Lehigh Sports Forum

People are going to have trouble handling our guards all season. They just shredded Monmouth tonight.

Agreed all around that this was a VERY exciting season opener but tempering my enthusiasm given that it is a first game and Monmouth not expected to be much. Impressive offensive display, especially given Tejada shot poorly and should be an additional weapon most nights. No M. Wilson tonight who should also be a contributor. Given that even the walk-ons hit the floor, any insight on if Marques is hurt?

I wondered about M. Wilson as well. He did play 9 minutes mid second half but had no stats and barely touched the ball. Didn't look hurt. I expected him to start before the game minutes came out.... so ?????

I noticed that he was wearing the long-sleeved warmup throughout the first half, like he didn't expect to play. Disciplinary maybe?

Right now, I'm looking at this game as one data point.....although a very, very good one. Andres may or may not be able to duplicate this game all season. At the same time Tejada, Karnik and Wilson were no-shows and I don't expect any of that to be duplicated either. Defensive intensity however can be replicated every game...with different degrees of success and that's what was missing during long stretches in past years.
As more film gets out there, we will need to adjust however this team seems to be loaded with weapons and it will be hard to keep them all quiet.
A competitive game against Miami will tell us a lot more.

Yeah, I was there some 6 feet behind the bench. Nothing was going to keep me away - be it the Garden Sate Parkway at rush hour or the 85 mile separation. Admittedly, the ride home at midnight was much easier, replaying the game in my mind while listening to NBA Radio and coverage of CJ going off for 40 in defeating the Bucks last night. All-in-all a good night.

I wasn't the only one who liked what he say. Well, in Ken Pomeroy's world, it was what his computer digested from the stats turned in on opening night. In short,Lehigh moved up 31 slots in the national ranking from 186 to 155. What KP didn't see with his own eyes was a team that dressed 13, played 13 and was never really threatened. It was fun watching a team and listening to a coach in mid-season form. This couldn't have been Game One I saw! The maturity on display was what I'll remember the most. Secondly, it would have to be the defensive intensity and the pride taken in each and every stop - from the players on the court to those along the bench. Everyone seemed to have a stake in the game. Other takeaways would include the calmness and ease with which our point guards - no matter who was left in charge (LT, KL or JC) - managed the game. It became quickly apparent that we wanted the ball last night and the rebounding numbers (47 to 28) simply bore that out. Of course, first game jitters were expected out of Nick and he didn't disappoint. But after a couple of PFs, he drained a two - a long on at that - and his career was underway. Who would be the first in, I kept wondering. Well, it turned out to be #0 Caleb Bennett (or CB as Coach Reed would call out any number of times during the night). As for Marques Wilson, as many have wondered, I can't say what if anything kept his appearances to a minimum. He looked healthy sitting 6 feet away. Maybe, his minutes were dictated simply by the superior play of others leading up and throughout the early stages of this game. In short, I don't think there's anything to worry about. When it comes to LT's 2 for 14 and 0 for 6 from 3, let's chalk it up to being "just one of those nights." we've seen it in the past and he always seem to bounce back in a big way days later. Pat Andree's 3's were a thing of beauty. You'd thing we were watching an NBA game! None ran the risk of going on or over the line. And, for those who like such oddities, Jordan Cohen made our first bucket that counted last night and made the first that didn't count laying one of the backboard in pregame warm-ups.

Off to Miami. You have to wonder if anything we did last night caught the attention of the Hurricanes. Should be fun.

One item to temper our enthusiasm about last night. I missed this in the good Mr. Bison's contribution to this thread, but noticed it this morning. Monmouth had an 85-84 squeaker in an exhibition with D2 Cladwell last week.

Friday night will tell us a bit more, particularly if we are competitive. Jim K. and Nick L., meet the Hurricanes front court; 6'10, 6'10, 6'10, 6'11', and 7' even. Yipes !