The Atlantic Sun tournament was always going to be competitive, mainly because two teams at the top of the bracket tied for first place. Those were the two teams everyone expected to make the finals and win the league. The Queens Royals had different plans for the Atlantic Sun: to win the league and throw a wrench into the plans of the two top seeds.
Never heard of Queens University in Charlotte, NC? That is no surprise, given they have only been a member of Division 1 for 4 seasons. This was the first season they were eligible to make the NCAA Tournament, so they are making their first appearance. The Royals ran through the gauntlet in the Atlantic Sun conference, beating the top two teams in the league, Austin Peay in the Semifinals and Central Arkansas in the Finals. Queens is going to be a 16 seed and will have an uphill climb to try to win a game, but there are some things they can do to keep some pressure on their opponent.
Three Point Line
Queens isn’t going to out-talent anyone, especially not from the 16-seed line. However, the Royals do have the great equalizer, and it comes from beyond the three-point line. The two 16-seed teams that have beaten a one-seed have gotten hot from deep and have kept constant pressure on the one-seed to keep scoring. The Royals got back into the Atlantic Sun title game and were able to finish it off from the three-point line.
Cooper Schweiger and Chris Ashby are the two players for Queens who are out on the floor for one reason: to shoot the ball from deep. Ashby was the preseason Atlantic Sun player of the year and can get white-hot from deep and carry the offense for a while when the rest of the team isn’t scoring.
Queens can make shots from deep, which will keep games close, but something to watch for is the Royals' ability to guard the three-point line. The Royals don’t play much defense, and they do give up three, as much as they can stretch a lead or keep a game close with their ability to shoot threes. The reverse is also true, and Queens can quickly see a small deficit balloon if they are not able to guard the three-point line. Live by the three and die by the three is sometimes the theme for the Royals.
Positionless Basketball
Head coach Grant Leonard has an unorthodox approach to roster building. He likes to find guys who are tall and can play multiple positions. Multiple positions for coach Leonard usually mean all of the positions. Queens has a very unique roster: it's long and lacks a true point guard. Multiple players will bring the ball up, initiate offense, and create.
Diving deeper into the numbers, you will see that three players, Yoav Berman, Nasir Mann, and Jordan Watford, all average 3 assists per game. Watford and Berman both average just under 4 per game. The other two starters, Chris Ashby and Avantae Parker, both average just under 2 assists per night. Everyone touches the ball, and they all initiate offense. Â
Having positional flexibility does two things. It creates a scouting problem for the opponents. Queens is hard to game-plan for because you never know where one of their players will be, since every player on the floor will play 1-5. The second thing this does outside of scouting is make Queens very hard to guard. It doesn’t hurt that the Royals have a lot of players who can shoot and get to the rim, but playing man-to-man defense against a team with this kind of positional flexibility can spell doom for opponents because it allows coach Leonard to get the matchups he wants.
Jordan Watford
Watford is one of my favorite players to watch in this tournament. He is one of the premier scorers in the NCAA Tournament, and he is only a freshman. Watford will jump off the screen when you watch Queens because he is often the best player on the floor most nights. He won’t be the best player on the floor in the NCAA Tournament, but he is going to be able to hold his own.
Watford is the highest-ranked recruit in the history of Queens University. He was the number 1 player in South Carolina, the MaxPreps South Carolina Player of the Year, and he has been a revelation for the Royals and head coach Leonard. Watford is the piece that has been missing for the Royals during their time in Division 1. As potent as Queens can be shooting the ball from deep, Watford can change a game on the offensive end of the floor.
The guard has a good three-point shooting percentage, but he is the one player on the floor for Queens who isn’t a threat to pull up from deep. He is more than capable, but as the defense starts to close out, that is when Watford puts the ball on the floor and gets to the rim, where he finishes at over 60%. Just for the record, the guard isn’t just a good scorer for the Atlantic Sun conference; he is a guy who would get buckets in a power conference as well. Watford is a lot of fun to watch.