Lehigh University Athletics
2009-10 Lehigh Men's Basketball season preview
11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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With seven of its eight top scorers back from a season ago, including two of the top players in the Patriot League, expectations are high for a big year from the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Third-year head coach Brett Reed returns four starters and nine letterwinners for a team that features plenty of depth, talent and experience and is primed for a run towards the top of the league. Senior All-League performers Marquis Hall and Zahir Carrington averaged double figures in points a season ago with Hall ranking in the top-three in the league in assists and Carrington pacing the P.L in rebounding. Reed led the Brown and White to the most non-league victories in school annals a season ago, including a victory over Big East member Rutgers, but the Mountain Hawks were forced to deal with inconsistent play and injuries once league play came around, leaving the returning team members with a source of motivation.
THE BACKCOURT
A First-Team All-Patriot League selection a season ago, Marquis Hall has been running the Lehigh offense from the moment he set foot on campus. The native of Oregon averaged just less than 14 points per game in 2008-09, scoring his 1,000th career point versus archrival Lafayette along the way. Hall exploded for 28 points and a career-best 15 rebounds in the win over Rutgers and led the Mountain Hawks in scoring 13 times and in assists 21 times. Forced to deal with the opposing team’s best perimeter defender as well as near constant double teams, Hall connected on only 33-percent of his shots as a junior. If the Mountain Hawks supporting cast can knock down shots on a consistent basis that should only help Hall’s shooting numbers improve.
Hall’s classmate Dave Buchberger has turned himself into one of the Mountain Hawks top on-ball defenders as well as a reliable shooter from the outside. The Cincinnati native started 27 games in 2008-09, averaging 7.1 points per contest. Buchberger is a physical, hard-nosed type of player who doesn’t mind mixing it up underneath or stepping outside to drill a three-pointer. He posted career-highs in nearly every statistical category a season ago, including minutes, free-throw percentage, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals and points.
Junior Rob Keefer went through an up-and-down sophomore season in which he started 28 games, but shot only 31-percent from three-point range. Keefer did hit for double figures 15 times and showed an increased commitment to penetrating to the hoop, which turned into added opportunities at the free throw line, where he shot 82-percent. Following an off season dedicated to fine tuning his jump shot, the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year is poised for a big junior season. Fellow junior Prentice Small continued to show growth as a sophomore, ranking in the top-three of the Patriot League in assist/turnover ratio. Small is the fastest player on the Mountain Hawks roster and can cause havoc on the ball with his hawking ball skills. Small upped his scoring average by more than a point a season ago and allows Hall to move to the second guard spot when he enters the game.
Junior Michael Ojo showed he is more than capable of making an impact last year with his shooting touch and defensive skills. The California native netted a career-best four three-pointers in a comeback victory over Albany and appeared in 25 games throughout the season. Ojo, who averaged 10.5 points during a five-game win streak, scored a career-best 14 points in a victory over NJIT and will be looked upon to provide Lehigh with a scoring spark as soon as he enters the game.
Senior Matt Shamis returns to the Lehigh lineup this season after missing last year with a knee injury. Shamis appeared in 27 games as a sophomore, making his first career start during that time. A solid shooter and strong ball handler, Shamis can play either guard spot and gives the Mountain Hawks a strong veteran presence out on the floor.
A pair of newcomers round of the backcourt in freshmen CJ McCollum and Ryan Peters. McCollum comes to Lehigh with a reputation for scoring the basketball, including a 54-point performance as a junior at Glen Oak High School. The Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year, McCollum has decent size at 6-3 and scored a school record 1,405 points at Glen Oak. Reed expects McCollum to come in and have an immediate impact on the Mountain Hawks offense this season. Peters is a steady guard from Santa Clarita, California who attended Northfield Mount Hermon Prep for two seasons. During his time there Mount Hermon was ranked in the top-ten nationally in both seasons.
THE FRONTCOURT
Zahir Carrington made history last season becoming the first Lehigh player to earn All-District honors since all-time leading scorer Daren Queenan accomplished the feat in 1988. Carrington led the Mountain Hawks in scoring and rebounding and solidified himself as one of the top low post players in the entire Patriot League. He’ll once again be expected to play a large role in the offense and on the backboards, but Carrington is not alone in the frontcourt as four others return from last year’s team and a pair of talented newcomers joins the squad.
Sophomores John Adams, Justin Maneri and Jordan Hamilton took time to adjust to the collegiate game but by season’s end, the trio was playing a significant role for the Mountain Hawks. Adams saw the most action of the three, appearing in 26 games and starting Lehigh’s Patriot League Tournament contest versus Army. A native of California, Adams posted a career-high 12 points in that postseason game and he has the Lehigh coaching staff excited about the energy, defensive tenacity and rebounding ability he brings to the game.
Maneri is a bruising forward who can play the power forward and center positions. He saw action in 23 games last season and shot a good percentage from the floor during that time. A strong rebounder and interior defender Maneri provides the Mountain Hawks with much needed muscle on the inside. Hamilton came on strong towards the end of his freshman year, shooting 50-percent from the field in the final ten games of the season. Blessed with long arms and good athletic ability Hamilton can play either forward spot and enters this season ready to make an impact.
Junior David Safstrom made a concerted effort to get bigger and stronger during the offseason and he came back 20 pounds heavier. Now standing 7-1 and weighing over 250 pounds, Safstrom has impressed the coaching staff with his work during individual sessions and is poised to make a push for increased playing time.
Freshmen Holden Greiner and Gabe Knutson are the newest members of the Lehigh frontcourt. Greiner was a two-time All-State selection in high school in Michigan and possesses great ball skills for a player his size. Knutson is a left-handed post up player who is crafty around the basket and can score from a myriad of spots on the floor.
THE SCHEDULE
Lehigh will travel to Virginia to take on the University of Richmond out of the Atlantic-10 in the season opener. Lehigh then remains on the road for a matchup versus Rider on November 16 in New Jersey.
The Mountain Hawks open their home schedule on November 18 when Quinnipiac comes to Stabler Arena, while five days later the Hawks of Monmouth make the trip to South Bethlehem. A trip to Loretto, Pennsylvania to face St. Francis (Pa.) awaits Lehigh on November 25 and the Seawolves of Stony Brook will serve as Lehigh’s final opponent for the opening month of the season on November 30 at Stabler Arena.
Lehigh opens December with a tough two-game road trip, first traveling to New York City to take on the Columbia Lions on December 3, while two days later the Mountain Hawks will receive a stern test from the Dayton Flyers in Ohio. Home dates with Dartmouth (December 17) and Marist (December 22) are sandwiched between a trip to Philadelphia to take on the St. Joseph’s Hawks in their recently renovated Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena on December 20.
Trips to Longwood (December 28) and Delaware State (December 30) close out the 2009 calendar year, while a visit from NJIT on January 2 rings in the New Year. Lehigh and Yale will meet for the first time since the 1999-00 season on January 5 as the Bulldogs travel to Stabler Arena for what will be the Mountain Hawks final non-league test on the schedule.
The Mountain Hawks open their 2010 Patriot League slate on Saturday, January 9 when the American Eagles come to town. Lehigh and archrival Lafayette will renew acquaintances on January 23 at Stabler Arena with the return trip to Easton set for February 20. Lehigh heads to Lewisburg on January 27 to face Bucknell, while a date with Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts looms on January 31. The Mountain Hawks begin the second half of league action on February 6 in the nation’s capital versus the American Eagles, while the final week of the regular season will bring Bucknell (February 24) and Holy Cross (February 27) to Bethlehem.
