Freshman guard adds shooting, size to Eagles As the son of a basketball coach, American University coach Jeff Jones was quick to recognize the personality traits of freshman guard John Schoof, also the son of a coach. Actually, make that two coaches.
| UP NEXT |
| American at Navy |
| When » Wednesday, 7 p.m. |
| Where » Alumni Hall, Annapolis |
Schoof’s father Rick, now the athletic director at the Trinity School in Falls Church, coached at Iowa State and East Carolina. Schoof’s mother Mary, who played at O’Connell and became the first All-American in program history at East Carolina, served as an assistant at Georgia Tech.
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“He’s been around the game. He wants to please,” Jones said of Schoof. “Maybe at times, maybe to a fault, he’s wanted to do exactly what the coaches say.”
Coachability is one reason why Schoof has been a starter since game one of his freshman season. A soft shooting touch and good size at 6-foot-5 also help. On a team which senior guards Charles Hinkle (20.5 points a game) and Troy Brewer (13.0 ppg) take most of the shots, Schoof averages 3.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
Not that Schoof can’t score. His two biggest games came with Brewer out of the lineup. In an 81-55 loss to Georgetown, Schoof scored 12 points. In the Eagles’ Patriot League opener against Colgate, Schoof made four of six 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 18 points.
“John’s a great teammate. He works so hard,” Jones said. “He’s going to defer to Troy.”
American (11-7, 2-1 Patriot League) takes on Navy (3-14, 0-3) Wednesday night in Annapolis. Schoof, a graduate of W.T. Woodson in Fairfax, will play under the watchful gaze of his parents, who are enjoying one of the busiest years of their life. Their daughter, Sarah, is a senior center at Iona.
Being the son of players and coaches has imbued Schoof with a high basketball I.Q. Sometimes, however, Jones wishes he didn’t think so much.
“What we’ve tried to do is encourage him — practice hard, listen to what we say, then just go out there and you’ve got to play,” Jones said. “It’s no longer about what the coaches say. You gotta do it out there on the floor.”
