Things looking up for Lions this year

After spending two seasons in the Ivy League cellar, Columbia was revived last year under new head coach Joe Jones. This year, Jones is looking to help the Lions further narrow the gap between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and the Ivy League's traditional powers.

Last season, the only direction Jones could take Columbia was up. After finishing 4-10 in conference play in 2001-02 and losing every Ivy game in 2002-03, then-coach Armond Hill was fired and Jones was brought in from Villanova to try to right the ship.

He did so in spectacular fashion, guiding the Lions to a 6-8 league finish which included home wins over Brown and Yale and season sweeps of Harvard and Dartmouth.

Columbia has continued to improve this season, becoming the first Ivy League team to record 10 wins. For a while, the Lions were touted as possibly the best team in New York City.

"I heard that stuff," Jones said. But he argued that he is wary of such labels with so many games left to play.

"I just think you have to go through the course of the season and all that stuff will be determined," he said. "I don't think about those things that much at all."

Nonetheless, Columbia was very much the center of attention in late December, when it played Canisius and ACC powerhouse North Carolina State in the annual Dreyfus Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.

It was the Lions' first trip to the Garden since 1988, and nearly 1,500 of their fans were on hand to watch the Wolfpack get a real scare before winning, 84-76.

"The games in the Garden really got people from Columbia in the area a glimpse of what our program could be," Jones said. "We gained some respect from some people."

Among those people were members of the New York media, which shined the spotlight on Jones in the days before the N.C. State game. The New York Times, the New York Daily News and the New York Post all ran feature stories on the Lions, an impressive trifecta considering the constant news that the Big Apple's professional teams generate.

Columbia started Ancient Eight play with a solid 74-59 home win over in-state rival Cornell. Perhaps as impressive as the Lions' 10-of-13 shooting from three-point range was the announced Levien Gym crowd of 2,416, which included a revitalized student section and a large number of New York City schoolchildren.

"We feel good about that because we want to have a home field advantage at some point," Jones said. "The people here have really supported us."

On the floor, Columbia is led by a pair of seniors looking to leave a lasting impression on the Ivy League. Forward Matt Preston leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.5 points and 7.2 boards per game. But Jones admires him just as much for the intangible qualities Preston brings to the court.

"I would say that we go as Matt goes -- he's our leader," Jones said. "He doesn't always have to score points, but his overall tenacity helps our program and our team, and our guys are able to follow his lead."

Columbia's offense is also anchored by guard Jeremiah Boswell, one of only two Lions to start all 15 games this season. Boswell is averaging 10.3 points per game and is shooting a very impressive 54.3 percent from three-point range.

"He's been very consistent," Jones said of the Jasper, Ga., native. "He's really, really improved his first step, he's much more explosive than he was last year and that has really helped our team."

The Lions have also made good use of a deep and talented bench. Eleven players have played in at least 10 games this season, and no player is averaging more than 30 minutes of playing time per game.

Jones admitted that such a deep rotation "just sort of happens," but added, "I think we have a lot of guys that can play."

"We play 11, 12 guys, so certain guys don't get as many touches," he said. Jones noted that freshman guard Mack Montgomery, who is averaging only six points per game but is shooting 52 percent from three-point range, "could probably be scoring nine or 10 a game, but he doesn't get the minutes that he would if he were playing somewhere else."

That he and other freshmen such as Ben Nwachukwu -- who almost came to Penn before changing his mind late in the recruiting process -- are playing on Morningside Heights is a testament to Jones' recruiting skills and personality. If he is able to help Columbia improve even more this season, Lions fans may have good reason to roar in the coming weeks.

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