Following a season that saw Columbia garner its most overall wins—16—since the 1992-93 season, and its most Ivy wins—seven—since 2000-01, expectations are high for this season. Combine that with the fact that each of last year’s starters, as well as every significant bench player, will return to this year’s squad, and you’re looking at a team in an open Ivy League competing for the championship.
While expectations are high for the senior-heavy team, head coach Joe Jones has preached an in-the-moment mentality that will hopefully allow the team to remain focused throughout the arduous season.
“Our big thing this year is living in the here-and-now and worrying about what’s going on right now and how we’re doing at this moment,” Jones said. “That’s what we’ve really been talking about.”
The Lions return their entire starting five from last year in seniors John Baumann, Ben Nwachukwu, Mack Montgomery, Brett Loscalzo, and sophomore Niko Scott. Nwachukwu averaged a solid 8.8 points to go along with 5.2 rebounds while starting in every game. Montgomery was third on the team in minutes played and shot a blistering 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. Loscalzo and Scott combined to average 11.7 points per game, and both shot a high percentage from three-point range.
But Columbia was clearly led by Baumann, who paced the team in both points and rebounding, with 13.3 and 6.5 respectively, while leading the Ivy League in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. Those numbers earned him a spot on the first-team All-Ivy squad.
“To have a guy that is one of your hardest workers, one of your best people to be your best player, to be your captain—it’s immeasurable what an impact that has on a program,” Jones said about Baumann. “He’s gotten better each year. His understanding has gotten better. His skill level has gotten better.”
Following the starters are several players who saw plenty of action last season. Sophomore Patrick Foley and junior Joe Bova made great strides toward the end of the last campaign, as Foley was second on the club in points per game with 8.9, while Bova improved steadily after a mediocre freshman season. The Lions will also benefit from having sharp shooter KJ Matsui coming off the bench. Guards Justin Armstrong and Kevin Bulger will provide the Lions with the defensive tenacity and experience needed during the end of games. Junior center Jason Miller, who Jones believes has made one of the biggest leaps in the offseason, will be counted on to give the Lions quality minutes in the post. Senior Kashif Sweet and junior Daniel Trepanier will look to better their prior seasons.
The Lions also bring two new players into the program in center Zack Crimmins and forward Asenso Ampim. Both were highly sought after out of high school, but the Lions were able to snag this quality front-court duo that will help this year and in years to come.
“Both guys are definitely guys that are going to have an impact on the program, but we’ll have see how much of it will be this year, or in the future,” Jones said. “But they’re both very good players.”
With quality depth, a better understanding of what is needed for offensive execution, especially at the end of games, and a lot of experience, the Lions have a great opportunity to improve on their 7-7 2006-07 campaign. To do so, they must improve their defense, which ranked in the middle of the Ivy League last season.
“I’ve been really focusing on trying to improve defensively,” Jones said. “I think that is a major concern for us. We finished fifth in defensive field goal percentage. We definitely have hopes of finishing in the top of the league this year, so we have to improve in that area.”
With defending champion Penn losing its two best players from last season and all the other top teams losing quality players, the Ivy League is wide open. Improvement in defense and late-game execution will be necessary for Columbia to assert itself early on. It will not be easy, but it appears that this is the Lions’ chance to finally get another Ivy League championship.