November 8, 2016

How did our training camp go?


Todd DeHaven looks like he's going to be a titan. He's now a Yellow/Green player, and for all practical purposes, he's a high school senior.

We have two Green/Blue guys on the roster now: Joe Lien and Alvaro Kinard, whose potential improves a level after we break camp.

When I let the AI pick the starting lineup, it chooses this combination:
C Samuel Davis
PF Otis Hall
SF Daniel Warnock
SG Alvaro Kinard
PG Joe Lien

This lineup would include two Orange players with Yellow potential(Davis and Warnock) and a Red/Green guy (Hall). I'm a bit hesitant to start a Red player, but I think I'll go with this lineup to begin the season and see what happens.

The first two men off the bench would be guards Richard Leak and Jack Senn. Both are Orange/Green players.

1. No, per the manual. Your HC's skill and the relevant AC's skill are weighed equally for each of the three areas.
2. Yes! Check your coach's card and there's a "Bonus Points" button that will activate when you level up... though I see you've crossed this bridge by now. :)

November 14, 2016
Lafayette 70, Alabama-Birmingham 52
We played the Blazers in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2015, and we beat them fairly easily. This year's outcome is very similar.

We play good defense (the Blazers shoot 29.8% from the floor) and we execute our offense well; all five of our starters reach double figures. Daniel Warnock leads our scorers with 16 in his first college game, and adds 7 rebounds. Alvaro Kinard follows with 15 (5 rebounds). Joe Lien, whom everyone in the gym knows will be the focal point of our offense, scores 13. Samuel Davis and Otis Hall pitch in 10 apiece. And Richard Leak comes off the bench to hand out 5 assists in 18 minutes.

Best of all, however, Samuel Davis intimidates the Blazers all night long. We saw signs of his shot blocking ability last season--he led the team in that category, despite playing only 15 minutes per game. Tonight, he blocks 6 shots
Record: 1-0.


November 16, 2016
Western Michigan 84, Lafayette 63
Two nights later, we get whomped by Western Michigan at the Kirby Center. They're a good team, but it's been a long time since we've lost a game this badly.

Ralph Flores, the MAC's Freshman of the Year last season, turns into Steph Curry and drops 38 on us.

We only manage to take 39 shots, and not enough of them go in. Daniel Warnock (14) and Otis Hall (11) reach double digits, but both of them scored 9 of their points from the free throw line. Alvaro Kinard has 4 steals, but doesn't do much else. They hold Joe Lien to 8 points.
Record: 1-1.


November 21, 2016
Lafayette 81, Purdue 74
Sometimes I have to remember that this college basketball universe isn't the same as the real one. In this world, Purdue is a good team--their current prestige is 80--but not a true powerhouse. They've been to the Sweet Sixteen once, but that was back in 2012.

So it's an upset for us to beat the Boilermakers at the Kirby Center, but honestly, not a huge one. Joe Lien is the star, scoring 24 points; he's red-hot from long range (5-7). Daniel Warnock reaches well into double figures again, with 14. Otis Hall just misses a double-double (11 points, 9 rebounds). Three more blocks from Samuel Davis establish his credentials as a grade A rim protector even more securely.
Record: 2-1.


November 28, 2016
Lafayette 68, St. Peter's 47
We get a good game from the mercurial Alvaro Kinard--15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals--and defend relentlessly in a tidy win at St. Peter's.

Samuel Davis blocks three times as many shots (3) as he makes (1).

Joe Lien leads all scorers with 24 points, but it could have been more; he shoots a ghastly 4-11 from the line. He's not a very good free throw shooter--his career percentage is now .613--but Joe is maddeningly bad tonight. Good thing we didn't need those points, isn't it?
Record: 3-1.

Thanks for your answers, britrock88. I wondered if a well-rounded assistant could help out in areas other than his specialty, and now I understand that's not the case.

I suppose your Lead Scout helps evaluate the talent of the players you're recruiting, as well as the players on opposing teams...right? *scratches head*

Slight interruption to what has gotten me back into FBCB. I took over Western Illinois an 8 prestige pretty bad team. One of our centers, Tony Lacy is a blocks beast. We almost took down the #2 seed in the conference tourney behind his 10, yes I said 10 blocks. Dude has 73 blocks this season. Our team is rough in my second year but improving.

I don't mind the interruption at all. I'm glad my attempt at a FBCB story helped lead you back to the game. :)

Part of me wishes I'd begun with a low prestige team like you and Izulde did. I think Lafayette's prestige was 27 at the start of my game, and Graham Sims was already an average coach. I could land three-star players in my first recruiting class, so Lafayette started winning fairly early on. It might be fun to take on the challenge of building a team from the very bottom up.

Tony Lacy is the god tier version of Samuel Davis. His name seems to me to fit an intimidating center, too.

With the new incoming class, Lacy has been relegated to coming off the bench this season. We'll see how long that lasts. The freshman replacing him has a 91/A in blocks but is a much better rebounder as well. Twin Towers?

December 2, 2016
Lafayette 74, Columbia 54
The Lions hang with us through twenty minutes or so, before our superior talent asserts itself, especially on defense.

Columbia allows Joe Lien to shoot nearly at will, especially from behind the arc. That turns out to be a good strategy--he goes 1-6 from three--but he gets enough other shots to fall to add up to a game-high 23 points. Alvaro Kinard adds 12, and Daniel Warnock an efficient 11 (3-6 from long range). Samuel Davis misses a double-double by one rebound (10/9).

I'm still trying to figure out how good this year's team really is.
Record: 4-1.


December 5, 2016
Lafayette 77, Maryland-Baltimore County 67
UMBC isn't very good, so again, it's hard to know what to take away from this victory.

We do some good things. We make nearly 60 percent of our field goal attempts. We don't attempt many threes (12) but we make a lot of the ones we do attempt (6). We only turn the ball over 11 times. Joe Lien scores 27 points, and Alvaro Kinard 16.

At the same time, we let them make nearly 50 percent of their shots. And nobody except Joe and Alvaro do much scoring.
Record: 5-1.


December 7, 2016
Lafayette 83, Fairleigh Dickinson 62
We match a 26-point effort from the Knights' James Caulfield with a 27-point game from Joe Lien, and our supporting cast outplays theirs.

Alvaro Kinard seems to have matured into the player we thought he would eventually be. His game tonight--16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals--is typical of this year's scoresheet-filling version of AK. Samuel Davis blocks 4 shots, Daniel Warnock scores 11, and Otis Hall has 8 with 7 rebounds.

Our record is looking very good. Our RPI (56) isn't bad, either. Should I be concerned that we seem very dependent on Lien and Kinard to score points, or are they good enough to carry us without a lot of backup?
Record: 6-1.


December 11, 2016
George Washington 63, Lafayette 52
So this is what happens when Joe Lien and Alvaro Kinard don't score? No, thank you. We blow a halftime lead when we suddenly forget how to put points on the scoreboard.

Lien takes lots of shots, but not many go in, and he finishes with a very inefficient 13 points. Kinard plays 30 minutes and barely touches the basketball; we saw games like this from him too often last year.

Daniel Warnock finishes with 10 points but, like Lien, he takes too many shots to get them. And Samuel Davis has 10 rebounds and 3 more blocks, but we need points tonight...and don't get them.
Record: 6-2.


December 13, 2016
Lafayette 72, Siena 49
Our call for secondary scoring is answered today by Daniel Warnock, who plays more like a seasoned veteran than a freshman with fewer than ten games under his belt. Daniel goes 5-7 from the field and makes both his threes, finishing with 13 points.

Joe Lien manages only 10 minutes and 7 points due to foul difficulties, but Justin Judkins covers him with a career-high 10 points off the bench. The junior adds 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Alvaro Kinard goes missing again, scoring only 3 points. Bad Alvaro has apparently returned to the squad. Siena plays terribly, so we don't need Good Alvaro; we won't always be that fortunate.
Record: 7-2.


December 16, 2016
Lafayette 82, Coppin State 80
Coppin State has a veteran starting five, all juniors and seniors. They can score with anyone, but they don't play D. That's why they're basically a .500 team that wins or loses high scoring games...like this game turns out to be.

I would have paid to watch this one; it's close from start to finish. At no point does either team lead by more than four points. With 17 seconds left, we're up 78-77. Richard Leak, who is not known for his shooting, knocks down a short baseline jumper. We defend the Eagles well, denying their best shooters, and the man we'd most like to take a last-second three--Tony Duda--is the one who lets it fly. Because it's that kind of game, The Dude sinks it. It's 80-80, and I'm planning for overtime.

Daniel Warnock threw the discus and javelin as a high school track and field athlete. Making use of that powerful arm, DW fires an accurate inbounds pass to Joe Lien, who has just enough time to set his feet and shoot.

Night-night.

Joe finishes with 13 points and 7 assists. Good Alvaro shows up, and leads us with 18 points and 4 steals.
Record: 8-2.


December 18, 2016
We make our first appearance of the season in the Mid Major poll, rising 10 places to #10. Undefeated Charlotte is ranked #1, and Patriot League rival Holy Cross is at #23.


December 21, 2016
Norfolk State 72, Lafayette 65
We squander a three-point halftime advantage by forgetting how to shoot and giving the Spartans the basketball too often on turnovers.

Joe Lien gives us 23 points, and Daniel Warnock 15, but none of their teammates seem to feel like scoring. Bad Alvaro plays 30 minutes, commits five fouls and attempts five shots, one of which goes in. Otis Hall does good work on the boards, with 12 rebounds, and Samuel Davis is a disruptive defender (3 steals, 2 blocks).
Record: 8-3.


December 23, 2016
Lafayette 84, Hofstra 77
We survive another appearance from Bad Alvaro (1-9 from the floor, 6 points in 32 minutes) because Joe Lien splashes 6 three-balls en route to 30 points.

Samuel Davis continues to mess up opposing offenses (3 steals, 2 blocks again), and Daniel Warnock scores an efficient 16 points. Hofstra's 26-29 performance from the line is what makes this game somewhat close.
Record: 9-3.


December 26, 2016
Lafayette 60, La Salle 57
The Explorers lose Daniel Warnock on the last possession of the game, and he slashes to the hoop for an and-one that gives us another thrilling win in the closing seconds.

Until that moment, the star man had been Joe Lien, who notches his first career double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds.) We hold the Explorers to 30.9% shooting, which we need to do on a night when only one Leopard scores in double figures.

Freddie Alexander, a big man whom we recruited last fall, hits us for 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Record: 10-3.


December 29, 2016
Lafayette 60, Duquesne 59
The Last-Second Leopards close out the month with another great finish, this time in our opponent's gym. Good Alvaro hits nothing but net on a three from the top of the key as the buzzer sounds.

Mr. Kinard would be proclaimed Good Alvaro if that dagger were the only shot he made, but he already has 12 points and 4 assists before he lets it fly. Joe Lien matches AK with 15 points and 4 assists of his own.
Record: 11-3.

January 1, 2017
After a week away from the top half of the Mid Major poll, we're back up to #10 as the New Year arrives.

January 3, 2017
Lafayette 73, Yale 66
The three players on whom we rely for scoring all end up well in double figures, and that's usually a good formula for victory. Joe Lien leads the way with 17, Good Alvaro contributes 15, and Daniel Warnock pitches in 14. Kinard also bedevils the Bulldogs all night long, making 6 steals.

Lien seems to be adjusting well to the role of a true lead guard. He's averaging 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, while always drawing the opposition's best perimeter defender.

I forgot to post the Patriot League records before the first game of the conference season. That's why American and Navy, who have both won a conference game so far, are at the top of the list instead of Lafayette and Holy Cross.



January 7, 2017
Lafayette 74, Colgate 60
Now is when it starts to matter most for Graham Sims, who's been told by his AD that another conference championship is an expectation.

The Red Raiders lock down Daniel Warnock, and we endure 20 minutes of Bad Alvaro (5 points, 4 fouls). However, Joe Lien drops his customary 16 and Samuel Davis reaches a new career high with 15. Oddly, we make a higher percentage of our field goal attempts (55.8%) than our free throws (52.9%).

Props to sophomore big Johnathan Blouin, who scores 8 points and grabs 4 rebounds in 13 very productive minutes. JB rarely played last season, but this year he's seen action in every game and is playing well: 3.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in just over 10 minutes per game.
Record: 13-3 (1-0).


January 8, 2017
We're ranked #9 in the Mid Major poll this week.


January 11, 2017
American 72, Lafayette 68
Poor shooting, especially from long range (3-26!! from behind the arc) and 20 turnovers doom us against an Eagles team that looks better than last year's edition.

Samuel Davis performs a decent imitation of a young James Sanders: 4-4 from the field, 12 points, 7 rebounds, but with a side order of 3 blocked shots. Limited to 18 minutes by foul trouble, Joe Lien posts a 12/4/4 (pts/reb/ast) line. Alvaro Kinard unveils a new personality: AK Rifleman. This incarnation hangs out behind the three-point line and pulls the trigger whenever he gets a chance. All 8 of his attempts come from there, and he makes 3. That means AKR's teammates fling 18 bricks without a single example of success.

This is our first loss in the Patriot League since February 11, 2015. Navy beat us that day, 79-76. I remember us losing both games to them that season.


January 14, 2017
Lafayette 73, Lehigh 62
I thought Coach Sims's teams had fared well against our traditional rival, so I looked up the facts. I was right, this victory gives him a 10-1 career record against the Mountain Hawks.

Otis Hall is the big boss today, posting an assertive double-double (14 points, 15 rebounds). But Joe Lien is named Player of the Game for his 21-point, 6-assist performance. Freshman Daniel Warnock continues to build his case for post-season recognition with 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Both teams' centers take their rim protection duties seriously. Lehigh's Papillon Lecroix floats like the butterfly he is and stings like a bee, blocking 3 shots. Our Samuel Davis beats him by two. Big Sazzy leads the Patriot League with just over two blocks per game.
Record: 14-4 (2-1).


January 15, 2017
Our 1-1 week causes the voters to drop us back down to #10 in the Mid Major poll. Temple (14-2) are at the top of the rankings. Meanwhile, Syracuse, Kansas, Pitt, Texas, and North Carolina make up the top five in the national poll.

January 18, 2017
Lafayette 72, Army 60
A strong second half enables us to pull away from a pesky Army team. Daniel Warnock leads us with 23 points, on a night when nobody else breaks 10. Good Alvaro scores only 8, but contributes with 10 rebounds. Samuel Davis joins him in double figures in that category with 11.

Despite committing 20 turnovers again, we manage to find a way to win. So does American, also 3-1 in Patriot League play, but with the tiebreaker advantage over us.
Record: 15-4 (3-1).


January 21, 2017
Lafayette 83, Holy Cross 67
We record a satisfying victory up in Worcester, performing well in every aspect of the game. We hit half our shots and over 40% of our threes, record assists on 22 baskets, commit only 9 turnovers while forcing 20, and hold the Crusaders to 41.7% shooting.

Again, we get a big game from Daniel Warnock, who scores 20 points and goes 4-8 from three point range. That performance actually LOWERS his percentage from behind the arc; he's now 44-84 for the season. Joe Lien finishes with 19 points and 6 assists, and Good Alvaro and Samuel Davis pitch in 13 and 11, respectively.
Record: 16-4 (4-1).


January 25, 2017
Lafayette 91, Navy 62
Now up to #8 in the Mid Major poll, we sink the Navy by firing away with all guns blazing. We squeeze off 73 field goal attempts, including 33 from behind the arc, and hit enough of them to put a bunch of points on the scoreboard.

It's another Good Alvaro day: 22 points, on 8-12 shooting (6-10 from distance) and 3 steals. Otis Hall (13), Samuel Davis (12), and Joe Lien (10) join Kinard in double figures. Lien shoots terribly--4 for 21--but dishes out 8 assists. Otis falls one rebound short of a double-double.

American keeps winning, so we remain tied with them. We've opened up a two-game lead on the rest of the conference.
Record: 17-4 (5-1).


January 28, 2017
Lafayette 73, Bucknell 67
The Bison enter the game with a 6-14 record, and they've only won twice in league play. They don't play like a team with a record like that today, and we escape with a narrow victory.

Despite a 21-point effort from Joe Lien, it's a scoresheet-filling Good Alvaro who takes home the Player of the Game award on the strength of his 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Otis Hall gets his double-double this time with 10 points and 10 boards. And Justin Judkins hits a career-high 10 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

Holy Cross does us a favor by beating American, 64-58, so we're in sole possession of the Patriot League lead at the halfway mark of the conference season.
Record: 18-4 (6-1).


January 30, 2017
Lafayette 71, Toledo 62
This year's out-of-conference hiatus takes us out to Toledo. The Rockets are a decent MAC team, led by a veteran coach named Lenny Wendell who is a consummate scout.

Wendell does a good job preparing his players, who open up a 37-32 halftime lead. We have a more talented team, however--Toledo has no starter better than Yellow, while Alvaro Kinard and Joe Lien are Green/Blue--and we take command of the game in the second half.

Lien leads all scorers with 23 points, and Alvaro shows signs of Good (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and Bad (4 turnovers). Daniel Warnock finishes with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

We come in at #9 in this week's Mid Major poll.
Record: 19-4 (6-1).

February 1, 2017
Here are the Patriot League standings at the halfway pole:

Lehigh has bounced back from a rough start, playing well enough to find themselves in the top half of the conference table. Colgate, on the other hand, has not coped well with the loss of coach Brian Smith, who led them to a 25-8 record and a trip to the Big Dance. Smith, you might remember, is now at Holy Cross...a twist of fate that has turned the Red Raiders and Crusaders into bitter rivals.


February 4, 2017
Lafayette 71, Colgate 60
Speaking of Colgate, we travel up to New York and hand the home team another Patriot League loss.

Our usual high scorers all reach double figures again: Good Alvaro (11), Joe Lien (14), and Daniel Warnock (16). The real story, however, comes from Samuel Davis. He ties the Patriot League record with 8 blocked shots, matching the performance of Navy's Gerald Bechtel on March 5, 2014.

The Leopards' victory gives Graham Sims his fifth straight season of at least 20 wins.
Record: 20-4 (7-1).


February 8, 2017
Lehigh 55, Lafayette 44
At halftime, we hold a commanding 35-19 lead, and another victory looks like it's in the bag. We score only NINE POINTS the rest of the way and suffer the most frustrating defeat of Graham Sims's career.

The only real highlights are another 6 blocks from Big Sazzy and 10 rebounds from his fellow frontcourt dog, Otis Hall.

The Bubble Watch says we're in the tournament field, but that might change after this result.
Record: 20-5 (7-2).


February 11, 2017
Lafayette 73, American 39
We take out our frustrations on an Eagles team that has struggled mightily of late. They've lost 4 of their last 5 games, and they're out of this one within minutes. That will happen when you make only 26 percent of your shots.

Joe Lien, the league's leading scorer, finishes with 19. Daniel Warnock adds to his case for Freshman of the Year with another 16 points. Samuel Davis turns away 4 shots. Otis Hall contributes 10 points and 11 rebounds. Johnathan Blouin relieves Davis and is even more fearsome, getting 3 blocks in 13 minutes.

I realized I'd accidentally buried freshman big man James Standard on the depth chart, and made him unhappy. I fix this oversight in time to get James on the floor tonight, and he rewards me with two rebounds in three minutes.
Record: 21-5 (8-2).


February 12, 2017
We're ranked #6 in the Mid Major poll this week. I'd stopped writing separate notes about each poll, but this week, I notice something fun. We receive 9 points in the national poll...the same number as Duke. :)

The Blue Devils have an interesting history in this universe. They've only made it as far as the Sweet Sixteen once, in 2012/13. The next two seasons ended with losses in the first round of the tournament, and they failed to make it past Round 2 of the NIT in 2015/16.

Their coach, Louie Smith, is an absymal recruiter (14). Assistant Paul Lowder (100) can charm peaches from a pine tree, but if I understand how the game's mechanics work, Paul can only make Duke's overall recruiting score rise as high as 57. No wonder the Blue Devils have never had the ACC's best recruiting class, and were the worst in this category last season.

I know there's much more to landing recruits than the coaches' scores, but on that measure, we have the Blue Devils beat. Graham Sims (77) and Steven Manion (60) combine for a score of 68.5.


February 15, 2017
Lafayette 64, Holy Cross 59
This matchup of the two top teams in the Patriot League ends with us holding a two-game lead in the standings. We don't shoot well (37.7% from the floor), but we avoid other kinds of mistakes and do enough to win.

22 points and 5 rebounds earn Joe Lien the Player of the Game nod. Good Alvaro adds an efficient 14 points, Otis Hall pitches in 10, and Daniel Warnock falls one rebound short of a double double (10/9).

Both teams attempt 53 field goals and make 20. We make one more three-pointer and 4 more free throws, and those things make the difference.
Record: 22-5 (9-2).


February 18, 2017
Lafayette 72, Army 44
Today is a festive day at the Kirby Center.

It's Senior Day, and point guard Armando Brown starts the game and plays so well that he gets much, much more than the obligatory few minutes of court time. Armando plays 29 minutes and delivers a 16-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound performance. When he leaves the game with 44 seconds remaining, he receives a standing ovation and a series of warm embraces from his teammates. Armando is a deserving choice for Player of the Game.

I wonder, somewhat poignantly, if Armando could have done this every night if I'd given him the chance?

His fellow senior, Alvaro Kinard, scores 11 points. Joe Lien leads all scorers with 19 points, and Otis Hall grabs 11 rebounds.

Our victory clinches Graham Sims' fourth straight Patriot League championship. Holy Cross is two games behind us, and we've beaten the Crusaders twice this season.
Record: 23-5 (10-2).


February 22, 2017
Lafayette 75, Navy 68
53 points from Joe Lien (29) and Alvaro Kinard (24) are enough to dispatch a feisty Navy team. That's a career high for Good Alvaro.

Armando Brown gets another start, and he plays fairly well--5 assists with only 1 turnover--but we don't play with our usual efficiency. Daniel Warnock doesn't adapt well to coming off the bench. We'll return to our usual starting lineup for our final conference game.
Record: 24-5 (11-2).


February 25, 2017
Lafayette 77, Bucknell 52
We close out the regular season with an easy victory out in Lewisburg.

Joe Lien (21 points) and Alvaro Kinard (15) are our leading scorers. Daniel Warnock adds 12 in his return to the starting five. Armando Brown gives us 27 effective minutes as our sixth man, Johnathan Blouin pitches in 6 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes, and Justin Judkins gives us a jolt of offense with 9 points in as many minutes. This eight-man rotation might be very effective in tournament play.
Record: 25-5 (12-2).


Graham's teams have a 50-6 record in Patriot League play over the past four seasons.

March 1, 2017
We begin the week with our highest-ever ranking in the Mid Major poll.



March 1, 2017
Patriot League Tournament, First Round
(1) Lafayette 72, (8) Army 61
We play a solid all-around game, doing what we need to do to advance.

The scorers score (Joe Lien 20, Daniel Warnock 17, Alvaro Kinard 11). The passers pass (Armando Brown 5, Lien 3). The defenders defend (Lien 2 steals, Samuel Davis 5 blocks). And everybody rebounds (Otis Hall 9, Davis 7, Warnock 6, both guards 5).

We face American next; they routed #4 seed Navy, 86-67. #2 Lehigh and #3 Holy Cross also advance, as expected.
Record: 26-5.


March 5, 2017
Patriot League Tournament Semifinal
(1) #25 Lafayette 65, (5) American 54
On a day when our shots aren't falling, we turn up the defense a few notches and take care of a pesky American team.

The lean, 6'11" form of Samuel Davis will haunt the Eagles' dreams for some time to come. Big Sazzy blocked 4 shots and made 3 steals, and found time to score 10 points. He even stepped behind the arc to knock down a pair of triples.

Daniel Warnock scored 13 points, while Otis Hall and Joe Lien had 14 apiece. Otis pulled in 10 rebounds to complete another double-double, his fourth of the season.

Alvaro Kinard played 24 minutes and only managed to attempt one shot, which he missed. He did contribute 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

We've only made it to the Patriot League tournament final once. We beat Bucknell in 2013. This year, we'll face Holy Cross, who beat Lehigh, 97-90, in the other semifinal. A victory would be our 28th of the season, a a new record for the Graham Sims era at Lafayette.

Today's polls had us at #2 in the Mid Major rankings, and barely in the Top 25.
Record: 27-5.


March 10, 2017
Patriot League Tournament Championship
(3) Holy Cross 80, (1) #25 Lafayette 75
Holy Cross earns a ticket to the Big Dance with a clutch victory in the Patriot League final.

The Crusaders couldn't miss in the first half, reeling off 45 points and opening up a 10-point advantage. To our credit, we fight our way back and take the lead. We're ahead as late as the 2:03 mark, when Otis Hall' sinks two free throws to make the score 71-70.
A three-pointer by senior guard Frank Adams with just under a minute remaining proves to be the winning shot. Adams, the Player of the Game, finishes the game with 10 points and 10 assists.

Joe Lien leads all scorers with 22 points, and adds 6 assists. Daniel Warnock (13) and Alvaro Kinard (11) also post double figures. Otis Hall and Samuel Davis post identical 9-point, 10-rebound stat lines. Davis also torments the Crusaders with 3 blocks and 3 steals.

We don't play badly; they simply play better. Props to them.
Record: 27-6.

March 12, 2017
We fall to #3 in the Mid Major poll.

The NCAA tournament draw sends us out to the West Region, where we earn the #9 seed. Our opponent will be the #8 seed, Arizona State. The Sun Devils enter the game with a 23-10 record, and finished second in the Pac-10 with a 12-6 record.

Holy Cross will have a tougher task, at least on paper. A 14 seed, they'll play Syracuse.

American barely ekes out a spot in the CBI. The 16 seed Eagles will face top-seeded South Dakota.


March 17, 2017
NCAA West Region, First Round
(9) Lafayette 58, (8) Arizona State 45
Some basketball games aren't pretty. Good teams find ways to win ugly, and that's what we do today.

The closest thing to style is contributed by Joe Lien, who nets a game-high 24 points. The only other Leopard in double figures is Daniel Warnock, with 12.

All five of our starters get either 5 or 6 rebounds, which is pretty cool. Winning an NCAA tournament game is even cooler, though.

The best story from the first round is a victory for 15 seed Coppin State, who knock off USC, 73-61. We beat them by 2 back in December, on a game-winning three by Joe Lien.

Holy Cross gives Syracuse a tough battle, finally losing 86-82.

And American pulls off the 16-over-1 upset, edging South Dakota, 78-74. Up next for the Eagles is George Mason.

The bad thing about being a 9 seed is what happens if you win your game. Your next opponent is the 1 seed; in this case, it's Kansas State.
Record: 28-6.


March 19, 2017
NCAA West Region, Second Round
(1) #12 Kansas State 77, (9) Lafayette 60
We play very well for 20 minutes, taking a 35-31 lead when Samuel Davis finishes a fast break with an assertive driving layup. However, the Wildcats roar back over the course of a furious eight-minute run, outscoring us 30-9 and taking a 63-44 lead. We don't have a comeback in us, and so it ends.

In his final collegiate game, Armando Brown comes off the bench to score 11 points and record 2 steals. Fellow senior Alvaro Kinard finishes with 9 points. Davis plays well, leading us with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and another 3 rejections. K-State's veteran backcourt frustrates Joe Lien, who makes only two field goals and finishes with 8 points.
Record: 28-7.


March 20, 2017
American's Cinderella story will continue for another chapter. They advance to the CIT semifinal with an 86-65 victory over George Mason.


March 22, 2017
Detroit beats American, 65-52, to end the season of the final Patriot League team left standing.


April 1, 2017
This year's NCAA championship game will feature Boston College and Texas. The #13 Eagles won an all-ACC Final Four matchup against unranked Duke, while the #5 Longhorns upset #1 seed Kansas in a Big 12 clash.

April 3, 2017
Boston College is crowned national champion after hammering Texas, 78-48. Sophomore guard Will Adams scores 22 points and is named the Player of the Game.

April 3, 2017

It's a big day for the Leopards as the Patriot League awards are announced.


If I'd bet on which Lafayette player would be most likely to make the All-League first team, I would have picked league-leading scorer Joe Lien. Joe does earn post-season honors, but he's on the second team at his "official" position, SF (although he's run the point for us all year).

Instead, THREE other players earn spots on the first team!

I'm delighted to see our pair of sophomore big men, Samuel Davis and Otis Hall, recognized for their hard-nosed play. The voters dig blocked shots, and nobody in the league does that better than Big Sazzy. O-Hall's performance earns him the team's respect as our Blue Collar Man.

I'm even happier for Alvaro Kinard. I'll tell the story of the meandering path he took through his collegiate career in his Senior Tribute. It's great to see it end on such a positive note.

To nobody's surprise, Daniel Warnock is named Freshman of the Year, and earns a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Robert Wiley, to whom we offered a scholarship, joins him.

And Graham Sims wins his third Patriot League Coach of the Year Award.

Then I spot this message in my inbox...

"SF Joe Lien has decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility in order to enter the draft. His scholarship is now available for the current recruiting period."

I didn't see this coming. Joe's good, but I didn't think he was THAT good. Joe isn't listed among the top 50 in the association-wide rankings.

I check the uncommitted players who remain in this season's recruiting pool, and there's nobody I care about signing. I'll hold on to Joe's scholarship and offer it to a player in the Class of 2018.

April 3, 2017


Once again, we play defense with the tenacity that's become part of the culture I'm trying to create at Lafayette. So far, it's been a successful formula, one that's established us as one of the nation's better mid-major programs.




Joe Lien led the Patriot League in scoring. Samuel Davis was its leading shot blocker, and Daniel Warnock had the conference's best three-point shooting percentage. Alvaro Kinard placed first among qualifying players in field goal percentage. Warnock was also second among qualifiers players in points per shot. Otis Hall was third in rebounds per game.

Next: the Senior Tributes, plus a goodbye for another player who is leaving us this spring.

2016/17 Farewell

JOE LIEN

Joe arrived in Easton amid great fanfare. A high three-star recruit, he scored an other-wordly 36 points per game as a high school senior in Newton, New Jersey. Joe was expected to make an immediate impact at the collegiate level, and that's just what he did.


Joe paired with Hubert Song to form a dynamic backcourt duo for two seasons. He was the glamour boy of the pair, a more dynamic scorer and a flashier ballhandler and passer.

Like most shooters, Joe could be streaky, but his ability to get to the rim made him a dangerous scorer even when his jumper wasn't dropping. And as he matured, Joe became a more well-rounded player; he was always a very good rebounder for his size, and while he was not in any sense of the word a pure point guard, he ran the team's offense creditably as a junior.

This year, Joe led the Patriot League in scoring, and he made his third consecutive All-Patriot League second team. He leaves our program as its second leading all-time scorer, 52 points behind his former backcourt mate Hubert Song. Had he played four years, Joe would have almost certainly broken Jack Jessie's conference record of 2,105. Never known for his diligence in the classroom, Joe nonetheless managed to keep himself academically eligible throughout his three years on campus.

Thanks for the memories, Joe.

2016/17 Senior Tribute

ARMANDO BROWN

Unlike Joe Lien, Armando was almost completely bypassed by recruiters during his career at Wadleigh Secondary School in New York City. We always thought he was a player, and he turned out to be a valuable member of our backcourt rotation for four seasons.


Armando arrived on campus with a reputation as a stalwart defender and a reliable ballhandler. Right away, we made use of his ability to slow down dynamic opposing guards, the kind of players who ran right past guys like Joe Lien.

Along the way, Armando developed enough offensive chops to force teams to guard him. An atrocious three-point shooter as a freshman, he made nearly 39 percent of his shots from distance as a senior.

An exceptional student, Armando will complete a degree in economics in May, and he'll begin graduate school at New York University in the fall.

When I was recruiting him, I said this about him: "Armando is the kind of player I want to coach, as I shape the character of the Lafayette basketball program." That's precisely the player, and man, we got.

Thanks for the memories, Armando.

2016/17 Senior Tribute

ALVARO KINARD

There was never a dull moment with this mercurial wing from NYC. Alvaro was the Patriot League Freshman of the Year. He also nearly played himself out of the rotation more than once. And he ended his career as an All-Conference player, displaying once again the form he'd shown as a first year.


AK was two players in one. Good Alvaro could beat a team in myriad ways. His smooth jumper was accurate to well past the three-point arc. He could bring the crowd to its feet with a social media-worthy dunk. He applied himself to the task of rebounding, and his long arms enabled him to disrupt passing lanes almost at will.

Bad Alvaro could play 30 minutes of basketball without anyone noticing he was in the game. He wandered around on offense, rarely touching the ball. He fouled the player he was guarding and fired up opponents by trash-talking them.

Kinard could stay in each persona for games at a time, but when several Bad Alvaro performances in a row had me on the verge of burying him on the depth chart, Good Alvaro would re-emerge and boss an important game.

We got more Good Alvaro this season than ever before, so he capped his Lafayette career with a spot on the Patriot League's All-Conference first team. The teams for which Alvaro played compiled a 108-26 record. That's a winning percentage of .857. That'll do.

Alvaro graduates next month with a degree in psychology. He'll pursue graduate work and hopes to work as a school counselor.

Thanks for the memories, Alvaro.

April 8, 2017
Joe Lien's decision to enter the pro draft looks like it might have been a good one after all. He's selected in the second round, the #42 overall selection. Good luck to him as he begins his professional career.

We also learn that our facilities will be upgraded, beginning next season. Since the email is dated in April, I wonder if "next season" means 2017/18 or 2018/19? I checked our stats, and our facilities score is 28. That's good for third place in the Patriot League. I'll look next year and see if it changes.


May 1, 2017

I think Holy Cross's recruiting class ranks ahead of ours based on quantity, as much as on quality. We both have two three-star players joining us, but the Crusaders are adding two more one-star guys. Those players can, of course, turn out to be valuable contributors. Rhett King, for example, was a one-star recruit who became an All-Conference player.

And, don't forget that Todd DeHaven is, in effect, a member of this class, since he redshirted last season.


May 1, 2017
Our prestige has gone up six more points, to 56. Holy Cross (47) and American (43) occupy the next tier of Patriot League programs, with Bucknell (34) and Colgate (31) coming next.

This year's Head Coach rounds are uneventful. No program in Pennsylvania offers Coach Sims a job, and none of the offers he does receive would have tempted me anyway. I like it here at Lafayette, and I'm willing to stay here and work on the project of constructing a mid-major powerhouse.

None of the teams in the Patriot League make coaching changes for the upcoming season.

May 1, 2017
Graham Sims and his assistants are now a year older, but otherwise, their coaching profiles look the same. Recruiting assistant Steven Manion, lead scout Donn McClinton, and X-and-O man Thomas Liang will all return to their posts for the upcoming season.


Joe Lien's decision to enter the draft leaves us with an available scholarship...so for the first time, Coach Sims and I will be taking part in the transfer round! Let's see how this works. The help file doesn't give me any information, so I fully admit I might have to re-save a couple of times before I figure it out.

When I click on Transfers, I see a list of the players who have entered the portal. Two of them express interest in playing for us. One of them is Lionel Lessard, a 6'4" wing from Windber, PA who played for Pittsburgh last season.

Lionel was the #41 player in the Class of 2016, a solid four-star recruit. He played 25 minutes for the Panthers as a freshman. No wonder he wants to leave...

I can see a list of the programs Lionel is considering. We appear to be Lionel's fourth choice, behind Florida, Southern Illinois, and Arizona. New Mexico is #5 on his list.

I quickly offer Lionel a scholarship.

From Lionel's page, it looks like I have the option to "Watch Player." I'll try that. I'm also going to Watch a player named David Lindholm, a SF who is transferring from Princeton, and SF David Smith, departing Appalachian State. Then I spot wing David Sale, whom I recruited last season and lost to UConn, and guard Carl McGough, who is leaving St. Joseph's. Neither Carl nor any of the Davids have us on his list. I can offer these players, too, so I go ahead and do that. I wonder what will happen when I advance to the next round?

None of the players accept our offer. Lionel Lessard got the offer of his dreams from Florida, so he's off to Gainesville.

In the next round, nobody appears to have any interest in coming to play for us. Nor are any of them especially tempting. I'll click through the remaining stages.

The empty spot on our roster is filled by a nondescript freshman walk-on who was ranked #1824 in last year's senior class.

July 1, 2017

Let's meet your 2017/18 Lafayette College Leopards!


I'll write more about the team once we finish training camp and take care of any players who might redshirt.

August 1, 2017
There's one senior player on scholarship: point guard Justin Judkins. The departure of Joe Lien, and my decision to hold onto his scholarship rather than offer it to an unimpressive transfer, means we'll have two schollies to offer this cycle, just like I thought we'd have all along.

We're still well-stocked with big men, so I'll be looking mostly at perimeter players this year.

It didn't take long for me to identify our #1 recruiting target: a point guard from nearby Pottsville, PA named Rob Prendergast.


Rob is a solid three-star recruit, ranked #456 nationwide. We've been landing guys with better national reputations lately--both members of last year's class were in the #200 range--but our staff think Rob is an Orange/Blue player who will punch above his weight.

I like Rob's potential as a shooter and a passer, and he's already a lockdown defender. He's quick and athletic, so I'm thinking he has a good chance of reaching his lofty potential.

We're at the top of Rob's list of three schools, none of which have offered him yet. I'm moving quick with this player. I offer Rob a scholarship, invite him to campus, and send Coaches Sims and Manion to visit him.

We've had some success recruiting three-star guards from New Jersey who stand 6'3" and average over 30 points a game in high school. Why not try it again? Meet Robert Close.


I went back and looked at Joe Lien's scouting report from high school, and Robert is fairly similar to the player Joe was at a similar stage in his career. Lien was the superior shooter and ballhandler, but he wasn't Close to Robert's level as a defender. (Yes, I know what I did there.) But Robert is a Red/Green recruit, while Joe was a glittering Yellow/Blue prospect who lived up to his potential and will be playing basketball for a living.

Should I offer Joe's old scholarship to this promising scorer? He's expressed Average interest in us, but we're clearly among his favorite programs. We have plenty of money to spend on an all-out recruiting effort, complete with a visit to campus. Before I offer him, I'll take a look at some of the other players we've evaluated. We have money in our budget to woo them in various ways.

I've learned, however, that if you want to land a recruit at the top of your range, you need to move quickly. I've lost a few guys by being too indecisive, or by chasing players who were out of our league. I'm going to trust my gut and offer Close this month.

September 1, 2017
We remain Rob Prendergast's top choice. There are now four other schools on his list, but we're the only one who has offered him a scholarship.

Robert Close upgrades his interest in our program to Very High, which is a very good sign. But he's also received an offer from St. John's, whose Prestige is 78 (to our 56). Coaches Sims and Manion are better recruiters, however.

Now it gets tough, doesn't it? The safe move would be to pull the offer from Close and give it to another player...but almost all the players who are high on our "wish list" have offers from programs of equal or greater Prestige.

There's one notable exception, though. We have discovered a talented player from England named Matthew Ackerman.


One of the top 200 players in this year's recruiting class, Matthew appears to be a well-rounded basketball player who does almost everything fairly well. He's also apparently a very good shot blocker, especially for a 6'3" guard.

I decide our chances of signing Ackerman, who has flown under the radar so far, are better than our chances of luring Close away from a much more prestigious program. We pull our offer from Close and give it to Ackerman, and spend $15,000 of our monthly budget to fly Coach Sims out to meet him and invite him to visit us.

Our previous foray into international recruiting landed us Venceslás Castillo. Can we achieve that kind of success again?

October 1, 2017

I think I made the right decision about Robert Close. He signs with St. John's this month.

Matthew Ackerman seems very pleased with our offer. He also likes Marquette, but they haven't offered him a scholarship yet. Coach Sims will visit him this month, and Coach Manion will join him.

I think we're close to signing Rob Prendergast. He's narrowed his choice down to Lafayette and Virginia Commonwealth. VCU hasn't offered him yet. Hopefully one more month of intense recruiting will be enough to get Rob's commitment.

November 1, 2017

Good news: Rob Prendergast signs with us! I think we have ourselves a good one here; he's already rated as an Orange player, and none of the guards on our roster now are better than that. And, if we're right about his Blue potential, we could have a future star in the making.

Our other target, Matthew Ackerman, is still considering our offer. He's still expressing Very High interest, and his other preferred school, Marquette, hasn't offered him yet. Coach Sims and Coach Manion will fit another trip to Staffordshire into their increasingly busy schedules this month.

Tim Hutchinson is willing to redshirt this year, but we need him on the court. Once upon a time, we believed he could understudy Joe Lien for a year before he stepped into the starting lineup. That's no longer an option.

November 5, 2017

Training camp is over. Let's see how we improved!


Samuel Davis has become an even more fearsome inside presence, with added shot blocking and defensive prowess. Richard Leak made big strides as a ballhandler and passer, and so did first year Jamie Kelso. Johnathan Blouin and Otis Hall appear ready to battle more tenaciously for rebounds.

November 12, 2017

Graham Sims' 2017/18 Lafayette team might begin the season with a starting five that contains only one player who started the last game of the season before.

The only sure thing is center Samuel Davis. The 6'11" junior is not known for his scoring, but he is an elite rim protector. He's on pace to end his career as the Patriot League's all-time leading shot blocker.

Davis made the All-Conference first team, and so did forward Otis Hall. Sophomore Otis was the team's leading rebounder last year (7.7 RPG), but he might find himself coming off the bench this season.

His classmate Daniel Warnock, the Patriot League's Freshman of the Year, will probably be Sims' choice to start at small forward. He's the team's leading returning scorer (11.2 PPG last season).

Ordinarily Hall and Warnock would both be automatic starters, but the presence of redshirt freshman Todd DeHaven complicates matters in a very pleasant manner. The Philadelphia product combines a scorer's mentality with the ruggedness to play defense and rebound well. The AI's depth chart includes DeHaven at the four, and Warnock at the three.

The graduation of Alvaro Kinard and the departure of Joe Lien will require Sims to employ a new backcourt pair. Junior Richard Leak will be the starting point guard. Richard is a facilitator who distributes the ball and takes good care of it.

The shooting guard will be sophomore Jack Senn or freshman Tim Hutchinson. Senn is understandably the more polished player, and he's the superior defender. Hutchinson might have more upside, and he is better at creating his own shots. They're both good shooters, and they'll both play a lot.

These seven players will make up the core of the Lafayette rotation. Behind them, a group consisting of guards Justin Judkins and Jamie Kelso and bigs Johnathan Blouin, Raleigh McGinty, and James Standard will compete for court time. Senior Judkins has been productive in a reserve role before.

The Lafayette roster has been almost completely transformed over the past two seasons. That could be a good thing, but the Leopards posted a 55-13 record over those years. They went 26-2 in league play, won the Patriot League twice, and earned two NCAA tournament berths. Indeed, over the past four years or so, Lafayette has earned a reputation as one of the country's toughest mid-major teams. Can Sims and his staff guide this leap of Leopards to similar heights?

November 13, 2017
Las Vegas Challenge, First Round
(5) Lafayette 83, (4) Texas Tech 79
This year, we've been invited out to Vegas for a pre-season tournament! We're seeded fifth in the eight-team field, and we win a Texas-style shootout against our four-seed opponent from Lone Star State.

Six of our players finish the game with at least ten "good somethings" to their credit.

For Tim Hutchinson (14), Todd DeHaven (13), Daniel Warnock (11), Otis Hall (11), and Jack Senn (10), that "good something" is points. Hutchinson and DeHaven are playing their first collegiate game; Hall and Senn come off the bench and bring the ruckus.

For Samuel Davis, it's rebounds (10). Samuel also blocks 6 Red Raider shots.

And senior Justin Judkins deserves special mention for his 8 points and 9 rebounds in 23 minutes. We needed JJ because Richard Leak fouled out before he had much impact on the game. His rebound total is particularly impressive for a 6'1" guard.
Record: 1-0.


November 15, 2017
Las Vegas Challenge Semi-Final
(1) #3 Villanova 76, (5) Lafayette 68
For Graham Sims, Villanova '01, today's game has special meaning. Eastern Pennsylvania has been Graham's home for over half his life now, and deep in his heart he would love one day to coach the team he walked on to twenty years ago. Tonight, he coaches against them for the first time.

Villanova fans loved Graham as a player. In the closing minutes of games the Wildcats led by large margins, they chanted Graham's name, asking the coaches to bring him in. Graham's appearances were always greeted with excitement, and his baskets--he made eight of them in Wildcats home games, four of them from three-point range--never failed to bring the crowd to their feet.

Tonight, the Villanova contingent greets him with warm applause, which he acknowledges with a smile and a wave. He gets the same reception after the game, in which his Lafayette team acquits itself well against one of the sport's elite programs.

The Wildcats are loaded. Four of their starters were five-star recruits as high schoolers, and they bring another five-star player off their bench. Sophomore forward Gerald Eubanks and junior center John Maynor are among the top five pro prospects in college basketball.

We give Villanova a fair fight, and the crowd in attendance a good show. Samuel Davis battles Maynor tenaciously. John posts a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double, adding 6 blocked shots, but Samuel scores 13, makes a pair of threes, and grabs 7 rebounds. He's certainly not embarrassed by the talented Wildcat. Eubanks leads all scorers with 18, but Daniel Warnock scores 12 points of his own. And Jack Senn's 11 points off our bench are two more than Villanova's reserves combined, a group that includes five-star freshman Lionel Riley.

We can hold our heads up after this loss.
Record: 1-1.


November 20, 2017
Las Vegas Challenge, Consolation Round
(5) Lafayette 63, (3) UTEP 43
First-year guard Tim Hutchinson's 18 points lead us to an easy victory over Texas-El Paso in the consolation round of the Vegas Challenge.

After we open up a 15-point halftime advantage, the outcome is never truly in doubt. UTEP's three perimeter players shoot a combined 8-36 from the field. It's hard to win when your opponent won't let you score.

Jack Senn continues to light it up in his sixth man role. Today he shoots a perfect 5-for5 from the field, four of them from three-point territory, and 2-for-2 from the line. That's 16 points, and he got them in 19 minutes.
Record: 2-1.


November 28, 2017
Lafayette 75, @Seton Hall 68
We outplay the Pirates during the second half, making up a one-point halftime deficit with a strong all-around effort.

Freshmen Todd DeHaven (14 points, 8 rebounds) and Tim Hutchinson (12 points) play well, and so do sophomore Richard Leak (7 assists) and junior Samuel Davis (6 points, 6 blocks). But today's big star is Daniel Warnock, who hits seven threes en route to a 29-point performance.
Record: 3-1.


November 30, 2017
Delaware State 67, @Lafayette 66
Opening Night at the Kirby Center doesn't go the way we planned. It's a close game, but we ought to do better against this team after playing so well against bigger opponents.

Daniel Warnock continues to score at a high rate, finishing with 23 points, and Jack Senn adds 13 more off the bench. No other Leopard shows much inclination to score, however. Samuel Davis blocks three shots, and that actually lowers his season average.
Record: 3-2.

December 1, 2017
The last month of the year begins on a festive note, as Matthew Ackerman commits to play for Lafayette.

Matthew hails from the Staffordshire market town of Rugeley. He's quite highly regarded by those in the know: they rate him #11 among foreign players and #36 among shooting guards anywhere in the world. Matthew has been a productive scorer in high school, combining a catch-and-shoot game with the ability to get to the rim. We'll find out if those skills will play at the college level, or whether he'll have to carve out a role as a spot-up shooter.


December 4, 2017
Lafayette 93, @Princeton 80
Princeton's season has so far been a microcosm of their history in this universe: success alternating with failure, never moving too far toward one extreme or the other. They're a tough opponent at home, however, and they prove it by putting up 80 points. Fortunately for us, we score 93, 57 of those coming after halftime as we come back from three points down.

Tonight is Todd DeHaven's coming out party. The freshman drops 29 points on the Tigers, including 13-of-14 from the free throw line, and adds 9 boards for good measure. Daniel Warnock contributes 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Otis Hall (13 pts/8 reb off the bench) and Tim Hutchinson (12 pts) provide quality assistance. Richard Leak keeps everyone happy with 6 assists.

But as people file out of Jadwin Gymnasium into the frosty night, they're talking as much about Samuel Davis as they are about DeHaven. Big Sazzy rejects 8 shots, tying the Patriot League record for blocked shots, which he already shared. You can't assume that all the shots Samuel blocked would go in, but if they do, Princeton wins.
Record: 4-2.


December 7, 2017
@Lafayette 67, Duquesne 62
Back we go to the Kirby Center for a different sort of game against a cross-state rival. Tonight defense plays a larger role, as we open up a big lead by halftime and resist the Dukes' attempts to reel us back in.

Tonight's high scorer is Tim Hutchinson with 18. Daniel Warnock, our top points-getter for the season (16.4 a game), has 13. Sixth man Jack Senn matches his season average with 10. Duquesne obviously watched some film of Todd DeHaven, because they do a good job of denying him the ball and hold him to 9 points. They can't keep Todd off the boards, however; he leads all rebounders with 13.

And they can't stop Samuel Davis from blocking any shot he can reach. He does so five times. There's a dude down at East Carolina named Jose Forehand who's blocked nearly 300 shots in his career. He's the only player in the country who leads our Mr. Davis in this season's shot blockers' race.
Record: 5-2.


December 9, 2017
@Lafayette 72, Canisius 49
When I look at the box score for a Lafayette game, I first check to see how many shots Samuel Davis blocks. Today, the answer is "four." He also has 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 points.

Daniel Warnock is again our leading scorer, coolly dropping in 20 points. The AI doesn't think he should start, but I think I'm doing just fine ignoring this instruction. He's second in the Patriot League in scoring, behind Army's productive sophomore guard, Chris Buckley.

Todd DeHaven gets the Leopards' first double-double of the season: 16 points, 11 rebounds.
Record: 6-2.


December 13, 2017
Lafayette 75, @Siena 64
Any excitement we might feel about our victory over a tough Siena team is erased when Todd DeHaven tears his quad midway through the first half. He'll be out for about two months.

Daniel Warnock continues to be our go-to scorer, finishing with 20 points. Tim Hutchinson follows with 17, and Samuel Davis turns back 5 shots.

Otis Hall, who will take DeHaven's spot in our starting lineup, contributed 9 points and 8 rebounds. Otis was an All-Conference player last season, so I'm confident in his ability to do the jobs we need him to do...but we're better with both him and Todd in our rotation.
Record: 7-2.


December 15, 2017
Lafayette 75, @Rhode Island 69
Tim Hutchinson and Daniel Warnock score 17 points apiece, which is typical. Reserve Justin Judkins fires in 18 points in 18 minutes, which is a lovely surprise. Jack Senn comes off the bench firing, too; he finishes with 11 points.

Strange stat line of the night: Samuel Davis. The 6'11" center takes five shots, all from three-point range. He misses all of them and finishes with zero points. When the Rams have the ball, Big Sazzy returns to his low post domain and blocks five shots.
Record: 8-2.


December 21, 2017
@Lafayette 65, Delaware 54
The injury bug bites us again, but not quite as hard this time. The victim is Jack Senn, who complains of a stiff neck after the game. He's listed as day-to-day, operating at 85% efficiency. I'm going to play it safe and sit Jack down until he's completely healthy again.

Daniel Warnock is our only double-digit scorer, and he's well in that range with 19 points. Otis Hall turns in another 9-point, 8-rebound worksheet. And Samuel Davis does rim protector things, blocking 5 shots and grabbing 8 rebounds.
Record: 9-2.


December 23, 2017
Lafayette 67, @Columbia 48
We don't shoot well against the Lions, but we shoot often enough that we manage to win anyway. Nine of our 28 from three point range go in, and that helps a lot.

Without Todd DeHaven, we have two players on whom we can depend to score. Fortunately Tim Hutchinson (19 points) and Daniel Warnock (16) are up for the challenge.

First year point Jamie Kelso starts his first collegiate game and does just fine. He assists on 3 baskets and commits a single turnover.

The sun rises, the sun sets, and Samuel Davis blocks five shots. He's now the NCAA leader in this category, averaging 4.4 per game.
Record: 10-2.


December 27, 2017
Lafayette 76, @St. Joseph's 65
Recently voted the #6 team in the Mid Major Top 25, we justify our ranking with an away victory over one of the Big Five. Graham gets to catch up with St. Joseph's coach, Emile Richards, who led Holy Cross to five consecutive 20-win seasons before the Hawks hired him away last season.

St. Joe's excellent wing, Neville Black, scores 24 points, but our Tim Hutchinson counters with 26 of his own. The freshman goes 10-for-15 from the floor, 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Richard Leak returns to the court and hands out 6 assists.

Samuel Davis does the inside-outside trick again, blocking four shots and making both his three-point attempts on the way to a 12-point performance. Daniel Warnock has a bit of an off night with 10.
Record: 11-2.

January 1, 2018
The Patriot League season is about to begin. Here's how the eight teams in our conference have done so far:


Goodness, look at our RPI! :) We're ranked #4 in the Mid Major poll this week, behind Temple, Gonzaga, and Virginia Commonwealth.

Based on their Prestige, Army has been the league's biggest overachiever this year.


January 3, 2018
@Lafayette 56, Bucknell 49
We win, but it's ugly. Bucknell leads 30-27 at halftime, and neither team comes close to making even 40 percent of its shots.

Tim Hutchinson's points total looks OK--he finishes with 17--but he needs 15 shots to get them. Daniel Warnock doesn't shoot well either; he's 3-for-10, and ends the game with 13. We get our customary 4 blocked shots from Samuel Davis.

Our record is excellent, but our lineup isn't cohesive right now. We're struggling to find chemistry without Todd DeHaven, who will be out another seven weeks or so. Otis Hall was playing well as our sixth man. Perhaps I'll try Johnathan Blouin as a starter and return Otis to his previous role.
Record: 12-2 (1-0).


January 6, 2018
@Lafayette 80, Lehigh 60
We take a step forward tonight, playing one of our better games of the season. Lehigh's terrible this year, but we still do our own jobs well.

The Mountain Hawks can't guard Daniel Warnock, who does damage from all three levels and the free throw line en route to 27 points.
Record: 13-2 (2-0). Samuel Davis continues to develop as a stretch five, moving behind the arc and making 4 of 7 shots from there on a 16-point night. Johnathan Blouin, in his first career start, dominates the boards with 14 rebounds.

We've won 13 of our first 15 games once before, in 2014/15.
Record: 13-2 (2-0).


January 10, 2018
Lafayette 64, @Army 56
We survive minor injuries to Tim Hutchinson and Jack Senn and outlast a pesky Army team on their home court.

Hutch twisted his knee and left the game after having played only 14 minutes; he scored 9 points before he sat down. Jack's injury was the mysterious "None," and since he played 26 minutes, it couldn't have been a serious case.

Meanwhile, Daniel Warnock's hot streak continues. Tonight, he drops 25, making 5 of his 10 three-point tries. And Johnathan Blouin snags another 14 rebounds.

We commit 22 turnovers, which is way too many. Fortunately, they didn't come back to haunt us.

We move up to #3 in the Mid Major poll. Gonzaga lost, so they drop behind us.
Record: 14-2 (3-0).


January 13, 2018
Lafayette 63, @American 49
Our defensive effort is as good as it's been all season. The Eagles resort to chucking threes in an attempt to stay close--they launch 27 of them--and only 8 find the range.

Meanwhile, Johnathan Blouin adds scoring to his body of work, leading us with 14 points and adding 12 more rebounds. In three games as a starter, JB is averaging 13.3 RPG. Samuel Davis grabs 9 boards of his own, and blocks 5 shots. Tim Hutchinson and Daniel Warnock score 13 points each.

Is this Graham Sims' best coaching performance yet? He's taken a team with a number of unknown quantities and has them playing as well as any Lafayette team he's coached.
Record: 15-2 (4-0).


January 15, 2018
#24 Lafayette 70, @Stony Brook 57
Taking a break from the Patriot League schedule, the newest member of the Top 25 travels up to Long Island for a contest against the Seawolves. Daniel Warnock returns to the 20-point club, hitting 5 of 7 threes and scoring 21. Johnathan Blouin turns over a pair of eights (points and rebounds), and Tim Hutchinson adds 11 points.

Remember Perry Scribner? We recruited him as a high school senior, back in the fall of 2013. Perry decided we weren't the place for him. Now he's a star at Stony Brook, the 2014/15 America East Freshman of the Year with over 1500 points to his credit. Today, he leads all scorers with 22 points. When Perry turned his attentions elsewhere, we started recruiting Joe Lien instead. I think it turned out well for everyone, don't you?
Record: 16-2 (4-0).


January 17, 2018
#24 Lafayette 61, @South Dakota State 53
Our non-conference road show continues with a trip out to South Dakota. There, we play a ragged game against the Summit League leaders, but end up on the right end of the score.

Tim Hutchinson compensates for a poor night shooting from the floor by sinking all 8 of his free throws, and leads us with 18 points. Tim's an 85 percent free throw shooter, so his performance isn't too surprising. He gets help from Samuel Davis (12 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Johnathan Blouin (10 rebounds).
Record: 17-2 (4-0).


January 20, 2018
#24 Lafayette 62, @Holy Cross 56
Our defense shows up again on a day when our shooters can't get it going, with the exception of Daniel Warnock (19 points).

We limit a reeling Crusaders team to 30.8% shooting; Samuel Davis blocks 6 shots and Otis Hall rejects 4 more. We win the rebound battle 49-35, as every starter plus Otis gets at least six. Richard Leak is named Player of the Game for his scoresheet-filling prowess: 6 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds.

Todd DeHaven will return in four weeks. We're doing fine without him, and he'll make us that much stronger and deeper when he comes back.
Record: 18-2 (5-0).


January 24, 2018
@#19 Lafayette 72, Navy 50
We enter tonight's game with our highest poll positions ever: #2 in the Mid Major rankings (behind VCU) and #19 overall. We play like a top team, commanding this game from start to finish.

Daniel Warnock leads a group of four Leopards in double figures with 21 points. He's joined by Tim Hutchinson (17), Samuel Davis (13), and Johnathan Blouin (10). The latter two players complete a double double-double, as Big Sazzy has 10 rebounds and JB 14(!). Blouin is the conference's leading rebounder on a per-30 minute basis.

Navy's Darrel Puma scores 18 in a losing effort, and also loses ground to Warnock in the Patriot League scoring race. Daniel leads him, 17.3 to 16.4.
Record: 19-2 (6-0).


January 26, 2018
@#19 Lafayette 65, Colgate 57
The Red Raiders turned things up a notch when league play began, and enter this contest two games behind us in the Patriot League standings. We extend that lead tonight, as we fight off a spirited challenge from the visitors in the last six minutes or so.

Tim Hutchinson (22 points) and Daniel Warnock (20) handle the scoring. Samuel Davis has 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Justin Judkins plays well off the bench: 9 points in 13 minutes.

The victory gives Graham Sims his sixth consecutive season with at least 20 wins.
Record: 20-2 (7-0).



January 31, 2018
#18 Lafayette 70, @Lehigh 55
Daniel Warnock gets into foul trouble early and manages to score only 5 points, but his teammates pick up the slack against a floundering Lehigh team.

Tim Hutchinson scores 16 points, but it's Samuel Davis who takes the star turn tonight. The junior center scores 14 points, grabs 10 rebounds, and blocks 4 shots. Johnathan Blouin completes a double-double too, with a nicely balanced 12 points and 11 boards. Richard Leak finishes with 8 assists and 4 steals.
Record: 21-2 (8-0).

February 3, 2018
#18 Lafayette 70, @Bucknell 65
The Bison have struggled this season, but they play with pride on their home floor today. We do enough to win, and little more.

Our perimeter defense has been excellent this year. Most of our opponents make less than 30% of their three-point attempts against us; today Bucknell goes 4-17. Oddly enough, our stats for PRD aren't very good. Richard Leak has 34 in that category, the best among our regular players. We're very good interior defenders, however, and that may cause opponents to take desperate long shots because that's all we allow them.

Speaking of long shots, Tim Hutchinson and Daniel Warnock make 6 of them between them. Hutchinson finishes with 19 points, Warnock with 17. And we get more good rebounding from Johnathan Blouin (9) and more scoresheet-filling from Leak (4 points, but 5 rebounds and 5 assists).

Our RPI is 29, so the Bubble Watch loves us. We're a Lock for the tournament right now.
Record: 22-2 (9-0).


February 7, 2018
@ #15 Lafayette 61, American 53
Samuel Davis's ability to mix it up down low without getting into foul trouble amazes me sometimes. Tonight, he blocks 5 shots and grabs 7 rebounds without committing a single foul. Johnathan Blouin takes only four shots all night, but he pulls in 11 rebounds.

We have two scorers right now, and everyone knows who they are. Daniel Warnock and Tim Hutchinson have to contend with a rugged American defense that is designed to slow them down. They combine to shoot 7-24 from the field, but they keep fouling Warnock and he finishes with 19 points, 7 coming from the charity stripe. Hutch ends up with 10.

Props to Otis Hall, who gave us 6 points, 3 steals, and 6 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.

We're still at #2 in the Mid Major poll, behind a VCU team--also 22-2 going into today--that got all the first place votes this week.

Before the game, Todd DeHaven's status is upgraded to Day-to-Day, with 77% efficiency. I'm not letting him near the court until he's all better. Army is in second place in the league with a 6-3 conference record. We can afford to play it safe with our talented freshman.
Record: 23-2 (10-0).


February 10, 2018
Army 73, @ #15 Lafayette 68
The Army pulls off the upset at the Kirby Center today. We aren't efficient with the ball, committing 14 turnovers and shooting 34% from the field and 29% from three. Army plays pretty good D, but we also miss a lot of open looks.

Tim Hutchinson leads all scorers with 19 points and adds 7 rebounds. Daniel Warnock finishes with 14 points, and Johnathan Blouin gets another 11 rebounds.

Turn the page.
Record: 23-3 (10-1).


February 14, 2018
#15 Lafayette 61, @Brown 56
We play one more OOC game to let the rest of the Patriot League catch up, and we make a nice trip up to Providence to face a tough Brown team that is undefeated in the Ivy League. The Bears do to us what we usually do to our opponents, forcing us to take a lot of ill-advised shots, and it nearly works.

Fortunately Tim Hutchinson is largely immune to this tendency. He nets 23 points, making 5 of 7 three point tries. He turns the ball over 3 times, however, evidence of Brown's tenacious defensive play.

Daniel Warnock adds 15 points and Johnathan Blouin 13 with 9 rebounds. Blouin is making a solid claim for lots of playing time the rest of the way, even after Todd DeHaven's return.

That will happen on Saturday, against Holy Cross.
Record: 24-3 (10-1).


February 17, 2018
@ #15 Lafayette 79, Holy Cross 68
Todd DeHaven returns to action today, scoring 7 points and getting 6 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench. That's the best thing about a solid victory over a Holy Cross team that's not up to their usual standard; the Crusaders enter the game with a 9-16 record and only three Patriot League wins.

Samuel Davis is the star: 15 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 3-5 from three. Tim Hutchinson (17 pts), Daniel Warnock (13) and Jack Senn (12) also score in double digits. It's good to have everyone back on board.

Justin Judkins starts on his Senior Night, and scores 5 points, all from the free throw line.

A win at Navy next week will sew up the Patriot League championship for us.
Record: 25-3 (11-1).


February 21, 2018
#15 Lafayette 86, @Navy 48
It's official: Graham Sims and the Lafayette Leopards are the regular season champions of the Patriot League again.

We open up a 45-34 halftime lead and pull away from there, with a 41-15 advantage over the following 20 minutes. The stars are familiar: Daniel Warnock (22 points), Samuel Davis (10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks), Tim Hutchinson (11 points), and Todd DeHaven (12 points in 18 minutes).

The low point happens when Justin Judkins takes an accidental elbow to the nose. It's broken, and he'll be at less-than-full strength for a week or so.

It's not a great year for the conference. Unless someone other than us wins the tournament, we'll send only one team to the Big Dance. We're not a great tournament team, so there's a decent chance a second Patriot League team gets an invitation that way.

Our rankings remain the same as they were last week.
Record: 26-3 (12-1).


February 24, 2018
#15 Lafayette 85, @Colgate 78
We close out the regular season with an exciting overtime win up in New York State. Daniel Warnock and Colgate's Guy Aubin treat the fans to a shootout, which Warnock wins, 27-25.

Todd DeHaven, whose free throws with 0:09 on the clock sent the game into OT, scores 17 points in his return to the starting five. Samuel Davis scores only 7, but his 5 blocks are vintage Sazzy.

Tim Hutchinson and Jack Senn add 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Patriot League tourney begins on the final day of the month.
Record: 27-3 (13-1).

February 28, 2018


It hasn't been a strong year for the Patriot League as a whole. That makes it hard for me to figure out exactly how good this year's team really is.


Patriot League Tournament, First Round
(1) #15 Lafayette 65, (8) Lehigh 41
We beat the Mountain Hawks by 20 and again by 15 this season, and our tournament matchup is similarly one-sided. Our defense is as good as it's been all year: Lehigh shoots 32% from the field, and 4-20 from behind the three-point line. Five of those misses happen because Samuel Davis blocks the shot.

Meanwhile, they simply can't guard Daniel Warnock. The Patriot League's leading scorer throws down a 29-point effort. Only two players--Warnock and Lehigh's Timothy Pinto--score in double figures.

Bucknell, American, and Army also advance. We'll face the #5 seed Bison in the next round.
Record: 28-3.


March 4, 2018
Patriot League Tournament Semi-Final
(1) #15 Lafayette 71, (5) Bucknell 43
Bucknell gave us two tough games in the regular season, but today's story plays out differently. Once again, we don't let our opponent get anything going offensively. Our own offense is smoother and more efficient, too.

This time, Tim Hutchinson is the scoring hero, with 23 points. Daniel Warnock adds 14, and Justin Judkins returns from his injury with 8 off the bench.

The Bison play good interior defense, holding Todd DeHaven and Samuel Davis to 7 points between them. DeHaven finds a way to contribute with 13 rebounds...and then he breaks his finger. Unless we make a long tournament run, he's out for the remainder of the season.

Army beats American, 71-63, so they'll play us for the tournament title.
Record: 29-3.


March 9, 2018
Patriot League Tournament Championship
(8) Army 67, (1) #14 Lafayette 62
The only team to beat us in conference play do it in the tournament final, too. We toss away an eight-point halftime advantage with 20 minutes of the sloppiest basketball I've ever seen a Lafayette team play.

We don't score until the 14:17 mark of the second half, and by then we're behind. In 13 minutes after the break, we score 5 points. We commit 22 turnovers; Tim Hutchinson and Jack Senn account for 5 each.

Daniel Warnock scores 20 points, Hutchinson 15. Johnathan Blouin grabs 10 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup.

I wonder how our loss will affect our NCAA tournament seeding?
Record: 29-4.


March 11, 2018
The NCAA tournament committee keeps us at home, giving us the #5 seed in the East Region. South Alabama (22-11) will be our first round opponent.

Army is named the #12 seed in the South; they'll face Stanford.

American makes the CBI field at #12, and they'll play #5 seed Northern Iowa first.


March 15, 2018
NCAA East Region, First Round
(5) #15 Lafayette 61, (12) South Alabama 60
The Jaguars made the tournament field by upsetting Troy in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. They're led by Thomas Hall, a smooth senior guard with nearly 2000 career points to his credit.

Hall scores 7 of his team's first 18 points as the Jags open up a lead that extends to 9 points by halftime. Is another upset in the cards?

Full credit to the Leopards for coming back with a vengeance. Samuel Davis does a very good job on SA's other big scorer, center Moses Alonzo, holding him to 2 points.

The score is deadlocked at 59 with 1:32 to play, and the Jags have the ball. Digging deep, our defense forces James Sanchez to launch a poor-percentage three as the shot clock dwindles down. He misses, but Alonzo grabs a clutch rebound to give his team another possession.

Graham Sims leaps to his feet as Richard Leak appears to swipe a Sanchez pass...only to have an official whistle Leak for a foul. They're shooting the double bonus, so Thomas Aaron has two free throws. Aaron makes the first and misses the second. Daniel Warnock skies to grab the rebound with 29 seconds remaining.

The Jaguars defense quickly locates Tim Hutchinson and Warnock, our highest-volume shooters. They don't pay enough attention to Samuel Davis, who has been known to make teams pay for this neglect with three-point daggers. We don't need a three right now, so Davis slides to the left wing, takes a pass from Leak, shoots...and misses. Warnock again hits the boards like a man possessed and snags the rebound.

Raleigh McGinty is a junior forward who has struggled to find playing time in a crowded frontcourt rotation that includes classmates Davis, Otis Hall, and Johnathan Blouin. Raleigh has developed more slowly than his fellow juniors; he's still a Red player, and he's played a total of 288 minutes in his collegiate career.

Tonight, McGinty has played 14 minutes, largely because Blouin has fouled out. He's certainly the last man South Alabama is looking for as we set up for our last shot. But Raleigh McGinty averaged 27 points a game as a high school senior. He's very comfortable being The Man in a situation like this one. McGinty confidently calls for the ball as he pops out to the free throw line, and Warnock spots him. A Jags defender moves to close down on him, but he's too late. Raleigh's jumper hits nothing but net. 61-60 Lafayette.

Seven seconds are enough for the Jaguars to run a play. Thomas Hall has earned the right to take the shot that could extend his college basketball career. We know that, too, but Hall is talented enough to get into good shooting positions even when he's guarded well. His 18-foot jumper looks like it's going in...but it hits the rim and bounces into the hands of Raleigh McGinty.

Tim Hutchinson leads all scorers with 17; Hall has 16 for the Jags. Jack Senn pours in 15 points in as many minutes. McGinty scores only 4, but two of them were the biggest ones of our season; he also finishes with 8 rebounds.

For the first time, a Graham Sims-coached team has won 30 games in a season.

Meanwhile, Stanford whomps Army and ends their season, and Northern Iowa beats American in the CBI.
Record: 30-4.


March 17, 2018
NCAA East Region, Second Round
(5) #15 Lafayette 90, (13) San Diego State 74
It's hard not to think we've gotten lucky when SDSU upsets Kansas in the first round. Still, the Aztecs are a very good team with a very good coach, William Rawlins. SF Silas Willey was the #5 recruit in the nation and a Freshman All-American, and he's even better as a sophomore. Junior big man Chris Marler is also a Blue/Blue player.

Marler scores 17, but our junior big man, Samuel Davis, plays just about as well: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks. Daniel Warnock (20 points) and Tim Hutchinson (24 points) impose their will upon the game while Willey does not (6 points). An energized Raleigh McGinty provides 10 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

Now, we're off to the Sweet Sixteen...and a date with top-seeded Vanderbilt.
Record: 31-4.


March 23, 2018
East Regional Semi-Final...the Sweet Sixteen
(1) #6 Vanderbilt 67, (5) #15 Lafayette 65
In our previous trips to the NCAA tournament, I've always felt like we were simply lucky to be there. "Look at plucky little Lafayette, courageously punching above their weight and giving the big program a decent game!"

This year, it feels different. Our national ranking suggest that we SHOULD be in the Sweet Sixteen. Vanderbilt is undoubtedly a very good team; they barely lost to the #1 and #2 teams in the country (Illinois and Mississippi State) and blew out three Top 20 opponents. But we're a very good team too, and we belong here.

Todd DeHaven gets the long tournament run he needed to return to (almost) full health, and he replaces Johnathan Blouin in the starting lineup. The rest of the starting five is familiar: Samuel Davis, Daniel Warnock, Tim Hutchinson, and Richard Leak.

We play as well as we can during the first half, and our 38-27 lead is well-deserved.

After the intermission, Vandy's superior depth begins to assert itself. When players like Jose Cookson and Elwood Sheffield get in foul trouble, they can bring Green/Blue and Green/Green players off their bench. We can't do that when Todd DeHaven and Daniel Warnock have to come out of the game. Still, when one of the Commodores' reserves, a freshman wing named Denver Harden who was the #20 player in his recruiting class, sinks a three-pointer with 1:13 remaining, they take the lead for the first time since the score was 4-2.

This is perhaps the last dance for Joshua Moll, Vanderbilt's venerable head coach. He's 72 now. His team will face Villanova, the #2 seed, in the Elite Eight. It's a shame one of them will have to lose.

And it's a shame our dance couldn't last for one more song.
Record: 31-5.

April 2, 2018
Mississippi State becomes the seventh different national champion in our universe, with a 72-67 victory over the Vanderbilt team that ended our season. The Rebels are the first team to make it to the Finals twice; they lost to Illinois in 2016.

The champions reach the Final by beating USC, while Vanderbilt eliminated Ohio State.

April 2, 2018

The Patriot League award winners are announced today.


Samuel Davis earns his second consecutive All-Patriot League first team selection. He joins James Sanders as the only Lafayette player to make the first team twice. The Davises, Charles of Holy Cross and William of Navy, are the only three-time All-Patriot League players in this universe. Big Sazzy ends up as the 9th leading shot blocker in the nation: the highest a Lafayette player has ever ranked in any statistical category.

Tim Hutchinson is our second consecutive Freshman of the Year, and as I look at the players who joined him on the All-Freshman Team, he was the only logical choice. Tim made it a trifecta with a spot on the All-Patriot first team.

Our main man, Daniel Warnock, becomes the second Leopard to be named Patriot League Player of the Year. The Big Colonel, of course, earned that honor twice. Warnock was also the conference's leading scorer.

April 2, 2018


When I started this dynasty, I wanted to create a team with a commitment to defensive excellence. That's what Graham Sims has done at Lafayette. The 2017/18 Leopards rank among the nation's elite in several categories.

Our PPS margin is even better than last years, but we "drop" to #5 in the nation in that category. And while we led the nation in adjusted FG% margin last year, I'll take a #7 finish anytime.




Daniel Warnock led the Patriot League in scoring and PPS, and was 10th in the nation in the latter category.

Tim Hutchinson was the league's 4th leading scorer, 3rd in PPS, and 4th in free throw percentage. Todd DeHaven would have led the league in FT% if he'd shot enough to qualify.

Samuel Davis was far and away the top shot blocker in our conference. I mentioned earlier that he finished 9th in that category nationwide.

I have only one Senior Tribute this season, and it's up next.

2017/18 Senior Tribute

JUSTIN JUDKINS

This humble young man from Ohio was always "the other guard" in his recruiting class, taking a back seat to Joe Lien.


Justin played the role I envisioned for him from the start: a reliable backup point guard who could allow us to rest our starter without things going to pieces. His playing time increased every year, and by the time he was a senior, he was a valuable member of our rotation. He's also one of a select group of college basketball players who made it to the Big Dance four times.

An outstanding student, Justin will win two awards from the Department of Biology. He will enroll in the prestigious Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, and aspires to a career as a primary care physician.

Thanks for the memories, Justin.

April 7, 2018

I received another email about a facilities upgrade, which is good news! Our training facilities score is now 38, up 10 from last season. Even better, we have the best facilities in the Patriot League; we should, as we've become the Patriot League's glamour program and one of the more successful mid-majors in the nation.

Two members of Coach Sims' staff would like raises for next year. Recruiting coordinator Steven Manion would like a salary of $80,000, 20 grand more than he's making now. Lead scout Donn McClinton would also like to make $20K more, which would raise his pay to $90,000. Both Manion and McClinton are Level 4 coaches now.

Manion is absolutely worth 80 grand. McClinton, the highest-paid assistant, might still be a decent value at $90K. I can afford to pay these salaries, so for the sake of stability, I decide to reward two of Graham's loyal lieutenants with the raises they ask for.

May 1, 2018

At this point in our story, I make a significant decision about Graham Sims's future.

When I began this dynasty, I envisioned Coach Sims gradually climbing the coaching ladder. I've never been terribly successful at FBCB, so I figured his Lafayette teams would, at best, improve slowly into a decent Patriot League team within a few years. I didn't envision Graham posting a 177-58 record and winning five conference championships in seven years, or turning Lafayette into one of the most highly respected teams outside the Power Five. If Graham ever reached those heights, it wouldn't happen at Lafayette.

Lafayette's Prestige is now up to 62, which is higher than Penn State (55) or St. Joseph's (59). Temple (74) is still a bigger job, and so are Villanova (88) and Pitt (93).

Of those three, Villanova is the only position I would have Graham accept without hesitation. It's Graham's alma mater, after all.

Pitt's coach is Blaine Boyd, who is one of the two or three best young coaches in the business. Boyd is 38, and he's not going anywhere unless, perhaps, one of the true blue bloods comes calling. Villanova's head man, James Glazier, turns 52 this season; he's got a lot of years left, too. Temple's Cory McEwen is a year older than Glazier. He could end up staying at Temple for a while.

Graham was offered the Temple job before McEwen took it in 2015. I didn't think Graham was ready to run a program with 82 Prestige then. Perhaps he would be now. I still think it might be more fun to see if Graham can improve the Lafayette program enough to surpass Temple in the Prestige rankings.

There is one scenario in which I would consider changing the focus of Graham's story. Vanderbilt head coach Joshua Moll is now 73 years old. If Coach Moll retires and Graham is offered the Vanderbilt job, I'd seriously consider accepting it.

Why Vanderbilt? As a high school senior, I applied to Vanderbilt and was accepted. I received a better financial aid package from another fine university, a Division III school, and accepted it instead. Two years later, Vanderbilt offered acceptance to another member of my family. My younger sister went there, loved it, and graduated. She's a Commodore, and I could have been one, too. So I'll let Graham think about becoming one in my place.

As the Head Coach Round begins, the plot twists in an intriguing way. Cory McEwen is offered the Seton Hall job, and he takes it. So much for Coach McEwen staying a while.

Temple promptly offers its head coaching position to Graham...and I decide to pass. The Owls hire a bright young thing named Clayton Mintz, who is taking his fourth job at the age of 33. The peripatetic Mintz won 30 games at Davidson and Miami-Ohio before moving on to Northern Iowa, and now to Temple.

I go into the Tools menu and add two new coaches: Louis Hewett, Lafayette '15, and Moses Washington, Bucknell '15. Coach Hewett is moving into the collegiate ranks after a short tenure as a high school coach, and Coach Washington is a newly "graduated" graduate assistant. Louis doesn't land a job in the Assistant Coach round, but Moses does. He's now the Lead Scout at Coppin State.

July 1, 2018

Here's the 2018/19 Lafayette men's basketball roster:


Like I did last year, I'll tell you more about the players once they finish their autumn training camp.

August 1, 2018

This will be a very busy year for us on the recruiting trail, since we have five senior players on scholarship. Four of them are centers or power forwards, and one is a point guard. We'll be shopping most often in the Big and Tall section this season.

We spend the month of July filling up our call list and evaluating the players we're in contact with.

Since we have five offers to make, I decide to do something I've never done: offer a player before we've fully evaluated him. And, while we're at it, we aim high.


Danny Chestnut is a four-star big man from Pennsylvania, who expresses a Low degree of interest in playing for us. I liked the look of his statistics, so I went ahead and made him a scholarship offer.

Danny is already an outstanding shot creator, and he's a tough defender. Our offer didn't make him any more interested in our program than he already was, but starting this month, we'll be able to visit him. Coaches Sims and Manion will do so right away.

Chestnut is, admittedly, a long shot for us. James Zimmer is perhaps a more realistic target.


Zimmer has been a productive scorer in high school, and he's the kind of willing, effective defender we expect our big men to be. Two teams have already offered Zimmer, and they're close to his Virginia home.

Our scouts think he has Blue potential. If that's true, I don't think I'd like to see him in an American uniform twice a year. Let's offer him a scholarship and see if we can win a Patriot League recruiting battle. Our recruiting duo of Sims and Manion will also travel down to the colonial capital.

We've never had a Mr. Basketball winner on our roster. Might high-scoring wing Horace Lucas be our first?


The Keystone State's top player can shoot, as evidenced by his high FG% and FT%. He's vulnerable to being beaten on the perimeter, but he's strong enough to hold his own in the post. We're going to offer him a scholarship and see if we can keep him close to home. Coaches Sims and Manion won't have to travel far to visit him.

The most enticing guard we've seen is Joshua Burke, another Pennsylvania player.


More of a lead guard than a pure, pass-first point, Burke is incredibly quick and features a smooth jumper. He also takes pride in his defense.

Most four-star players put Power Five schools on their wish lists, and Joshua is no exception. He holds an offer from Virginia, and he's about to get one from Lafayette, too. Will that turn his Average interest into something more promising? We'll visit him at home, too.

We're looking at two more post players for our last offer: Chris Bickford and Jonathan Baldwin.



Bickford is a better scorer right now, and our staff believe that will always be the case. Both players are god-tier rebounders, with Bickford getting the edge there, too. Baldwin is an exceptional defensive player, and Bickford is "only" good.

Bickford looks like the better player...but Baldwin already really likes us, and Bickford has an offer in hand from Marquette. I choose Baldwin, and because his interest in us is Very High, we can bring him to campus for a visit.

September 1, 2018

Our visit to Danny Chestnut's home didn't impress him at all. We're not listed among Danny's top five schools, and two programs who are--Virginia Tech and Maryland--have offered him. His interest in our program is still Low. It's time to turn our attention elsewhere.

James Zimmer has culled his list to two; it's American and Lafayette. Should I worry that James still expresses Average interest in playing for us? The Eagles' head coach is Jose Black, in his first year with the big whistle. He's been an assistant at Richmond, NC State, and Valparaiso. Graham and Steven Manion are considerably better recruiters than Black and his recruiter, Doug Catlett. Our facilities are better, too. And we can remind a recruit that every player in our program has been to the NCAA tournament every year he's been with us.

I'm going to fight this battle at least a month longer. We're bringing Big Zim to Lafayette, and our recruiting team will visit his family, too.

Jonathan Baldwin might be close to signing with us. We're now his #1 choice, and the four schools below us have not offered him. We'll continue our max recruiting effort with him, and see if we can get his signature while his high school buddies are still playing football and marching in the band.

We're getting the same vibes from Joshua Burke that we're getting from Danny Chestnut. Apparently four-star players still think they're too good for Lafayette. That's cool, Josh. Michigan State collects guys like you on their bench, and sometimes they get to play in games.

Eddie Dahlberg, a three-star shooting guard who was recently crowned Mr. Basketball in his home state of New Jersey, has offers from three prominent programs.


I have a good feeling about this one; good enough to offer him and see what happens if we recruit him actively. Perhaps a visit to our campus will impress him.

We're still in the running with Horace Lucas, who has us on his list now. We've got some schools to overtake, however. We'll invite Horace to campus and send Graham and Steven to his home.

I'm going to play it safe with our final scholarship offer. Harold Kucera is a two-star player who loves us.


At first glance, I wouldn't project Harold as a starter for us. He scores a ton of points, however, and he looks like his scoring and rebounding totals are supported by talent. Samuel Davis was also a two-star player, and now he's the Patriot League Player of the Year.

We offer Harold a scholarship and spend the rest of our recruiting cash on him.

October 1, 2018

Here's an update on the players we're recruiting, and it's not pretty at all.

James Zimmer: The Virginia big man is still considering American and Lafayette. The Eagles are still listed at #1, but James' interest has been upgraded to High. I'm going to see this fight through to the finish, sending our coaches to visit him again.

Jonathan Baldwin: The situation looks just like it did last month. We're still the only program who has offered him a scholarship, and we're still in the pole position. Perhaps one more month's worth of recruiting will get it done.

Horace Lucas: We're not in quite as good a position with this talented wing. St. Joseph's, always one of his favorite schools, has offered him now. We're running third, behind St. Joe's and George Mason, and Horace expresses Average interest in playing for us.

Eddie Dahlberg: See above. We're battling Providence and Villanova, both of whom have offered Eddie, and his interest level is Average.

Harold Kucera: Suddenly, we're third on Horace's list, too! Out of nowhere, offers from Fairleigh Dickinson and Quinnipiac have turned his head, and he's downgraded his interest to High. Their Prestige scores combined are still lower than Lafayette's.

Now I'm stumped. I really don't want to screw this recruiting season up. There are two players in the nation who have Very High interest in playing for us. One of them is Baldwin. The other is a one-star guard whose national ranking is in the 1400s. Our walk-ons are better than he is.

The last time we had five scholarships to offer, we signed Richard Leak(*), Raleigh McGinty (**), Johnathan Blouin (***), Samuel Davis (**), and Otis Hall (*). The highest-rated player, Blouin, has been useful, but he hasn't been a star. Leak is our starting point guard. Hall has been a first team All-Patriot League player. Davis has been a TWO-TIME first team All-Patriot League player. Am I becoming so drawn to players with lots of stars that I've stopped looking for players with the right attributes for our program?

I revoke our offers to Lucas and Dahlberg. Too many things have to change in our favor for us to sign them. I'll stick with Kucera and Zimmer for one more month. I think they'll sign with someone by then, and hopefully it will be Lafayette.

I decide to see if there are any good players who haven't received any offers yet. I manage to find a handful who look promising, whose stats indicate they might be our kind of player.

Matt Robles is a center from Michigan whose stats indicate he's a high-percentage shooter and a very good rebounder and shot blocker. John Gillard, a wing from South Carolina, averages 28 points and 6 rebounds a game. Both are three-star players. Both Matt and John have bigger programs on their lists, but so far their love is unrequited. I decide to offer them right away, before someone else can pounce, and spend as much recruiting capital on them as I can.

I'll wait to tell you more about Robles and Gillard for now. If they sign with us, they'll get the full measure of love.

Recruiting in FBCB is maddeningly enjoyable! ;)

November 1, 2018

Bad news comes in fours this month.

John Gillard got another offer in October. It came from Clemson, and that's the one this South Carolina boy accepted. John, we hardly knew ye.

We also learn we've lost the top player on our board. James Zimmer is taking his Blue potential to American. I hope Samuel Davis shows him who the alpha dog in the Patriot League really is.

And Harold Kucera picks Fairleigh Dickinson. He'll probably play four years for them, score 1500 points, and become a campus legend. Best of luck to him.

We'll probably lose out on Matt Robles, too. Northwestern spotted him, and so did Temple. I do NOT want to lose a player to an area rival; getting beat by another Patriot League school is bad enough. We can bring him to campus, though, so we shall.

Jonathan Baldwin is still making us wait. The way things are going, that's really good news.

The next man up is Chris Diorio, a center from Indiana who is being courted by Ball State and Evansville. The three-star recruit gets an offer from us, and we'll do all we can to recruit him. We also take a longer look at three-star PG Ben Miele.

Hopefully we'll have better news to report next month.

November 11, 2018

Training camp is over, and our players made good use of their improved training facilities!


Now it's time to take a look at how Graham Sims will set up his rotation.

Every starter from a team that set a new Lafayette record with 31 wins and reached the Sweet Sixteen returns: center Samuel Davis; forwards Todd DeHaven and Daniel Warnock; guards Tim Hutchinson and Richard Leak. Most of these players have well-defined roles. Davis is the intimidator. Warnock and Hutchinson are the scorers. All three were All-Patriot League players, and Warnock was the Player of the Year. Leak is the distributor.

DeHaven, who missed much of his freshman year with injuries, is the only relatively unknown quantity. But he emerged from training camp as a Green/Green player, one who can control a game in a number of ways.

And, while Leak is a familiar face, he enters his senior season as a fully developed floor general. Now Green/Green, he's ready to provide the Leopards with an authoritative backcourt presence.

Jack Senn and Otis Hall will be the first players off the bench. Senn is an explosive scorer, Hall a well-rounded big man.

Next up will be big man Johnathan Blouin, who played well as a starter when DeHaven was hurt last year. Freshman Matthew Ackerman is already a Yellow/Blue player, and he could make an impact right away.

Senior Raleigh McGinty and first year Rob Prendergast will try to crack the rotation, but there might not be enough playing time to go around. I thought McGinty might transfer, but apparently his contributions during the NCAA tournament made him feel like sticking around for one more year.

November 18, 2018
Lafayette 82, @Coppin State 78
Graham Sims warmly greets Bucknell alumnus Moses Washington, who is in his first season on Coppin State's coaching staff, and then coaches his team to an exciting victory in their season opener.

The Leopards have to come back from a 33-30 halftime deficit, getting the better of their hosts in a wide-open second half.

Todd DeHaven and Samuel Davis control the paint at both ends of the court. DeHaven scores 18 points and grabs 13 rebounds, while Davis rejects 6 shots to go along with his 8 points and 10 boards. Tim Hutchinson adds 17 points, Otis Hall gets 13 off the bench, and Daniel Warnock finishes with 10.

Richard Leak endures a shaky opening game, committing 5 turnovers against 6 assists.
Record: 1-0.


November 23, 2018
Island Invitational, First Round
(2) Lafayette 46, (7) East Carolina 45
Coach Sims and the Leopards pack their sunscreen and board shorts and travel out to Hawai'i for the Island Classic. We barely escape the first round, when a foul line jumper by Hugh Reese bounces safely off the rim.

It's an ugly, gnarly game in which neither team can penetrate their opponents' defense. Tim Hutchinson scores 16 for us, and Todd DeHaven has his second double-double in two games, turning over a pair of 11s.
Record: 2-0.


November 25, 2018
Island Invitational Semi-Final
(2) Lafayette 67, (6) Florida Atlantic 53
Florida Atlantic upset Seton Hall to reach the semi-final, where we take care of them in classic Lafayette style.

We hold the Owls to a 19-52 performance from the floor, and they miss all seven threes they attempt. We're still not sharp offensively either, as we make only 42.1% of our shots and go a reckless 11-for-27 from behind the arc.

Daniel Warnock is the only Leopard in double figures, with 18. Samuel Davis scores 7, with 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.

We end the day at #5 in the Mid Major rankings.
Record: 3-0.


November 27, 2018
Island Classic Championship Game
(2) Lafayette 87, (1) #23 Oregon 57
Wow. We come at our ranked opponent from the tip-off and don't let up for 40 minutes. Considering the quality of the opponent, it's perhaps the best performance a Graham Sims team has ever delivered.

Sixth man Jack Senn fires 10 threes and hits 5 of them, en route to 17 points. Tim Hutchinson (4-8 from three, 18 points total) and Daniel Warnock (4-6 from three, 16 points total) are almost as effective as snipers, and Todd DeHaven adds 15 points from close range.

Samuel Davis enjoys another signature game: 7 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks. He grins broadly as he lifts the tournament trophy above his head, a photo that will grace the banner of the Lafayette men's basketball webpage.

I hope some of those recruits are watching...
Record: 4-0.




November 28, 2018
@#8 Villanova 67, Lafayette 57
Only in FBCB can you schedule a game in eastern Pennsylvania a day after playing in Hawai'i. To be fair, I didn't know about the Island Invitational bid before I booked a game against Coach Sims's alma mater.

We actually play quite well against the Wildcats, whom we limit to 39.4% shooting and 4-19 from three-point territory. Daniel Warnock plays like a POY, going off for 26 points. Our bigs, Samuel Davis and Otis Hall, drive Gerald Eubanks crazy. Each of them block 5 shots, rejecting Eubanks several times and forcing him into a 3-for-11 nightmare. Todd DeHaven, a Philadelphia lad, gets 11 rebounds.

Villanova's superior depth makes the difference. Four Wildcats score in double figures, and Tim Hutchinson's 12 points are our next high.

It's our first loss of the season, but it's not a bad one.
Record: 4-1.

December 1, 2018

Our first piece of good recruiting news arrives today. Our autumnal recruitment of Matt Robles pays off, and he commits to our program today. Let's take that closer look at him, now that he's ours.


Hailing from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Matt is listed as a center, although he's considerably less massive than our usual fives. He does manage to block a lot of shots, however, and he does a very good job on the defensive glass.

His most exciting attribute is his ability to create his own shots. He doesn't have much of a jumper, so I'm envisioning a slashing player who might be well suited to move to the wing. He seems comfortable guarding players away from the basket, too.

This time, there's no bad news to spoil our party. Jonathan Baldwin got an offer from VCU, so now he has options to consider. He still lists us as his top choice, and we're going to send Coaches Sims and Manion to Baltimore to visit his family again. Graham doesn't mind. He's especially fond of the pit beef at Chaps, on the Pulaski Highway.

We're still in the running with Chris Diorio, who says Evansville is his top choice, with Lafayette now second. He's from Indiana, so it might be difficult to lure him away from his home state. It worked with Robles, though, so perhaps we can convince Chris to come east to play for a bigger program.

I decide to make an offer to Ben Miele, too. He's averaging a 20/10 double-double per game for his Florida high school, and our staff think the jumper and playmaking ability are real. Ben doesn't seem to have a problem leaving Florida; his offer from Eastern Michigan appeals most to him right now. Let's do all we can to convince him that eastern Pennsylvania is a better place to spend the next four years.

December 1, 2018
Lafayette 100, @Mount St. Mary's 59
A Lafayette team sets a new record for points tonight, surpassing the 96 we hung on Lehigh in February 2015.

Daniel Warnock becomes the fourth Leopard to score at least 30 points in a game. Who are the other three? Here's a hint: One of them did it four times; the others, once each. I'll give you the answer at the bottom of the post.

Tim Hutchinson scores 18, and Todd DeHaven contributes another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Sixth man Jack Senn also has 13, and Samuel Davis 12. Eight of the 31 baskets we score are set up by Richard Leak.

We're still #5 in the Mid Major polls. Temple is a unanimous choice for #1.
Record: 5-1.


December 7, 2018
@Lafayette 77, Long Island 59
Finally, our first home game. Our fans admire the new Patriot League conference banner, and a program first: a lovely maroon gonfalon that recognizes last year's trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

The crowd at the Kirby Center, including a loud, joyful student section, watch us handle the visiting Sharks, who put up quite a fight for 30 minutes or so. Daniel Warnock's 23 points lead all scorers. Todd DeHaven snags another 11 rebounds, and Richard Leak hands out another 7 dimes.

Our bench players are especially productive; Jack Senn scores 15 points, while Otis Hall has 8 with 7 rebounds.
Record: 6-1.


December 11, 2018
@Lafayette 67, Hofstra 56
The Pride demonstrate that quality tonight, giving us a good game that is closer than the score indicates. We pulled away in the last few minutes when Hofstra players kept fouling Tim Hutchinson.

Tim hits 4 of 5 down the stretch to add to his game-high 19 points. Daniel Warnock (13), Jack Senn (11), and Todd DeHaven (10) join him in double figures. And Samuel Davis is credited with 6 blocks, while altering several more shots he didn't touch.
Record: 7-1.


December 14, 2018
Lafayette 78, @William & Mary 45
Behind 23 more points from Daniel Warnock, we cap off a pleasant visit to Williamsburg with a resounding victory.

Warnock and his backcourt partner, Tim Hutchinson, combine to shoot 9-18 from three-point distance. Hutchinson finishes with 18 points of his own. Todd DeHaven scores 10, and so does freshman Matthew Ackerman.
Record: 8-1.


December 17, 2018
@Lafayette 74, Rutgers 53
Rutgers tries gunning us down from behind the arc, and their strategy doesn't work very well. Only 3 of their 27 attempts from there go in. Meanwhile, Tim Hutchinson scores 20 and Daniel Warnock 10, while five other teammates contribute at least six to round out a balanced attack for the newly crowned #4 Mid Major team in the nation.

Richard Leak barely misses a double double; he's 9 and 9, but the latter category isn't assists. It's rebounds, which is a career high for the 6'0" guard. And, interestingly, his career high in points is only 10. "Pass first" is clearly the rule for our backcourt conductor.
Record: 9-1.


December 19, 2018
@Lafayette 68, Siena 47
The Saints try the same strategy that Rutgers attempted the other evening. It works only a little better for them; Siena makes 3 of their 22 three-point tries.

That's a very good performance from us, but not a totally unpredictable one. We're the 7th best team in opposing three-point percentage (.245), and only four teams limit their foes to fewer points per shot than our 1.01.

Five Leopards score between 9 and 13 points: Todd DeHaven (9), Richard Leak (10, tying his career high :) ), Tim Hutchinson (10), Matthew Ackerman (11), and Daniel Warnock (13).
Record: 10-1.


December 26, 2018
@#25 Lafayette 72, La Salle 68
La Salle nearly earns the achievement of beating a ranked team on the road in this Boxing Day contest. In fact, the Explorers don't surrender their last lead of the game until 2:04 remains, when Daniel Warnock knocks down a three.

Todd DeHaven is the star, with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He ties a Patriot League record by making 15 free throws; even more impressively, he shoots a perfect 15-for-15. Daniel Warnock contributes 14, and Samuel Davis asserts himself with 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.

We move up to #3 in the Mid Major poll, behind Xavier and Utah State.

The Utah State program deserves some recognition here. They dominate the WAC, winning 6 conference championships, and their total of 204 wins in my universe ranks fourth, behind Illinois (226), Mississippi State (216), and Kansas (206).
Record: 11-1.


December 30, 2018
@#9 Vanderbilt 63, #25 Lafayette 57
I scheduled a road game at Vanderbilt back in the summer, and it turns out to be a battle of ranked teams that doesn't disappoint.

Both teams are known for playing solid defense, and that's what we do tonight. We hold the Commodores to 34.9% shooting, and they hold us to 34.5% Honestly, Vanderbilt wins this one at the free throw line; they make 13 to our 6.

Tim Hutchinson leads us with 18 points, and Daniel Warnock backs him up with 15. Todd DeHaven completes his fifth double-double of the season in fine style, with 13 of each.
Record: 11-2.

Dynasty Trivia answer: Robert Castleman and James Sanders each scored exactly 30 points in a game. Joe Lien had games of 30, 30, 33, and 37 points in his three-year career. Joe's high game of 37 came against Bucknell on February 20, 2016.

January 1, 2019

We go 1-for-2 in big man signings today.

Chris Diorio decided to play his college basketball close to home. The two-star prospect from Indianapolis signs with Evansville.

But we get good news from Jonathan Baldwin. He's played center in high school, but I think his 6'7", 235-pound frame will play better at the four in college. Wherever he ends up, I envision him as a Blue Collar Man, a tough rebounder and an elite post defender.

Jonathan is our second three-star signing, following Matt Robles. We still have a long way to go, but I'm feeling a bit better about our recruiting class now.

There's good news about Ben Miele, too. He'd like to play for Florida, but the Gators haven't offered him a scholarship yet. We have, and we're next on his list. Better still, Ben says his interest in us is now Very High. That means Coaches Sims and Manion can visit him. How does a January trip to Riviera Beach, Florida sound, guys?

January 4, 2019
Lafayette 73, @Columbia 46
Our road loss to a Top Ten team causes the voters to turn their noses up at us, and we lose our spot in the Top 25. We take our frustrations out on the Lions with a smothering defense.

Columbia makes less than a third of their shots, while we make half of ours. We usually don't generate a lot of turnovers--we're not an Izulde Jestor-style team--but tonight, we win that battle 18-11.

Tim Hutchinson makes 9 of his 10 field goal attempts and scores 27 points, while Todd DeHaven adds 15 and Daniel Warnock 10. Big Sazzy ends the night with as many blocked shots (6) as points (3) and rebounds (3) combined. How often do you see a stat line like that?
Record: 12-2.


January 8, 2019
@Lafayette 75, Saint Joseph's 62
Not long ago, we would have been considered an underdog in a game against a Big Five opponent. Now we're the favorite, and we play like it in our last tune-up before the Patriot League season begins.

If I make up a game called Whose Stat Line Is This? based on tonight's game, I doubt you'd guess many correct answers.

For example, if I ask "Who leads Lafayette with 16 points?" I doubt you'd say "That's easy. It's Richard Leak." Richard does have 7 assists, which is a much more Leak-like accomplishment.

How about "Who has a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds?" Would you say "Come on, give me a tough one. That's obviously Tim Hutchinson."?

Todd DeHaven's 11 points are more predictable; Daniel Warnock's 11 points less so.
Record: 13-2.


Our conference opener against Army will be one to watch. Army is legit good; they beat a ranked Tennessee team at home by 23 points. American beat Duke, and while this year's Duke team isn't good by their standards, they're still Duke.

We are the 10th toughest team to score against in all of Division I, allowing our opponents only 56.8 PPG. Our opponents shoot .370 from the floor, which is also 10th nationally. We're even tougher against opposing three-point shooters; they make .267 of their shots, which ranks us 7th. And, most impressively, only North Carolina (0.93) and Mississippi State (0.97) hold their opponents to fewer points per shot than we do (1.00).

One of the best things about this very, very good game is the fact that I can start a dynasty with the goal of creating a team with a particular identity. I envisioned a Lafayette team that was known for this kind of defensive resilience. This isn't the first Lafayette team to play this way. It's becoming a tradition in Leopard Country.

I figure if I was coaching Villanova or Duke or Kansas and had a decent shot at signing any players I liked, I could create any kind of team I wanted. I am making that happen with a team with 27 Prestige in a Level 1 conference. That's an endorsement of the game, more than an endorsement of my ability to play it.

January 12, 2019
@Lafayette 77, Army 60
This is a bigger win than it might ordinarily seem to be, because the Black Knights are really good this year.

Chris Buckley and Eldridge Hawkinson combine to average 36 points a game. Buckley gets his--he finishes with 21, a point above his average--but we hold the Hawk to 9, and he fouls out trying to guard Daniel Warnock, who scores 21.

DW still yields the spotlight to Tim Hutchinson, who fires in 26. Richard Leak, the Patriot League's leading assist man, does his thing with 7 helpers.
Record: 14-2 (1-0).


January 16, 2019
@#25 Lafayette 81, Lehigh 74
Lehigh, on the other hand, has been terrible this year. They still give us a very good game, and trail us by only a single point at halftime before we slowly pull away a bit.

I seem to remember Timothy Pinto having a good game against us last year. He certainly did this year: 24 points and 9 rebounds. But the Warnock-Hutchinson Show is bringing back memories of Joe Lien and Herbert Song. Tonight, they combine for a cool 46: 26 from Daniel, 20 from Tim. Todd DeHaven backs them up with 11 points, and Otis Hall matches Todd from off the bench.

Samuel Davis takes the night off from blocking shots, so Hutchinson fills the breach and blocks 3 of them.
Record: 15-2 (2-0).


January 19, 2019
@#25 Lafayette 74, Navy 49
Tonight, Tim Hutchinson rests his shooting arm, attempting only five shots. Daniel Warnock does not, however, and finishes with a game-high 18 points that barely exceed his average output. Todd DeHaven, one of our more efficient shooters, puts on a clinic with a 7-for-8 performance and 18 points of his own.

Richard Leak has 7 assists, and sixth man Jack Senn doesn't miss a shot of any kind and ends up with 10 points.

It's time to start a Block Watch for Samuel Davis, who is climbing the leader board for blocked shots in a career. His 3 rejections tonight run his total to 339, which is 13th all-time. Mississippi State star Ben Forte's record of 468 is out of reach, but there's a chance Big Sazzy could end up #3 all time, with 400 or so to his credit.
Record: 16-2 (3-0).


January 23, 2019
@Holy Cross 58, #24 Lafayette 48
For a few days, the Philadelphia area regained a bit of its historic role as a college basketball Mecca. #2 Villanova, #14 Temple, and #24 Lafayette gave eastern Pennsylvania a trio of ranked teams. Temple and Lafayette were both in the top three in the Mid Major rankings. Our trip to Worcester tarnishes that image somewhat, as we don't play like one of the top teams in the nation.

We shoot poorly and turn the ball over too much. We're out-rebounded and we foul too often. When we hold our opponent to under 60 points, we almost always win. If you exclude Graham's first season, when he was playing with other coaches' recruits only, Lafayette has lost only four such games.

Daniel Warnock leads us with 15 points. Samuel Davis has 9, with 10 rebounds.

Big Sazzy Block Watch: Samuel blocks only two shots, but his total of 341 ties Randolph Milligan, USC '17, for 12th place all-time.
Record: 16-3 (3-1).


January 26, 2019
#24 Lafayette 46, @Bucknell 43
We nearly do the "play good defense and lose anyway" thing again, as our offense sputters even worse than it did against Holy Cross. We make only 28 percent of our shots, and 5-27 from three. Yuck.

Again, Daniel Warnock's 15 points are high for us. Richard Leak has 10 with 6 assists, and Todd DeHaven 11 with 10 rebounds.

Big Sazzy Block Watch: The big man takes only two shots himself, but blocks 4 of other people's attempts. His new total of 345 puts him in 11th place, passing Joseph Navarro, UNLV '14.
Record: 17-3 (4-1).


January 30, 2019
@Lafayette 67, American 52
Much more like it. The defense is Lafayette standard; the Eagles make only 3 of 18 threes, and only 21 of their 55 shots, period.

They defend Daniel Warnock well, holding him to 9 points, but Tim Hutchinson scores 21 with 8 rebounds. Todd DeHaven (14) and Jack Senn (11) provide scoring support, and Richard Leak sets a new team record with 9 assists.

Big Sazzy Block Watch: Three more rejections bring Samuel's total to 348...and move him into the top ten all-time! He passes Odell Caraballo, Wisconsin '15.
Record: 18-3 (5-1).

SPECIAL FEATURE

I just discovered one of the most notable achievements in Lafayette basketball history, one I completely missed when it happened. It's time to set that right.

A while ago, I was trying to find out more about the shot-blockers Samuel Davis was passing on his way up the career leader board. I wondered if any of them had been selected in the pro draft, so I checked out the draft lists.


Do you see what I missed? Our James Sanders was picked in the second round of the pro draft!

I'm sure I got an email telling me this back in the spring of 2016, but I must have missed it. Now Big Colonel can take his rightful place as the first of Graham Sims' players to hear his name called on Draft Night.

I'll update his Senior Tribute, too. Sorry about that, big man.