Forum › Forum › Lehigh Sports › Lehigh Men’s Basketball › Bye, Doc. › Reply To: Bye, Doc.
Toddcudd – I don’t know where you live, but if you live in or near the Lehigh Valley, I suggest you examine the coaching record over the last 10 years of the men’s basketball coach at Lehigh’s biggest sports rival, particularly when that Lehigh rival was expected to be a top level Patriot League team, and then compare that to the record Brett Reed has compiled, keeping in mind the preseason expectations for both teams each year. I also suggest you compare Reed’s record to pretty much every Lehigh men’s basketball coach’s record since 1930. (And if you don’t want to do any of the above, I’ll merely mention two words to you – Sal Mentesana.)
None of the above is meant to suggest Lehigh didn’t have a disappointing season in 2016-17. They were favored to win the Patriot League, and finished tied for 2nd in the regular season and lost in the conference tournament championship game, so they fell short of expectations. On the other hand, Lehigh DID go 20-12, so they did have a pretty good season and really only marginally underachieved.
(For the record, as a Lehigh Valley native who follows both Lehigh and Lafayette, I like Fran O’Hanlon and thought he did a great job at Lafayette during most of his first 10 years there, but it has to be pointed out that O’Hanlon’s teams have generally either been mediocre/bad or underachieved relative to expectations most of the time over the last 12 or so years.)