For most athletes, the first year of college is a big adjustment period. The schedule demands, the faster pace of play, juggling academics, etc.

Knoch grad Ryan Lang seemed to handle both with aplomb last year. As a freshman on the Allegheny men’s basketball team, Lang averaged 14.8 points while starting 27 of the Gators’ 30 games. He shot a blistering 46.2% from 3-point range (72 of 156) and contributed 21 steals.

Twice he was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.

He seemed to have the college thing mastered in no time. Diving headlong into his sophomore season would be a piece of cake.

But there was another adjustment ahead.

Bob Simmons, who had served as the Gators’ coach for the previous eight seasons, suddenly resigned to take a position with IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Enter Josh Clemens, who had been with Allegheny’s staff only since July and came in with the idea he would serve as one of Simmons’ assistants.

“We had some really good conversations, and one day he called me into the office for what I thought was going to be another great conversation,” said Clemens, who spent the past four seasons as coach at Paul Smith’s College in New York. “He said, ‘Hey, by the way, I’m taking a job at IMG.’

“I was really excited for him, and we started to talk about what’s next, and I was really fortunate that he was comfortable with me taking over his program. He suggested that to (Allegheny) president (Ron) Cole and our athletic director, Bill Ross. Both of them agreed that I was able to take the reins.”

Clemens didn’t officially take over the program until September, leaving less than two months to prepare his players for the season. That meant Lang and the rest of the Gators were about to get a crash course in Clemens’ style and system.

The early going was bumpy, to be sure. The Gators lost their first three games, including their PAC opener at Grove City. But Allegheny won three of its next five and entered the weekend at 3-6, 2-3 in the PAC.

Lang said he believes the team is on the right track.

“It was definitely a shock when we heard coach Simmons was stepping down,” he said, “but we’re really confident in the coaching staff we have right now.

“We’re very similar to how we played last year. We are a tad bit quicker. We kind of push the ball a little more. Other than that, we’ve kept the same system. We have the same guys. I haven’t seen too many differences as of right now.”

Lang’s scoring and shooting are down a bit from last season. He is averaging 11.6 points while shooting 39% from the field. Part of that could be attributed to a rare off night in a Dec. 2 loss to Geneva in which Lang went 0 for 8 from the field. (Second-leading scorer Luke Barker was 0 for 5, and the Gators shot 27.7% as a team.)

But Lang did have six rebounds and a team-high two steals. Those are two areas he said he focused on in the offseason.

His rebounding, in particular, is better. After averaging 3.8 per game last season, he is at 4.9 this season. He had a personal-best 12 rebounds against Lancaster Bible College on Nov. 10.

“I think that came with putting on a little extra weight and staying in the gym,” Lang said about his improved rebounding. “Just trying to impact the game in different ways.

“I wanted to improve my defense and my pace of play and taking better shots and creating better opportunities for my teammates.”

Having a player of Lang’s ilk made Clemens’ transition to the head of the Gators’ bench easier, he said.

“Ryan is a plug-and-play player,” Clemens said. “Very talented on offense, confident on defense, a strong, physical player that really can play in any system. But we’re glad he’s playing in ours. A lot of downhill attacking and just keeps playing hard.”

The recent performance at Geneva not withstanding, Lang has had his moments in the early going. He scored in double figures in each of the Gators’ first six games, including 20 and 23 in the first two. He also had five assists and no turnovers against Grove City.

Collectively, the Gators have been trying to shore up their defense after yielding 84 points per game over the first eight. Allegheny is learning to adapt and play better team defense after the graduation of Caden Hinckley, the PAC Defensive Player of the Year last season.

“We’ve had some growing pains,” Clemens said. “Obviously, the beginning of the season is not what we wanted it to be. You could see our offensive skill, but our defensive communication was the biggest issue. Having a new voice in the locker room is always a difficult thing.”

Added Lang: “We’ve repped it a lot in practice. I think our defense is getting better and better every game we play, and I think it’s only going to get better as we continue.”

With two-and-a-half months of basketball remaining, the Gators have plenty of time to improve and live up to their and others’ expectations.

Even with the coaching change, Allegheny was voted to finish third in the PAC preseason men’s poll after finishing runner-up to W&J last season.

Lang knows the PAC is fraught with challenges, but he is confident he and his team can be contending for a title come February.

“We have jelled really well together, and I think it’s only up from here,” Lang said. “I think we hit our stride a little bit, and I’m very happy with where we’re at as a team.

“I think we’re still a championship team. We have a great coaching staff, we have the same players. We have a group of guys we can take to the PAC championship and win it.”

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