Rush The Court

Marty Leon is the RTC correspondent for the Patriot League.

Patriot League Report Card

1. American, 4-1, Grade B-. Had a bad blowout loss to Oklahoma when hoping to challenge them. Barely beat Stonybrook, though had a good win against Jacksonville. Not in first gear yet. 
2. Navy, 4-1, Grade B.  Thrilling triple overtime win against William and Mary. Have taken care of business, except for 18 point loss to Towson. Right on schedule.
3. Lehigh, 4-1, Grade A-.  Nice W versus Big East Rutgers squad in a surprise. Could be 5-0 if not for loss to Rider.  Beat Rutgers, yet lose to Rider? That’s College Hoops!!  Off to a nice start.
4. Colgate, 2-1, Grade C+.  Good away wins for a young team at Central Connecticut and Dartmouth. Tough loss at home versus Kennesaw State. Sophomore Mike Veneziea leading the way. They will get better.
5. Lafayette, 2-3, Grade B-. Ambitious schedule losing to Temple, Rutgers and Colorado. This team will be a factor.
6. Holy Cross, 2-3, Grade C. Came out smoking with wins over Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s. Bad loss at home versus Brown, followed by defeats against Northeastern and Harvard. Pressure is mounting!!    
7. Bucknell, 1-3, Grade C.  Overtime win, besting Old Dominion.  Overtime loss, bowing to Boston U. New mentor Dave Paulsen is overachieving with an injury depleted squad.
8. Army, 1-4, Grade C.    Filled with heart and grit, they battle every night. Had close defeats against Quinnipiac and Brown or record would show better. Take them lightly and one will pay for it!!

Top Performers

• Garrison Carr of American is averaging 23 a game. At Navy, the duo of Chris Harris’ 19 a night and Kaleo Kena at 15.4 lead the way. Bucknell’s Justin Castleberry is knocking down 16.2, while Colgate’s sophomore Mike Veneziea is the league’s youngest scoring leader getting 12 points per outing.
• Navy’s Mark Veazy is currently the best rebounder grabbing 7.2 caroms per contest, followed by Lehigh’s Marquis Hall at 6.5.  Darrell Shazier garners 6 assists a game for Bucknell. Phil Anderson is a scorching 10-13 from three for Lehigh.

Potpourri

• Patriot league members have already had great wins against non-league teams out of the Big East, Atlantic 10, and the Colonial conferences.
• Looks like Navy and Lehigh may be closer to the level of American than initially thought, and could challenge for the regular season title. 

Whispers 

• Word on the street is that Colgates’ Emmett Davis is a true “players coach” and his kids love to play for him.
• After a couple of down years Holy Cross may need to get it done soon and can not afford losses like that to Harvard.