Aug. 18, 2008
2008-09 Patriot League Men's Basketball Prospectus 
Center Valley, Pa. - The 2008-09 Patriot League Men's Basketball Prospectus is now available online at the sidebar of the men's basketball page at www.patriotleague.com or by clicking here. The prospectus includes tentative schedules and rosters for all eight teams, League and team notes and a review of the 2007-08 season.
The 2008-09 season is less than three months away, with the first action for Patriot League teams coming on Nov. 14. The League kicks off the campaign with men's basketball media day on Oct. 23. American is the defending Patriot League champion after winning its first-ever League crown in 2007-08.
For more information about Patriot League men's basketball, please contact Patriot League Media Relations Director Matt Dougherty at mdougherty@patriotleague.com or by calling 610.289.1963.
Prospectus notes for the Patriot League and all eight teams are included below. To read the entire prospectus, click here.
2008-09 Patriot League Men's Basketball Notebook
Paulsen Takes Over at Bucknell
After Pat Flannery ended the longest and most successful coaching stint in Patriot League history by retiring from Bucknell in April, the Bison moved to hire Dave Paulsen from Williams College as the new head coach on May 20. Paulsen experienced great success at Williams, leading the program to the 2003 Division III national title and a 170-53 (.762) record in eight seasons overall. His teams compiled a combined mark of 61-3 in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, and Paulsen won a pair of national coach of the year honors. He is the second new head coach in as many years in the Patriot League after Brett Reed took over at Lehigh in 2007-08.
More Coaching Tidbits
Bucknell wasn't the only Patriot League program to have its head coach in the news in the offseason. Navy's Billy Lange was recognized by Basketball Times as a top mid-career coach after leading the Mids to a second-place finish in the Patriot League in 2007-08. While Lange and Reed comprise the under-40 group of returning Patriot League coaches, the older veterans all have impressive numbers. Army's Jim Crews and Holy Cross' Ralph Willard each have more than 300 wins in their career, while American's Jeff Jones has topped 270 career victories. Lafayette's Fran O'Hanlon and Colgate's Emmett Davis are both working on their second decade at their school, with O'Hanlon now holding the longest tenure among Patriot League coaches going into his 14th season with the Leopards.
2009 Patriot League Tournament
The Patriot League Tournament will once again be played on campus sites. The quarterfinal rounds are set for March 4, the semifinals will take place on March 8 and the Patriot League Championship will be decided on Friday, March 13. Last year's tournament featured a quarterfinal round with two overtime games and all four contests decided by three points or less, and a title game between Colgate and American that was within one point in the final minute.
Six Returning All-League Performers
American's Garrison Carr returns for his senior season after earning First-Team All-League and Patriot League Tournament MVP honors a year ago, but he's not the only recognizable name back this year. Five players that earned Second-Team All-League status are back, with Lafayette guard Andrew Brown, Colgate guard/forward Kyle Roemer and American guard Derrick Mercer entering their senior seasons and Lehigh guard Marquis Hall and Navy guard Chris Harris beginning their junior campaigns.
More Returnees with Accolades
In addition to the All-League players, the Patriot League also returns its Defensive Player of the Year (Bucknell junior Stephen Tyree) and Rookie of the Year (Lehigh sophomore Rob Keefer) from the 2007-08 campaign. Keefer and Hall combine to give Lehigh the last two Rookie of the Year winners in the backcourt. Seniors Brian Gilmore (American) and Alex Woodhouse (Colgate) and junior Josh Miller (Army) are back after joining Roemer and Carr on the Patriot League All-Tournament team.
Three-Pointers Could be Raining Again
The individual and team records for three-pointers in a season both fell in 2007-08, and the return of some of the Patriot League's top long-range marksman could put those numbers in jeopardy again. American's Garrison Carr enters his senior season after shattering the Patriot League record with 135 three-pointers a year ago. He toppled the old Patriot League mark of 99, and had the second-highest number of three-pointers in the NCAA last year and the 12th-best single-season mark in Division I history. Carr begins the 2008-09 season second in Patriot League history with a 42.1 percentage in his career from beyond the arc. Lafayette's Andrew Brown was in the top 20 nationally in three-pointers per game a year ago, while Navy's Chris Harris placed in the top 35 in three-pointers made per game and three-point percentage. Lafayette set the Patriot League record with 299 three-pointers made, while Navy had the second-highest mark in League annals with 288.
1,000-Point Club
Eight players finished the 2007-08 season with more than 1,000 career points, and two of those return to pad their numbers this year. Colgate's Kyle Roemer begins the year 47th in League history with 1,096 points, while Lafayette's Brown is 58th with 1,031 points. Navy senior Kaleo Kina is next in line to join the group, beginning the year with 987 career points.
Any More Streaks Left to Fall?
The pack caught up to Holy Cross and Bucknell a year ago, with 11 series winning streaks of seven games or more coming to an end between the Crusaders and Bison. Last year's balanced standings leave very few long winning streaks in League matchups, but American has the best stretch coming in with an eight-game win streak against Colgate. The Eagles have also won seven in a row against Lafayette, with Colgate taking seven straight against Navy.
Division I Games to Help RPI Rise Again?
The Patriot League finished in 16th-place among 32 conferences (including Independents) in the final Collegiate Basketball News RPI Report last season, and was just .0004 out of the 15th position. That was a one-spot jump from the previous year, and the fourth consecutive year that the Patriot League improved its position. The jump was aided by an all Division I schedule and a League-record 62 non-League wins. In 2008-09 Patriot League teams will take on an all Division I slate for the second year in a row, and games against the likes of Oklahoma, Maryland, Syracuse, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Villanova and Washington will provide a chance for a marquee upset win.
Bucknell Back in BracketBusters
The Patriot League enters its fourth season with ESPNU BracketBusters, and Bucknell will continue its history in playing in the event. The Bison are 1-2 in BracketBusters after losing at Old Dominion, 65-55, last year. The Bison and Holy Cross have the Patriot League's two wins in the event after the Crusaders knocked off Northeastern, 61-47, at home in 2007-08. The Crusaders and Bison will each face last year's BracketBuster opponents in return games this season.
Team Notebooks
American The Eagles will try to defend their Patriot League title with most of last year's championship team returning, including Tournament MVP Garrison Carr, who was second in the League with 18.4 ppg a year ago. The top four scorers return, with Derrick Mercer (12.3 ppg), Brian Gilmore (8.9) and Bryce Simon (7.0) in addition to Carr. American won 10 of its final 12 games a year ago, and has games at Oklahoma, Georgetown and Maryland this year.
Army The Black Knights bring back Patriot League All-Tournament team member Josh Miller, who led the team in total rebounds and assists while placing second with 8.4 ppg a year ago. Doug Williams is back after scoring 7.1 points and tallying 5.3 rebounds per game. They do lose leading scorer Jarell Brown (18.2 ppg).
Bucknell The Bison will start the season at Maryland in Head Coach Dave Paulsen's first game. They return Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Stephen Tyree, who led the team in rebounds and assists a year ago. Justin Castleberry (10.9 ppg) is the only returnee who scored in double digits last year. Top scorer John Griffin (13.1 ppg )
graduated.
Colgate Leading scorer Kyle Roemer (16.2 ppg) is one of just two returning starters for last year's Patriot League runner-up. Alex Woodhouse (6.1 ppg, 64 blocks) is back in the middle, where Kendall Chones (12.0 ppg) departs. The Raiders won six of their final seven games a year ago. They led the Patriot League in field goal percentage.
Holy Cross The Crusaders led the League in scoring
defense, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin a year ago. They will have to account for the loss of center Tim Clifford (18.0 ppg). Colin Cunningham (8.1 ppg), Pat Doherty (7.4 ppg) and Alex VanderBaan (8.5 ppg) are all entering their senior year. The Crusaders host NCAA Tournament participants St. Joseph's and Siena.
Lafayette The Leopards set a Patriot League record with 299 three-pointers a year ago, but will have to account for the loss of three starters. Top three-point shooter and overall scorer Andrew Brown (15.9 ppg) does return. Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon is the longest-tenured coach in the Patriot League, entering his 14th season.
Lehigh Juniors Marquis Hall (14.1 ppg) and Zahir Carrington (12.5 ppg) are expected to lead the way again. Rob Keefer (7.8 ppg) also returns after earning Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, but Bryan White (10.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) is gone after leading the Patriot League in rebounding. The Mountain Hawks were 11-4 at home last year, but just 3-11 on the road.
Navy The Mids lose Patriot League Player of the Year Greg Sprink (21.8 ppg), but return double-digit average scorers in Chris Harris (14.5 ppg) and Kaleo Kina (14.0 ppg). The Mids' 76.3 point-per-game average was the highest in the Patriot League since 1995-96, and they also led the League in steals and turnover margin. Navy has improved its win total in each of the last two seasons.
