CLICK HERE For All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content
PATRIOT LEAGUE MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Colgate
- American
- Boston U
- Bucknell
- Lehigh
- Lafayette
- Army
- Navy
- Holy Cross
- Loyola MD
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAM:
-Matt Rogers, – SR, F – American (Preseason Player of the Year)
-Miles Brewster – SR, G – Boston U
-Noah Williamson – JR, C – Bucknell
-Tyler Whitney-Sidney – SR, G – Lehigh
-Austin Benigni – JR, G – Navy
Caleb Kennedy – SR, F – Holy Cross (Preseason Defensive Player of the Year)
.
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Colgate blew through this league a year ago with a 16-2 conference record. They finished a full 6 games head of the 2nd-place team and then breezed through the conference tournament. They did lose two of their top scorers, but they do return a really good core group of players that saw significant minutes last year and add a pretty impressive looking freshman class, so it would not shock me at all to see Colgate win the league again this year. Having said that, I am not sure if they will completely run away with it like they did a season ago.
So last year, there was a 4-way tie for 2nd place. Three of those four teams return the bulk of their contributing players, which makes this conference pretty wide open.
-American had a two week stretch in the middle of February where they lost 4 out of 5, and not only that but lost badly to bad teams. Injuries seemed to play a role in that stretch where they struggled, but other than that they were pretty good last year. With four starters back including Matt Rogers (who can score, rebound, and shoot from the outside), I think they have quite a bit of potential this year and could even end up winning the league.
-Boston U has all five starters back and is also a team that can make a ton of noise this year. They also finished in the big logjam tie for 2nd place last year and looked really good in the latter part of the season as they won their last six games before losing in the semis of the conference tournament. Miles Brewster received preseason honors and is a fantastic outside shooter, but is not the only scoring threat on this team. They have what appears to be a deep and experienced rotation. I always value collective experience, especially now when so many teams are so transfer heavy. I think the Terriers will be in the race this year and are also good enough to challenge for a league title.
-Bucknell is another team with a lot of experience coming back. Four starters return for a team that was in that logjam 2nd place tie. They did lose their top scorer, but Noah Williamson is back and is a 7-footer and the best post-player in the conference. Some of the other guys will have to step up in order for Bucknell to keep pace with the teams at the top of the league. I think the PL is a four-horse race this year with Bucknell being the 4th horse.
-Lehigh was a modest 9-9 in league play last year, but was much better in the second half of conference play than in the first, winning 7 out of 9 before losing in the championship game. Three starters are back including Tyler Whitney-Sidney (who was one of the top scorers in the conference) and Keith Higgins Jr. (who missed part of the year due to an injury). So, the Mountain Hawks have some pieces.
-Lafayette had a bit of a crazy season. Between January 3rd and February 7th they were 9-2. For the entire rest of the year, they were just 2-19. They started off 1-12, and finished by losing 6 of their final 7. Three starters are back and they actually somehow managed to play their way into that 4-way tie for 2nd place last year so you would think there would be some reasons to be optimistic, but given how bad they were for most of the year and how they played down the stretch I just do not see them keeping up with the top half of the league.
-It is so hard to win at Army. For any student to be accepted into the school they have to prove themselves to be far more exceptional than most of the rest of us, and they are limited when it comes who they can even recruit. I have nothing but respect for anyone who plays on this team. They won just 10 games a year ago, and with three starters back and Jalen Rucker (who was a proven scorer two years ago) rejoining the team, hopefully they can manage a few more wins this year.
-It is so hard to win at Navy. For any student to be accepted into the school they have to prove themselves to be far more exceptional than most of the rest of us, and they are limited when it comes who they can even recruit. I have nothing but respect for anyone who plays on this team. I actually like this team a lot more than where they are picked to finish. They have four starters returning from a team that kind of crapped out in the middle of conference play, but was pretty solid down the stretch, winning their final 5 before losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Austin Benigni is one of the top players in the conference and with the experience they have around him I think they can win some games this year. I could see them finishing close to the middle of the standings and if things fall right for them perhaps doing even a little better.
-The days of Holy Cross being a consistent PL frontrunner and making teams sweat in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament seem like it was a generation ago. Well, that is because it was. The Crusaders have not won more than 10 games since prior to COVID, and have only been to one NCAA Tournament since 2007. Three starters are back from last year’s team and that experience should help, but at no point did Holy Cross look like they were building toward anything. It could be another long, and frustrating, and ultimately disappointing year for the Crusaders.
-Loyola MD won just seven games a year ago and finished near the bottom of virtually every D1- metric. Josh Loeffler takes over as head coach and he’s got his work cut out for him as he’s tasked with building up a program that does not look to have a whole lot of substantial D-1 experience heading into this season.