RTC Conference Primers: #28 – Patriot League
Posted by Brian Goodman on October 7th, 2010
Kevin Doyle is the RTC correspondent for The Patriot League.
Predicted Order of Finish
- Bucknell (10-4)
- Lafayette (9-5)
- Holy Cross (8-6)
- American (8-6)
- Lehigh (8-6)
- Colgate (5-9)
- Navy (5-9)
- Army (3-11)
All-Conference Team (key stats from last season in parentheses)
- CJ McCollum (G) – Lehigh (18.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg)
- Jordan Sugars (G) – Navy (15.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg)
- Jared Mintz (F) – Lafayette (14.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
- Andrew Keister (F) – Holy Cross (10.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
- Vlad Moldoveanu (C) – American (19.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg)
Sixth Man
- Devin Brown (G) – Holy Cross (13.2 ppg, 45.4 3pt%)
Impact Newcomer
- Troy Brewer (G) – American (transferred from Georgia)
Navy's Jordan Sugars is ready for another big season in the fiercely competitive Patriot League.
What You Need to Know
- Gone are the days where Bucknell and Holy Cross had supremacy against the six other members of the Patriot League. In three years ranging from the 2004-05 season to the 2006-07 season, the Bison and Crusaders compiled a gaudy 74-10 record in Patriot League action. In this span, Bucknell garnered two NCAA Tournament wins (Kansas and Arkansas), while Holy Cross had an NIT victory (Notre Dame). Times have changed, however, as storied coaches Pat Flannery (Bucknell) and Ralph Willard (Holy Cross) have moved on to other endeavors. Since then, the Patriot League has become one of the most competitive leagues in the country in terms of balance within the conference. Jeff Jones at American hit the lottery with a dominant backcourt in Garrison Carr and Derrick Mercer, who nearly pulled off a dramatic upset of Villanova two years ago, and Lehigh saw freshman sensation CJ McCollum carry them all the way to a Patriot League title just a year ago. In the 2010-11 campaign, however, it is anyone’s guess as to whom will be standing atop the pedestal come year’s end. Lafayette and Bucknell have the most talent coming back, American has Player of the Year candidate Vlad Moldoveanu playing for the entire season (he missed the fall semester last year), Lehigh has McCollum back after his rookie season that saw him dominate Patriot League competition by averaging 23 points per contest, and Holy Cross returns a boatload of talent, but will be playing under their third coach in three years.
