Some might point to the injuries, which bit time and again last year like an 80-yard Tiger Woods approach shot.
Some might point to a lackluster 68.4 team free-throw percentage, which certainly played a role in their losing nine games by nine points or less, including six straight conference outings from Jan. 13-27.
Mike Schatzmann, meanwhile, points to something else.
"You can blame it on injuries here and there, but I think a lot of it was just team chemistry," Elizabethtown College's senior guard and co-captain said of the 2006-07 Blue Jays, whose 9-15 overall record and dismal 4-10 mark in the Commonwealth Conference kept them out of the CC playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
"We basically started making excuses toward the middle of the season. It was almost to the point where we're playing a good team that night, the first-place team in the conference, and we lost by three, and it's … 'Well, that's all right, at least we didn't get blown out … we'll get 'em next time.' Then we'd go out the next week and play the second-place team and lose by five and say 'Well, at least we were right there, at least we're competing.' And that just can't be our mindset."
All of which leaves Schatzmann, a Pequea Valley product, and senior guard/forward and co-captain Chad Piersol, trying to right a ship that sailed to its worst season in head coach Bob Schlosser's 17 years at the helm last year, and posted the program's worst record since E-town's 1972-73 team went 5-17 overall and 2-8 in the Middle Atlantic Conference .
That endeavor starts tonight at 8 when E-town hosts Penn State-Berks in the first round of the Days Inn East Blue Jay Classic at Thompson Gym, following a 6 p.m. first-round game between Rutgers-Camden and Methodist.
Tonight's winners will play for the tournament title Saturday at 3 p.m., following a 1 p.m. consolation game.
"You can talk about (getting back to) the playoffs, but for me, my freshman class is the last team that hasn't won a (conference) championship," Piersol said. "So, for me, that's the motivation factor. I don't want to be the class that didn't win that championship (for E-town)."
The Jays may end up having a shot at that title, despite being picked to finish last in a Commonwealth Conference preseason poll. Especially considering an odd realignment that saw former Commonwealth foes Juniata, Moravian and Susquehanna relocate to the newly-formed Landmark Conference, leaving the six-team CC with no overwhelming favorite.
Equally beneficial, perhaps, is that the 10-game conference schedule doesn't even begin until Jan. 22, giving E-town plenty of time to figure out how to replace departed forward Luke Ledyard and guards Brian Goodwin, Greg Brizek and Kris Kieres in its traditional high-pressure, full-court attack.
"It's going to give us time to get our act together," said Schlosser. "The (up-tempo) way we play, we need to play 10 guys. And right now, we feel comfortable with five or six. It's going to take some time until we figure out who (fits) where."
Two of the biggest comforts lie in Schatzmann and Piersol.
Schatzmann, a 6-foot-3 inside-outside threat, led the team in scoring (11.0 points per game), rebounding (3.9 pg), steals (46) and free-throw percentage (79.3) last year, while shooting 37.9 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Piersol, also an inside-outside threat at 6-foot-4, was third in scoring (9.6 ppg) a year ago, second in free-throw percentage (75.6), and shot a team-best 42.9 percent from behind the arc.
"They're our go-to guys," said Schlosser, who is also confident in a supporting cast of junior point guard Phil Schaffer and 6-4 sophomore forwards Mike Church (Solanco) and Josh Houseal (Hempfield).
Bryce Rodgers, a 6-5 senior forward who averaged 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game last year, is also a likely starter. But he could be out through the weekend after rolling his ankle.
"I believe the guys we start are solid," said Schlosser, who has been happy with his team's defensive effort so far. "But we need to come up with solid guys to back them up."
A few that will likely be called upon are reserve guards Matt Stein and Ben Schlosser (a Lancaster Catholic grad and the coach's son) and senior forwards Jordan Dirago (6-foot-3) and Nick Kennedy (6-6).
In an untraditional move, Bob Schlosser might even give freshmen guards Keith Fogel, Joe Flanagan (Lancaster Mennonite) and Brady Haughney, along with freshman forward Anthony Romero, some quality minutes this season.
A season E-town hopes will result in a return to the playoffs, and the success the program has traditionally known.
"Nobody knew their role last year … we never figured out how to play together," Piersol said. "And I can see the difference this year. It's like night and day."
Schatzmann, for one, wants to keep it that way.
E-mail: jfulginiti@lnpnews.com 
