How good was this team?  The Red Flash may have been the best small conference team in America.  They had as much talent as anyone on the East Coast and that includes the Big East, at least at three positions.  They were not deep but when you have a world class backcourt and a center who matches up with anybody, you have a good chance to succeed.  Coach Skip Hughes goes into this season knowing this is the year that the streets of Loretto could run wild with after the Red Flash win the NEC title and get that invite to the Big Dance.  That is if they can stay healthy.  And if this nucleus of studs can get a little support at the other two positions because truly their trio is as good as any on the East Coast.  And the back court has not one but two of the quickest and feistiest guards in the country playing next to each other.  But we will get to that later, for now we begin with the Steeltown legend who truly is a man amongst men, on the court or off.

As good as the backcourt is for the Red Flash, the main man for St. Francis is Maurice Stokes, the senior center from Westinghouse High in Pittsburgh PA!  Big Mo is without question the best basketball player you have never heard of.  At six foot seven and a broad shouldered 232 pounds, he dominated the boards sometimes against much taller men.  He finished in the top five in the country in rebounding and might have the best instincts of any player in the country and knowing when, how and where to go get the board.  And of course with that wide body he could flat screen out the sun.  Mo is a solid defender down low that the Frankie defense revolves around.  He might not be Bill Russell blocking shots but he takes up space in the key and the other team knows he is there.  HE is intimidating and loves to talk a good game down low to teammates and opponents.  He can also play a little offense.  He led the team in scoring and earned every bit of his honorable mention all-American and was named MVP of the Northeast conference and that was after missing those seven games with injuries and only being about 75 percent in another half dozen.  When he was at full speed Stokes is one of the most complete players in the country.  The entire ability of this fast-breaking team starts with Stokes ability to grab boards and get the ball to his greyhound guards on the break, usually about halfway down the court.  In half court sets he can play either high post, setting screens and doing pick and rolls with his terrific teammates, or down on the block where Mo knows how to finish with a variety of moves.  Stokes is also an exquisite ball handler that on any other team would have averaged more assists but with his two great point guards averaged just over four a game.  Still, Stokes ability to handle the ball like a wing and get to the hoop or pass to teammates off the elbow is unique to big Mo and a few other players in the entire country (Bird of course, that kid Malone down in Louisiana is developing that game, I hear there is some blonde bomber in Germany with similar skills).  Imagine you are the center on the other team and big number 26 comes barreling his way down the key going to the hoop!  I don’t think so!  Sure, Stokes had great skills and one of the best all-around games in the country but his best asset is his unselfishness and that he is always team first.  Mo could easily score twenty a game and throw up numbers that are ridiculous. His lone triple double was against of all teams Providence and Marvin Barnes who might be the most similar player in talent of Stokes.  Mo went for 24 points with 19 boards and 11 assists and threw in 8 blocks for good measure and held to Barnes to 10, 7, 2 and 2 in a game the Flash should have won.  Barnes must have got under Big Mo’s skin but after the game Bad News had nothing but praise for his opponent saying ‘I know how to play basketball but Mo there is one of a kind, a basketball savant.’  Stokes could definitely get all of the headlines if he wanted with ridiculous off court behavior (the craziest thing MO does his penchant for wearing nice suits and having a few beers with the fellas) and monumental stats but he is the ultimate teammate who is always about team first and doing whatever it takes to win.  Stokes is supposedly fully healthy now and he is going to carry this team as far as he could on those broad shoulders. Hopefully, the rest of the country outside of the NEC gets to see how special of a talent Big Mo is!   

The great backcourt of the red flash featured two cat quick guards who both could play point.  The Senior, Norm Van Lier, and the junior, Kevin Porter, are the quickest guards that play together in the country and maybe the toughest.  Van Lier is a defensive stud.  ‘Stormin Norman’ will be in your face all night long.  As much as Stokes is the physical presence underneath that defines this team, Van Lier, who also hails from Pennsylvania via Ohio, was a member of the legendary Midhland High basketball team that went undefeated and many consider one of the best prep teams ever.  Van Lier also played quarterback and safety at Midland and has that football player’s mentality.  He was recruited by some schools to play between the sidelines but they only wanted him at safety and he wanted to play QB.  He chose to come to tiny Saint Francis and play basketball instead though some would say he continued his gridiron glory on the basketball court.  At only six one is as intimidating of a physical presence as there is on the perimeter in this or any other league and is not intimidated by going inside with the big boys.  As a matter of fact, Van Lier finished tied for third on the team in rebounding at with five rebounds a game which is of course less than half than the amount of the carom grabbing machine they call Mo.  With an even smaller and much skinnier Porter around Van Lier usually guarded the two or shooting guard on the other team which usually meant he was giving up two or three inches in height.  This did not bother # 12 at all but is sure bothered the guys he was he was guarding.  Norman is too tough to be handled on the postups but can run with anyone and trying to screen him for a shooter is putting your health into jeopardy.  Defense is Van Lier’s calling card and will give him a chance to play at the next level but he also has some game on the other end.  He is a great passer and can also score a little bit.  He is not your quintessential shooting guard but he can hit an open jumper and his athleticism and ability to never stop running and to finish make him a threat.  At the next level he will probably be a pure point guard with his size and his great ability to run an offense and penetrate and set up teammates.  As good as he is at distributing he is nowhere near as good as his sidekick in crime Mr. Porter. These two obviously are two pees in the pod with the only difference being the huge chip Van Lier plays with every night he gets on the court.  Norman is also the toughest man you might ever want to meet.  Do not cross him!  Ask Calvin Murphy or the Big O or Lenny Wilkens about how tough he is!  I guarantee you they do not want to see him again but alas all three of those teams are on the Red Flash schedule again.

Porter is even quicker than Van Lier.  He is as good at penetrating to the basket as anyone in the country.  He is that good.  He loves to drive the lane and dish off to one of his teammates especially Stokes for easy buckets.  If he is not stopped he will score.  Porter finished second on the team in scoring at over 14 a game as he goes at the hoop with the desire of a cat chasing a squirrel and he knows how to finish when he gets to the hoop with a variety of shots off the glass.  Going at a svelte six foot and 170 you have never seen anyone play at this speed.  When he and Iverson went to toe, it was like watching two waterbugs race across a pond.   Porter has the skills and devotion to be great and it is a miracle that the Red Flash (that should be his nickname) got him to come to tiny Loretto from DeSable in Chicago.  He has that Chicago style of play and is ultra-aggressive about this game.  Kevin might not be quite the defensive player that Van Lier but that is not for a lack of trying. Nobody fits the number 10 better than Porter and he easily led the Northeast conference in fouls (and steals) as he is always in the face of the other team’s point guard and loves to harass them from baseline to baseline.  Can you even imagine being another point guard and having # 10 and # 12 tag team you for 40 minutes?  Of course Porter is best on the offensive end and the ‘little drummer boy’ virtually unstoppable with the ball in his hand.  His only downside is like his sidekick an average jump shot that leaves defenders playing off from him too much and the three point line was not even in his thought process. With Van Lier having the same propensity this team was in need of someone who could hit some jumpers. 

 With Stokes and this great back court the Frankies just needed another big man and a couple of solid wing type forwards who could score and defend.  Well they did not have an Otis Thorpe like Providence has next to Barnes but Stokes did have a nice sidekick in Senior Wilbur ‘Tree’ Trosch.  Trosch is similar in size to Stokes at six eight at 240 pounds and does not have some offensive skill.  He can score down low but is nowhere near as athletic as his sidekick in the paint  He is an okay board man but with Stokes eating up most of the rebounds he was mainly used as a defense presence helping to guard the rim.  This was not his greatest strength though he can bang down low.  Trosch, from tiny Clairton PA, got a little over 20 minutes a game and did eat up some fouls but Hughes was always looking for someone to play next to his superman that could better guard the rim or could run the court with his speedy guards a little more effectively.  The one thing that Trosch brings to the table is an ability to hit long-range jumpers.  He likes to consider himself another guard and loves to launch from the rafters.  Hughes allows this as with Stokes patrolling the key, you only need the man down there and he loves the fact that Trosch can ‘stretch’ the defenses.  

The fifth starter for the Frankies is senior Sandy Williams.  Williams will begin the year next to big Mo and the Tree.  Williams is not really a wing though he has wing size at six three (though some list him as a Charles Barkleyesque six five) as this athletic forward can really score and board.  He does not run the court as well as you might think and his defense is a bit suspect but he can flat fly.  He is also physical to the point of wearing down at times.  Williams is not exactly the weak link here but this team needs more shooters (that is why Trosch has expanded his game) and Williams does not wander outside of 15 feet too often.

With this group around the Red Flash did not need much else but they had solid role players as well.  Seniors Jim McLellan and Larry Lewis give support up front to Stokes and company.  Both had skills that helped the Red Flash success but what they really have is a mean streak and toughness.  Hughes knows he needs someone who could score from the perimeter but he is glad to have these two down low for beef and they filled in admirable when Stokes missed some games.  McClellan and Lewis take some pressure off from Stokes and Trosch because they will board and bang.  Both are similar to the starters in that they are not overtly tall but they are bulky and take up space and can really board.  ‘Muggsy’ as he is known had a solid career in Loretto and is always a valuable role player for the Red Flash as he is the best board guy on the team this side of Stokes and set some mighty screens for his buddy Van Lier and his perimeter friends.  McClellan might not have played except for the injury to Stokes as he is a Mo clone all the way down to coming from the Steel City.    Neither of these guys had the one thing this team really could have used which is a big time shot blocker to play next to ‘the man’ but hey when you are a school of this size you take what you can get and the Red Flash got more than their fair share of talent coming to this small little berg.  Junior Mike Copeland is a seven footer who can block a shot but is a complete project who was stuck on the JV all last year even with the injuries to Stokes so his role will be at best limited.  Seniors Joe Aston and Lenny Murray are a pair of solid forwards who can play but are stuck behind some studs.  One of these guys should break through this year as they are much better options at the three then Williams defensively but nowhere near as athletic.  Junior Nick Leasure could get a shot at the three as well.  This 6’7 bushy haired kid from Tyrone PA is a pure shooter.  He does not bring much else to the table but this team needs shooting and this kid can shoot and with his height does not need much room to let it fly. 

The depth in the back court was similar to the big men.  There was some talent but nowhere near the starters and each player had a specific role.  Senior Cal Fowler  is a good all-around player who can really score and might get a chance at the next level. He loves to compete but is not a long-range shooter.  Yet.  He has worked on this and by the end of last season was hitting some threes in games instead of just on the sidelines.  His roommate Ed ‘Frankenstein’ Winters is a gifted shooter but never really got much of a chance for serious minutes with the dudes in front of him.  Sophomore Jeff Hamilton is a wing who got limited minutes but played well but mostly on the JV.  He was not ‘fortuitous’ starting the year behind Anderson with a similar style and then stuck on the JV, primarily to work on his long range shot.  He has the rest as he can flat get to the hole and draw contact.  He was so dominant there though Hughes brought him up for the last ten games and he showed some nice offensive game.  The aptly named Napoleon Lightning did not get much time backing up at point but should contribute next season as well as fellow Sophomore Greg Jacobs.  This duo might be the next Van Lier/Porter as they were terrific on the JV together. 

The St. Francis Red Flash gave the fans of Loretto Pennsylvania a season to remember.  Led by a trio of studs who carried them last year, they finally received the recognition they deserve.  Mo Stokes, Norm Van Lier and Kevin Porter are tremendous basketball players who prove you don’t have to play at Kansas or Georgetown to be great players. This little Injun could.  Stokes, in particular, showed the world that you don’t have to be 7 foot to dominate the paint.  He is as dominant as Alcindor or Ewing or Chamberlain.  Can’t wait to see him mix it up nightly in the pros!  But no matter what his legend is secure at this tiny program in the Keystone state as he is probably the best small college player in the country and for sure is the best player the Red Flash has ever and will probably EVER will produce.  And Big Mo is one hell of a guy as well!   Now can he and his incredible back court tandem carry this team to the promised-land of the Big Dance.  Down in the West Pennsyl streets of Loretto, the Red Flash are indeed ready to have you fall in love with their team.