Lackawanna has strong sophomore class

Lackawanna (PA) College is already busy conditioning for the 2007-08 season. In fact, when JucoJunction caught up with head coach Rick Cabrera, his team had just finished a morning run. Cabrera has plenty of talent with which to work this season.

Leading the way is 6-foot-7 Chris Hahn. Hahn already has offers from St. Francis (NY), Robert Morris and Maryland-Baltimore County. Cabrera said about eight more schools are coming in to watch the forward in the next few weeks, including Monmouth and Morehead State on Sunday.

"This kid is very skilled for his size," Cabrera said. "All the coaches thave have come into see him have been very impressed. He can shoot, handle the ball, he is very effective with his back to the basket. He was all-region as a freshman, and I'm presuming if he stays healthy, he will probable be and all-American."

Hahn does not have any visits set up just yet.

"We are in the process of doing that, and he is going to get a couple in before we start in October," Cabrera said. "One of them will be Robert Morris and the other either St. Francis or UMBC. They've just got to get their dates together."

Hahn's frontcourt mate Adrian Gailliard is attracting attention as well.

"He's very similar to Chris, but Chris is a better ball handler," said the coach. "He is athletic, he is a shot blocker, has solid post moves, can make the 15 footer on a consistent basis. He's just a strong post player."

Monmouth, Coppin State, St. Peterls, Alabama State, New Hampshire, Tennessee Tech and Central Connecticut State are all coming in to see Gaillard.

Lackawanna also has a somewhat well-kept secret. Stephon Draper was a pre-season all-American a year ago and had a solid season. He did not finish his course work last year. Instead of going the Division II route, Draper decided to come back and get his classes taken care of this semester. He will redshirt and will be eligible next September at the Division One level if all goes according to plan.

"He does have some schools coming to look at him in September," Cabrera said. "There are some coaches who know he is here, but a lot of coaches didn't know he was coming back. They thought he was going Division II."

Last but not least is 6-foot-2 guard Kevin Presbery.

"He doesn't do one thing great, he does everything very well," Cabrera said. "He's a great rebounder for his size, he can score, he can pass, great defender. He's going to play the other team's best offensive player."

Presbery is getting mostly Division II attention right now, but has caught the eye of some low-major programs.

"He's going to be a tough player for us this upcoming year," Cabrera said. "He had a great year as a freshman. His stock's going to go up as the season goes on."

Fans should also keep an eye on wing man Darnell Moore. Lackawanna will play at Rick Ball's showcase event at St. Peter's on October 28th.