March 5, 2010

From Lehigh Athletic Communications

The four of them came to South Bethlehem from across the country, one from Cincinnati, one from Philadelphia, one from Portland and the other from outside of Chicago. They have lived together since the first day they set foot on Lehigh's campus during the fall of 2006. Fast forward four years and the Lehigh men's basketball senior class of Dave Buchberger, Zahir Carrington, Marquis Hall and Matt Shamis have done whatever's been asked of them, on and off the court, and done it quite well. During their time in the Brown and White these four captains have led the Mountain Hawks to over 60 wins as well as the school's first-ever outright Patriot League regular season championship and their average grade point average is a sparkling 3.28.

"I couldn't be prouder of our senior class," Lehigh head coach Brett Reed explains. "These are four individuals that have represented Lehigh University extremely well over the last four years and epitomize what a Lehigh student-athlete is all about." He continued, "Each one of them has excelled in the classroom, made significant contributions on the court and represented our program with class and character in every facet of their lives."

The four seniors have created a lifetime of memories since arriving at Lehigh, from unforgettable victories on the basketball floor to their achievements in the classroom and their involvement within the community. Each one came to college with high expectations and aspirations, for both themselves and the team. The Mountain Hawks number of victories has improved each year of their careers and between them they have totaled over 3,300 points and 1,200 rebounds.

"Beating Rutgers during our junior year was a great memory," Buchberger says referring to Lehigh's first-ever victory over a Big East program in 2008. "And we've had a lot of great off-the-court memories as well," Carrington adds. "We're a very close class. We care a lot about one another and I think other people can see that when they're around us."

"This is a tight-knit group that enjoys each other's company," Reed says. "They've developed deep friendships and have emphasized the confirmation of family atmosphere for each player in our program."

Coming into their fourth and final season, Lehigh's quartet of seniors wanted to achieve more on the court than they previously had done. "We challenged ourselves this year to leave a winning legacy," Carrington explains. "We haven't achieved at the level we would have liked to throughout our careers and that was not good enough for us so we wanted to change things. We've grown a lot together during our four years and learned a great deal, too."

"When we were freshmen, that senior class of Jose Olivero, Kyle Neptune, Jason Mgebroff and Adam Hyncik left a big impression on us," Shamis says. "We saw how hard they worked and how hard they pushed one another to improve. We want to have the same type of impact on our teammates."

Hall added, "I know this summer that we worked extremely hard both individually and collectively as a group. We wanted this season to be something special."

Hall knows a thing or two about being special. He was handed the ball as Lehigh's starting point guard from the second he arrived on campus and went onto become the Patriot League's Rookie of the Year as well as a Freshman Mid-Major All-America selection. Now with his senior season nearing its end, the native of Oregon is a three time All-League selection, a two time Patriot League Scholar Athlete of the Year, Lehigh's career and single season assist leader and he's scored nearly 1,500 points.

Carrington is a two time All-League selection and like Hall, a 1,000-point career scorer. The emotional leader of the Mountain Hawks, Carrington devotes part of his free time to working with local youngsters through a program called Strive. Middle and high school aged students in this program are struggling academically and look to positive role models like Carrington to model themselves after. "I like working with these kids because in a lot of areas, minority kids need to see first-hand that college is a feasible option for the ones who can do it. A lot of times kids need somebody to believe in."

Like Carrington, Shamis is someone who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Reed describes the Illinois native as one who never backs down from any challenge. Shamis came to Lehigh from Glenbrook North, a powerful high school program in the suburbs of Chicago, and he's had his fair share of ups and downs to say the least while here. During the early stages of his sophomore season Shamis was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy, while prior to the start of his junior year, he suffered a serious knee injury during an individual workout that cost him the entire 2008-09 season. "Overcoming all of my injuries has been difficult at times," Shamis says. "And I think being a student-athlete in general is difficult. It's a lot of time and dedication but in the end it's totally worth it."

A relentless worker, Shamis has developed his game and rehabbed his body under the watchful eye of Tim Grover, a renowned personal trainer that has worked with the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade to name a few. "I was introduced to Tim through a family friend," Shamis says. "He took me on for one workout and then kept inviting me back. It's been a tremendous asset." Shamis has appeared in nearly 80 games throughout his career, providing a steadying influence for his teammates to rely on.

Buchberger is more reserved than the others in the group, but no less intense. His teammates tell tales of not seeing him for days on end because he'll lock himself in his room with his head buried in countless text books. A workaholic, Buchberger is a Biology major who maintains a 3.61 grade point average.

Buchberger wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school, but quickly made a big impression on his coaches and teammates at an early stage because of his tireless work ethic. "Dave would make life miserable for Jose Olivero and Kyle Neptune during practice his freshman year," Reed explains. "Those guys hated having Dave guard them because he works extremely hard and he's a very intelligent basketball player." Buchberger has started over 50 games throughout his career and developed into one of Lehigh's top long range shooters.

Hearing Reed describe Buchberger's aggressiveness and competitive nature comes as no surprise, because all four seniors carry those same traits into the classroom, where they take their studies as serious as their conditioning drills. "Academics are very important to us," Carrington explained. "We want to have success in whatever it is we do; that's something we all have in common."

When they look back on their time in college, all four agree that they'll miss their teammates and everyone they've come to know while at Lehigh. "We've made a lot of good friends here," Hall says. "I know I'll never forget my time at Lehigh. It's been a great experience for all of us."

Led by its seniors, Lehigh will compete in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals when the top-seeded Mountain Hawks host the No. 4 American Eagles on Sunday