this semester...but we'll see about next semester.

[SCAR]

Goat I knew you would have a head joke in there somewhere. The news and advance had to have a centerfold picture of your head when you played :-)