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Men's Basketball
It’s all about the teamwork. The 2002-03 Holy Cross
men’s basketball team proved they can compete at any
level and against any competition. The Crusaders went a remarkable
26-5, the second highest single-season wins total in school
history, and the most since 1953-54. Holy Cross reached the
NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year—a Patriot
League record—falling to Marquette, 72-68, in the first
round of the “Big Dance.” It marked the second
time in the last three years that the Crusaders have fallen
to a team ranked in the top-10 in the nation.
This year’s basketball team proved the old adage that
individuals may win scoring titles, but teams win championships.
The Crusaders captured the Patriot League title for the second
time in the last three years with an outstanding 13-1 mark.
The 13 conference wins matched the most wins by a conference
team in league play in the league’s 12-year history.
Holy Cross then went on to capture its third straight tournament
title. The team did not have a single player ranked in the
top-10 in the conference in scoring yet led the league in
almost every statistical category, including scoring offense
(70.3 points per game), scoring defense (58.7), scoring margin
(+11.6), field goal percentage (46.2), rebounding margin
(+7.9), blocked shots (4.45), assists (15.77) and steals
(7.94).
Center Patrick Whearty ’03 (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
took Patriot League Player of the Year accolades. Whearty
averaged 12.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season.
He led the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks and field
goal percentage, and became the second Crusader in the last
three years to win Player of the Year honors, joining roommate Tim
Szatko ’03 (Naperville, Ill.), who earned the honors
in 2000-01. Whearty’s 42 blocks gave him 131 for his
career, which ranks second all-time at Holy Cross. He also
became just the 10th player in College history to score over
1,000 points (1,068) and pull down over 675 rebounds (688).
In addition, Whearty was named the Patriot League Tournament
Most Valuable Player. He averaged 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds
per game in the conference tournament.
Whearty was not the only Crusader to garner individual accolades.
Point guard Jave Meade ’04 (Queensbridge, N.Y.)
joined Whearty on the first team. Meade led the conference
in assists (193), steals (65) and assist to turnover ratio
(2.72-to-1) for the second straight year. He ranks fourth
all-time at Holy Cross in assists (444) and second in steals
(186). Meade also fine-tuned his scoring this season, averaging
10.5 points per game. He saved his best for last against
Marquette in the NCAA Tournament, posting his fourth double-double
of the season with 10 points and 11 assists.
Captain Brian Wilson ’03 (Plainfield, N.J.)
also earned All-Patriot League honors. Wilson, a Second Team
All-Patriot League selection, ranked second on the team in
three-point shooting (43.0), while leading the Crusaders
in free throw shooting (89.3). He ranked second on the team
in scoring this season, averaging 11.5 points per game. Wilson’s
137 three-point field goals ranked second all-time at Holy
Cross. He became the 38th player in school history to score
over 1,000 career points when he notched a game-high 24 points
to lead the team to a crucial win over American during the
regular season.
Szatko earned All-NABC Second Team accolades this season
after averaging 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Szatko
led the team in scoring nine times during the season. He
also became just the fifth player in Holy Cross history to
score over 1,400 points (1,464) and pull down over 750 rebounds
(783). Szatko joined the likes of Tom Heinsohn ’56,
Chris Potter ’78, Togo Palazzi ’54, and Ed Siudut ’69
in this exclusive club. Szatko ranks 11th all-time at Holy
Cross in scoring and ninth in rebounding. He is also only
the third player in Patriot League history with over 1,400
points and 700 rebounds.
Several other Crusaders made key contributions to the team’s
success this season. Mark Jerz ’03 (Spring Lake,
N.J.) made the most of his final year, becoming a key player
off the bench. Jerz led the team and the Patriot League in
three-point shooting, connecting on 50.0 percent of his attempts
from beyond the arc (33-of-66)—averaging 5.4 points
per game this season while playing in a career-high 27 games.
Jerz played more minutes this season (493) than he had in
the previous three seasons combined (395).
Kevin Hamilton ’06 (Queens Village, N.Y.) also
played a key role coming off the bench for Holy Cross. Hamilton
averaged 4.4 points per game in his first season but saved
his best for the Patriot League Tournament. He earned All-Tournament
accolades, averaging 12.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Hamilton connected on 63.2 percent of his shots from the
field and 54.5 percent of his shots from three-point range.
He posted his best performance in the Championship game,
scoring 13 points—eight in the second half and six rebounds—all
in the second half against American.
Greg Kinsey ’05 (Hatboro, Pa.) started 27 games
for the Crusaders, averaging 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds
per contest. Kinsey’s strength was his defensive play
as he ranked second in the Patriot League in steals. He tied
the Holy Cross single-game record with seven steals against
Brown in Providence.
Nate Lufkin ’05 (Austin, Texas) and John
Hurley ’05 (South Boston, Mass.) proved that the
future is bright for Holy Cross basketball. Lufkin connected
on 61.5 percent of his attempts from the floor (67-of-109)
while ranking second in the team in blocks with 29. Hurley
ranked fifth on the team in offensive rebounds while playing
key minutes at the power forward position. He scored a
season-high 12 points against Quinnipiac and then added
11 points in the win over Lehigh.
Center Neil Fingleton ’04 (Durham, England)
and guard Michael Smiley ’05 (Swampscott, Mass.)
also contributed during the year. Fingleton averaged 2.9
points and 1.6 rebounds per game playing behind Whearty.
Smiley started the first three games of the season and shot
36.0 percent (9-of-25) from three-point range during the
year.
Kevin Hyland ’06 (White Plains, N.Y.) and Greg
Richter ’04 (Gaithersburg, Md.) saw limited action
this season, but both will be counted upon to contribute
more next season.
Under the direction of head coach Ralph Willard, Holy Cross
has won 66 games over the past three years—the most
victories in a three-year span since the program won 70 games
during the 1951-54 seasons. Even though the Crusaders lose
four players to graduation—with returning players led
by the lone junior on the roster, Jave Meade—the future
looks very bright for men’s basketball.
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