March 18, 2010
By Scott D. Morse
Rare is the unexpected moment that lasts longer than, well, a moment. How about an unexpected moment that lasts four months? That was the 2009-10 Lafayette men's basketball season. The resurgent Leopards, under Patriot League Coach of the Year Fran O'Hanlon, electrified the campus and the community and battled to Lafayette's first league championship game in a decade.
When the Patriot League men's basketball preseason poll was announced on Oct. 29, 2009, it wasn't that much of a surprise that Lafayette was picked to finish last based on the prior season. What may have been a surprise was that it was done so unanimously, meaning all seven head coaches and sports information directors around the league picked Lafayette at the bottom of the barrel.
"The preseason poll certainly motivated our guys to work extra hard to prove they're not as bad as people are saying," said 15th-year Lafayette Head Coach Fran O'Hanlon.
It quickly became apparent that the 2009-10 Leopards didn't really care about following the plans laid out in the preseason poll. Four victories in the first five games, including wins over Hartford and Wagner, had a buzz circulating around the College Hill campus and throughout Easton.
Fast forward to Jan. 6 and the Leopards' final non-conference test. A Lafayette win over Columbia had the Leopards sitting at 9-6 overall and one of just three Patriot League teams with a winning record heading into conference play.
The buzz about the Leopards continued to build and yet there was still something to prove. Something important. It really didn't matter much what Lafayette had done in its first 15 games, or what anyone else in the league had done for that matter. Each team was now even at 0-0.
A hard-fought 84-74 victory over preseason favorite Holy Cross in the Patriot League opener for both teams was the beginning of a 4-0 start to the conference season, catching the attention of many around the league.
The Leopards would battle the remainder of the regular season and remain either at the top or within one game of first place until the final weekend. A loss at American combined with victories by Bucknell and Lehigh placed the Leopards as the number three seed in the Patriot League Tournament, still well ahead of what the preseason poll predicted.
A 73-65 victory over Colgate in the first Patriot League Tournament game hosted at Kirby Sports Center since the 2000 season saw an energized Lafayette student section which seemed to get louder as the game progressed.
"The fans rallying behind us toward the end of the season really meant a whole lot to us as players," said Lafayette co-captain Jeff Kari '10, an Economics & Business Major from Lisle, Illinois. "They were definitely great and they really helped us win some of the tighter games down the stretch."
A Holy Cross victory at Bucknell in the Patriot League quarterfinals meant the Crusaders had to visit a frenzied Kirby Sports Center in the semifinals. The fans certainly didn't disappoint. The game didn't either. It was a back-and-forth affair featuring 11 lead changes.
Holy Cross whittled away at a 12-point, second-half Lafayette margin to take its first lead of the second half with 6:30 remaining. The Leopards wouldn't quit and their fans - growing in number and volume - wouldn't allow it.
"We could have folded in the semifinals vs. Holy Cross but we didn't because the crowd wouldn't let us," said O'Hanlon. "They were great and they really energized our guys."
A 66-63 victory over those preseason favorites from Worcester, Mass. earned Lafayette its first trip to the Patriot League Tournament championship game in a decade. Its opponent: none other than the arch rivals down the road.
As the regular season champions, Lehigh earned the right to host the championship game. With the bright lights and national exposure of ESPN2 coming to the Lehigh Valley, this game was sure to be another thriller in the storied Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry.
Tickets were selling so rapidly that Lafayette's allotment was exhausted more than 24 hours before the game. Six buses filled with Lafayette students decided to delay or cancel spring break plans so they could attend this title game and root on their team. In fact, Stabler Arena was so dominated with Maroon and White that hundreds of Lafayette fans were forced to purchase tickets in sections designated for Lehigh fans. And it was loud, really loud.
"More than half the fans in that arena were Lafayette fans," said Kari. "I remember getting heckled by just a few Lehigh students when we were warming up before the game and turning to one of my teammates and saying `our fans are completely dominating them'."
"It was so exciting for everybody," added O'Hanlon. "Having been there and experienced it before, I thought it was great to see this type of enthusiasm return to campus. I had not seen that level of school spirit for a long, long time. It was tremendous."
The Leopards battled valiantly for the title but in the end weren't able to shock the Patriot League world and become the first team seeded outside the top two to win the tournament and just the fifth road team to capture the championship.
But the Leopards made a huge statement: Lafayette is back among the Patriot League elite. A 19-13 record featured the most wins since the 2000 season and the Leopards' first appearance in the Patriot League Tournament championship game since making three straight appearances in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
Much of the credit for the Leopards' resurgence of course goes to its head coach. O'Hanlon earned his third Patriot League Coach of the Year award, extremely well-deserved considering what the rest of the league thought of his squad before the season started.
A ton of credit also goes to its captains - Kari and Michael Gruner '10. It takes great leaders who possess the right amount of courage, determination and character to restore a program to championship contenders. These two were great athletes and great students. They were leaders on and off the court, setting a great example for a squad which featured 11 of its 15 members with a 3.0 GPA or better in the fall semester.
A Marquis Scholar majoring in Economics & Business, Gruner was the only Patriot League student-athlete to earn ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District II Men's Basketball First Team honors. A former Lafayette Hoff Awards Committee Chair and an intern for the Lafayette Leaders Education Committee, Gruner has his choice of career paths upon graduation.
Kari, who minors in Spanish, spent parts of the past two summers in Spain. He was part of a study abroad program in the first summer and interned at a bank the following summer. He hopes to work in the financial industry after graduation.
While the ending wasn't what the Leopards and their fans had in mind, it was a wonderful ride. And it was full of unexpected moments.
Hold your heads high, Leopards. You made Lafayette proud.
Scott D. Morse is the Director of Athletic Communications & Promotions at Lafayette College and a frequent GoLeopards.com columnist.
