Aiden Konold ’26
Staff Writer
This coming Monday, November 6th, the Holy Cross Men’s Basketball team faces the Siena Saints on the road in the opening game of a hopeful 2023-24 college basketball season.
At the conclusion of the 2022-23 college basketball season, in which Holy Cross went 10-22, Holy Cross Associate Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, Kit Hughes, decided to part ways with former head coach Brett Nelson. In Nelson’s four seasons as the Holy Cross head men’s basketball coach, the Crusaders went 27-84 (21-49 in Patriot League play), including a 3-29 season in 2019-20.
The Crusaders have not had a winning season since the 2013-14 campaign (20-12, 12-6 in Patriot League play), though they did sneak into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2016-17 after surprising everyone to win the Patriot League Tournament. Despite the Crusaders’ lack of success lately, the Holy Cross Men’s Basketball program has participated in 13 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments, reaching two Final Fours, and winning the 1947 NCAA Tournament with Bob Cousy (‘50) at the helm.
“With our resources here at the Luth Athletic Complex, the world-class education Holy Cross provides, incredibly supportive fans and alumni, and accelerated growth in the city of Worcester, we must raise our standards and expectations for success throughout our program,” Kit Hughes said after initiating a national search for the Crusaders’ next head coach. “The time is now.”
On March 28th, just under three weeks after Hughes parted ways with Nelson, Dave Paulsen was named Holy Cross’ new head coach, the nineteenth in school history. Paulsen has twenty-seven years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level, going 491-305 over time spent at the D-III and D-I levels, including winning the D-III National Championship as the head coach of Williams College, his alma mater, in 2003. Paulsen spent the past two years working as an assistant coach with the Fordham University Rams Men’s Basketball team.
In addition to Paulsen, this year’s staff features three new members: Associate Head Coach Bryson Johnson, who spent the past two years as an assistant at the University of Vermont; assistant coach Ted Rawlings, who worked for four years on the Texas A&M- Commerce University coaching staff, guiding the team as they transitioned from D-II to D-I; and Director of Operations Colin Richey, who spent two seasons as an assistant at Tufts. Assistant coach R.J. Evans, who played college basketball at Holy Cross. enters his fifth season on the Crusader coaching staff.
The 2023-24 Crusader Men’s Basketball roster features nine returners, including junior Caleb Kenney and senior Bo Montgomery, whose name briefly entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of last season. As soon as Paulsen was named Holy Cross’ new head coach, Pauslen talked with Montgomery, giving him the “confidence and trust” he needed to decide to return to Holy Cross for his senior season.
Bo has been a key contributor during his three years at Holy Cross, increasing his points per game average from 4.3 his first-year season to 11.3 in his junior year. During the offseason, Montgomery has been hard at work, improving his defensive skill set and working on adjusting to Paulsen’s five-out motion offense, in which all five players start outside of the three point line and then proceed to cut and screen to open positions. Montgomery said this transition has been “smooth.”
Junior Caleb Kenney, an outstanding rebounder and finisher around the rim, has been working on his ball-handling and conditioning, key skill sets for Paulsen’s motion offense. “The transition has been good,” Kenney said.
During his time at Holy Cross, Kenney has been a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and he was recently awarded a 2023-24 Engaged Athlete Fellowship in honor of his service, which gives Kenney a “great sense of gratitude.”
As a junior, Kenney emphasizes the importance of participating in public service to the underclassmen. “I want to show them that they can use the influence of basketball in other realms [of life],” Kenney said. “I have seen great strides so far from the freshmen.”
Six freshmen highlight this year’s roster, each working extremely hard throughout the offseason to prepare themselves for the season ahead. They will be in great shape under the guidance of Montgomery, Kenney, and the other returners.
In the Patriot League preseason poll, the Crusaders were selected to finish fourth, though the road will be difficult. Holy Cross has not finished better than fifth place in the Patriot League since 2013, when they finished third.
Holy Cross Men’s Basketball’s 2023-24 schedule features two Big East games, the first on the road against Georgetown on November 11th and the second on the road against St. John’s on November 25th, as well as a road game against Boston College scheduled for December 8th. The Crusaders were offered a spot in the Big East during the conference’s formation in the late 1970s, but Father John Brooks, Holy Cross’ president at the time and the namesake of the Brooks residence hall, declined, believing that an acceptance would interfere with Holy Cross’ academic mission.
This strong academic focus ultimately led Montogmery and Kenney, among many others, to attend Holy Cross. Both Montgomery and Kenney wanted to attend a school that would prepare them for life after basketball, while also allowing them to develop as basketball players.
Holy Cross has always been known as a strong academic school, but this year’s basketball schedule provides “a great opportunity and puts us in a position to only get better,” Montgomery said. “This is a chance to show everyone else what we have to offer.”
“We have great opportunities ahead this season, including against Boston College and Big East [programs],” Kenney said, “to showcase that we can still play basketball.”
Featured Image Courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
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