Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Lafayette gets commitment from forward from Missouri.

The Southeast Missourian reportsRyan Willen, a 6-foot-8 forward from Notre Dame high in the southeast corner of the Show Me State has chosen the Leopards over North Dakota State and Texas Pan-American. Willen averaged over 22 points per game and 10 rebounds as a junior, earing the Southeast Missourian's co-player of the year honors.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Red Flash of St. Francis held their media day yesterday. During the festivities, coach Bobby Jones spoke of the need for his team to get off to a good start. Two of their first four games are against Patriot League schools.

St. Francis opens Nov. 10 at home against American and hosts Lehigh a week later. According to the Altoona Mirror, anything less than three wins in their first four games will be a dissappointment. That would mean the Red Flash need to win at least one of those games.

The Flash, who return all five starters from last year's 8-21 team, also will face Bucknell in Lewisburg Dec. 1.

Really, really interested in St. Francis? The Johnstown Tribune also covered the media day festivities.

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Mike Howlett has committed to play his college ball at the University of Pennsylvania. Why should Patriot League fans care?

Howlett was supposed to be a freshman at Lehigh this fall, But after Billy Taylor left for Ball State, Howlette decided to return to New Hampshire's New Hampton School for a second year of post-graduate prep school instead of enrolling at Lehigh.http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

According to his father, quoted in , Howlett is between 6-9 and 6-10, though recruiting sites list him at 6-8. Howlett supposedly narrowed his second-time-around list to Bucknell, Holy Cross, Davidson and Penn after eliminating several other Patriot and Ivy schools, as well as Vanderbilt, Stanford and Northwestern from consideration. His final two reportedly were HC and Penn.

Worth keeping in mond, apparently the kid's dad was the source of this story. Hard to tell if Howlett actually had offers from all those places.

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Friday, October 26, 2007
The preseason Mid-Major Top 25 poll is out.

Holy Cross is the only league team in the top 25, checking in at No. 16 in the rankings. The Crusaders were No. 9 in last season's final poll.

Bucknell, which received 61 points, is the only other Patriot League team to receive votes. The Bison are an unofficial No. 36 in the poll.

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It appears the Bison may have completed their recruiting class for next fall, with a third commit, AU gets more size and Ralph has landed a much-needed winger.

The Nassau Guardian reports 6-9 Probese Leo has chosen Bucknell over Rice, Furman and San Diego State. Leo is a Bahamas native who attends St. Pius X H.S. in Houston through the Frank Rutherford Foundation Elite Athlete Development (FREAD) Program, which brings athletes from the Bahamas to the U.S. to help prepare them to earn scholarships to U.S. universities.

Leo, who played AAU ball with the Houston Hoop Stars, would appear to be a bit of a project. He has only played serious basketball for about a year.

It would seem Leo completes Bucknell's scholarship recruiting class, unless he, or one of the two previous commits, is actually a need-based kid. The Bison also have commits from 6-5 swingman Bryan Cohen, out of the Philly area Abington Friends School and 6-8 Enoch Andoh from Archbishop Mitty in San Jose, Cal.

In other recruiting news, while we were busy with the aftermath of media day, we missed American's landing of 6-8 Stephen Lumpkins, a lefthanded big man from Serra H.S. in the San Francisco bay area. Lumpkins chose teh Eagles over UC Santa Barbara, Montana State and Lafayette.

Also announced Friday, R.J. Evans, a 6-3 wing out of Norwich Free Academy in Conn., will take his game to Holy Cross, where he says his legs will get stronger from walking up and down all those hills. Evans, who averaged 24 points per game last season, chose H.C. over William and Mary and Harvard.

Evans made his announcement flanked by classmates in purple t-shirts that said "Patriot or Ivy?" on the front. They turned around to reveal a back saying "Evans chooses (HC logo)" as he verbalized his decision.

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A couple otheer stories from Thursday's media day showed up after we'd already done Friday's update.

  • Billy Wagner does a great job covering Navy for the Annapolis Capital. Too bad they never post his stuff on their Web site until late in the day after we have updated. Wags says the Mids are not surprised to be picked seventh in the league.

  • Basketball U's Elliot Smilowitz checks in with a story on Lehigh coach Brett Reed. For those who don't subscribe to Basketball U., this one apparently is being offered for free.

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  • Friday, October 19, 2007
    (Updated with additional links at 7:51 a.m.)
    Here's what others are saying about Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:

  • In Stephen Miller's overview of the league, which appears in the Morning Call. there is a Fran O'Hanlon quote that pretty much sums up why people are still picking Holy Cross and Bucknell at the top of the league despite their heavy graduation losses. Says O'Hanlon" "I thought last year maybe the league would come back a little bit and be more competitive. To a certain extent [it was]. American was right there at times. Colgate and Army and Navy obviously took major steps last year, but it didn't translate into competing with Bucknell and Holy Cross. So I'm reluctant to say it's going to change."

  • The Examiner looks at Navy and concludes the Mids "will go as far as Greg Sprink carries" them.

  • Alexander Pyles did some blogging on CSTV's Hang Time blog from the ESPN Zone in Baltimore. Pyles, who must have sat close to the door, where the wireless actually worked, compiled a handful of posts from the event.

  • David Ginsburg of the AP threw together a story based on the preseason poll and the very generic comments the coaches made before the individual interview sessions.

    We'll update this in the morning.

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  • Thursday, October 18, 2007
    More news, notes and quotes from Thursday's Patriot League basketball media day:

    M*A*S*H -- Not a lot of talk about injuries from most of the coaches, but Bucknell's Pat Flannery and Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard did have some medical woes to talk about.

    Flannery confirmed senior post man Darren Mastropaolo will not be ready any time soon. Flannery said Mastropaolo is working hard to rehab the knee he injured this summer, but has not begun to run on it yet. Flannery said there is no timetable for Mastropaolo's possible return. Bucknell guard John Griffin, in a separate interview, said the Bison are hopeful Mastropaolo might be able to get back for the second half of the Patriot League season. Griffin said he doesn't think Mastropaolo wants to take a medical redshirt, saying he thinks Mastropaolo wants to graduate with his classmates.

    Holy Cross has two guys currently out of practice for medical reasons. Sophomore Andrew Keister has suffered another stress fracture in his leg and it appears his future is in question. Willard said there are concerns Keister, who survived childhood leukemia, may have some fragility in his bones due to the radiation treatments he underwent when he was ill. For now, the 6-9 forward is out at least six weeks.

    Lawrence Dixon also has yet to practice for HC. Dixon's surgically repaired knee is structurally fine, Willard said, but he is having back and hamstring problems. Willard said it is possible Dixon's troubles could be related to favoring the injured knee.

    "Lawrence could really help our basketball team if he can get healthy," Willard said.

    QUOTABLE -- From the coaches opening comments:

    "We have a lot of fresh faces coming in hoping to compete for some playing time." -- American coach Jeff Jones, whose roster includes six new players, including four junior college transfers

    "We have a lot of young players. Nine of our 13 are in either the freshman or sophomore class." -- Lehigh coach Brett Reed, who is new to the head coach job himself

    "We certainly hope to be an improved basketball team this year . . . we have lots of room for improvement." -- Colgate coach Emmett Davis

    "What we found out in Europe is we graduated two really special leaders . . . we have a lot of work to do." -- HC's Ralph Willard

    "We have more guys coming back this year than we have ever had." -- Army coach Jim Crews

    "We don't know a lot right now. But we do have one kid -- Jarrell Brown -- who puts the ball in the bucket." -- Crews

    "you can't even land in Mississippi. You have to land in Memphis." == Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon on the leopards trip to Mississippi State, part of nine straight road games after playing five of their first six at home

    "Nobody's divulging names." -- Bucknell coach Pat Flannery, commenting on the generic remarks of the other coaches

    "We are who we are, and you know who we are. We're not hard to figure out." -- Flannery on his Bison

    "I don't feel like our program is young anymore." -- Navy coach Billy Lange on his experienced underclassmen

    Those were the best offered. Told you they were pretty generic.

    MAKING POINTS -- Expect Griffin to start the season at the point for Bucknell, but the pre-season all-league pick could end up sliding to the two if freshman Daryl Shazier develops quickly. Shazier played for the highly competitive Boo Williams AAU program in Virginia and is accustomed to high level competition, something that should speed his adjustment to the college game.

    "We didn't bring him in to sit," said Flannery.

    At Holy Cross, freshman Andrew Beinert was expected to back up Pat Doherty at the point this season, but difficulties finding adequate scoring from the wings could force Willard to move him to the two. Willard said that is not his preference, but he may be forced to do it.

    Scoring from the wings, said Willard, "Is still (HC's) biggest question mark. That was our big bugaboo in Europe. We didn't score from the wing at all."

    In August, before heading on the overseas trip, Willard spoke of the possibility of playing Alex Vander Baan at the three some. Those plans appear to be scrapped. Willard said Vander Baan is just not comfortable enough putting teh ball on the floor against smaller defenders.

    STEPPING OUT -- Thus far in practice, Holy Cross' best perimeter shooter has been 6-10 senior center Tim Clifford.

    "Tim may be the best three-point shooter we have on the team," said Willard.

    Expect Clifford to look to spot up on the arc when trailing the break. He will also step out to shoot the three in half-court sets, Willard said.

    "Tim has made the three an important part of who he is as a basketball player," Willard said.

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    NOTE: Griffin audio bug is fixed
    Our audio of all the coaches making their comments malfunctioned. Lucky for you.

    To be honest, nobody really said anything much of interest anyhow. Most of the conversation centered on tips for dealing with the insomnia coaches tend to suffer.

    Had the recorder captured it all, we'd have suggested saving the money you'd spend on the sleep aid CD Ralph Willard recommends by just playing back the audio of the coaches media day comments.

    We will file a media day notebook later this evening, but in the meantime, here are interviews with Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery and Bucknell guard John Griffin.


    Patriot League Media Day Interviews

  • Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard

  • Bucknell coach Pat Flannery
  • Bucknell guard John Griffin



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  • We will have more from today's Media Day festivities later. In the meantime, here is a look at how the voting went for the major preseason honors.

    The league's coaches and sports information directors voted in the preseason all-league balloting and the preseason poll. Just for fun, we also will list how we saw things back in August when we put together our previews for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

    LEAGUE FORECAST:

    2007 PreSeason All-League Selections
    G- John Griffin, Sr. Bucknell
    C- Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross
    G- Jarrell Brown, Sr., Army
    G- Marquis Hall, So., Lehigh
    G- Greg Sprink, Sr., Navy

    Preseason Player of the Year
    Tim Clifford, Sr., Holy Cross

    Preseason Poll
    1. Holy Cross (10 first place votes) 91 points
    2. Bucknell (5) 85
    3. Colgate (1) 62
    4. Lehigh 56
    5. American 49
    6. Army 42
    7. Navy 34
    8. Lafayette 29

    For comparison purposes, here is how I saw the league and the preseason honors in Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook:

    BLUE RIBBON FORECAST

    1. Holy Cross
    2. Bucknell
    3. Lehigh
    4. Army
    5. American
    6. Colgate
    7. Navy
    8. Lafayette

    ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

    G-Jarell Brown, SR, Army
    C-Tim Clifford, SR, Holy Cross
    G-Greg Sprink, SR, Navy
    G-Marquis Hall, SO, Lehigh
    G-John Griffin, SR, Bucknell

    PLAYER OF THE YEAR

    Jarell Brown, SR, Army

    NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR

    Andrew Beinert, FR, Holy Cross
    Todd O'Brien, FR, Bucknell

    I will tell you the standings prediction is a roll of the dice. Matter of fact, I can't remember ever having less faith in my preseason prognostications. As several coaches pointed out today, nobody knows what American has this season. Colgate has as much talent as anyone, but I have a hard time picking them higher based on the simple fact they had a lot of talent the last two seasons and failed to live up to expectations. Army might be a stretch at fourth, but they have as good a shot at being in the upper division as any of the teams I ranked 3 through 6.

    We shall see.

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    Wednesday, October 17, 2007
    You don't have to buy the book to see the Patriot League previews we wrote for Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

    Blue Ribbon has a deal with ESPN.com that makes all eight team previews, plus the rest of Blue Ribbon's content (previews of all 328 Division I teams) available to folks who subscribe to the WWLIS' insider services.

    To tease folks into subscribing, they are offering a free look at our look at Holy Cross.

    If you prefer a hard copy of your reference materials, you can order the book online, or by calling 866-805-BALL (2255).

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    Sunday, October 14, 2007
    Looking for a quick fix for your basketball jones before the afternoon's NFL action kicks off. We have it here, with a quick preview of the league and a little catching up with old friends.

  • Gone but not forgotten (Part I): Down in the Lehigh Valley, former Express-Times sports editor Ed Laubach is supposed to be retired. But that doesn't stop him from popping out the occasional column, like one this morning bemoaning the lack of hoops excitement on six out of eight Patriot League campuses. In the process, Ed takes a quick look around the league and sizes up each team's prospects for the coming season.

  • Gone but not forgotten (Part II): Last time we checked in with Adonal Foyle, the Colgate grad, and only Patriot League to ever make it in the NBA, was looking for work after being left go by the Golden State Warriors. Foyle's new employer is the Orlando Magic, which is preparing to head to China for some exhibition action. Writers on the Magic beat knew who to turn to when looking to file a story about the trip; as one writer put it, Foyle is "the kind of deep thinker who usually sticks out in an NBA locker room the way Bill O'Reilly would at a rap concert." The Lakeland Ledger also checked in with Foyle for some socio-economic perspective on the trip.

  • Gone but not forgotten (Part III): Would any post catching up on the whereabouts of folks affiliated with Patriot League hoops be complete without an update on the whereabouts of Hoop Time icon Neil Fingleton? (Hint: The guy is 7-7, maybe you should throw another couple of shrimp on the barbie).

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  • Saturday, October 13, 2007
    Fall has finally arrived here in the Northeast. Temperatures have dropped into the 40s the last few nights, a marked difference from even a week ago when the girls of Team Hoop Time were playing in the water as the parents washed cars for a team fundraiser.

    The weather is not all that feels different.

    It's starting to feel like hoops time. With the season fast approaching, our weekly "open gyms" have taken a turn towards getting ready for our winter league schedule. More team concepts. a little less individual skills work. We are not alone. As Lehigh's release noting the start of practice points out, the college season is less than a month away.

    The Morning Call picked up a wire story this morning about former Lehigh coach Billy Taylor. Looks like he will have a tough season ahead in his first year at Ball State. He just kicked two guys off the team for violating unspecified team rules. Four other scholarship players had already left the team since Taylor arrived in August, two seeking transfers, and two others Taylor dismissed. Sounds like he inherited quite a mess, but Taylor ought to be the kind of guy that can straighten things out there if the school gives him a few seasons to do the job. Good luck Billy.

    That same article mentions one of the points of emphasis with officials this season will be a quicker whistle for technicals on coaches for sideline behavior. Good luck Pat.

    Speaking of the Bison, over on Scout.com's Louisville "Card Chronicle" site, they are calling the Nov. 18 Bucknell at Villanova game one of the top 50 Big East out of conference games of the season.

    And in keeping with the season draws near theme of this post, a reminder that Patriot League hoops media day will be Thursday at the WWLIS zone in Charm City. We're expecting to go heavy with the audio content from that gathering, with plans to post all the coaches' comments and selected player interviews. Expect that stuff to start arriving here Thursday afternoon, as quickly as we can get the audio files posted.

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    Wednesday, October 10, 2007
    Bucknell has landed its second oral commitment, a 6-5 swingman from the Philadelphia area.
    According to a small blurb in the Philly Daily News:
    Bryan Cohen, a 6-5 senior swingman at Abington Friends School, has made an oral commitment to play his college basketball at Bucknell. Cohen's brother, Aron, is a junior on the Penn basketball team.
    Cohen averaged almost 13 points per game as a junior, playing alongside Rob Keefer, who is now a freshman at Lehigh.

    In a profile in The Jewish Exponent, Cohen, who played on th US team that won the U17 gold medal in the 17th Maccabiah Games, said he was recruited by Penn State and some Atlantic 10 schools.

    Cohen is the second player to commit to Bucknell. Enoch Andoh, a 6-8, 245-pounder out of San Diego Jose's Archbishop Mitty H.S previously announced he will play his college ball for the Bison.

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    Friday, October 05, 2007
    After delays brought on by the UConn/Coaches vs. Cancer fiasco, Holy Cross has released its schedule for the fast-approaching season.

    Losing the potential UConn matchup takes a little luster off the Crusaders' non-league slate, but even without that big name, it is a challenging gauntlet. The only BCS type on the schedule is Maryland, but perennially tough mid-majors abound with the likes of Hofstra, Dayton, Ohio U. and St. Joseph's, as well as an appearance in the ESPN BracketBusters.

    The Crusaders still have an open date that might be filled by adding another non-conference road game.

    For the full release and schedule, click on the full post link below.
    HOLY CROSS ANNOUNCES 2007-08 MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

    For Immediate Release
    October 4, 2007

    WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross athletic director Richard M. Regan, Jr., and head men’s basketball coach Ralph Willard have announced the Crusaders’ schedule for the 2007-2008 season, which is slated to begin on November 10. The Crusaders will play a number of tough non-conference games, including a home contest in the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters. The home schedule will include a total of 13 games at the Hart Center this year, plus a contest at the DCU Center against Dayton.

    “Our non-conference schedule is extremely challenging, with numerous games against quality opponents,” said Willard. “The Patriot League is going to be very competitive from top to bottom this year. Our non-conference schedule should help prepare us for the challenges we will face in league play.”

    The Crusaders begin the season with their home opener against Hofstra (Nov. 10), followed by a contest at Fairfield (Nov. 13). Holy Cross will then travel to Hampton (Nov. 17), after which it will play three straight games at the Hart Center against Harvard (Nov. 20), Ohio University (Nov. 26) and Yale (Nov. 28) The Crusaders stay in Worcester to face Dayton at the DCU Center (Dec. 1), before hitting the road for contests against St. Joseph’s (Dec. 4), Siena (Dec. 22) and Sacred Heart (Dec. 30).

    Holy Cross begins the new calendar year at home against Boston University (Jan. 2), before heading to San Francisco (Jan. 5), Maryland (Jan. 8) and Lafayette (Jan. 12 for the Patriot League opener). The Crusaders then play three straight conference games at home, taking on Army (Jan. 16), Bucknell (Jan. 18) and Navy (Jan. 23) at the Hart Center. Following trips to American (Jan. 26) and Colgate (Jan. 30), Holy Cross once again plays three in a row at home, against Lehigh (Feb. 2), American (Feb. 6) and Lafayette (Feb. 9).

    The Crusaders will next play three straight conference road games at Army (Feb. 13), Bucknell (Feb. 16) and Navy (Feb. 20), before returning home for the ESPNU BracketBusters (Feb. 23). Holy Cross will then play its final home game of the regular season against Colgate (Feb. 27) before closing out the year at Lehigh (Feb. 29). All games in the 2008 Patriot League Tournament will take place on the campus of the higher seeded team, with quarterfinal games on March 5, the semifinal round on March 9, and the championship game on March 14.

    There is still a possibility the Crusaders could add one more non-conference road game to their schedule.

    Holy Cross is coming off a 2006-2007 season in which it posted an overall record of 25-9, won the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last seven years.

    Thurs. Nov. 1 RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE (exhibition) 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Nov. 3 MASSACHUSETTS-LOWELL (exhibition) 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Nov. 10 HOFSTRA. 7:00 p.m.
    Tues. Nov. 13 at Fairfield 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Nov. 17 at Hampton 8:00 p.m.
    Tues. Nov. 20 HARVARD 8:00 p.m.
    Mon. Nov. 26 OHIO 7:00 p.m.
    Wed. Nov. 28 YALE 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Dec. 1 DAYTON # 7:00 p.m.
    Tues. Dec. 4 at St. Joseph’s 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Dec. 22 at Siena 1:00 p.m.
    Sun. Dec. 30 at Sacred Heart 4:00 p.m.
    Wed. Jan. 2 BOSTON UNIVERSITY 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Jan. 5 at San Francisco 5:00 p.m.
    Tues. Jan. 8 at Maryland 8:00 p.m.
    Sat. Jan. 12 at Lafayette * 1:00 p.m.
    Wed. Jan. 16 ARMY * 7:00 p.m.
    Fri. Jan. 18 BUCKNELL * (ESPNU) 9:00 p.m.
    Wed. Jan. 23 NAVY * 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Jan. 26 at American * 2:00 p.m.
    Wed. Jan. 30 at Colgate * 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Feb. 2 LEHIGH * (ESPNU) 12:00 p.m.
    Wed. Feb. 6 AMERICAN * 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Feb. 9 LAFAYETTE * 3:30 p.m.
    Wed. Feb. 13 at Army * 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Feb. 16 at Bucknell * (ESPN2) 6:00 p.m.
    Wed. Feb. 20 at Navy * 7:00 p.m.
    Sat. Feb. 23 O’REILLY ESPNU BRACTETBUSTERS TBA
    Wed. Feb. 27 COLGATE * 7:00 p.m.
    Fri. Feb. 29 at Lehigh * (ESPNU) 9:00 p.m.
    Wed. Mar. 5 Patriot League Quarterfinals TBA
    Sun. Mar. 9 Patriot League Semifinals TBA
    Fri. Mar. 14 Patriot League Championship Game (ESPN2) 4:30 p.m.

    Home games, listed in ALL CAPS, played at the Hart Center unless otherwise noted
    All dates and times are tentative and subject to change
    * Patriot League games
    # DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.

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    Wednesday, October 03, 2007
    Colgate has landed a verbal from an Albany area swingman.

    The Albany Times-Union reports Brett Marfurt, a 6-4 guard from Guilderland H.S. chose the Raiders over Bucknell, Lehigh and Yale. He also had offers from Princeton, Harvard and William and Mary.

    A power forward in high school play, Marfurt averaged 17.7 ppg and 7.8 rpg as a junior. Of course there is not a lot of demand for 6-4 power forwards. But Marfurt improved his stock by playing guard with his AAU club, the Nike=sponsored Albany City Rocks.

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    Tuesday, October 02, 2007
    The league and the WWLIS have announced a 13-game television package for the upcoming season. Included is the conference tournament final, which will assume its customary Friday happy hour slot on ESPN2.

    The Feb. 16 Holy Cross at Bucknell men's game will also be shown on the deuce.

    The rest of the package, which includes a trio of women's games, will be on ESPNU.

    Click the full post link to read the official press release.he 2007-08 Patriot League men's basketball schedule will feature eight regular-season men's games on ESPNU and one on ESPN2, as well as the Championship game on March 14 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2, it was announced Tuesday by Patriot League Executive Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich.

    "We are pleased to once again feature Patriot League basketball games, including our Championship for men's and women's basketball, on the ESPN networks," said Femovich. "It is exciting that a regular-season matchup between Holy Cross and Bucknell, our past two champions, will be showcased on ESPN2 this year."

    The ESPNU schedule also includes two Patriot League women's basketball regular-season games and the Championship contest on March 12.

    The men's basketball season opens up on ESPNU, with Navy traveling to Bucknell for a7 p.m. tip-off on Jan. 11. Bucknell and Holy Cross will face off on the ESPN networks for both of their regular-season matchups, with a Jan. 18 game in Worcester at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and a Feb. 16 contest in Lewisburg at 6 p.m on ESPN2.

    The ESPNU schedule features three Friday night games, four Sunday tip-offs at Noon and one Saturday contest. Two weekends will include a pair of Patriot League matchups. Lehigh visits Holy Cross on Feb. 2 at Noon and Army travels to Bucknell on Feb. 3 at Noon, while American is at Colgate at Noon on Feb. 17, one day after the Holy Cross/Bucknell tilt on ESPN2.

    On the women's side, Holy Cross visits Bucknell for a Noon tip-off on Jan. 20 and Army is at Navy on Jan. 27. The Army-Navy game will be shown live on ESPN360.com and on a taped-delayed basis at 6:30 p.m.

    2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Schedule on ESPN2/ESPNU
    Fri., Jan. 11: Navy at Bucknell, 7 p.m.
    Fri., Jan. 18: Bucknell at Holy Cross, 9 p.m.
    Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, Noon
    Sat., Feb. 2: Lehigh at Holy Cross, Noon
    Sun., Feb. 3: Army at Bucknell, Noon
    Sun., Feb. 10: Lehigh at American, Noon
    Sat., Feb. 16: Holy Cross at Bucknell (ESPN2), 6 p.m.
    Sun., Feb. 17: American at Colgate, Noon
    Fri., Feb. 29: Holy Cross at Lehigh, 9 p.m.
    Fri., Mar. 14: Championship Game (ESPN2), 4:30 p.m.

    2008 Patriot League Women's Basketball Schedule on ESPNU

    Sun., Jan. 20: Holy Cross at Bucknell, Noon
    Sun., Jan. 27: Army at Navy, 2:30 p.m.
    Wed., Mar. 12: Championship Game, TBA

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    It has been five years since clotheshorse Sal Mentesana paced the sidelines in Stabler Arena, but after being out of coaching since he leaving Lehigh, he is making a comeback.

    Mentesana, who won a lot of acclaim for his fashion sense, but very few basketball games while at Lehigh. Has been named the coach of the Reading (Pa.) Railers of the Premier Basketball League.

    The league and the team are both new, though several teams from the newest version of the American Basketball League are jumping ship to play in the PBL.

    Since leaving Lehigh after going 43-125 in six seasons (his .243 winning percentage is fourth worst of the 25 coaches in school history and the worst of any coach who lasted more than four seasons), Mentesana has been on the side of milk cartons. He is promising an uptempo style in Reading, which makes sense since these sort of leagues usually are glorified playground games.

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