The Chandler Dawes Era in Springfield Falcons history is offically over. The Conor McCaffrey and Paul Hammond Era is over after 5 AAU National Championships and 6 total appearences, 2024 will be the first season since 2012 that will not feature Chandler or a Dawes twin. Conor McCaffrey and Paul Hammond other notable players to the Springfield dynasty are also saying their farewells, both McCaffrey and Hammond won 4 AAU National Titles with Springfield, McCaffrey won the 2022 National Championship Tournament MVP.
The Springfield Falcons just pulled off the greatest signing of the decade. Irish star Victor Alexander was the grand prize of the 2023 offseason. A lot of teams were trying to get Alexander, the "Alexander sweepstakes" is what it became known as. But Alexander's Irish connection and seeing McCaffrey as an Idol, as well as modeling his game after Chandler Dawes, Springfield would end up winning the sweepstakes. What does this mean for the team though? To continue our series, here is the Springfield Falcons AAU preview for the 2024 AAU season.
Las Year Recap
As mentioned, Springfield has a juggernaut trio of Chandler Dawes, Conor McCaffrey and Paul Hammond, they won a lot of games and championships, coming through in the clutch when it mattered, time after time, and 2023 is another prime example. Springfield destroyed Miami in 5 games to win the title and were by far the best team in the AAU last season, but now with a new core coming into play, it could get potentially ugly for the first time in Springfield AAU history.
Offseason Overview
I don't know if you've heard, but Springfield signed Victor Alexander, I may have already mentioned it a few times already, but that's because he's just that good, the potentiall is off the charts. They know they might not be a contending team just yet, but the young core is going to get plenty of experience this season and get ready to gear up for another title run. Springfield added 7 rotational peices outside of Alexander, all guys who are capable of playing in a system and forming a really really good sqaud.
Projected Starting 5?
PG: Andrew Crawford - Andrew Crawford provides a lot of versatility in this lineup for Springfield. At 6-foot-2, he provides a matchup nightmare for opposing PGs on offense and defense. While Crawford may not be able to score outside effiecently, he will be able to bully other PGs on offense by getting to the rack and dishing out if need be. On defense, his size, strength and agilty against other PGs will royally suck for other teams. I would have gone with Chance Hobbs for more of an offensive advantage and put Sochan as a wing, but there is not a bad decision with this lineup.
SG: Brayden Anderson - The sharpshooter for the team. But, that's not all he can do. He can score at all three levels for this team. He will be the most efficent scorer on the team. He just signed a massive extension to stay with Springfield for a lot of upcoming seasons, and he should be scoring more than 20 points per game in the 2024 season for Springfield. He's a decent defender as well, but not as good as some of the othrs on this team.
SF: Cody Seltzer - Cody was the leading scorer for the Springfield 2A team last year, averging about 22 points per game. This year he is getting called up to the main squad, while having competetion for that scoring leading title with Brayden Anderson and Victor Alexander, he will still score quite a bit this year and do his part for the Falcons' offense. Most of the critcism for Cody Seltzer was his effort on the defensive end. He will have to improve, but there's enough defense on this team to cover for him.
PF: Victor Alexander - The Man, the Myth, the Legend. The Irish star is finally on the team that he hoped to be on the entire time: The Springfield Falcons. This guy is a unicorn, an alien, a freak of nature. For how tall and lanky he is, he moves so well and just flat-out doesn't make sense. He has plenty of tools to succeed in the AAU, but he does have some things to improve on, of course. He needs more size to him, perferably muscle mass. He covers so much space with his height and length that he will be a presence on offense and defense for Springfield. As mentioned, probably could be Springfield's leading scorer.
C: Xavier Paul - I've always liked Xavier Paul despite the small sample size that i've seen with previous teams. The good thing is that Springfield is not asking a lot of Paul. He will be the enforcer on this team. There will be teams that will try to bully and fight Alexander because of his lack of weight. Xavier Paul will act as his bodyguard on the court and makes sure nobody messes with Alexander. He might get double figures and add some from the defensive end on the boards. But most of the scoring, defense and rebounding won't come from him. He is a supplemental role in that aspect, but he will be needed to defend Alexander at all costs.
Other Rotational Players
PG: Chance Hobbs - I thought he was going to be the starting PG with Sochan at the 3 and Seltzer coming off the bench, but Chance Hobbs will do well off the bench. I don't think this means that Chance Hobbs won't start either, I think Springfield might experiement with different lineups and certain players coming off the bench. As mentioned, a lot of this year is developmental and experimental. Chance Hobbs will be a big part of Springfield this year, he could very well average over 15 points and 7 assists, and that might be worst-case scenario.
G/F: Daniel McCarthur - One of those guys that made an impression last summer league and over the preseason. Can take it to the rack, he's a better defensive player than an offensive, but will have his days when the ball is going to go in the hoop for him. Another solid piece in their rotation.
C: Joshua O'Brian - WHO?! Exactly, Josh started making his mark in the AAU scene at the end of last season. I believe that O'Brian is going to get a lot of minutes towards the middle of the season. He is a great passing big man, who will rebound and score at the rim. Perfect for a backup center. I'd prefer O'Brian learn from the others and gradully improve.
X-Factor? Brayden Anderson
It would have been easy to put Victor Alexander here. I think the real X-factor here is Brayden Anderson. Having on played 38 games last season in the 2A league, he is fully healthy with a huge contract extension to his name. He should be the No.1 or No.2 scoring option for this team with his ability to score on all three levels. Cody Seltzer was the de facto No.1 scoring option on the 2A team last summer, but with now Alexander and Anderson to form their scoring Big 3, Anderson has a chance to make a name for himself and earn this contract. This team goes as far with Anderson leading the way on the scoring aspect.
It's going to be a fun season for Springfield, but probably not a successul one. The abscense of Conor McCaffrey at point guard, the abscense of Paul Hammond as the human gladiator off the bench, the abscense of Charlie Dawes and his IQ and defense as the man in the middle and of course the absense of the greatest power forward in AAU History in Chandler Dawes is going to be felt, this team was together for so long, they won and lost so many heartbreakers and so many heartfelt games. Coach Jenkins is going to have his hands full this season, but he is the right man and probably the only man to lead them.