Perhaps no Patriot League team is facing more questions in the upcoming season than American. Jeff Jones’ squad lost four of five starters, as well as sixth man Arvydas Eitutavicius, to graduation, and they break camp with seven new players on the roster. But rather than view that as a problem, Jones chooses to consider it an opportunity.

Last year, Bucknell and Holy Cross put up a combined record of 28-0 against the other six Patriot League teams in the regular season and league tournament. This year, the degree of difficulty for both schools is turned up a notch.

There may have been some surprise when Lehigh chose to replace the departing Billy Taylor with Brett Reed, who has no head coaching experience on his resume. But Mountain Hawk fans should not worry that their team is being led by a neophyte. “I’ve essentially been preparing for this opportunity my entire life,” Reed said at Patriot League Media Day on Thursday.

The 2006-2007 Holy Cross Crusaders took home not only the Patriot League title, but also the league Player of the Year trophy. Early returns say the rest of the conference expects a repeat of both of those.