This Needs to Be a Big Year for Coach Reed

[lehigh90]

So, we've pretty much been mired in Patriot League mediocrity for over a decade. Have now gone 13 years since winning a regular season conference championship. 11 years since we have appeared in the Big Dance. No postseason tournaments since we paid to go to CBI in 2012. We had a peak in the McCollum/Knutson/Greiner era, and we held close to that level during the Kempton/Price/Ross era, but since their graduation, this team has been pretty aimless. All of the talk of Reed as a master PL recruiter is waning. The current squad has a nice collection of guards (with another 3 coming in again as the top 3 recruits), but the roster looks pretty light in the frontcourt. We have a couple all PL level performers on the current roster, so we should be solid in the PL, but can we finally challenge for the league title? Colgate is now the juggernaut, and Langel has been very creative building rosters (transfers, etc.). Our transfer activity has generally been in reverse, we lose good players to transfer, and don't get any quality coming our way. But, since we last won the PL title, 6 programs have gone to the NCAA from the PL.

Generally, I'm pretty fatigued by this program, and lacking motivation to go to campus to see the team play live. I used to travel to see the better away games, knowing that I was going to see a competitive product. Stabler is still a ghost town, and our average fan in the seats, probably attended Lehigh before CJ was born. I think unless we find some success this season, the powers at the University, need to consider a change. Reed is still fairly young (51), and he does have a winning record (262-222, winning 54% of his games). He's had a solid career, but I would like to see the program return to a level where we could win a PL title, and play competitive games out of the conference. Colgate has a strong basketball culture now, just like Bucknell had before them (before their coaching calamity), and Lehigh needs to build that up at Stabler. We need some energy in the program. Winning teams generate excitement and attendance, all across the country at every level. 16-14 overall, and 10-8 in conference doesn't excite anybody.

[Sundayamqb]

Agreed ... Or if you want to accept mediocrity in DI, why not just get real and play with other academically minded teams in DIII?

[StablerBum]

This program is as stale as a loaf of bread left out on the counter the same year CJ, Greiner, and Knutsen graduated. It is painfully boring. Three "big" non conference games a year on the road, a sh*tty home schedule with a d3, then a mediocre PL season. They aren't bad enough to fire Reed (yet) and not good enough (or exciting enough) to be fun. Just so bland.

[jimk72]

I do like Dr. Reed quite a bit. Despite this, and an 8 game win streak mid-season last year, I completely agree with the above. I did suggest in a thread here about 4 weeks ago that he be "promoted" to asst. athletic director. And hire a hot young D111 coach who's proven himself at a good academic school. But general opinion seems to be that Brett has the job as long as he wants it, or until Sterrett is out.

Meanwhile the purple polka dots promoted assistant coach Mike McGarvey after firing Mike Jordan. Pror to Lafayette, MaGarvey won three league titles in his five years as head coach at Lycoming College in Williamsport. This is probably not good news for us.

I had hoped we would get a spark when Willie Jenkins was hired, but nothing yet.

[ngineer]

I think this team can be better than last year's if the big guy can learn to handle the ball. Physically, he can be a force, but his dexterity was not good. I would hope he has spent the past 6 months doing a ton of ball handling. I would also recommend taking a course in juggling over at NCC (which my son took years ago, and I was impressed with how hit improved his hand coordination. I think Reed does a fine job representing the University and has the right values that Lehigh wants. Basketball is a funny game. With just one or two key recruits, you can be a championship caliber team and that has been Lehigh's history. We have really only had two 'sustained' periods of success--when Queenan and Polaha were here and then with McCollum and Knudsen.