Patriot League Basketball - 2006/07 Season

[Bison]

With Midnight Madness upon us, it's time to start thinking about college hoops.

As far as the Patriot League goes, it should be a significantly tighter race this year (although I guess it kind of has to be after Bucknell ran the conference table last season.) Bucknell loses two of their best players, so any of Holy Cross, American, Colgate, or Lehigh could get the PL's NCAA bid.

Team Notes in predicted order of finish (with the understanding that I know nothing about the incoming freshmen):

1. Bucknell
Until they're beaten, there's no reason to bump them. They still have center Chris McNaughton and starters (PG) Abe Badmus and (PF) Darren Mastropaolo. Last year's sixth-man Donald Brown will attempt to fill 2005/06 PL POY Charles Lee's shoes at the three, while the SG starting spot is up for grabs between John Griffin and sniper Jason Vegotsky. The Bison certainly won't cruise through the conference like last year, and they most likely won't sniff the Top 25 where they finished last season. But they're still my pick to win the PL.

2. Holy Cross
The Crusaders lose Mr. Everything, Kevin Hamilton, but retain their other four starters from a solid team. Holy Cross will likely feature the best backcourt in the conference with Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons. Tim Clifford, the Big Purple Dog, will hold down the center spot again. This is the team in the conference that scares me.

3. Lehigh
There's no more JUCO Joe for the Mountain Hawks this season. However, the senior backcourt of Jose Olivero and Kyle Neptune should keep Lehigh right in the thick of things in the PL race. However, their lack of frontcourt production will keep them from being in the same class as Bucknell and Holy Cross.

4. American
Andre Ingram could contend for PL POY this season...if he adds some consistency to his performances. When he's on, he could very well be the best player in the league. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that's only about half the games he plays in.

5. Colgate
Colgate had what could only be considered as a disasterous season last year. Predicted by many to challenge Bucknell, they finished the PL season with a 4-10 conference record. I don't understand this team one bit. (G/F) Kyle Roemer is a very solid player, and the Chones brothers, Kyle and Kendall, should be more productive than they are. I'm not entirely sure where the problem lies with this team, but if they figure things out, they could make some noise. I just need to see some evidence that it could happen first.

6. Navy
Navy went 3-11 in-conference last season, and could improve on that by a game or two this season. Junior guard Greg Sprink scored 15 ppg last season, high by Patriot League standards. Overall, not much to get excited about here... but taking the optimistic view, at least they'll beat Army.

7. Lafayette
They finally got scholarships! Fran O'Hanlon is a very good coach, and the school's decision to allow athletic scholarships will certainly help him put together a team to contend for conference titles... in 2009. For now, it's going to be another long season in Easton.

8. Army
The Black Knights may have peaked last season... when they went 1-13 in PL play. They do have a little backcourt talent coming back this season (seems to be a recurring theme in this conference), but they have no inside game to speak of. For the sake of competitiveness, I hope they do get a win or two in-conference.