Dec. 20, 2001
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GAME INFORMATION
Match Up: Lafayette (5-4) vs. Princeton (2-6)
Tip: 7:37 p.m.
Site: Princeton, N.J.
Arena: Jadwin Gymnasium (6,854)
Series: Princeton leads, 39-14
Radio: WEST-AM 1400, www.lafayette.edu
Commentators: Dick Hammer, Scott Morse
Television: LSN (RCN-4, WBPH-60)
Satellite Coordinates: KU Band * SBS 6 Transponder 4
Commentators: Gary Laubach, John Feinstein
THE STORY LINE: Lafayette (5-4) faces its third Ivy League foe of December tonight at Princeton. The Leopards are on a three-game win streak that began Dec. 5 at Drexel and has continued with wins over Cornell and Scranton. Princeton comes into the game with a deceiving 2-6 record, as the Tigers have the 11th best strength of schedule in the nation.
LOOKING AHEAD: Lafayette will have several days off for the holidays following tonight's game. The Leopards will return to game action on Dec. 30, hosting Howard at 3:15 p.m.
O'HANLON REACHES 100 VICTORIES: Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon reached the 100-win plateau with the Leopards' victory over Scranton on Dec. 19. O'Hanlon started the season with 95 wins. The seventh-year head coach joined George Davidson (170 wins), Bill Anderson (139), Butch van Breda Kolff (132) and Tom Davis (116) in the 100-win club. O'Hanlon has twice been named Patriot League Coach of the Year and has led Lafayette to two NCAA Tournament appearances.
SHOOTING FOR FOUR: Lafayette has won three straight over Princeton. In each of those games, Lafayette made 10 or more three-pointers. In last season's meeting, Lafayette won with free throw shooting, making 24-of-25 attempts and 13-of-13 in the closing minutes.
PLEICK DEBUTS: Junior Andrew Pleick played his first game in a Lafayette uniform versus Scranton. Pleick, who transferred from Drake University, scored three points, passed for three assists and collected two steals in 14 minutes of playing time.
PRINCETON SCOUTING REPORT: PRINCETON: The Tigers come into the game with a 2-6 record. Princeton losses have come to an impressive list of opponents: California, St. Joseph's, Florida International, Maryland, George Washington and most recently No. 4 ranked Kansas. Princeton's wins came against Rider and Monmouth.
Princeton put up a 16-11 record in 2000-01 and won the Ivy League title with an 11-3 mark. Four starters return from that team. This season sophomore forward Andre Logan is leading the scoring effort with 11.1 ppg. Senior forward Mike Bechtold is averaging 10.5 ppg and leads the team with 4.5 rpg outing.
Princeton is coached by John Thompson III who is in his second season. Thompson, a 1988 Princeton graduate, holds an 18-17 record at Princeton.
FEINSTEIN TO WAX POETIC ON TV: Best-selling author John Feinstein is providing the color commentary for tonight's television broadcast on the Lafayette Sports Network. Feinstein is the author of The Last Amateurs, a book chronicling the 1999-2000 Patriot League men's basketball season, as well as A Season on the Brink, A Good Walk Spoiled and many others. He joins RCN-4 sports director Gary Laubach on the telecast.
DOUBLE FIGURES: Brian Burke has scored in double figures in all nine games. The Lafayette offense runs through Burke who has split time between the perimeter and small forward. Burke reached double figures in 11 of 15 games he played in last season. He has led the team in scoring four times this season.
LAFAYETTE OUTSHOOTING OPPONENTS: Lafayette has outshot its opponent in every game this season. The Leopards are shooting 49 percent from the floor compared to their opponents' 40 percent. Lafayette has shot above 50 percent in four games and hit a season-high 61 percent to open the season at Albany. Opponent FG%-Lafayette FG% Albany 48.4-61.2 Penn State 39.7-45.6 Miami 38.3-39.6 St. Peter's 45.8-46.3 Marist 45.2-52.9 Columbia 38.6-39.5 Drexel 36.1-56.4 Cornell 32.0-42.1 Scranton 32.7-57.4
THE COACH: Head coach Fran O'Hanlon (Villanova '70) is in his seventh season at Lafayette. O'Hanlon has garnered two Patriot League Coach of the Year honors, while restoring the Lafayette program to a championship level. He guided the Leopards to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998-99 and 1999-00. O'Hanlon's career record stands at 100-80, including two 20-win seasons.
THIEVES AMONG US: Lafayette picked Scranton for a season-high 20 steals on Dec. 19. Nine Lafayette players had at least one steal and three players had three or more steals with Justin DeBerry leading the way with five. For the game, the Leopards forced a season-high 32 turnovers.
DOWN TO THE WIRE (UNTIL RECENTLY): Seven of Lafayette's nine games have been decided by 10 points or less. Two have ended with a four-point margin and one was decided by three points. The Leopards's last two games, however, have been decided by an average of 36 points. DILL POSTS DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Sophomore center Rob Dill had a breakout game vs. Cornell on Dec. 8. The 6-9 center scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, both career-highs. Dill is averaging 13.8 minutes per outing off the bench and is shooting 58 percent from the field and 84 percent from the line.
KUBERKA IN THE CENTER OF THINGS: Senior center Mick Kuberka has seen a significant increase in playing time this season. He went from averaging 10.5 minutes per game last season to 21.4 mpg this season. His numbers have drastically improved and he is posting 7.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg. He has already set new career-highs for points (16), rebounds (8), blocks (4) and assists (3).
AN OFFENSIVE OUTING AT DREXEL: Lafayette had five players score in double figures on Dec. 5 at Drexel. It was the first time that had happened since Feb. 19, 2001 at Stony Brook. Ben Saxton (22), Brian Burke (16), Mick Kuberka (13), Mike Farrell (12) and Reggie Guy (11) all scored in double figures. Lafayette recorded a number of season-highs at Drexel. The Leopards shot a season-high 18 free throws on 23 attempts and also dished out 24 assists.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES VS. PRINCETON: (Lafayette trails, 14-39) This is Lafayette's 54th all-time meeting with Princeton in the Leopards' 92 seasons of basketball. Lafayette is 14-39 all-time versus the Tigers. The last meeting came Dec. 6, 2000, an 80-73 Lafayette win in Easton. The first series' meeting was Feb. 27, 1900, as the two teams squared off in Princeton in a game the Tigers won 22-9.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE IVY LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 178 games against the eight members of the Ivy League, and has a 70-108 (.393) record in those contests. Under Fran O'Hanlon, the Leopards are 20-17 (.541) versus the Ivy League. Lafayette was 10-3 vs. the Ivies the last three seasons (1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01) with Penn accounting for all three losses. Lafayette went 3-1 against Ivy League competitors in 2000-01. This season, Lafayette lost to Columbia, 52-48, beat Cornell 73-44 and have Princeton and Penn remaining. Lafayette vs. the Ivy League:
Brown 11-8 Cornell 9-5 Harvard 2-3 Princeton 14-39 Columbia 22-10 Dartmouth 3-2 Pennsylvania 3-32 Yale 6-9
INJURY REPORT: For the first time this season, Lafayette has its full complement of 14 players available for tonight's game. Andrew Pleick is recovering from a hand injury and will play with his hand taped. Brian Burke has also been dealing with a finger injury. His recent x-rays revealed no fractures.
LETTING IT FLY: Fran O'Hanlon's Lafayette teams have been known to hoist it up from the perimeter. Lafayette has hit 200 or more three-pointers in each of the last four seasons, recording 225 in 2000-01, 249 in 1999-00, 238 in 1998-99 and 207 in 1997-98. This season, Lafayette has made 70 of 181 three-point attempts for a 39 percent clip.
EVERYBODY NOW: It's not just Lafayette's guards who have fired up three-pointers in Fran O'Hanlon's seven seasons on the Hill. The Leopards' big men seem to have the green light on occasion when it fits into the rhythm of Lafayette's motion offense. Center Mick Kuberka has taken 17 three's this season (making seven) after attempting a combined 70 (20-70) in his sophomore and junior seasons. Kuberka went 4-for-5 from long-range against Marist. Starting power forward Mike Farrell has taken seven three-pointers this season and made 6-of-24 in 2001-02.
LINE CHANGE: For those seeing Lafayette basketball for the first time, Fran O'Hanlon's substitution patterns may more closely resemble hockey than basketball. O'Hanlon frequently substitutes three or four players at a time, often looking for an advantage in offensive and defensive matchups. The frequent substitutions also force opposing coaches and players to be constantly aware of personnel changes.
BURKE PROVIDING THE NECESSARY ASSISTANCE: Senior Brian Burke is leading the team with 4.9 assists per game. Burke registered a season-high 10 assists at Drexel. The co-captain led the team in assists last season, despite missing two months of the season with a punctured lung.
FOUR-GUARD SET: Many teams employ a three-guard set, but few rarely play four guards on the floor at a time. Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon has been using combinations of Justin DeBerry, Brian Burke, Winston Davis, Kenny Grant, Ben Saxton and Reggie Guy along with power forward Mike Farrell or center Mick Kuberka. With Grant or Guy in the lineup, DeBerry moves to shooting guard, his true position. Defensively, the Leopards cope by having their tallest guards, Davis (6-6), Burke (6-5) and Saxton (6-5), guard post players.
SOPHOMORE STARTERS: Four of the players who have been in the Lafayette starting lineup are members of the sophomore class. Justin DeBerry is holding down the point guard position along with Winston Davis and Ben Saxton who have both started at shooting guard and Mike Farrell who has started every game at power forward. Nine of the 14 players on Fran O'Hanlon's squad are either freshmen or sophomores.
DEEP INTO THE BENCH: Fran O'Hanlon has always gone fairly deep into his bench in his tenure at Lafayette. This season is no exception, as 10 players have participated in every game.
GEOGRAPHY FOR $300 PLEASE, ALEX: The 14 members of the Lafayette basketball team hail from eight states and three countries. In the Leopards' starting lineup, Justin DeBerry is from Arizona, Winston Davis and Mike Farrell from Florida, Mick Kuberka from New York and Brian Burke is from Pennsylvania. On the remainder of the roster, Minnesota (Rob Worthington), California (Andrew Pleick), New Jersey (Eric Mugavero) and Virginia (Jamie Hughes) are represented. Canada, often called the "51st state" by chauvinistic U.S. citizens, is home to Brad Anderson while Rob Dill resides in Germany.
ON THE RADIO: Today's game can be heard live on WEST-AM 1400, the 66th year of broadcasting Lafayette Athletics. Dick Hammer is in his 35th year of calling the play-by-play for Lafayette men's basketball.
ALL-TIME AT LAFAYETTE: In the 92 seasons of men's basketball at Lafayette College, the Leopards hold an overall record of 1110-956 (.537) that spans back to the first season in 1900-01.
FROM THE LINE: Lafayette shot 73 percent from the free throw line as a team in 2000-01. This season, Lafayette is shooting 73 percent (121-165) from the stripe. Brian Burke, a career 88 percent free throw shooter, leads the Leopards this season with a 85 percent clip. Burke holds the Patriot League record for consecutive free throws with 49, a mark he set in 1999-00.
SENIOR C0-CAPTAINS: Seniors Brian Burke and Rob Worthington are serving as the team captains for the 2001-02 season. Burke is the top returning scorer for Lafayette, having averaged 14.0 points per game in 2000-01. Worthington is the team's top returning rebounder and started 32 games in his sophomore and junior seasons. Burke and Worthington were selected co-captains by head coach Fran O'Hanlon. The two have been roommates since their freshman years and are both English majors.
LAFAYETTE ON THE WEB: The best source for information on the Lafayette basketball program is on the web. Click on "Sports" at www.lafayette.edu. The site is continuously updated with press releases, game notes, schedules, rosters, statistics, players features, photos and more. This season, all games will be broadcasted through the site. BURKE'S WEEKLY JOURNAL: Brian Burke will chronicle the 2001-02 season through his weekly journal on www.GoLeopards.com. Burke is coming off his debut season of his weekly journal entries. His first journal debuted on Nov. 21 and subsequent journals will be posted intermittently.
LAFAYETTE ON TELEVISION: For the fourth-straight season, Lafayette features the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. The Leopards have 14 games televised, with the possible addition of three more television contests in the Patriot League Tournament. The Lafayette Sports Network will air 12 games to more than 5.2 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Pocono region and Philadelphia, central New Jersey, New York City and Boston. Locally the telecasts can be seen on RCN Cable channels 4 and 60, Service Electric Cable channel 51, Blue Ridge Cable channel 5 and broadcast channel 60. Lafayette will also be seen on the Patriot League Television Network at Colgate. Locally, that game will be broadcasted on WFMZ-TV 69. The Lafayette at Lehigh game on Feb. 20 can be seen on Service Electric TV-2.
LEADING THE LEAGUE IN ATTENDANCE: The Lafayette men's basketball program has led the Patriot League in home attendance the last four seasons. In 2000-01, Lafayette averaged over 2,500 fans per home game in its 3,500-seat arena. Over 30,000 fans came through the Kirby Sports Center gates to watch Lafayette's 12 home games. Lafayette beat out Navy, which averaged nearly 150 fewer fans per game (2,356), in the regular-season. Lafayette had four home games with over 3,000 people in attendance in 2000-01: Princeton (3,154 on Dec. 6), Lehigh (3,128 on Jan. 10), Army (3,026 on Jan. 27) and Colgate (3,192 on Feb. 24). The Leopards' last regular-season game, vs. Colgate, proved to be the largest home crowd of the season In 1999-2000, Lafayette averaged 2,474 fans per home contest. The highwater mark came vs. Navy in the Patriot League Finals with over 4,000 people in attendance for the 87-61 victory (3/10/00). The Leopards also drew over 16,000 fans for the Patriot League Tournament, the second highest attendance in league history. In 1998-99, six games garnered 3,000 or more fans, as the Leopards drew an average of 2,864 fans per home meeting. The 1997-98 season brought in an average of 2,045 people per home game, the first season ever that Lafayette led the league in attendance. Bucknell drew the biggest crowd of the season on Feb. 7, 1998, with 3,174 fans.
MEDAL OF HONOR: Following the 2000-01 season, Brian Burke was selected as one of four 2000-01 recipients of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Award of Valor. It is awarded annually to ECAC student-athletes whose courage, motivation and relentless determination serve as an inspiration to all. The recipients of the Award of Valor exemplify strength of character, perseverance, and most importantly, accomplishment deserving recognition as being truly triumphant. Burke led the team in assists and finished third on the team in scoring despite missing 13 games after suffering a punctured lung in a game at Fordham on Dec. 11. Burke was playing the best game of his career, having scored a career-high 24 points, including five three-pointers. With five minutes left in the game, Burke's night came to an end as he was removed from the arena on a stretcher after complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath.
The junior suffered severe internal bleeding and was later diagnosed with a punctured lung, losing one third of his blood supply. After an initial 10-day hospital stay, Burke suffered another setback as he was preparing to return home. On Dec. 21 when the doctors removed the chest tubes, Burke's lung collapsed and prolonged his hospital stay. Burke's recovery was slow but determined and he returned to classes in late January. The coaches and doctors planned on Burke missing the remainder of the season and concerns arose that he may never play competitive basketball again. On February 11, exactly two months after a punctured lung left his career and health in jeopardy, Burke returned to the court, scoring a game-high 23 points, just one point shy of his career-high. His effort helped lead Lafayette to an 87-78 win over Navy. Burke went on to play in Lafayette's six remaining games. He was presented with the award two weeks before the start of the 2001-02 season.
DAVIS, FARRELL SHINE IN SUNSHINE STATE (Nov. 27): Tampa, Fla. native Winston Davis scored a career-high 15 points in his first-ever collegiate game in his home state of Florida. Davis went 5-6 from the floor and was a perfect 4-4 from three-point land vs. Miami. Not to be outdone, DeLand, Fla. native Mike Farrell scored a then-career-high 11 points and added five rebounds and a block.
CRASHING THE BOARDS (Nov. 27): Lafayette outrebounded its opponents in two of the Leopards' first three games. Lafayette outrebounded Albany 28-27 and Miami 39-37. Mick Kuberka grabbed a career-high eight boards to lead the Leopards...The Lafayette players were not the only thing "crashing" in Miami. The team bus was in an accident on the way to pick Lafayette up from practice on Nov. 23, delaying the team's departure by a half hour. The bus and the driver appeared to be uninjured, but the same could not be said for a red Ford Mustang convertible...In 2000-01, Lafayette outrebounded its opponents seven times, winning five of those games.
DAWSON LEAVES TEAM (Nov. 21): Junior guard Drew Dawson is no longer a member of the Lafayette basketball program. Dawson informed the coaching staff of his desire to leave the team, citing personal reasons.
NOT HALF BAD (Nov. 21): Lafayette shot 71 percent in the first half at Albany, yet still trailed 39-38 primarily due to 11 turnovers. A 52 percent second half led to a 61 percent shooting clip for the game. Lafayette turned the ball over four times in the second half and went on to the 80-72 win.
GRANT'S DEBUT (Nov. 21): Kenny Grant has been picked by several publications as the top incoming freshman in the Patriot League. He didn't disappoint in his collegiate debut. Grant scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, passed for four assists and picked Albany for five steals in 28 minutes of playing time.
SUMMER CAMP (Preseason): Sophomore Mike Farrell worked the camp circuit this summer. He finished up his tour at NBA player Chris Dudley's camp in Portland, Ore. Farrell, a diabetic himself, worked with diabetic youngsters at the camp. Mick Kuberka worked on Wall Street with a Lafayette alumnus. Ben Saxton was a sales intern in Walker Valley, N.Y.
PLAYING ABROAD (Preseason): Freshman Kenny Grant spent some time playing basketball not with sophomore teammate Rob Dill, but rather against him this summer. Grant played for the Swedish Junior National Under-20 team and participated in tournaments across Europe. Grant's team faced off against Dill's German squad in a scrimmage. The Swedish squad faced national teams from Spain, Iceland, Estonia, Denmark and Russia. Grant had his best game against Russia when he scored 18 points.
HANDLING THE BALL (Preseason): A hallmark of Fran O'Hanlon's basketball programs has been adept ballhandling. The Leopards displayed that last season holding a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio. The Leopards dished out 434 assist compared to 418 turnovers. Brian Burke lead the team in assist/turnover ratio with a 2.18 mark. Of the nine returning players who played 20 or more games in 2000-01, seven have a positive assist/turnover ratio.
PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League in the preseason coaches and sports information directors' poll. Lafayette, which was slotted to finish second in 2000-01 and ended tied for fifth, is looking for just the opposite to happen this season on College Hill.
