Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

#121 Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Patriot

 2003-04: 20-11, 10-4, 1^st

2003-04 postseason: NCAA

By Joel Welser

Lehigh had the dubious honor of losing the play-in game to Florida A&M.  But they did tie for the conference title and won the Patriot League Tournament, so hopes are riding high in Bethlehem, PA.  Two years ago the Mountain Hawks shocked the Patriot league by finishing fourth and last year they shocked everybody by winning the conference.  Lehigh lose some key players, but will restock enough to find themselves back on top.

Who’s Out: Point guard and leading scorer Austen Rowland will be missed.  He averaged 15.5 points per game last year and 4.9 assists.  It won’t be easy to replace that floor leadership that Rowland provided.  Ra Tiah, the little 5-11 guard, saw most of his time coming off the bench.  He did start 13 games and averaged 6.3 points per outing.  Also leaving is Steve Callahan, who didn’t see much action during his senior season.

Who’s In: Joe Knight is the big name joining Lehigh.  Knight, who transferred from High Point, was the Big South rookie of the year in 2001-2002.  The 6-2 guard will immediately bring more experience to Billy Taylor’s backcourt.  He should compete for the starting job to replace the departed Rowland.  Erik Smith will also see some time at the point guard position.  He is small at 5-9, 150 pounds, but has proven during his high school career that he can play.  He dished out 558 assists during his prep career.  He will take over the leadership role in the future after getting adjusted to life in Bethlehem.  Bryan White averaged a double-double in points and rebounds his senior year of high school.  The 6-6 forward is athletic, versatile and should see some quality minutes off the bench. 

Who to Watch: Jose Olivero is one of the few true scorers for the Mountain Hawks.  As just a sophomore, he’ll be expected to put up some big numbers and take the clutch shots down the stretch.  He averaged 11.6 points per game as a freshman.  That number should get higher with increased playing time and more shot opportunities.  There are a lot of rough edges around Olivero.  He commits too many turnovers, gets in a lot of foul trouble for a guard and at times will have a poor shot selection.  That was as a freshman though.  He is expected to clean up some of those problems as he develops.  If he can start doing that this year, then he can cause major problems for the defensive opposition.

Projected Conference Rank: The list of teams that can give Lehigh problems in the Patriot League is a long one.  American, Lafayette, Bucknell and Holy Cross all contended for the conference title last year and may once again be struggling to get to the top of the standings in 2004-2005.  The Mountain Hawks should end up at the top once again and go to their second straight NCAA Tournament.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

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Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

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