BETHLEHEM,
Pa. – With the season opener just a little more than a week away, Lehigh has been hard at work in practice, preparing for the BCA Invitational in
Laramie, Wyoming, which begins on Sunday, November 13.
The Mountain Hawks have used the preseason to install their offensive and defensive systems, as well as help the newcomers grow accustomed to Division I basketball.
“We’re moving forward towards the first game, and are trying to build upon what we set as our foundation,” explained two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Billy Taylor.
“With our season opening earlier than usual this year, we’re just trying to keep everything simple, and as we move along, we’ll continue to add onto it.”
Lehigh returns eight letterwinners from a season ago, and welcomes in four freshmen. Taylor commented on the freshmen class of Philip Anderson, John Gourlay, Greg Page and Matt Szalachowski. “For all of the freshmen, it’s a learning process. They are still figuring out our offense, and they’re starting to adjust to the defensive sets. But I like their energy and their toughness. It’s a very talented group of guys and each of them should contribute for us this season.”
Taylor pointed to a handful of returning upperclassmen that have been impressive throughout the early portions of practice. “(Junior) Kyle Neptune has really been playing well for us. He’s improved his jump shot, he’s feeling much better physically than last year (when he suffered through injuries) and he just looks more comfortable out on the court. (Senior tri-captain) Joe Knight came into the year in better shape than last season; he now understands the expectations we have of him, and the leadership he has displayed thus far is a good sign.”
Senior tri-captain Mike Fischman, junior Jose Olivero and sophomore Bryan White have also shown encouraging signs throughout the early parts of practice. “Jose is a great scorer, and has been for two years for us. He really understands our system and what we are trying to accomplish, both offensively and defensively.” Taylor continues, “Bryan White had a great finish to last season in the Patriot League Tournament and he used that experience to build upon. He’s had a good preseason. He’s a very versatile player with tremendous athleticism and really has a bright future in this program.”
Hampered by injuries over the past few seasons, Fischman is finally enjoying a pain-free preseason, and the Florida native is making the most of it. “Mike has been terrific throughout camp, with his leadership and energy. He’s rebounding well and playing tough defense, and we’re looking forward to what he can do this year.”
Taylor adds, “We had our first outside scrimmage just two weeks into practice, so we’ve had to move the schedule up a bit. We’ve really just focused on the fundamentals up to this point, the shooting, ball handling, passing, and defense. We’ll worry about getting more specific as we move closer to the first game.”
Lehigh opens its season versus Big Ten member Northwestern on Sunday, November 13 in the BCA Invitational at 10:00 PM. The game will be broadcast live locally on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM, as well as around the world on lehighsports.com with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports. Tom Fallon will call the action. The Mountain Hawks open up the home portion of their schedule on Sunday November 20 versus Princeton at 3:30 at Stabler Arena. Tickets for that game and all Lehigh home games can be purchased at anytime on lehighsports.com, or by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall, during normal business hours, or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
