Oct. 23, 2008
Baltimore, Md. - Defending Patriot League men's basketball champion American has been selected to repeat in 2009 in a poll of the League's coaches and sports information directors. The Eagles notched 14 first-place votes and 98 points to claim the top spot, and were followed in order by Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate, Bucknell, Navy, Army and Lafayette.
American senior guard Garrison Carr was named Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year. He was joined on the Preseason All-League Team by Lafayette senior guard Andrew Brown, Lehigh junior guard Marquis Hall, Navy junior guard Chris Harris and American senior guard Derrick Mercer. All five guards received All-League status at the end of the 2007-08 campaign, with Carr as a First-Team selection and the remaining four players as Second-Team picks. The poll, player of the year and All-League selections were announced at the Patriot League Men's Basketball Media Day on Thursday at the ESPNZone in Baltimore. Coaches and sports information directors were not allowed to vote for their own team or student-athletes.
The Eagles won their first Patriot League title in 2008, compiling a 21-12 record with a 10-4 mark in League action. They were the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament, and won the crown with three victories at home against Holy Cross (62-60), Army (72-60) and then Colgate, 52-46, in the Patriot League Championship game. The Eagles went on to earn a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament East Region and were within one point of No. 2 Tennessee with six minutes to go before falling, 72-57.
American returns a starting backcourt of All-League performers, with Carr earning First-Team status and Mercer receiving Second-Team recognition in 2008. Carr is the League's leading returning scorer after averaging 18.4 ppg a year ago, and excelled down the stretch by winning Patriot League Tournament MVP honors and scoring 26 points in American's first-round NCAA loss at Tennessee. He finished
with a Patriot League record 135 three-pointers. Mercer led all Patriot League players with 133 assists last season, and enters the year ninth in Patriot League history in career assists. Senior Brian Gilmore returns after earning a spot on the Patriot League All-Tournament Team.
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Lehigh (14-15, 7-7) finished in second place in the poll with 75 points after finishing in a tie for third in last year's League race. The Mountain Hawks will be once again led by Hall, who followed up his Patriot League Rookie of the Year selection in 2006-07 by recording 14.1 ppg and leading the Patriot League with 4.4 assists per game last year to earn Second-Team All-League status.
Holy Cross (15-14, 5-9) and Colgate (18-14, 7-7) were separated by just one point for the third and fourth positions in the poll, with the Crusaders claiming third with 68 points and the Raiders in fourth with 67. After winning the 2007 Patriot League Championship, Holy Cross fell to eighth place last year. The Crusaders return a group of solid seniors, including guard Pat Doherty and forward Alex Vander Baan.
Colgate made the Patriot League Championship last year, and earns the fourth position in the poll. Returning players include senior forward Alex Woodhouse, who made the Patriot League All-Tournament team a year ago.
Bucknell (12-19, 6-8) and Navy (16-14, 9-5) claim the fifth and six spots, respectively, in the poll and are also separated by just one point. That the two are so close together is fitting after Bucknell defeated Navy, 87-86, in a triple-overtime thriller in the Patriot League quarterfinals last season. The Bison lost in the semifinals to Colgate to snap their streak of three consecutive title game appearances, and will try to get back to prominence with first-year Head Coach Dave Paulsen taking over the reigns.
Navy will have to replace Patriot League Player of the Year Greg Sprink, but does have a solid core of players returning. Harris leads the group after earning Second-Team All-League honors and averaging 14.5 points per contest last year for a Navy offense that paced the Patriot League with 76.3 ppg.
Army and Lafayette round out the preseason poll in the seventh and eighth positions. The Black Knights made it to the Patriot League semifinals for the second year in a row, and bring back a solid core in 2008-09. Josh Miller headlines that group after earning Patriot League All-Tournament team honors last season. Lafayette's returnees include Brown, who averaged 15.9 ppg last season.
Patriot League teams begin the season on Nov. 14, with six of the League's teams in action on the opening night. The first League contests take place on January 10, a slate that includes Bucknell visiting Navy in an ESPNU-televised contest. The Patriot League Tournament will open up at home sites on March 4. The semifinals are on March 8, with the Championship game set for March 13 at 4:45 p.m on ESPN2.
2008-09 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. American (14 first-place votes) 98 points
2. Lehigh 75
3. Holy Cross (2) 68
4. Colgate 67
5. Bucknell 47
6. Navy 46
7. Army 29
8. Lafayette 18
2008-09 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Garrison Carr, American (Sr., G, 5'11, 165, Bellevue, Wash./Issaquah)
2008-09 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason All-League Team
Andrew Brown, Lafayette (Sr., G, 5'11, 175, Littleton, Colo./Heritage)
Garrison Carr, American (Sr., G, 5'11, 165, Bellevue, Wash./Issaquah)
Marquis Hall, Lehigh (Jr., G, 5'11, 170, Portland, Ore./Jefferson)
Chris Harris, Navy (Jr., G, 6'2, 175, Mechanicsville, Va./Benedictine/Fork Union Military Academy)
Derrick Mercer, American (Sr., G, 5'9, 175, Jersey City, N.J./St. Anthony's)
