Oct. 12, 2006
EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette basketball program has dealt with the athletic scholarship issue for nearly ten years. Now with its recent resolution and the distraction behind them, the coaches and student-athletes can devote all of their energy to winning basketball games and continuing the proud tradition of championships. The process is not a quick one, but one that the 2006-07 squad is determined to be an important part of.
When 12th-year head coach Fran O'Hanlon gathers his squad for 2006-07, he will return four of five starters and eight of ten letterwinners from a young team that finished 11-17 overall and fifth place in the Patriot League.
What will make the difference for Lafayette in 2006-07? The answers seem to be experience and added depth and size in the frontcourt. There is no doubt that Lafayette will again feature a perimeter-oriented offense thanks to its great depth at the guard spot. The coaching staff is hoping that what helps turn the tide is the improvement in the frontcourt ranks where juniors Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt have had a year of quality playing time to mature. Lafayette has also added some much-needed size and additional athleticism in the frontcourt through its freshman recruiting class.
The potential frontcourt improvement will again open things up on the outside, allowing the experienced backcourt to emerge. With this group of guards and mobile frontcourt players, Lafayette will continue to push the ball up the court, something the Leopards started in 2005-06. Defensively, Lafayette looks to be a better team due mostly to the added year of experience for the post players. The Leopards will continue to change defenses frequently, a hallmark of O'Hanlon's teams over the years, and will use their match-up zone as their primary defense while also utilizing the team speed by mixing in fullcourt pressure.
BACKCOURT
Coming into the season, Lafayette lists eight players on its roster at the guard position, something that will likely change as players expand their roles based on need. Competition will be intense, to say the least, as two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen battle for playing time. The Leopards return two of three starters from the team's backcourt in 2005-06, but that is not necessarily an indicator of who will be in the starting lineup when Lafayette opens the season on Nov. 10.
The three seniors in the backcourt will hold the title of tri-captain for 2006-07. Jamaal Hilliard and Marcus Harley were both full-time starters two seasons ago, but injuries put a damper on their junior seasons. Hilliard was able to play in just 18 games due to an early foot injury and later a broken finger. Despite playing through pain, Hilliard averaged 7.3 points 3.7 rebounds per game up from his 2004-05 averages. Prior to his injury, the coaching staff was set to rely on him for increased scoring. That will again be the case as he will look to drive more often to get to the line where he is a career 87 percent free throw shooter.
Harley played in just four games last season due to a leg injury after averaging just over 9.1 ppg as a sophomore. His scheduled move to off-guard, which was made possible by the arrival of Andrew Brown but delayed by his own injury, will allow Harley to focus more on the team's need of scoring, and less on distributing the ball.
Both Hilliard and Harley will have to compete for playing time, but should figure prominently in the Leopards' rotation. Fellow senior Kerry Kenny has seen his role on the team increase dramatically, going from unrecruited walk-on status to serving as a team tri-captain. Kenny, a hustling player whose work in practice has led to quality minutes, played in 16 games as a junior.
"I look to our senior tri-captains for leadership," O'Hanlon said. "They are a natural link to the success that we have had at Lafayette. I expect them to be able to help teach our system to the younger guys on the team and help them make adjustments."
The junior class has been showing up in the box scores since its arrival on College Hill. Bilal Abdullah started 16 of 28 games as a sophomore and looks to be a major contributor again in O'Hanlon's three-guard offense. Abdullah was second on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg) last season. With his ability to not only create points off the dribble but also to hit from outside, Abdullah reached double figures 14 times in 2005-06 and is the team's leading returning scorer.
Paul Cummins and Matt Betley round out the junior class and both bring experience in the Lafayette backcourt. Cummins, a deadly threat from three-point range, played in all 28 games while managing over seven points per game. Cummins utilizes the Leopards' motion offense efficiently, coming off screens to create the bulk of his opportunities which resulted in a team-leading 51 three-pointers in his sophomore campaign.
Betley has the ability to play on the perimeter, but may make the move to the four spot in the lineup. Betley brings hustle and scrappiness whenever he is on the floor, and despite his lack of size he has a knack for rebounding amongst the big men. The 6-5 Kenny may also make the switch to small forward.
Brown took over the point guard position as a freshman and earned Patriot League All-Rookie Team honors. With 84 assists and just 88 turnovers, he became the first freshman during the O'Hanlon era to lead the team in assists. At 9.3 ppg, he is the team's second-leading returning scorer and one of its top three-point threats, tying for the team lead with 51. Brown's classmate, Derek Heckendorn, is a question mark coming into the season. He missed all of 2005-06 while battling leg injuries and undergoing surgery prior to and during the season. If healthy, he will be able to spell Brown or Harley at the point guard slot.
Freshmen Jesper Andersson and Michael Gruner bring even more depth to the Lafayette backcourt. Andersson (Norrkoping, Sweden/Ebersteinska Gymnasiet) is a 6-7, 190-pound wing who can hit from anywhere on the floor. His length and touch make him a natural scorer and he does have the size to play small forward if called upon.
Gruner (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) is a 6-1, 180-pound shooting guard who led his team to the Maryland 4A state title, the first such title for Walt Whitman High School. Gruner averaged 19.9 ppg while leading Whitman to a 24-3 record. Gruner earned 2006 All-Met First Team honors as selected by the Washington Post and was the Gazette Co-Player of the Year, sharing honors with Kevin Durant of Montrose Christian.
FRONTCOURT
Lafayette's success in 2006-07 may hinge on the play of its post players. O'Hanlon and his coaching staff are relying on this group, comprised of two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen, to score consistently and in the process open things up on the perimeter.
The Leopards will have to replace graduated senior Andrei Capusan who led the team in scoring and rebounding a season ago and was an emotional leader of the team. The bulk of that task, at least early on, is going to fall to juniors Ted Detmer and Everest Schmidt. Detmer has become stronger each of his past two off-seasons and the coaching staff is hoping that added strength will lead to increased production. Detmer, who started 19 games last season, possesses good quickness for a post player which allows him to drive to the basket and also get out in transition. He shared the team lead in rebounding as a sophomore with 4.1 per game and chipped in 5.5 points per game.
"Ted brings a defensive intensity," O'Hanlon said. "He has the ability to defend bigger players in the post or to step out and guard our opponents' perimeter players."
Schmidt's strength has never been an issue and his improved footwork and catching abilities began to show up as the 2005-06 season progressed. He went on to share the team lead in rebounds (4.1 rpg) while scoring just over five points per game. The Leopards will rely on his posting ability to get the ball inside.
"Ted and Everest showed tremendous improvement last season with Ted being a little ahead of Everest from the outset in terms of his knowledge of our system. Everest really came on in the second half of the year."
Sophomore Dave Smith also returns after having seen action in 14 games as a freshman and could compete for time at small forward along with Betley and Kenny.
Two freshmen, Andre Hines and Marek Koltun, also join the frontcourt fray and their collective size and athletic ability give them the potential to contribute immediately.
Hines (Denver, Colo./Solebury School) is a 6-7, 215-pound forward who looks to make Lafayette a better rebounding team. He spent a post-graduate year at the Solebury School in Bucks County after graduating from Denver East High School in 2005. Hines averaged 10.2 points and 11.0 rebounds per game at Solebury while also contributing 3.0 blocks and 3.0 assists per game.
Koltun (Krakow, Poland/Caravel Academy) is one of the biggest players O'Hanlon has signed since Stefan Ciosici '00 arrived on campus in 1995 and went on to win Patriot League Player of the Year honors. Koltun is a 6-10, 265-pound center who spent the 2005-06 school year at Caravel Academy in Bear, Del. Koltun, who began playing basketball at the age of 14, was an All-State honorable mention choice while at Caravel. He averaged 12.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game while leading Caravel to a 23-3 record, the best mark in school history. Koltun managed 11 double-doubles during the 2005-06 season, scoring at least 19 points in four of the games.
The development of the three freshmen in the frontcourt is crucial in terms of depth as only Detmer and Schmidt have significant playing experience.
COACHING STAFF
The Lafayette coaching staff has a completely different, yet familiar, look to those who surround the program. Head coach Fran O'Hanlon, who is under contract until 2014, remains on the Lafayette sideline in the midst of the second-longest tenure of any of the Patriot League coaches. The two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year has a career record of 162-142 at Lafayette, his only Division I head coaching stop.
Drew Dawson begins his third season on O'Hanlon's staff and the first as the top assistant. The 27-year-old Pennsylvania native is one of the youngest top assistant coaches in the country. He spent two years as the third assistant and was the first of O'Hanlon's former players to join him on the Kirby Sports Center sidelines. The former point guard will head up off-campus recruiting efforts. Dawson replaces John Gallagher who left for the associate coach position at Hartford.
Andrew Toole is also a familiar face, but for a different reason as he could be seen in an opponent's uniform in recent seasons. Toole, who graduated from Penn in 2003, was a four-year starter at the Division I level and was the captain of two Ivy League championship teams. Toole has spent the last two years with the Hoop Group, a leader in basketball instruction. He replaces Elliott Broadnax who spent four seasons at Lafayette before leaving to accept a similar position at Hartford. O'Hanlon finished off the coaching staff with 2004 Lafayette alumnus Mike
Farrell who spent the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons as an assistant coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He helped guide Embry-Riddle to a pair of NAIA Division II National Tournament Sweet 16 appearances and two Florida Sun Conference titles. Farrell served as the Leopards' team captain in 2002-03 and 2003-04, the first such player to do so during the O'Hanlon era, while earning All-Patriot League Second Team honors as a senior. "For us two have Drew and Mike on the coaching staff is such an asset for our program," O'Hanlon said. "They understand what the Lafayette basketball program is all about. Andy also played at a very high level in college at Penn. All three of our assistant coaches know what it takes to succeed as a student-athlete, and they're a natural link to our current student-athletes because they are not that far removed." "Overall, the youth and energy of the staff is tremendous."
SCHEDULE An ambitious non-conference schedule that includes an appearance in the 2006 National Invitational Season Tip-Off Tournament awaits Lafayette in 2006-07. The Leopards will play 29 regular-season games, the most in program history. Lafayette will play notable non-conference games against St. Joseph's, Miami, Princeton, Temple and San Diego State and will face seven teams who earned postseason bids in 2005-06.
The Leopards open the season on Nov. 10, the earliest date for competition in the program's 97 seasons. Lafayette will make the short trip to Staten Island to face Wagner in the third all-time meeting between the schools. Lafayette has begun each season on the road in all of O'Hanlon's 12 seasons.
Lafayette will have two days to prepare for an early-season test in the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament. The Leopards will venture to Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse to play 2006 NCAA Tournament team Indiana in the first round on Nov. 13 at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. Lafayette will then play either Notre Dame or Butler the following day. Both teams earned postseason berths in 2005-06, advancing to the NIT second round.
A return to the friendly confines of Kirby Sports Center on Nov. 17 is the first of 14 home games for Lafayette. A 9 p.m. matchup with St. Joseph's will open a busy weekend of activity on the College Hill campus. The game will follow the Maroon Club Hall of Fame induction dinner and will serve as a precursor to the 142nd gridiron meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.
The program's first-ever meeting with UMBC (Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County) will follow on Nov. 21. UMBC will return the game in the 2007-08 season. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Lafayette will have a Nov. 25 meeting at the University of Miami. The two teams faced off in the NCAA Tournament at Boston's FleetCenter in 1999 and last played in 2001. The Hurricanes advanced to the NIT quarterfinals in 2006. A home game with traditional foe Princeton on Nov. 28 closes out the busiest November in program history.
Lafayette will open December play in the Newark, N.J. area, as the Leopards will face St. Peter's on Dec. 2 and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) two days later. Lafayette returns home for the first of four straight home games, battling Lycoming on Dec. 7 and Columbia on Dec. 11. O'Hanlon's troops will have off from game action until Dec. 20 for final exams. Mount St. Mary's will close out the homestand, returning a game on Dec. 22 before the team breaks for the holidays.
A matchup at Temple on Dec. 28 is the penultimate non-conference test for the Leopards and reunites current Temple head coach Fran Dunphy and O'Hanlon, who coached together at Penn. Temple is scheduled to return the game in 2008-09. The teams last met on St. Patrick's Day in 2000 at the NCAA Tournament in Buffalo, N.Y. Two days later, Lafayette leaves for a more temperate climate, playing San Diego State on Dec. 30. Patriot League plays awaits Lafayette on Jan. 6 when the Leopards host Holy Cross at Kirby Sports Center in the first of seven games in the opening round of conference play.
Round two of Patriot League play begins in Worcester, Mass on Feb. 3 and closes on Feb. 23 at American. The Patriot League Tournament will see yet another format change this season, as it will open with games at the home courts of the four highest seeds on Feb. 28. The semifinals will be played on March 4 at the top two remaining seeds. As always, the conference tournament title game will take place March 9 at the home court of the highest remaining seed.
Overall, Lafayette will play seven teams who earned postseason bids in 2005-06: Indiana (NCAA 2nd round), Bucknell (NCAA 2nd round), Temple (NIT 1st round), San Diego State (NCAA 1st round), Miami (NIT quarterfinals), St. Joseph's (NIT 2nd round) and Notre Dame (NIT 2nd round) or Butler (NIT 2nd round).
