March 1, 2010
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EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette head coach Fran O'Hanlon has been named Patriot League Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and two of his student-athletes earned All-Patriot League recognition with junior forward Jared Mintz earning first-team honors and sophomore forward Ryan Willen collecting second-team laurels.
O'Hanlon receives his third Patriot League Coach of the Year award, and first since claiming back-to-back honors in 1997-98 and 1998-99. He was the first Patriot League coach to win the award consecutively.
The Leopards were a unanimous pick to finish last in the 2009-10 Patriot League preseason poll, but were either in first place or within a game of first place all season until falling to third on Saturday. Lafayette heads into the Patriot League Tournament with an overall record of 17-12 overall and 8-6 in the Patriot League, with each record marking the best season in Easton since 2004. Lafayette's 17 wins are a nine-game improvement from 2008-09.
The Leopards recorded an 11-3 mark at Kirby Sports Center and led the Patriot League in field goal and free throw percentage while placing second in scoring offense.
Junior forward Mintz (Toronto, Canada/Vaughan Road Academy) is likely the most-improved player in the conference and is the first Lafayette player to earn first-team honors since Winston Davis and Justin DeBerry in 2003-04. He leads the Patriot League in both field-goal percentage (55.6) and free-throw percentage (87.5), and is on track to become the first player to lead the league in both categories in the same season.
Mintz leads the team and is fifth overall in the Patriot League with 14.6 points per game, and is sixth in the Patriot League with 5.7 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in 21 of 28 games played and owns three double-doubles in 2009-10.
Willen (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame) was an All-Rookie pick last season before securing second-team honors on Monday. He averages 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game overall and 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in conference action.
The versatile Willen has 44 three-pointers and 127 rebounds, second on the team in both categories, and is an 80 percent free throw shooter. He has scored in double figures in 17 games with a career-high 27 points vs. Columbia (1/6).
The No. 3 seed Leopards (17-12, 8-6) will host their first Patriot League Tournament home game since 2000 on Wednesday against No. 6 seed Colgate (10-18, 6-8) at 7 p.m. The two teams split the two regular-season meetings with each team winning on the other's home court. Lafayette is 4-0 all-time in Patriot League Tournament games at Kirby Sports Center.
