EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette men's basketball head coach Fran O'Hanlon is entering a season for the 26th time this weekend, but none of those previous 25 have ever looked like this. The 111th season of Lafayette basketball features just 16 games in the regular season, all of them against conference opponents, consequently eliminating the "wiggle room" of the non-league slate.
"We don't have a non-league season now. We don't have the benefit of making adjustments and bringing people along slowly," O'Hanlon said. "You always want to be playing your best basketball in February and March, but you have a much shorter runway to get there."
The 2021 edition of the Maroon and White features promising prospects across the board as the Leopards bring back three starters and a number of key performers from a unit that went 19-12 a season ago and 10-8 in conference action, the program's first 10-win league slate since 2012-13. Lafayette's top two scorers return in Justin Jaworski, who is healthy after recovering from a season-ending knee injury late last year, and E.J. Stephens, who is poised to take yet another step in an impressive stretch of growth over the last few seasons.
Replacing starters Myles Cherry and Lukas Jarrett will no doubt be a challenge as O'Hanlon mentions the power forward position as the spot that will "define our success this season," but there's no denying the talent up and down this roster has the potential for a run at the Patriot League crown.
On Tuesday, the Patriot League announced its preseason awards with Jaworski named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team and the Leopards picked to finish fifth despite a semifinal appearance in 2019-20.
"We don't use that as motivation at all. None of that really matters," O'Hanlon added. "We have seven or eight guys who have been through this and played a lot of minutes for us. We've lost some good players, but we have guys stepping in that have shown they get the job done and I hope that experience pays off for us."
Lafayette kicks off its 2021 campaign with a weekend set against Lehigh on Jan. 2-3. The Leopards travel to Bethlehem for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday and return to Easton for a 4 p.m. nationally-televised clash on Sunday on CBS Sports Network.
Below is a further breakdown of the 2021 edition of Lafayette men's basketball.
BACKCOURT
"We have four starting-caliber perimeter players, which is a good problem to have," O'Hanlon stated about an experienced group with loads of talent and potential to put up big numbers in 2021.
Two of the 2021 tri-captains reside in the backcourt as Jaworski and Stephens are set to team up with junior Tyrone Perry as the primary ball-handlers this winter. Jaworski, the Leopards' leading scorer in 2019-20 at 17.1 points per game, is "about 95 percent" and as motivated as ever to justify his Preseason All-Patriot League status.
Prior to missing the final seven games due to injury last season, the Schwenksville, Pa. native put up numbers that garnered an All-Patriot League Second-Team nod. Currently sitting just outside the top 30 on Lafayette's all-time scoring list with 1,162 career points, Jaworski registered a pair of 30-plus point outings last season with 31 in a win at Saint Joseph's and a career-high 32 in a victory over American.
"He's the heart and soul of our team. He brings so much as far as his leadership and helping our younger guys along. He really makes us go," O'Hanlon raved. "Running the passing game and having someone who moves so efficiently and effectively creates a lot of pressure for defenses and opens up so much because of his ability to move, cut and shoot. The system fits him and he fits our system so well."
Stephens has been one of Lafayette's most improved players each of his three seasons on College Hill and hopes to culminate that growth into another step forward in 2021. The Plantation, Fla. native played 21 or more minutes in all 31 games for the Leopards last season and averaged 16.1 points per night in the seven outings with Jaworski to close the year.
"E.J. is one of those guys who, some days, looks like the best player on the court and the best player on our team. It's always been a consistency thing with him and, to his credit, he's become much more consistent each and every year," O'Hanlon said. "He's so talented and certainly has the ability to be the best player out there. He just needs to bring it every day."
Perry is the workhorse at point guard for the 2021 group, as he was asked to do so much for the team last year when Jaworski, Perry's backup at point guard, went down. Playing more than 36 minutes in each of his final seven outings, he gave the team everything he had down the stretch and O'Hanlon hopes to not have to ask as much out of him this season.
"Last year, he was playing the whole game by the end of the year and may have gotten a little worn down because we were asking so much from him," O'Hanlon said. "He just does so many good things for us. He's worked extremely hard on improving his shot and sets the tone for us defensively. He does a good job of bringing energy to the ball, keeping people out of the land, and being very active on both sides of the court."
Finally, the fourth scoring option on the perimeter emerged late in the 2019-20 campaign as sophomore Leo O'Boyle shined when his number was called. The Scranton, Pa. product averaged just shy of 10.0 points per game in Patriot League contests as a rookie and put up 15.4 points per night over the final five games, shooting 13-of-27 from beyond the arc during that stretch (48.1%). O'Boyle registered a pair of five-three performances in his freshman season, earning him a spot on the Patriot League All-Rookie Team.
"He was as good as anybody on our team at times last year," O'Hanlon said. "The ability to start Leo at the '3' gives us a lot of size and can create matchup issues because his shot is so hard to contest. He can really fill it up."
Behind that core unit, junior Jay Vaughan and freshmen Jon Brantley andEric Sondberghave the best chance at working into the rotation. Brantley and Sondberg both have the ability to make shots, but need to adjust to the speed of the college game, while Vaughan has impressed in practice sessions and may find opportunities to contribute. Rookie Ryan Zambie also provides added depth in a season where it could play a major factor.
"This is a different animal," O'Hanlon stated. "So much will depend on the depth of our team. Everybody is going to have to make adjustments and we're just going to need to come together quicker than everyone else."
FRONTCOURT
The third of the tri-captains, senior Dylan Hastings, leads a group down low that will need to pick up its production in the absence of Cherry and Jarrett. The ability is there, though, as sophomore Neal Quinn and junior Sean Good, along with Hastings, will provide a multitude of issues for opposition offenses and defenses to deal with.
Hastings has averaged around 10 minutes per game each of the last two seasons for the Maroon and White, but has earned the trust of the coaching staff as someone who knows his role. While he won't be looked at as a double-figure scorer, he'll make his impact on the glass and at the defensive end as he currently sits 12th on the all-time blocks list at Lafayette with 60 over his first three seasons.
"Dylan is a glue guy. He connects us. He's an energy guy who will defend, rebound and structure us because he knows where he's supposed to be," O'Hanlon said. "I'm looking for him to take a step this year. We don't need him to play outside of his role, but he does all the little things, the winning things, that we'll need to be successful."
As for offense on the block, look no further than Quinn, who started to showcase his offensive skill set late in his rookie season, carrying momentum into his sophomore year. Quinn's best game as a freshman came in his final one, scoring 22 points on 9-of-11 from the field in the Patriot League semifinal loss at Colgate. Since, he's extended his range beyond the three-point arc and could be a force in Kirby this winter.
"Neal can certainly score around the basket, but he can also stretch you out," O'Hanlon said. "He's a big presence and will need to make sure his conditioning allows him the ability to defend when put in ball screens."
Finally, O'Hanlon describes Good in one word: different. The lanky 6-10 forward from Camp Hill, Pa. added some weight over the offseason and has been adding a little more offensive game in the preseason. The product of Trinity High School, where he registered 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks in his career, has translated those defensive numbers to the college game most consistently, as he ranks 13th on Lafayette's all-time blocks list with 58 over his first two seasons. Good was third in the Patriot League with 1.1 swats per game a year ago.
"Sean runs the floor better than any big guy I've ever had," added O'Hanlon. "He can rebound and block shots, but we are going to need some points from him. We're not expecting double figures from him, but four to six points per game to accompany all the other things he brings to the table would be huge for us."
Hastings, Quinn and Good all have the ability to play the '5' position in O'Hanlon's offense, while the '4' is really the unknown where the coaching staff is hoping someone steps up to take hold of that position. Sophomore Tomas Verbinskis and freshman Kyle Jenkins are the leading candidates for extended minutes in that spot as both can shoot it and play hard, but it remains to be seen what the learning curve is like for either of them. Junior Michael Anekwe is the final piece to provide depth on the block.
COACHING STAFF
The coaching staff remains unchanged in O'Hanlon's 26th year on the sidelines as Jarren Dyson, Justin Burrell, Andrew Radomicki and Sean Hanna lead the Leopards into battle. Burrell enters his fifth season on staff, while Dyson and Radomicki are in their fourth years and Hanna begins his second in charge of operations.
SCHEDULE
Following the pair with Lehigh, the Leopards head to home-and-home series with Bucknell on Jan. 9-10 and Loyola on Jan. 16-17. A pair at home with Boston U. on Jan. 23-24 and a home-and-home with American on Jan. 30-31 close out the opening month.
The second weekend set with Lehigh kicks off February on Feb. 6-7, followed by home-and-home's with Navy on Feb. 13-14 and Bucknell on Feb. 20-21 to round out the regular-season slate.
The Patriot League Tournament is set for March 6-14.
The 10 Patriot League programs have been divided into three regional mini-conferences with teams playing four games against each regional opponent and the other games coming outside of that mini-conference.
Each of the three mini-conference winners will earn a spot in the Patriot League Tournament field and the right to host a quarterfinal game. Each of the second-place mini-conference finishes will also earn spots in the field, while the seventh and eighth seeds will be determined by overall in-league winning percentage.
