The big concern on College Hill will be finding replacements for Keith Simmons, the Patriot League's 2006-07 Player of the Year, and point guard Torey Thomas, the league's Defensive Player of the Year. "They were two special players," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard, whose team returns three frontcourt starters from last season's edition that went 25-9 and captured the league tournament title. "Our front line is fine, and we have a big front line. But we have to find a way to replace their leadership and scoring ability. It's not going to happen overnight."
Willard was hoping an offseason team trip to Europe would help identify a few potential candidates, but indicated "we struggled on it," leaving the coach to wonder who, if anyone, would fill the void.
Junior Pat Doherty (5.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists per game) was expected to take over at the point while Colin Cunningham, a 6-foot-6-inch junior small forward who averaged 1.9 ppg and 1.2 rpg last season, and 6-2 senior guard Kyle Cruze (2.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg) were expected to help bolster the Crusaders' perimeter scoring. But, Willard said, "It hasn't happened yet."
It could shift some of the offensive burden to the frontcourt, where the Crusaders are as solid as they are deep with the return of 6-11 senior center Tim Clifford (11.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg), a second-team all-conference selection a year ago who led the league with 64 blocked shots and is 10 blocks shy of becoming the school's all-time leader.
"It's all about guards," Willard said. "You can take away big guys pretty easy, but you need good guard play, and right now that's a big question for us. If the guards aren't capable of knocking down shots, teams are going to sag on us inside. Like I've always said, I'd rather play against a good big guy than I would a good guard."
MICHAEL VEGA
Inside the numbers: Tim Clifford may be 6 feet 10 inches, but he connected on 13 of 35 3-pointers (37 percent). He also shoots 48 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line. Defensive-minded Crusaders held opponents to 41 percent shooting.
Five key games: Dec. 1 Dayton, Jan. 2 BU, Jan. 8 at Maryland, Jan. 18 Bucknell, Feb. 16 at Bucknell
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