PL Defeats Lower-Tier Ivy Teams, Navy and Lehigh Suck

It's been a busy week for the PL. The best win of the week was by Colgate, who knocked off Cornell in OT with Linebaugh coming through in the clutch, as usual. Cornell ain't Princeton or Penn, but they could end up in 3rd or 4th in the Ivy league, so this is a strong win for 'gate.

Holy Cross thumped Harvard, as expected, but then lost to Princeton in a close one. Fingleton's line makes him look pretty useless, with three fouls, 2 points, no field goals and four rebounds in 11 minutes. Coach Willard said of Judson Wallace: "We watched the Colgate film and we could see he's really turned into a heck of a player." Well c'mon big Will, you could've just read that news here a few days before the Colgate game. If this kid keeps it up, no one in the Ivy League should beat Princeton.

The bane of the league this week was not Princeton, though. It was Sacred Heart, home of the Fightin' Aortas. They beat Army and Lehigh, both in close games. Yuck.

AU dropped a game that was closer than it looks to Delaware. It wasn't so much that Delaware beat AU, but that AU let Delaware win. An ugly game almost all around for AU, with Andres Rodriguez not looking like his usually dietylike self despite scoring 13. They ought to get things back together and beat perennial suckpot Fairleigh Dickinson tonight, who hopefully have gotten most of the felons off their team this season.

Bucknell lost to Yale, in another close one. They're looking like they are going to contend this year, which is surprising for a lot of people, myself included. Bettencourt didn't even play that well, but they still nearly knocked off a team that was competitive with UConn a week ago.

Good luck to teams playing tonight. I'll have a weekend wrapup Monday.

Happy Holidays.  @ 5:30 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  "hc hoops" sez on the hoops discussion board: "to answer my own question, belmont won the north division of the d-1 atlantic sun conf last year-troy st won the tourney and the ncaa bid-i guess they're not bad"

I'm not sure its so much that they aren't bad that it is Navy isn't good. Don't get me wrong, they're a solid group, with a 141 RPI. But Navy just sucks. I'm not sure how they expect to get more than five DI wins this year. Look at their upcoming OOC schedule:

-Air Force is going to beat them by 15
-James Madison used to spend its time beating up AU, now it's going to beat up Navy
-UCF is decent and will probably win in double digits
-They have 2 non-DI games scheduled, then they get to lose to Ohio and Rice, who are both good teams.
-SMissouri is going to beat them, and Eastern Michigan is a tossup.

The only two games they OUGHT to win are against Mt. St. Mary's and Loyola (which needs to join the NEC if they want to compete in hoops).

It's going to be a long year for Donny D and Navy hoops fans.  @ 3:46 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Voy sucks

The original PL board is down. The voy.com system is awful. There's an alternate board here.  @ 10:18 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  I can see the future

Yesterday, I wrote that the Lafayette game "is a toss-up, but I'll say LU wins by 4 while Clark throws up 35 pts."

And whaddya know... I was right. I know, LU won by 3, but hey, I think a point here and there is reasonable. Kudos to Rob Dill, who had as many block as rebounds (7).

I also predicted Judson Wallace from Princeton dominating the Colgate game, was anyone there? The stats look like he did.

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  Bucknell's free throw blunders:

Bucknell hands MSU a freebie  @ 3:47 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  PL vs. Kudzu League: Pt. 1

More fun mid-major action upcoming this week, including 3 games with our superiors in the Ivy league.

St. Peter's at LAFAYETTE (LSN)
Belmont at NAVY
Delaware at AMERICAN
Sacred Heart at ARMY
Yale at BUCKNELL
COLGATE at Cornell
Harvard at HOLY CROSS
Stony Brook at LEHIGH

Some thoughts --

St. Pete's is a bottom-half MAAC team with a stellar freshman, Keydren Clark. LU fans should try to get autographs with this kid now, before he starts to play for the Knicks. This game is a toss-up, but I'll say LU wins by 4 while Clark throws up 35 pts.

Belmont will probably beat Navy, which is just sad. They have been D-I for only a few years, but look better than they ought to. I predict they win by 10.

The American game is going to be interesting. AU comes off an awful, embarrassing loss on broadcast TV to UMD. They also used to be in the CAA, and Delaware effectively took their spot in the league after AU and Richmond left. Delaware is a team AU ought to beat, but it's all going to depend on their mindset, and whether their big guys can dominate a Delaware squad with a freshman frontcourt. AU by 5, because I'm optimistic. Also, if the facilities people at AU have any brains, they will load up the Wayne's World "Hi, I'm in....Delaware" clip to show on the scoreboard.

Army should beat Sacred Heart, which is perhaps the worst team in DI. But I bet they won't. Sacred Heart by 3.

Yale and Bucknell both scared the hell out of top 5 teams in the last week. Bucknell, if they hit their free throws, should be able to knock off GWB's alma mater. Bucknell by 6.

Cornell has passed the point where they were the Army of the Ivy League, and has good young talent. They'll beat Colgate by 10, and both team's fans will care more about hockey.

Holy Cross should beat Harvard. Harvard, which Georgetown alums refer to as the "secular Georgetown", has one guy on their roster that has EVER started an NCAA game. Yikes. HC by 15, even without their hulks.

In a normal world, Lehigh would beat Stony Brook. But they made me look silly and lost to the Long Island University Fightin' Commuters over the weekend, so who knows what their deal is. Lehigh by 3, maybe?

Let me know what your picks are.

MB
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  Followup on my weekend predictions:

-BUCKNELL at Michigan State - I was way off here, as the Bison played extraordinarily well, losing by 12 to MSU. How did they miss 17 of 18 free throws, though? Regardless, the Bison look strong in the first week.

-Colgate at Princeton - Princeton wins by nine, I got this one right.

-LIU at Lehigh - I forgot that Lehigh sucked. They lose to the Long Island Pollution Clouds by 13.

-Navy lost to SC by 30, as I thought they would.

-Army went 2-0 over the weekend, albeit over a team that should be DII and a bunch of guys that couldn't get into the Naval Academy. Congrats to them.

-Well, I was sort of right about HC in that they won by 2, but they did it without their big guys. Congrats to them on a big win.

-LU couldn't keep Rutgers below 65, and they lost.

-AU lost to UMD by 30, bordering Lehigh's pathetic performance by only putting 8 on the board in the first half. However, the last time AU started the season by losing to UMD, they won the PL regular season. So all is not lost.

As I count it, I went 6-3. Not too shabby...  @ 3:15 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Predictions for this weekend's games:

Hot dog, the season is upon us. While we all know things don't heat up too much until PL play, here's my predictions for this weekend's games:

BUCKNELL at Michigan State - State by 23. Frosh Shannon Brown's debut, look for him to drop at least 15.
COLGATE at Princeton - Princeton by 10. Judson Wallace from Princeton is legit, not sure if Howard Blue can guard him. If he does, game will be closer.
Long Island U. at LEHIGH - Lehigh by 15, any less and it's an embarrassment.
NAVY at South Carolina - Gamecocks by 25. Don DeVoe stopped beating SEC teams when he left Tennessee.
Columbia at ARMY (YES) - How is this game being broadcast? NY media bias, indeed. Who cares, Columbia sucks for not hiring Kareem Adbul-Jabar, and Army just sucks.
Coast Guard at ARMY - Ugh. Army by 5.
Boston Univ. at HOLY CROSS - Hard pick, since I don't know if HC will be playing with a frontcourt or not. If their 2 big guys play, they win by 3, if not, they lose by a lot more. Also, the Terrier is a wussy mascot.
LAFAYETTE at Rutgers - If LU can keep Rutgers under 65 pts, they get a victory over a supposed Big East team. I don't think they can, though, so Rutgers by 12.
AMERICAN at Maryland - I will not be attending, since last time I went to an AU/UMD we lost by 30. This time, we face a team that isn't going to win the nat'l championship, so UMD by 15 (although it would be ultimate bragging rights for me if AU beat them).

What do you think? Let me know on the board.

MB  @ 2:14 PM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Another HC preview:

The Boston Herald
November 15, 2003 Saturday ALL EDITIONS
SPORTS; Pg. 039
College Basketball; TIPOFF 2003-4; Holy Cross preview; Four-tune hunters; Crusaders aiming for another NCAA trip

RICH THOMPSON

WORCESTER -- Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard must tap a new offensive source for the Crusaders to earn a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The defending Patriot League champions lost three career 1,000-point scorers to graduation. Center Pat Whearty, power forward Tim Szatko and shooting guard Brian Wilson -- all former Patriot League MVPs -- were the Crusaders' primary sources of offense during a four-year span that produced a 76-46 record.

With the season-opener against Boston University looming, Willard is wondering how to replace the components that accounted for 57 percent of Holy Cross' offense last season?

"That's the $ 64,000 dollar question," Willard said. "Some people are just going to have to step up and that's what it comes down to. Obviously when you lose three 1,000-point scorers and your sixth man, it's got to be done by committee right now. Nobody in our program has scored over 400 points, other than (point guard) Jave Meade. So obviously people are going to have step up and get it done."

Meade, the team's captain and only senior, has made a career out of helping his teammates score with passing and defense. A preseason pick for Patriot League Player of the Year, Meade ranks fifth all-time in the conference in assists (444) and needs 88 to secure the top spot. He also ranks sixth in steals (186) and needs 49 to move into the top spot. Meade led the league in assists, steals and assists-to-turnover ratio for two straight seasons.

Meade must continue to distribute the ball and create offense from turnovers, but he'll also have to hike his scoring average of 10.5 points per game.

"I know I'm going to have to step into that role because we had some guys that were automatic two's (points)," Meade said. "Now it's my turn to score if that's what is needed for the team. If the team needs it, then I'll start doing that."

Despite the loss of the 7-foot Whearty, the Crusaders have size. Nate Lufkin, a 6-11 center, has the athletic ability and speed to play the 3 and 4 spots on the floor. The job of clogging the lanes and rebounding will fall to 7-6 center Neil Fingleton, who also posses a soft jump hook and jump shot. Lufkin is recovering from a sore tendon in his right foot and could miss the opener.

"I think Nate is very athletic and runs the floor very well," Willard said. "Neil takes up a lot of space, so there are times when we can definitely play them together."

Wingman Greg Kinsey is the Crusaders' other returning starter. The 6-4, 190-pound junior scored his points in transition and was a tiger on defense (49 steals) in Willard's three-guard package.

Sophomore 2-guard Kevin Hamilton found his offense during the Patriot League tournament when he averaged 12.7 points and four rebounds a game. Kinsey, Hamilton, Michael Smiley and freshmen Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas will be worked into the rotation.

"We are a little more quick and athletic than we've ever been, so we are going to create some offense off of our defense with pressure in the full court," Willard said. "I'm a three-guard guy and I believe that passing and dribble penetration are the keys to be a good offensive and defensive team."

Junior forward John Hurley could start at forward alongside Lufkin or serve as the Crusaders' sixth man. In either case, Hurley will serve as a rebounder and a point producer who can also locate the open man. Greg Richter played in 17 games last season despite injuries. Sophomore Kevin Hyland and freshman Josh Kramer and Joe Young will compete for minutes.

"John can step up in a transitional style of play because he is very athletic and he finishes well around the basket," Willard said. "He very good anticipating defensively and he's one the kids that has to contribute."

Holy Cross has an ambitious nonleague schedule that includes some of the top New England squads.

Holy Cross will face Rick Pitino's Cardinals in Louisville on Pearl Harbor Day and will play a holiday tournament in Madison Square Garden. Willard thinks senior-driven teams such as Lafayette and Colgate will challenge the Crusaders' hold on the Patriot League title.
  @ 11:36 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Okay, before we look at the HC preseason prospectus from the Telegram, can I just suggest that the Jave Meade show is perhaps a bit overhyped? This article is a little over the top.



SUNDAY TELEGRAM (Massachusetts)
November 16, 2003 Sunday, ALL EDITIONS
SPORTS; Pg. D1

Meade to lead NCAA crusade;
HC men fixed on 4th tourney

Jennifer Toland; TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

DATELINE: WORCESTER

- Holy Cross' Jave Meade is the Patriot League's Preseason Player of the Year, a nice honor, for sure, but one the talented point guard prefers not to talk about.

''I'm glad that people respect me,'' Meade said, ''but that stuff doesn't matter because in the end it's the team that wins that matters most.''

And as the consummate team player, Meade has helped lead Holy Cross to 66 victories over the last three years and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, earning perhaps an even higher accolade from coach Ralph Willard, who calls Meade his team's most valuable player.

''He's been the glue to the team the last three years,'' Willard said. ''He's the glue that holds us together, and you can't put a value on that. He's one of the most complete players I've ever coached. He does everything, and he makes others around him better.''

Meade has earned the reputation as the Patriot League's best point guard as well as one of the top point guards in the East and this year, as the team's only senior, Meade's importance to the Crusaders becomes even greater. The Crusaders graduated three 1,000-point scorers in Tim Szatko, Patrick Whearty and Brian Wilson, as well as Mark Jerz, who was a spark as HC's sixth man last year. Meade is the only player on this year's roster who's scored 400 points in his career.

In addition to all that scoring, HC will also miss the experience of last year's Big Three. Szatko, Whearty and Wilson all played significant minutes for four years.

''From an offensive standpoint, we have a lot of unanswered questions,'' Willard said. ''We lost four of our top six players, not to mention two Patriot League Players of the Year (Szatko and Whearty). There's a tremendous void to fill. We have to establish some consistent scoring among the members of our team. It's a matter of developing and defining roles, and it takes time.''

The situation isn't totally new for HC. The Crusaders also dealt with the graduation of three starters two years ago. The difference in 2001-02 was that team's up-and-comers, Szatko, Whearty, Wilson and Meade, all came into the year with a decent amount of playing time under their belts.

''(This year) we just don't have anyone who has any consistent playing experience other than Jave,'' Willard said.

HC's offense will start with Meade, a superb playmaker who needs 88 assists to become the PL's all-time leader in that category. Meade averaged a career-high 10.5 points last year and the Crusaders will count on him for more scoring this year. Preseason practice has been an adjustment time for him, too.

''I'm getting a feel for everybody's game,'' Meade said. ''I haven't played with some of these guys either so it's a little difficult for me, too. You might not be able to throw that certain pass because Tim or Pat aren't there. So I have some adjusting to do and they have to adjust to me, too.''

Meade is the team's captain this year and that's a role he's adapting to as well. He said he's talked about it a lot with Ryan Serravalle, captain in 2001-02, and the only senior on that team. Meade's been a quiet floor leader the last three years and Willard expects he'll need to become more vocal as the season progresses.

''Everyone leads in different ways,'' Meade said. ''Some guys might not be able to take someone screaming in their face in front of others. Some guys need that. Some guys, if you scream at them, the might think, 'Oh my God. I messed up so bad I'm never going to play again.' Other players will be like, 'OK. Next time I'll get it back.' I haven't taken the role of screaming at guys because guys can lose confidence that way, especially when they haven't played much.''

Meade, one of the best liked young men on the HC campus, has already earned the respect of his teammates.

''He's just great,'' junior center Nate Lufkin said. ''He really knows what he's doing and he expects us to work really hard. We all want to owe it to him. We don't want him to go out of here his senior year with any disappointment. We want him to get another championship ring.''

Like all of Willard's Holy Cross teams, this year's squad will pride itself on defense and Meade is also a catalyst at that end of the floor. With 186 career steals, Meade needs 49 to take over the PL lead in that category.

Junior guard Greg Kinsey is HC's only other returning starter. HC will look to Kinsey and sophomore guard Kevin Hamilton, who played well in the postseason, to pick up some of the offensive slack. Upfront, junior John Hurley, who played in 26 games last year, has shown some promise.

Lufkin (foot) and fellow junior center Neil Fingleton (shoulder) are both nursing injuries to start the year. They are out indefinitely Willard said Friday. The career of junior forward Greg Richter, who has an arthritic condition in his ankle, is likely over, Willard said.

Freshmen guards Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas and forwards Josh Kramer and Joe Young are all progressing.

Willard said this is the most athletic team he's had at Holy Cross.

''When Neil is in the game, we'll obviously be more of a halfcourt team,'' Willard said, ''but when he's out of the game we're going to look to press and extend the defense, create offense off of the defense and try to take some pressure off of our scoring in the halfcourt.''

The Crusaders open the season Saturday, hosting Boston University at 4:30. Intriguing nonconference dates include Dec. 2 at Boston College, Dec. 7 at Louisville, and Dec. 28-29 at Madison Square Garden in the ECAC Holiday Festival.

Another interesting game is the Dec. 4 home game against Williams, the defending Division 3 national champion. A Dec. 21 home game against Davidson fell through, Willard said, leaving HC with an open date.

Holy Cross men at a glance

Coach (record at school): Ralph Willard (fifth year, 76-46)

Last year's record: 26-5 overall, 13-1 league

League: Patriot League

Top returnees: Sr. G Jave Meade (10.5 ppg, 193 assists, 65 steals), Jr. F Nate Lufkin (5.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 29 blocks), Jr. G Greg Kinsey (4.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 49 steals), So. G Kevin Hamilton (4.4 ppg, 40 assists), Jr. F John Hurley (1.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg).

Promising newcomers: G Keith Simmons, G Torey Thomas, F Josh Kramer, F Joe Young.  @ 11:34 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Double Team David Hooper on the Perimeter and You'll Beat Navy Every Time
The Capital (Annapolis, MD)
November 17, 2003 Monday
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. B3

LENGTH: 592 words

HEADLINE: Mens basketball:Mids exhibit strong defense

BYLINE: CRAIG ANDERSON, Staff Writer

BODY:
Asked to assess this year's Navy team, Dale Chambers put it as diplomatically as possible.

'Nothing against Navy's offense, but they have to play good defense to succeed,' the Team Champion guard and Severna Park native said after the Mids' 77-73 exhibition victory yesterday at Alumni Hall.

'Today they played hard as usual and really got after us defensively. They really try to wear you down.'

After watching the game, it was tough to argue the point. Besides sophomore David Hooper (28 points), the Midshipmen struggled to hit from the outside. Hooper nailed seven of 14 shots overall and five of 12 three-pointers, but his teammates were 20-for-53 and one-for-14, respectively.

'David Hooper was our go-to guy today,' DeVoe said. 'He needs to keep knocking down the shots, but there is certainly no doubt that we have more guys that can shoot the ball. I've seen (senior guard) Kwame (Ofori) do it in practice, but he just didn't do it today.'

DeVoe's youngest team in more than a decade is a work in progress and will have a lot of games like yesterday's. At least the Midshipmen won, which wasn't the case after last year's senior-dominated squad fell to Team Champion before the start of an 8-20 campaign.

"It was refreshing to see us win," DeVoe said. "It was nice to see us win it by doing the right things."

Navy got by with an aggressive man-to-man defense that often attacked fullcourt, making 12 steals and forcing 19 turnovers overall. Hooper made four swipes, while new point guard Jeff Charles blocked four shots.

Charles, a senior, stepped it up offensively as well, scoring 17 points and adding a game-high seven assists. He also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Mixed in were seven turnovers, which comes with the territory for a new point man on a young team picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League.

"I've always liked playing point guard and I feel comfortable doing it," said Charles, who attended Meade. "I think I did all right. I did a lot of good things and a lot of bad things."

Even when Navy struggled to make shots, they hustled enough to grab 17 offensive rebounds and create enough action with tipped balls and 12 steals to earn the a victory. The team used two kinds of fullcourt presses to quicken the tempo.

"We're pushing attentiveness to everything," DeVoe said. "When a free throw is to be shot, we want the kids to run and huddle. We've got to get them to be quick on the court."

With sophomore frontcourt starter Matt Fannin (six points on 2-for-6 shooting) struggling in the low post, freshman Carlton Baldwin debuted with 10 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore newcomer Leonard Green and little-used junior Laramie Mergerson each added six points in short stints.

"Leonard Green and Laramie Mergerson made some key plays," DeVoe said. "They jarred the ball loose, got offensive rebounds and got into good position near the basket at times."

Sophomore forward Mike Higgins, still adjusting to basketball after a two-year Mormon mission, went scoreless and missed his only shot in a three-minute appearance in the second half.

"He'll have his moments," DeVoe said. "He's a very fine shooter. I would have thought after four weeks (of practice) that he'd play more, but it hasn't evolved that way. He hasn't done anything (with basketball) in two years and he's working back into it."

Will Marshall scored a game-high 29 points for Team Champion, and Chambers added 15.

Navy opens Friday night at South Carolina, followed by the home opener against Belmont on Nov. 24.  @ 11:28 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Boston Globe's assessment of the PL:

HOLY CROSS AT A GLANCE Coach: Ralph Willard (fifth year, 76-46 Last year: 26-5, 13-1 Patriot League (first place Returning starters: G Jave Meade, 6-1, Sr. (10.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg); C Nate Lufkin, 6-11, Jr. (5.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg).

Other returnees: G Greg Kinsey, 6-4, Jr. (4.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg), G Kevin Hamilton, 6-4, So. (4.4 rpg, 2.2 rpg); C Neil Fingleton, 7-6, Jr. (2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg); F Greg Richter, 6-7, Jr. (2.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg); G/F John Hurley, 6-8, Jr. (1.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg); G Michael Smiley, 6-3, Jr.

Newcomers: G Torey Thomas, 5-11, Fr., White Plains, N.Y.; G Keith Simmons, 6-4, Fr., Kingston, N.Y.; F Josh Kramer, 6-7, Fr., San Diego; F Joe Young, 6-6, Fr., Silver Spring, Md.

Outlook: Although the Crusaders must replace a trio of 1,000-point scorers in center Patrick Whearty, forward Tim Szatko, and guard Brian Wilson, they are the favorite to win a fourth straight Patriot League championship despite returning only one senior, Meade. Willard will surround his talented guard with a strong supporting cast led by Lufkin, who as a freshman was named the conference's Rookie of the Year, and Fingleton, a North Carolina transfer who last season averaged seven minutes in 21 games. The towering twosome will give the Crusaders intimidating size in the low post that they never had. The Crusaders hope it will be enough to help them get past the first round of the NCAA Tournament after three consecutive early exits courtesy of Kentucky, Kansas, and Marquette.

Patriot League outlook

(in predicted order of finish 1. Holy Cross

2. Lafayette - The Leopards will return four starters, including all-league senior Gs Winston Davis (16.3 ppg) and Justin DeBerry (13.8 ppg), who ranked second and seventh in the league in scoring. Seniors Rob Dill and Mike Farrell will be back to bolster the frontcourt.

3. Colgate - The Raiders will have a strong inside-out senior combination in 6-8 F Howard Blue, a preseason all-league first-teamer who returns as the league's only 1,000-point scorer (1,019), and senior 6-2 guard Mark Linebaugh, who is closing in on the mark with 886 career points.

4. American - Despite the loss of a pair of senior guards from last year's 16-14 team, the Eagles return senior G Andres Rodriguez and a deep frontcourt led by Fs Jernavis Draughn (8.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Matej Cresnik (7.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg).

5. Lehigh - Senior G Ra Tiah (8.2 ppg) is the lone holdover from last year's 16-12 squad that was regarded as the most improved in the league. Mitch Gilfillan (4.4 ppg), an All-Rookie Team selection last year, also returns.

6. Bucknell - Peabody's Kevin Bettencourt, the league's Rookie of the Year (11.1 ppg), headlines a group of 11 letter-winners from last year's 14-15 team. Senior Gs Matt Quinn, Chris Rodgers and junior F Chris Niesz averaged a combined 15 ppg last year.

7. Navy - Don DeVoe, who got his 500th career victory in the 2002-03 opener, will face a difficult challenge in replacing all five starters from last year's 8-20 team. Sophomore G David Hooper, an All-Rookie Team selection, ranks as the team's leading returning scorer (5.6 ppg).

8. Army - The Cadets have nowhere to go but up after going winless (0-14) in league play. Jim Crews, whose next victory will be the 300th of his career, returns a strong nucleus of three seniors, led by 6-3 G Sean O'Keefe (9.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg)."


It's insulting to HC that a reporter for the Globe would say that they never had size in the low post-- I'm pretty sure that's what got them to the last 3 NCAAs. Apparently, the Globe reporter was too busy to know that last year's POY was a post player from HC.   @ 11:26 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Lafayette Preseason Article from the Express-Times
Davis determined to lead 'Pards: "Davis came to Lafayette weighing just 170 pounds. By following rigorous offseason lifting programs he's playing at 195 pounds. It's made a difference in his ability to break down an opponent and take him to the basket. "

Wow, 195 pounds at 6-6. Color me unimpressed. The guy isn't a real post player, and they're silly to suggest he is.  @ 11:15 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Lafayette is about to implode:

Laubach: Lafayette doing it the hard way  @ 11:12 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  The Utica Paper's preseason assessment of the Red Raiders:

Linebaugh back to help Colgate's title dreams come true: "Colgate has been knocked out of the Patriot League Tournament in the opening round three straight years -- a stretch that comes on the heels of a string of eight straight seasons where the Raiders advanced at least to the league semifinals. "  @ 11:08 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard

  Here's the WashPost's preseason coverage of the two local PL teams:
DeVoe's Team Full of Youth (washingtonpost.com)

Eagles Plan to Be in the Mix  @ 10:58 AM 0 HC Alums are angry about this post | Bitch about it on the PL hoops messageboard