Patriot

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Holy Cross (25–9, 13–1)

After racking up 70 wins over the past three seasons, the Crusaders are once again primed to make a run at the Patriot League title. Three out of five starters return from a squad that ranked eighth in the nation in scoring defense (57.5 ppg) and 11th in steals (9.5). Most notable among them is 6'11" senior Tim Clifford, the preseason favorite for Player of the Year honors, who averaged 11.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while easily leading the conference in blocked shots with 64. His continued development will be crucial for a team that graduated guards Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas, the league’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. Clifford will be joined along the front line by junior forward Alex Vander Baan, a two-year starter, while senior guard Kyle Cruze and junior guard Pat Doherty, last year’s sixth man, are frontrunners to start in the backcourt. Sophomore Eric Meister and junior Greg McCarthy give Holy Cross solid depth at forward, while junior Colin Cunningham, junior Lawrence Dixon and sophomore Adam May will compete to either start or play key minutes on the perimeter. Ninth-year head coach Ralph Willard (303–213 in 17 seasons overall) is looking to take his team to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in eight years.

Bucknell (22–9, 13–1)

Over the past two years, Bucknell has graduated the nucleus of its 2005 and ’06 NCAA Tournament teams. Head coach Pat Flannery, however, still believes that the Bison have plenty of talent remaining to challenge for another league title. Chief among the returners is senior point guard John Griffin (10.5 ppg, 2.7 apg) and 6'8" forward Darren Mastropaolo, who both have played large roles since their freshman years. Juniors Jason Vegotsky and Justin Castleberry should complement Griffin in the backcourt, while a pair of sophomores in power forward Patrick Behan and off-guard Stephen Tyree will challenge for starting spots after coming on strong late last season. Junior Josh Linthicum, a sparingly used 6'11" center, will need to step up to help replace Chris McNaughton, who was arguably the best center in school history.

American (16–14, 7–7)

Question marks abound for the Eagles, who have as many as four starting spots up for grabs heading into the season. One thing coach Jeff Jones certainly can count on, however, is the playmaking ability of senior point guard Derrick Mercer, who led the Patriot League with 4.73 assists per game last season while chipping in 9.4 points. On a team that graduated 71 percent of its offense and 59 percent of its rebounding, however, Mercer could have his work cut out for him. Four junior college transfers will battle for playing time, including 6'4" guard Frank Borden, a former AAU national champion in the decathlon. Nick Hendra, a 6'3" freshman from New York City, also could contribute immediately with his scoring.

Lehigh (12–19, 7–7)

Point guard Marquis Hall, the league’s Rookie of the Year last season, will be the focal point of an offense that must compensate for the losses of Jose Olivero, the fifth-leading scorer in team history, and Jason Mgebroff, the Mountain Hawks’ top post player. Look for Lehigh to feature a more balanced attack than in years past, with forwards Bryan White, Philip Anderson and Zahir Carrington, guard Matt Szalachowski and center John Gourlay each making major contributions. As always, however, this team will rely most heavily on its defense and rebounding to win games.

Army (15–16, 4–10)

Sharp-shooting guard Jarell Brown will once again be the focal point of an offense that last season led the Knights to their best season, in terms of both victories and winning percentage, in more than two decades. Brown averaged 16.9 points per game (just percentage points off the league lead), doing the bulk of his damage by shooting 40.7 percent beyond the 3-point line. He will be complemented by sophomore point guard Marcus Nelson, a member of the Patriot League’s All-Rookie team last season. Wide-body Chris Walker and rangy 6'7" forward Doug Williams will lead the way inside. Army is searching for its first winning record since the 1984-85 season.

Colgate (10–19, 5–9)

After averaging a league-low 57.0 points per game a season ago, the Red Raiders will have to replace their top scorer, guard Jon Simon, as well as three other seniors who played key roles last season. One huge help for 10th-year coach Emmett Davis will be the return of Kyle Roemer, who led the team in scoring two years ago before missing all of last season with an ankle injury. Through his first two seasons, the 6'3" Roemer already ranks ninth in school history with 109 3-pointers. Senior brothers Kyle and Kendall Chones will lead the frontcourt, which adds 6'11" center Alex English, a freshman from Arizona who boasts a 30-inch vertical leap.

Lafayette (9–21, 3–11)

Don’t let last year’s record fool you. Led by its strong returning backcourt and some promising newcomers, the Leopards may very well become one of the league’s most dangerous teams by season’s end. They return each of their three top scorers from a year ago in guards Matt Betley (10.9 ppg), Andrew Brown (10.4) and Bilal Abdullah (9.5). A strong freshman class, led by 6'7" Darion Benbow and 6'8" Jared Mintz, will push the team’s upperclassmen for playing time in the frontcourt. The team gained valuable experience with a trip to Italy in May.

Navy (14–16, 4–10)

The Midshipmen put up their highest victory total in six seasons a year ago but will have a difficult time continuing their momentum. Despite the return of second-team All-Patriot League guard Greg Sprink, who ranked second in the league in scoring last season at 16.9 points per game, the team will have some large holes. Forward Trey Stanton, a member of last season’s Patriot League All-Rookie team, decided to transfer, and three-year starting guard Corey Johnson has defected to the Navy football team. Incoming freshmen Mark Veazey (6'10") and Jeremy Wilson (6'9") may need to contribute right away in the frontcourt for the team to have success.