March 11, 2010

Jared Mintz had a propensity to take jump shots from the perimeter when he began his basketball career at Lafayette College.

But it wasn't long before the 6-foot-8, 240-pound junior from Toronto discovered his real niche for the Leopards.

"It's kind of fun shooting 3s once in a while," Mintz said, "but most of the time I leave that up to Jim (Mower), Ryan (Willen) and some of the other guys."

Lafayette has developed a reputation as a team that lives and dies by the 3-pointer. A big reason for that success is the inside presence of Mintz, who has evolved into one of the dominant power forwards in the Patriot League.

Mintz, a First-Team All-League player, leads Lafayette in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg) entering Friday's 4:45 p.m. Championship game at Lehigh University.

His inside scoring ability has kept opposing defenses honest and helped open up the Leopards' vaunted perimeter game.

To read the full article from Tom Hinkle of the Easton (Pa.) Express-Times click here