Dealing with the graduation of all-time leading scorer Sa'eed Nelson, as well as valuable rotation pieces in Mark Gasperini and YY Yiljep, the 2020-21 American men's basketball team turned to senior guards Jamir Harris and Stacy Beckton Jr. for leadership. With six freshmen plus one junior college transfer, head coach Mike Brennan welcomed his largest incoming class since 2017-18 (9 newcomers).

The Eagles finished the season with a 4-6 record, including 4-5 in Patriot League play. AU earned the No. 5 seed in the Patriot League tournament, falling to No. 4 seed Army on the road in the quarterfinals.

Jamir Harris had a remarkable final season for American. The First Team All-Patriot League selection scored 20.5 points per game and led the nation in 3-pointers per game (3.9) and minutes per game (38.9). The sharpshooter ranked seventh in Division I in 3-point shooting percentage (43.8). For his career, Harris shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc, good for fifth in program history. 

The NABC Second Team All-District honoree’s most impressive game was a triple-overtime thriller against Loyola Maryland on Jan. 24 in which he scored a season-high 33 points. Harris matched a school record for threes in the contest, draining 9-of-15 shots from long-range, including a buzzer-beater from the logo to top the Greyhounds. The shot was featured on Scott Van Pelt’s episode of SportsCenter as his “Best Available Video.” He earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors for his outstanding performance. 

Johnny O’Neil made a huge splash in his first season with the Eagles. O’Neil was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, the first AU player since Delante Jones in 2016 to receive the honor. He’s only the fourth Eagle to receive the recognition. 

A 6-9 forward who can shoot and play defense, O’Neil led the team and ranked third in the league with 1.5 blocks per game. He ranked fifth in the Patriot League in 3-pointers per game (2.0). He wasted no time getting used to college basketball, scoring 14 points, grabbing eight rebounds and picking up six blocks in his college debut against Navy on Jan. 14. The last time an AU player had at least five blocks was when Sam Iorio also swatted six balls against Boston U. on Feb. 14, 2018.

For the second straight season, Stacy Beckton Jr. was named to the Patriot League All-Defensive Team. He is the first AU player to receive the honor twice. Jarion Childs (1998, 2000) and Brian Gilgeous (1991, 1992, 1993) are the only other Eagles to be named to a conference All-Defensive Team more than once (Colonial Athletic Association).

Connor Nelson was named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team for the first time in his career. He is the first AU player to receive the honor since Charlie Jones in 2017. On the court, the 6-6 junior led the Eagles in rebounds (6.1) and steals per game (2.3). He led the Patriot League in steals per game and ranked 14th nationally in the category.

In 2021-22, the Eagles will return some solid young talent to go along with returning senior starters Connor Nelson and Josh Alexander. Christian Sutton and Christian Lorng will also be seniors next season. Ben Lubarsky was one of three players to start all 10 games last season and will be a junior next season. Colin Smalls and Matt Rogers earned valuable minutes during their freshman season and will be expected to take the next step as sophomores. Lorenzo Donadio and Chris Gleaton will also return for their sophomore seasons, while Victor Brown Jr. should see his first minutes after being out with an injury as a freshman.