Bucknell Picked Second in PL Preseason Poll, Hass Named Preseason All-League

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – First-year head coach Nathan Davis and senior co-captain Chris Hass represented Bucknell at the Patriot League Men's Basketball Media Day on Thursday at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. Hass was one of the five Preseason All-Patriot League selections, and the Bison were picked a close second to Lehigh in the preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors.

"We are excited that the season is just around the corner," said Davis. "We still have a lot of work to do, but this is a great group to work with every day. It is a tight-knit team with good leadership, and the talent is certainly there to potentially be a very good team."

"The coaching staff has done a great job continuing our culture of being a hard-working team," said Hass. "We might not be the most athletic team, but we don't want to let anyone out-work us. I love the group we have coming back, and we are really looking forward to the season."

Bucknell received eight of the 20 first-place votes in the preseason poll, with Lehigh garnering the other 12. The Mountain Hawks totaled 156 points in the poll, with the Bison a close second with 150.

Boston University was picked third with 126 points, followed by Army West Point (108), American (84), Lafayette (82), Loyola (73), Holy Cross (50), Colgate (36) and Navy (35).

Hass was joined on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team by Cedric Hankerson of Boston University, Tim Kempton of Lehigh, Nick Lindner of Lafayette and Jesse Reed of American. Kempton was announced as Preseason Player of the Year.

Hass was a First Team All-Patriot League selection last season and a Second Team pick as a sophomore. He ranked third in the conference in scoring at 16.0 points per game last season, and he will be the league's No. 2 returning scorer in 2015-16.

Hass, who was also an NABC All-District 13 selection last season, scored in double figures in 24 of the team's 34 games in 2014-15, and he scored 20 or more points in a game 10 times and 30-plus twice. He poured in a career-high 32 points against No. 12 Villanova early in the season, and then equaled that mark against Holy Cross in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal victory.

The Bison return all five starters and five of their top six scorers from last year's team that captured the Patriot League regular-season title for the fourth time in the last five years.

Chris Hass with Campus Insiders' Jordan Cornette: