Courtesy of PatriotLeague.org
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Lehigh was selected as the overwhelming favorite, receiving 17 first place votes to finish in front of Boston University, who garnered the remaining three votes, when the Patriot League Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll was announced on Wednesday afternoon from the League office.
The Mountain Hawks earned 161 points out of a possible 162, as they return Preseason Player of the Year senior forward/center Tim Kempton, the two-time Patriot League Player of the Year – who was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List for the nation’s top collegiate center – last week. The Terriers (139) finished second, with last season’s regular-season champs Bucknell (132) in third. Holy Cross, the defending Patriot League Tournament champions, finished fourth in the poll with 115 points, while American (86) edged Colgate (83) for fifth place. Loyola Maryland (69), Navy (49), Lafayette (43) and Army West Point (23) round out the preseason poll.
Kempton – the Preseason Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season – highlights the Preseason All-Patriot League team, joined by teammate and junior guard Kahron Ross and Boston University senior guard Eric Fanning, who were both selected First Team All-Patriot League last season. Bucknell junior center Nana Foulland, Loyola Maryland junior guard Andre Walker and American sophomore guard/forward and reigning League Rookie of the Year Delante Jones round out the preseason all-league team.
Voting for the Patriot League men’s basketball preseason poll, major awards and all-League team was conducted by League coaches and sports information directors, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players.
2016-17 Patriot League Preseason Poll Points
1. Lehigh (17 first place votes) 161
2. Boston University (3) 139
3. Bucknell 132
4. Holy Cross 115
5. American 86
6. Colgate 83
7. Loyola Maryland 69
8. Navy 49
9. Lafayette 43
10. Army West Point 23
Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year
Tim Kempton, Lehigh, Sr., F/C
Patriot League Preseason All-League Team
Tim Kempton, Lehigh, Sr., F/C
Eric Fanning, Boston University, Sr., G
Nana Foulland, Bucknell, Jr., C
Kahron Ross, Lehigh, Jr., G
*Delante Jones, American, So., G/F
*Andre Walker, Loyola Maryland, Jr., G
*denotes a tie in voting for the fifth spot
Lehigh (17-14, 13-5 Patriot League) welcomes back a strong core, including its top four scorers, from a team that finished second in the regular season and fell in the Patriot League Championship Game. Head Coach Brett Reed’s Mountain Hawks have a pair of preseason All-League selections with Kempton – the League’s returning leading scorer and rebounder (17.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg) – and junior guard Kahron Ross (11.2 ppg, 6.1 apg), another First Team All-Patriot League honoree from last season, who led the League in assists. Senior guard Austin Price averaged 13.0 points per game last season and was a third team all-League selection. Lehigh also returns All-Rookie Team selection sophomore guard Kyle Leufroy, who averaged 10.6 points per game and led the Patriot League in three-point field goal percentage at 44.1 (45-of-102) during his freshman campaign.
Boston University (19-15, 11-7 Patriot League) not only returns First Team All-Patriot League guard Eric Fanning (15.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg), but also junior guard Cedric Hankerson – who averaged 15.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 2014-15 – after missing last season due to injury. Sixth-year Head Coach Joe Jones will need continued strong play from junior guard Cheddi Mosely (13.1 ppg), last season’s second-leading scorer and sophomore guard Kyle Foreman (9.2 ppg, 3.9 apg), who will look to build off of a freshman season that saw him named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team. Junior forward Nick Havener (6.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) started 16 games last season and is the squad’s leading returning rebounder.
Bucknell (17-14, 14-4 Patriot League) Head Coach Nathan Davis earned Patriot League Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm of the Bison, leading the team to its second-consecutive regular season championship. This year Davis and the Bison will have to do it without leading-scorer Chris Hass, who graduated. Junior center Nana Foulland (11.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg) seems poised to step forward after earning Second Team All-Patriot League a year ago. Junior guard Stephen Brown (9.2 ppg) finished second in the League with 5.4 assists per game and junior forward Zach Thomas (10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) gives the team three players with starting experience.
Holy Cross (15-20, 5-13 Patriot League) returns Patriot League Tournament MVP Malachi Alexander (11.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) in addition to four players that started 13-or-more games for last season’s tournament champion. Head Coach Bill Carmody guided the Crusaders to becoming the first Patriot League Champion in history to win all four of its tournament games on the road and will have enough firepower in his second go-around in Worcester to be in the mix for another League championship. Sophomore forward Karl Charles (10.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.5 apg) returns after an All-Rookie Team selection, as does senior guard Robert Champion (12.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg), the team’s leading scorer. Senior guard Anthony Thompson (7.1 ppg) and senior center Matt Husek (5.7 ppg) also return for Holy Cross.
American (12-19, 9-9 Patriot League) will return Patriot League Rookie of the Year Delante Jones (12.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg) to a young squad that won 10 of its last 14 games, including an upset over No. 3 seed Boston University in the Patriot League Tournament. Despite the loss of Second Team All-Patriot League selection Jesse Reed to graduation, fourth-year head coach Mike Brennan returns three players that started 15 or more games, including sophomore guard James Washington (6.4 ppg).
Colgate (13-17, 9-9 Patriot League) will have three starters back in the fold, led by junior forwards Jordan Swopshire (10.6 ppg, 4.7) and Tom Rivard (10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Junior guard Sean O’Brien (8.6 ppg, 2.4 apg) is the lone returning starter from the Raiders backcourt. Head Coach Matt Langel, entering his sixth season in Hamilton, helped the Raiders outperform their preseason poll ranking a year ago, finishing 9-9 in the League with a pair of wins over regular season champion Bucknell, before falling to Army West Point in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
Loyola Maryland (9-21, 8-10 Patriot League) returns its top two scorers from last year, including preseason All-Patriot League selection junior guard Andre Walker (14.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.9 apg) and senior guard Jarred Jones (13.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg), who is also tied as the League’s second-leading returning rebounder. Junior guard Chancellor Barnard (6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who started 22 games last season, also returns to Head Coach G.G. Smith’s squad.
Navy (19-14, 9-9 Patriot League) will have to make up for the loss of All-Patriot League performers center Will Kelly and guard Tillman Dunbar, but sixth-year Head Coach Ed DeChellis does return leading scorer, junior guard Shawn Anderson (13.3 ppg) to a team that won 19 games and set a program record with 11 road wins last season. Junior forward Tom Lacey also returns after starting 30 games and averaging 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season. The Mids will look to repeat as the League’s top scoring defense, as they allowed just 64.7 points per game last season, holding opponents to a league-low .413 percent from the floor.
Lafayette (6-24, 3-15 Patriot League) returns its two leading scorers with senior guard Nick Lindner and junior forward Matt Klinewski, who both averaged 13.3 points per game last season for Fran O’Hanlon’s Leopards. Lindner also finished among the League leaders in assists, averaging 3.9 per game. Senior guard Monty Boykins (10.7 ppg) also returns giving Lafayette a strong core of three returning starters to improve on last season’s finish.
Army West Point (19-14, 9-9 Patriot League) will hand the head coaching duties over to Jimmy Allen, who spent six seasons on staff as an assistant, and ask him to replace the Black Knights’ entire starting five, who had tied for the Patriot League’s best overall record at 19-14 last season. Sophomore guard Jordan Fox (2.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.3 apg) is one of just two players on the roster that started a game last season, joining senior forward Mac Hoffman (1.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg). Army, who fell in last season’s Patriot League semifinals to eventual champion Holy Cross, will have a youthful roster with eight sophomores and seven freshmen.
The 2016-17 men’s basketball season tips off on Friday, November 13 with nine of the 10 Patriot League teams in action on opening night. The first League contests will be played on Monday, December 30 with all 10 squads in action, beginning an 18-game slate for each team featuring a double-round robin format. The Patriot League tournament begins on Tuesday, February 28, with the champion earning the Patriot League’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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