City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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It’s possible that Lehigh might go the entire month of November without picking up a win.

That’s not a very auspicious start for a program that was picked before the season to win the Patriot League by the various coaches in the conference, though it’s not as bad as the team’s current 0-3 record might indicate.

After all, the Mountain Hawks have one of the more challenging first six games of the season, with trips to high-majors Syracuse, Purdue and Virginia, the latter two of which are currently ranked in the top 25.

And the other three games are no cupcakes: two of the top teams in the Ivy League (Yale and Columbia), plus a tough road game at Canisius.

But even though the team’s had to adjust to the loss of talented sophomore Brandon Alston for the season to a knee injury, and even though there isn’t a bad loss yet on the slate, it’s clear there’s a lot of work to be done for head coach Brett Reed and his staff before the conference play begins.

And it starts with attitude.

“To be honest with you, I’d really like to see more personality come out of our team,” Reed said after Lehigh’s 79-65 defeat at the hands of Yale on Thursday night; Syracuse (57-47) and Canisius (98-89) were the first two games on the ledger. “We have essentially some quiet people who are going to try to do what they’re supposed to do, but we need to see some more personality come through from some of the people who can lead us with their performance and lead us with their energy.”

Reed specifically mentioned two of his captains as those who he’s looking for to provide a boost in that department, junior forward Tim Kempton and sophomore point guard Kahron Ross.

Both Kempton (16.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and Ross (8.7 ppg, 5.3 apg) have been performing well individually, but taking a leadership position for the team is a different skill set entirely.

“At times, when we’ve made excellent plays, you could see that there was energy on the floor, but at other times it seems as if we’re being a little bit robotic,” Reed said. “And that’s one thing that I’m eager to see, to translate and take another step.”

The Patriot League race looks like it’ll be just as wide-open this year as it was the last one, and even if the Mountain Hawks enter conference play with a not-so-great record, it won’t affect their chances once the calendar hits January.

The biggest enemy at this point has to be morale, with an 0-6 record staring the Mountain Hawks in the face if they can’t get past another Ivy League favorite, Columbia, on the road on Sunday.

Because after that it’s off to No. 21 Purdue and No. 6 Virginia in a four-day span, a stretch that most high-major teams would prefer not to endure.

“We still have to keep our vision in mind of what we want the season to be, have that fuel and drive us,” Reed said. “It’ll take maturity, it’ll take leadership but it’ll also take improvements in some of these key areas.”

The schedule does open up somewhat in December, with games against St. Francis (Pa.), Robert Morris, D-III Rochester and a visit from Mt. St. Mary’s. But the final non-con game of the year against Stony Brook will be quite a challenge, and the beginning of Patriot League play gets no easier: home for Army and Boston U, then on the road to Loyola and American before Bucknell visits Stabler Arena.

The way they’re playing now won’t be good enough for the Mountain Hawks if they hope to follow their Lehigh Valley rival Lafayette and hoist the Patriot League trophy at the end of this season.

“I am looking for us to take another step,” Reed said. “I’m eager for that determination and the grit to come through.”