Quartet of St. Edward seniors could provide D-III sleepers

Lakewood St. Edward features a quartet of players who project out to play at the Division 3 level or higher, according to longtime Eagles’ coach Eric Flannery. Size abounds in the group, starting with a pair of 6’8” bookends. The most experienced of that group is Emmett Chambers (2018), who started during the second half of the season a year ago on a team which lost in the Division I state title game. Chambers projects out as a stretch 4 and could play low-level Division I and most certainly Division 3. “He’s a face-up guy who can spread the floor. He shoots the ball as well as anybody on our team,” said Flannery, who last year picked up his 400^th career coaching win and guided St. Edward to its 10^th Final Four appearance in his tenure as coach. Chambers, who averaged 8 a game as a junior, is also a skilled passer who displays an understanding of the game while on the floor. He can defend fellow bigs in the post but needs to put on weight to avoid being pushed around down low by bigger more physical players. At a recent showcase, he weighed in at 200 pounds. He also has a 29.5 inch vertical and an 84-inch wingspan. He started the year hurt as a junior but moved into the starting role the second of season. Elliot Tirbaso is s 6’5” wing who can spot up and shoot a 3 and is also “deceivingly athletic” which allows him to convert inside, said Flannery. “He can dunk easily, get to the basket strong,” Flannery said. With confidence and a more aggressive approach, Tirbaso could play a key role for the Eagles in his senior year. He’s also getting a lot of interest from Division 3 schools, Flannery said, in part because he is such a good student. He carries a 4.1 grade point average. “He’ll play D-3, it’s just a question of where, ” Flannery said. The other 6’8” bookend would be Pat Daugherty, who plays a more traditional 4 role in that he focuses on defending and rebounding. Daugherty, who played some junior varsity as a junior, could earn minutes when St. Edward is forced to go big while matching up with an opponent. “Raw, athletic, good hands and can shoot it a little bit,” Flannery said in providing a thumbnail sketch of Daugherty. PJ Flannery is a coach’s son and plays like it. The 6’3” power forward can step out on the perimeter and shoot it and also understands the game “He’s 4-man that stretches (the defense) because he can shoot it pretty well and put it on the floor. He doesn’t look athletic, but he bangs in there and he’ll defend bigs. He’s one of our most vocal leaders,” Eric Flannery said of his son. PJ started the first 10 games of his junior year as Chambers rounded into form. Three football players, Will Henry, Michael Dowell and Richard White who are also all in the Class of 2018, are slated to join the team at the end of the football season. The Eagles have a ton of talent at the undergraduate level, which we’ll review in another post.