City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)

Lehigh is the favorite in the Patriot League.

The Mountain Hawks were picked first in the conference’s preseason poll, which was released Thursday. Lafayette was picked to finish sixth in the 10-team league.

Lehigh received 12 of 20 first-place votes, with the other eight going to Bucknell, which was picked second in the poll. The Mountain Hawks also had the preseason Player of the Year in forward Tim Kempton – the reigning Patriot League POY.

The Mountain Hawks went 16-14 (10-8 in league play) last season and return their top five scorers in Kempton, Austin Price, Kahron Ross, Justin Goldsborough and Jesse Chuku.

Kempton was named the top player in the conference last season as a sophomore thanks to averaging 15.3 points and 8.7 points per game. Ross was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year last season with 10.4 points and 5.8 assists per game but was left off the preseason all-conference team.

Kempton was joined on that team by Lafayette’s Nick Lindner, Bucknell’s Chris Hass, Boston’s Cedric Hankerson and American’s Jesse Reed.

Lindner, also a junior, was a third-team selection last season and averaged 12.5 points per game. Most notably, the point guard led the Leopards to the NCAA Tournament by averaging 23.7 points per game in their run through the Patriot League Tournament. Lafayette finished the season 20-13 (9-9) last year, but Lindner is one of just two starters returning for Fran O’Hanlon’s team.

Here are the full results of the preseason poll, as well as the all-league selections:

2015-16 Preseason Patriot League Poll (First-place votes in parentheses)

1. Lehigh (12) – 156 points
2. Bucknell (8) – 150
3. Boston – 126
4. Army – 108
5. American – 84
6. Lafayette – 82
7. Loyola – 73
8. Holy Cross – 50
9. Colgate – 36
10. Navy – 35

2015-16 Preseason Patriot League All-League team

*Tim Kempton – Lehigh – Jr. Forward
Cedric Hankerson – Boston – Jr. Guard
Nick Lindner – Lafayette – Jr. Guard
Chris Hass – Bucknell – Sr. Guard
Jesse Reed – American – Sr. Guard

(* denotes preseason Player of the Year selection)

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)

Lehigh is the favorite in the Patriot League.

The Mountain Hawks were picked first in the conference’s preseason poll, which was released Thursday. Lafayette was picked to finish sixth in the 10-team league.

Lehigh received 12 of 20 first-place votes, with the other eight going to Bucknell, which was picked second in the poll. The Mountain Hawks also had the preseason Player of the Year in forward Tim Kempton – the reigning Patriot League POY.

The Mountain Hawks went 16-14 (10-8 in league play) last season and return their top five scorers in Kempton, Austin Price, Kahron Ross, Justin Goldsborough and Jesse Chuku.

Kempton was named the top player in the conference last season as a sophomore thanks to averaging 15.3 points and 8.7 points per game. Ross was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year last season with 10.4 points and 5.8 assists per game but was left off the preseason all-conference team.

Kempton was joined on that team by Lafayette’s Nick Lindner, Bucknell’s Chris Hass, Boston’s Cedric Hankerson and American’s Jesse Reed.

Lindner, also a junior, was a third-team selection last season and averaged 12.5 points per game. Most notably, the point guard led the Leopards to the NCAA Tournament by averaging 23.7 points per game in their run through the Patriot League Tournament. Lafayette finished the season 20-13 (9-9) last year, but Lindner is one of just two starters returning for Fran O’Hanlon’s team.

Here are the full results of the preseason poll, as well as the all-league selections:

2015-16 Preseason Patriot League Poll (First-place votes in parentheses)

1. Lehigh (12) – 156 points
2. Bucknell (8) – 150
3. Boston – 126
4. Army – 108
5. American – 84
6. Lafayette – 82
7. Loyola – 73
8. Holy Cross – 50
9. Colgate – 36
10. Navy – 35

2015-16 Preseason Patriot League All-League team

*Tim Kempton – Lehigh – Jr. Forward
Cedric Hankerson – Boston – Jr. Guard
Nick Lindner – Lafayette – Jr. Guard
Chris Hass – Bucknell – Sr. Guard
Jesse Reed – American – Sr. Guard

(* denotes preseason Player of the Year selection)