2023-24 Patriot League Previews: Lehigh Mountain Hawks

2022-23 Regular Season Result: 16-14 (11-7) Tied for 2^nd in Patriot League

2023 Patriot League Tournament Result: Lost in Quarterfinals to Lafayette  

Coach: Dr. Brett Reed (17th season)

Key Departures: Evan Taylor (Guard), Reed Fenton (Guard), Jake Betlow (Guard)

Key Additions: Joshua Ingram (Guard), Nasir Whitlock (Guard)

Lehigh is positioned well for success this season. The Mountain Hawks have arguably the best backcourt in the Patriot League with Tyler Whitney-Sidney and Keith Higgins Jr. Both guards were recently named to the preseason all-first team, and prior to that announcement the majority of the coaches from other programs I spoke with talked about how good Lehigh’s guard play is expected to be this season.

Dr. Brett Reed has been in Bethlehem since 2002 and has been the head coach since 2007. He has built a program the way we used to see teams constructed 10 years ago, with an emphasis on recruiting guys into your system to develop behind veterans who teach. Subsequently, after a year or two of small roles gradually shifting players into bigger roles as the upperclassmen who have stayed in the program for four years then graduate. It is refreshing to see in an era of college basketball that has become all about moving when the individual payoff is not immediate. Furthermore, this system has worked. Lehigh has posted a winning record in conference play in seven of the past nine seasons and finished in the top three in the league standings six times in that span.

Lehigh is poised for another good year. Taylor, Fenton, and Betlow all graduated and departed the team. They were productive for the Mountain Hawks on a guard-heavy 2022-23 team. Higgins Jr. will provide shooting for the Mountain Hawks he attempted the most three-pointers on the team last season and connected on 41%. Whitney-Sidney is a great defender. Dr. Reed said, “Each of these young men have grown up over the past two years”. He mentioned how they are rounding into more leadership roles on the team.

The coaching staff brings in four newcomers. Joshua Ingram and Nasir Whitlock stand out to me. Ingram developed late in his senior year. He will probably play a combination of wing and guard. He can make plays off the bounce and shoot the ball well. Whitlock was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball. He has a great ability to score and can take the ball anywhere on the court. He is also a good passer and on-ball defender. I think both guards, despite being freshmen will more than be able to hold their own in backup roles against more veteran guards in the league, and will get valuable experience for future seasons in Reed’s system.  

Historically Lehigh has been a guard-centric program, but in my conversation with Dr. Reed, he did tell me that they are the most balanced they have been in a while. In the frontcourt, Dominic Parolin, JT Tan, and Henri Adiassa split time each with their own specialty. Tan was an offensive rebounder, Adiassa was a defensive rebounder and paint intimidator, and Parolin was a balanced player. Those three all return plus the emergence of Bube Momah who has gotten stronger will provide solid production by committee. As I have mentioned across other team previews, I think this is a really good year for centers in the Patriot League. I don’t see the collection of guys for Lehigh being as talented as some of the better bigs in the league like the ones on Colgate, Army, or American, but I think they will do fine.

The Mountains Hawks will be looking to play a style that gets out in transition and utilizes their athletes. I think another one of their strengths will be spreading the floor and passing the ball to find the open man.

I think Lehigh is the clear number two team in the league. While Colgate was head and shoulders above everyone last year, I don’t foresee that being the case this season. I will be very interested to see how the two regular season matchups between the Raiders and Mountain Hawks (Monday, January 22^nd in Hamilton and Saturday, March 2^nd in Bethlehem) play out. Do I think Lehigh will dethrone Colgate? Probably not. Do I think these two teams will be closer than people expect? Yes.

I expect Lehigh to finish 2^nd

I’ve put a lot of effort into these previews. Many hours were spent researching, interviewing, and writing in depth previews for all ten of the Patriot League men’s basketball teams. I enjoy covering the conference and my goal is to provide the best national coverage of Patriot League Men’s Basketball. If you enjoyed the coverage and would like to support my work my PayPal username is @HappeningHoops while obviously not expected any and all donations are always welcomed. Thank you!

All Team Previews

1. Colgate
2. Lehigh
3. American
4. Loyola
5. Lafayette
6. Holy Cross
7. Navy
8. Bucknell
9. Boston
10. Army