It was a moment that will linger in AU Basketball lore for a long time.
With 3.9 seconds to go and the game tied at 57, Lehigh's Jose Olivero drove the lane and knocked down a jumper to seal his team's 59-57 win. For the third year in a row, the Eagles' season ended with heartbreak in the Patriot League championship game.
Now, revamped and rebuilt for the 2004-2005 season, the Men's Basketball team is ready to start play and work its way back to the top of the Patriot League.
With the loss of senior point guard and team leader Andres Rodriguez to graduation, the team has some big shoes to fill. However, head coach Jeff Jones said that his squad is up to the challenge.
"There's no way we could ask any one individual to replace him," Jones said. "We've asked a number of different players to accept a greater responsibility, and we need the team to play better as a whole."
Jones said that sophomore Linas Lekavicius will replace Rodriguez at the point guard slot but added that he's not the same type of player Rodriguez was.
"Linas is a guy where last year if he didn't have a good game it was OK," Jones said. "We need his A-game every night now. He needs to be able to accept his role and responsibility."
In addition to the loss of Rodriguez, the team also lost forward Jernavis Draughn, whose ability at both ends of the floor was a major factor in all of AU's trips to the PL title game.
Despite the loss of two of its most prominent players, Jones said that this team's strength lies in its numbers.
"We've got a number of good players that can and will contribute, which will be key," Jones said. "It won't be one or two guys like it was last year."
This year's team welcomes back sophomore Andre Ingram, who was the team's leading scorer last year and won Patriot League freshman of the year honors. Ingram led last year's team with 13.6 points and four rebounds per game. The team is also looking to receive contributions from new freshmen Travis Lay and Coleman LeClair.
Lay was named first-team All-County his last two years at Bullis School of Rockville, Md., averaging 17.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as well as shooting 47 percent from the floor as a forward. LeClair, a 6-foot-9-inch forward, averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game for Brewster Academy in Chicago.
With such a strong presence of young players on the team, Jones is confident that his team's five seniors will be able to accept a leadership role.
"We have different voices and different leaders on our team," Jones said. "Jason Thomas is our vocal leader in the locker room while someone like Matej Cresnik is so solid and leads by example."
The season begins on Nov. 15 with the first round of the preseason NIT at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. It is the first time the team has been selected to play in that tournament. From there, the team will play a number of nonconference games, including contests against Maryland and Missouri, before opening up PL play on Jan. 8 against Lehigh.
The season culminates with the PL tournament, which will be held at the highest seed's home court on March 4-11.
With games against such marquee names, Jones said it is important that the team keeps its focus and remains composed.
"Those games can be exciting for the players and fans, and being exposed to such talent can be a positive experience," Jones said. "But the games themselves aren't that helpful, except possibly in terms of recruiting and exposure."
Jones added that games against nonconference opponents such as Virginia Commonwealth University are more beneficial for the team because its play improves against talent that is only marginally better. Jones cited games against the College of Charleston in 2001 and 2002 as examples of a nonconference game making the team much better. In 2001 the Eagles lost to the Cougars, 76-70, in double-overtime, followed by a 68-65 single overtime defeat in 2002.
This year's PL features a number of teams looking to rebound after mediocre 2003-2004 seasons. Bucknell was selected to finish in first place by a preseason poll that saw it get 10 of a possible 16 first-place votes. Both AU and Lehigh got three first-place votes, but Lehigh's 79 total points placed it second and made AU third. In addition, Ingram was named the preseason player of the year.
The league is also looking to gain national standing after finishing last year as one of the lowest-rated conferences in the NCAA. As a result, the winner of last year's PL tournament, Lehigh, was forced to play in the NCAA tournament play-in game with its automatic bid, rather than making it immediately into the field of 64.
With expectations riding high and the campus focused on the team making the tournament, Jones said that it is imperative that the team's players remain true to themselves.
"It is a huge mistake to prepare for the NCAA tournament at the beginning of the year," Jones said. "We need to prepare in a similar manner to get back to the Patriot League tournament."
Jones added that establishing each of the players' roles and styles of play would be the key to making it back to the place the team has been for the past three years.
"Each of the last three years, the truth is that we were beaten by a better team," Jones said. "This year we're hoping that we're that better team"
