Hawks ready to begin 2014-15 basketball season

With its four returning starters, the Lehigh men’s basketball team has much to hope for as the beginning of its season draws near. The team is searching for its first Patriot League tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance since the unprecedented trip to the Round of 32 in 2012.

On Friday, the Mountain Hawks are set to begin their season with a game in the brand-new PPL Center against the Villanova University Wildcats, who are ranked 12th nationally.

The game offers an excellent opportunity for the Hawks to try to match up wire-to-wire with a national powerhouse from the Big East. The Wildcats return with seven of their eight top scorers from a team that was a No. 2 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, and they are expected by most experts to do some serious damage again this year.

This game is one of many challenges that Lehigh will face before beginning Patriot League play. The non-conference schedule also includes a game against Arizona State, a 2014 NCAA Tournament participant from the PAC 12 Conference. The Hawks were also able to schedule a game in Chicago against DePaul University of the Big East.

For starting center sophomore Tim Kempton, the Arizona State game will be special because it will give the Arizona native a chance to play in front of many friends and family.

“It’s going to be a fun experience for our team and especially for myself,” Kempton said. “Hopefully we will go down there and get a win against (Arizona State coach) Herb Sendek and his program.”

The non-conference schedule should provide a good opportunity for the team to see where it stands heading into Patriot League play, which begins on Dec. 31 against Colgate University.

The Hawks enter the year as a team with a great deal of potential, but also some questions that need to be answered. They are currently ranked eighth out of 10 Patriot League teams in the 2015 Pomeroy College Basketball rankings on kenpom.com.

“I believe that this year’s team will be competitive within our league,” said head coach Brett Reed, who is entering his eighth year at Lehigh. “I think there’s a lot of question marks because of our youth and our reliance on freshmen and sophomores (…) and their growth and development will change the complexion of our team and the outcome of our season considerably.”

Last year’s 14-18 record meant that the program endured its first losing season since 2007-08. It was a year in which a large amount of playing time was given to younger players. The freshman class saw a great deal of action. Guard Miles Simelton gained some valuable experience, and Kempton and guard Austin Price were starting players.

“As I go from my freshman to sophomore year, my role of taking care of the younger players, our freshman class and even some of the other players in my class, has greatly increased due to my playing time and the experience that I was able to get last year,” Kempton said.

The 6’10” center is one of two returning starters on the front court. He has already shown aptitude in many facets of the game, averaging 13.0 points per game and an impressive 7.1 rebounds per game last year.

Joining him is 6’8” junior forward Jesse Chuku. Last year was the first year that the British import saw some minutes for the team, and he capitalized on his opportunities with 8.7 points per game.

Both Chuku and Kempton will try to keep the offensive profile of the program high, as the team has led the Patriot League in scoring for four of the last five years.

However, the back court will be without last year’s starting point guard Mackey McKnight. His production, including his team-leading 13.5 points per game, will need to be replaced. The player being called to the task is freshman guard Kahron Ross, a talented product of Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The other two starters in the back court will be resuming their roles from last season. Joining Price is senior guard Corey Schaefer, who has been named team captain for the upcoming season. Schaefer brings a high level of experience and has seen his minutes steadily increase after each year with the program.

“I think I just need to be a consistent performer on the offensive end and to help the other guys on the team to do the best they can because I know they support me the same way out there,” Schaefer said.

While perhaps not as recognizable as CJ McCollum, Gabe Knutson and Holden Greiner of the class of 2013, this year’s seniors are another dynamic group, according to Reed.

“One thing that I am really excited about is the blue-collar mentality of our senior class,” Reed said. “ Corey Schaefer, Stefan Cvrkalj, Conroy Baltimore are all young men who play with a high sense of urgency (and) have great maturity beyond their years. And they’ve been very focused on basketball, which helps build the culture of younger players understanding the work ethic that it takes in order to be successful and the maturity level that it takes to be successful over a long season.”

The team has sparked a great deal of interest from Lehigh students who have regularly attended games over the years due to its past results and recent NCAA Tournament success. With the talent returning this year, fans will eagerly be watching to see if the team can get back to being a contender in the conference.