story links
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 2022-23 Lehigh men’s basketball squad is looking to build off last year’s success. Returning 13 to a roster that graduated three student-athletes and bringing in four first-years, the Mountain Hawks are ready to pick up where they left off and be in a position to compete for a Patriot League title.
A season ago, Lehigh was selected at the bottom of the preseason poll and got off to a shaky start, going 2-10 in the 2021 portion of its schedule. Ringing in the new year with a pair of league victories helped get things moving in the right direction. The Mountain Hawks concluded their regular season with a 12-18 mark and 10-8 in league play to solidify a spot in the Patriot League Tournament and a home quarterfinal game at Stabler Arena, showing growth from the midway point of the season, to where they ended.
“I think we have been on a growth trajectory, even looking back to last year and reflecting on our growth pattern towards the end of the year where we’re playing much better basketball than earlier in the year,” said Lehigh head coach Brett Reed . “It’s not always a linear process that we’re immediately going to pick up where we left off. But it demonstrates that we’ve got a team that’s got very good unity and a growth mindset. Both of those things are combining to forge a team in 2022-23, that should be pretty formidable in the Patriot League.”
Let’s take a look at how the Mountain Hawks’ roster is shaping up…
guards
Coach Reed will have multiple options in the backcourt for this Mountain Hawks squad, starting with senior Evan Taylor, who led multiple categories for Lehigh a season ago.
Taylor averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 26 steals and 31 blocked shots, which were all team highs.
“Evan was a solid contributor,” commented Reed. “He shot the ball well, he scored inside, and he was a strong defender and perhaps our team’s best rebounder. That’s a solid set of attributes that he brings going into this year. We want him to be able to sustain that. I think there’s ways in which he can even be more consistently assertive and put himself in a position to, you know, not go through phases of being hot, and then quiet, but a very steady scoring influence for our team it. He’s got the frame and size to do it. And fostering that kind of like mentality of confidence is important for him.”
Senior shooters Reed Fenton and Jake Betlow both played in 29 of 32 games last season and each made 15-plus three-pointers.
“Reed was a former all-rookie team member during his first year and he’s played at a at a higher level than we’ve seen him over the past two years,” Reed said. “He has always been a very good leader for someone with great maturity, on and off the court. He’s a skilled player, plays hard and he should be in a position to be a really reliable contributor for us.
“Jake has always been a spark plug, energetic person who also can make shots. He comes in the game and he’s a legitimate three-point threat for our program, somebody who has to be guarded beyond the arc, and he plays really hard. And I think because the team respects him and me brings a unique element as a catalyst for a program.”
A junior looking to have a breakout year is jalin Sinclair, who missed last season due to an injury, is ready to step up and make plays for this Mountain Hawks squad.
“Jalin is another guy that continues to increase his work load in practice, as he takes on more responsibility physically, and then more responsibility leading our team. He’s somebody that can see plays, develop, can deliver the basketball, is shifty with his offensive attack, which leaves a defender unsure which direction he’s going to go. And because of his ability to penetrate and he can shoot a high percentage from the perimeter, he can create angles for himself, which ultimately create shots for others.”
Sophomores Tyler Whitney-Sidney and Keith Higgins Jr. both earned spots on the Patriot League’s All-Rookie Team last season.
Whitney-Sidney made 18 starts last year and played in 28 games for Lehigh, contributing 6.1 points per game, 55 assists and 17 steals.
“I thought a major storyline of last year season was the defensive contributions of Tyler Whitney-Sidney, combined with Evan Taylor,” Reed said. “When both of those guys were locked in defensively, it added another element and dimension for her team.
As a first-year, Higgins started 21 games of the 31 he appeared in, averaging 9.0 points while leading the team with 70 assists and ranking second in three-pointers with 48.
“Keith Higgins really grew throughout the course of last year with the injury to jalin Sinclair,” Reed said. “And then our desire to find greater productivity in the point guard position. He actually slipped into an unnatural position for him, but answered the call.”
Sophomore Ben Knostman returns after appearing in 24 games with eight starts with 51 assists in playing just under 14 minutes per game.
“Ben has shown wonderful lashes for us last year and he’s got the potential to be an excellent guard.”
Junior Jayshen Saigal played in 11 contests a season ago while senior Luke Traina did not see action on the floor due to a medical condition. First-year Brendan Reed from Bethlehem stands at 5-11 and rounds out the guards for the Mountain Hawks this season.
Forwards/Centers
Transitioning to the big men, Coach Reed has a few returners that he looks to fill into roles after getting quality experience just a season ago. That starts with junior Dominic Parolin.
Parolin played in all 32 games last year, making nine starts, and will step into a bigger role to begin the 2022-23 campaign.
“Dominic started the season for us this last year, her was playing excellent basketball, at various points throughout the season last year, he was a really strong contributor for us, or a strong contributor off the bench, where he would come in and play meaningful minutes,” Reed said. “He’s had two years to gain some experience collegiately, which is going to help him a great deal. He’s very active on the glass, active defensively, and that leads him to find his way into points and solid contributions for our team out on the floor.
Another returner that is looking to have a breakout year is junior JT Tan, who played in a small sample size of games last year and missed his first-year due to injury. But Coach Reed has high hopes for the six-foot-eight center.
“He’s very nimble and quick. He’s got a great frame and knows how to use his physicality. His footwork is very strong around the basket, and because of that, he can score and he’s a good passer as well. The offensive attributes, plus a big body and somebody who’s willing to be physical, makes them a pretty complete player for us. In fact, might be one of the more refined players we have in the frontcourt that we could expect some scoring production from.”
Senior Jacob Alamudun returns with some experience with the Mountain Hawks, including his versatility to make plays.
“He’s skilled player, a shooter from the perimeter, and can make plays off the dribble,” Reed said. “The biggest key for Jacob has been and will continue to be his ability to touch the game as in other ways. How well does he support his teammates on offense and defense and making complimentary plays. He has started for us at various points throughout the course of his career and he’s been more focused, he’s been more engaged defensively.”
Another junior forward is Burke Chebuhar, who saw action in 11 games last year while adding some depth, and height, with three first-years in Henri Adiassa, Tommy Conniff and Bube Momah
Adiassa is the first up, a first year from YaoundeCameroon, standing at 6-11 and 240 pounds.
“Henri is an excellent athlete with tremendous length,” Reed said. “He could be a difference maker particularly early in his career on the defensive end of the floor. He can block shots, he can rebound, he’s a very good athlete who can run the floor and score and transition. He can score off of penetration Someone who comes into our program with a college ready body, that 6-11 with a 7-3 wingspan, he’s legitimately going to be somebody physically that can match up with just about anybody on our schedule.”
Conniff is a center that also stands at 6-11, 230 pounds from Summit, NJ and Momah a 6-8 forward from Unionville, Conn. will both be options for Coach Reed to filter on the floor.
Outlook
With who the program has returning and newcomers, what can one expect from the men’s basketball team for the 2022-23 season?
“There’s a number of steps that we’ve got to continue to take as we integrate new players into our program, as people kind of solidify certain roles for our program, but it’s very promising,” Reed said. “Our prediction in the preseason poll is a reflection that many people see our program ascending, moving forward, there’s a lot of reason for that to take place, because of our track record of consistently finishing on the upper echelon and lead because of the strong contributions and growth that our players made this last year.
“The fact that a nucleus of our team is relatively young, and should naturally take steps forward. It promotes a lot of confidence for those who really support lovely high basketball that our team for this upcoming season should be very competitive.”
Looking at the first two opponents of the year, Syracuse and Virginia Tech, Reed is aware of the unique challenges it will present the program, but finding ways to continue to drive the program forward is the outlook of the opening week for the Mountain Hawks.
“Stylistically, we’re playing against two very different teams,” he said. “From a talent standpoint, they both can be incredibly nationally noteworthy. As far as their talent level, we’re going to have an opportunity to kind of drive ourselves forward in preparation for those two opponents. Particularly because we have to figure out how to be strong together when we’re an underdog and have that fabric of unity and discipline.
“Because if we don’t, we’ll be exposed. I’m looking to see how these young men, who are relatively young, are going to be able to respond in hostile environments against very good competition, where there’s a number of challenges that are dead in front of them. If we can come out of those experiences together and not really shake, I think that’s going to be a really positive step for us.”
The Mountain Hawks open with Syracuse on Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 pm in the JMA Wireless Dome. Lehigh then travels to Blacksburg, Va. to take on Virginia Tech Thursday, Nov. 10 for a 6 pm tip-off. Both games with be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and live on Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM.
Like Lehigh Men’s Basketball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Comments are closed.