Charlotte Hounds Claim Eric Lusby Off Waivers

The Charlotte Hounds continued to add to their offensive arsenal Wednesday morning when they claimed Loyola attackman and 2012 NCAA men’s lacrosse championship most outstanding player Eric Lusby off waivers.

Since the team started making roster moves, management has been aggressive in getting familiar names and known-talent, especially on the offensive-side of the ball.  This transaction continues that trend.

Lusby wasn’t drafted to the league, but part of that could be due to the fact that unlike other drafts the MLL Collegiate Draft is held before a player’s senior season not after it.

Before this collegiate season Lusby was a player that had missed all but the first two games of the 2011 season because of an ACL injury and no one had seen him on the field since then.

Had the draft been after the season, teams would’ve seen a player who played and started all of a championship-winning team’s games, a team that won a record-tying 18 games this season. They would’ve saw him score a team-leading and school record 54 goals as well as putting up team-leading 71 points, the most since for a Loyola player since the school joined Division 1 in 1982.

Teams would have seen a player that got hot at the most important time of the season. Lusby scored 17 goals in the four games of the NCAA men’s lacrosse championships, an NCAA record, including four in the final game.

Prior to this season Lusby was known as a dangerous outside shooter, but possibly a one-trick pony. Lusby improved his dodging and stick skills however and proved to be able to create his own shot and finish.

He finished his collegiate career with 89 goals and 26 assists for 115 points.

The biggest concerns on the Hounds roster are at goalie and face-off. Lusby does not address either of these issues. But he does add another weapon off the bench and a team can never have too many players that can make plays and score.

What helps him is that he will back-up players like Matt Danowski, Billy Bitter and Jeremy Boltus so there isn’t as much pressure to perform immediately. He can take time to develop and continue to grow into an even better.

Does adding Lusby turn the one-win Hounds into sudden championship contenders? No.

But he does give them more depth, another scoring option and makes them even more exciting to watch and interesting to follow.

Photo credit.

AP Photo/Gretchen Ertl