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Good morning! It’s a busy week here at The Field of 68, so let’s get right to the news.

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Taste the Fresh Difference

1. What to know from Patriot League media day

We covered another conference via a media day with the Patriot League on Monday.

The league returns all 10 head coaches and also has a ton of player retention. A lot of the same faces will be impacting winning.

Please enjoy the full livestream above if you haven’t seen it. Be sure to also read our preview of the conference, which includes projected lineups, team strengths/weaknesses, roster turnover, and the Patriot League’s preseason awards.

Here were some of the best quotes from media day:

• American head coach Duane Simpkins on Madden Collins' jump this season: “He’s taken a tremendous step on the defensive end of the floor. His game management and emotional maturity has really taken a step. When things went bad, it affected all parts of his game and his body language. He has grown so much in that area. He’s bought in on the defensive end.” 

• Lehigh’s Brett Reed on Hank Alvey: “Hank’s a terrific player. His growth from his freshman year to his sophomore year was off the charts. He has to continue to grow in his confidence as a player and his confidence in leadership. It’s a matter of stepping in and being able to lead some other people. He understands the importance of it and it should be an easy way for him to step into a leadership role.”

• Colgate’s Matt Langel on Andrew Alekseyenko’s growth: “He’s worked really hard on his body. He’s trying to become more of a perimeter player. He worked really hard on decision making. He’s worked tirelessly on improving his range and shoot of the dribble. He’s put together a great offseason in my mind. I think he’ll be able to take advantage of his prowess in the paint.”

• Boston U coach Joe Jones on Kyrone Alexander: “There’s more that he’ll have to do this year as opposed to last year. He’ll have to be a scorer, playmaker, defender. He’ll have to play like a point guard at times. He’s very capable of all that. He’s a terrific all around player. If he’s your example, you’re doing well for sure.” 

• Navy’s Jon Perry on the secret of Drew Timmons: “He’s a heck of a basketball player… He can score a lot of different ways, and he’s really good defensively. He’s gonna have to help us fill a void with rebounding. Drew’s been having a really good fall camp and we expect big things from him this season.” 

• Bucknell coach John Griffin III about the biggest difference from last year to this year: “We are a little bit more physically imposing. We focused on finding some body types that can handle the physicality of a full 32 games now. We’re very versatile. We did check the box from a physicality standpoint.” 

• Lafayette head coach Mike McGarvey on the next step for his program: “Winning close games is something as a staff we’re looking at. Rebounding and effective field goal percentages are big keys for us to focus on. Usually the teams that win the league are top three in those categories.”

• Holy Cross head coach Dave Paulsen on Joe Nugent’s Achilles: “Joe is one of one in my career in his work ethic and dedication to getting better physically from a torn achilles. He’s hit every benchmark and had his surgery in early February. I’m cautiously optimistic that he’ll be back for conference play.”

• Loyola Maryland coach Josh Loeffler on Carter Berg-McLean’s jump: “We’re already seeing it. More aggression to score. He’s very physical and creates shot for others. He sets a tone physically on both ends. It’s empowering him to look to attack and score and set the table for everyoe else even better.”

• Army head coach Kevin Kuwik on the reliance of Ryan Curry: “He’s as experienced as any guy you’re gonna have in the Patriot League. I think the fearlessness, the confidence, the competitiveness, the winner that Ryan is, that’s invaluable for our younger guys. It’s channeling all those lessons and sharing that with the younger guys.”

2. Big Ten releases preseason poll, awards

With Big Ten media day approaching this Wednesday and Thursday, the conference released its preseason all-conference team and the Columbus Dispatch released a media poll projecting the league’s standings.

Here’s a look:

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