Bucknell Men's Basketball Season Outlook - BUCKNELL OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

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Josh Linthicum and the Bison open up against Maryland on Friday.

Bucknell Men's Basketball Season Outlook

Bison Open 2008-09 Campaign Friday at Maryland

Nov. 11, 2008

A new era of Bison Basketball begins on Friday night in College Park, Md., with new faces to be featured prominently both on the floor and on the bench. For just the third time since the Gerald Ford administration, Bucknell will be playing under a first-year head basketball coach, as former successful Williams College front man Dave Paulsen has succeeded the retired Pat Flannery.

The Bison, picked fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll, tip off the new campaign on Friday at 8 p.m. against Maryland. The game can be heard locally on Eagle 107 (107.3 FM) and on the web via SportsJuice.com.

Paulsen, who is Bucknell’s 20th head men’s basketball coach, led Williams to the 2003 Division III national championship and in eight years there he posted a 170-53 (.762) record and was twice named the National Coach of the Year. Paulsen has also been the head coach at Le Moyne (1997-2000) and St. Lawrence (1994-97), and in 14 years as a head coach has produced a record of 262-120 (.680).

Despite some preseason injuries that have led to some depth concerns entering the new year, Paulsen’s initial impression of his new team has been nothing short of positive.

“I am very excited about these guys as individuals,” said Paulsen. “They are exactly the reason why I accepted this position. I made it very clear to the players that none of them chose me. They chose Bucknell for the great blend of academics and athletics, and certainly the [previous] coaching staff was some part, if not a huge part, in their decision. But I wanted them to know that, ‘Hey guys, I chose you.’ I feel as strongly about that now as ever. They are great guys who are fun to be around. They have been very, very receptive and very coachable. In terms of the types of young men I am fortunate enough to work with every day, these guys are A-plus.”

Coming off three consecutive 20-win seasons, hopes were high for Bucknell entering the 2007-08 campaign, even with the graduation of the winningest class in program history (Chris McNaughton, Donald Brown, Abe Badmus). However, a rash of injuries and some offensive struggles prevented a fourth straight season at the top of the Patriot League, and the Bison finished 12-19 overall, 6-8 in the PL.

Senior co-captain Darren Mastropaolo, one of the team’s emotional leaders and a key frontcourt veteran, tore an ACL in a summer pick-up game and was lost for half the season, while fellow co-captain Rob Thomas along with veteran Jason Vegotsky missed large chunks of time with injuries. As a result, the Bison were left with an unsettled rotation for most of the year.

Unfortunately, the Bison have been bitten by another critical offseason injury, as reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Stephen Tyree will miss the entire year with a knee injury suffered in a September pick-up game.

Tyree’s loss will impact the Bison in every area. The athletic and versatile junior started every game last season and was obviously one of the premier defenders in the conference. He was one of the few players in the country to lead his team in both assists and rebounding, and he shot a stellar 57.9 percent from the floor. Aside from those statistics, Tyree’s biggest contribution heading into 2008-09 might have been his emerging leadership.

“Without a doubt, far and away the most impressive player in the preseason had been Stephen Tyree,” Paulsen lauded. “My heart aches for him, because he clearly had worked to prepare himself to take that proverbial next step. He is the returning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, and he was really showing flashes of doing some great things. I think he would have been a double-digit scorer for us, and I think he was really starting to embrace the mantle of leadership. So that’s a setback for him, and obviously it’s a big setback for our team.”

Even though Tyree will not be able to contribute on the floor, Paulsen is still hoping he can have an impact in the locker room.

“We want him to continue in a significant leadership role,” said Paulsen. “He’s so well-respected by every guy on the team. So many people, whether they are professors or other students, have gone out of their way to talk to me about what a great person Stephen is.”

So challenge No. 1 for Paulsen and his staff in the preseason has been to nurture someone other than Tyree as a true floor general. Mastropaolo and fellow 2008 graduate John Griffin had the leadership piece covered in spades last season, but both gave graduated, and the torch must be passed.

As the team’s probable starting point guard, Paulsen would love to see sophomore Darryl Shazier become more outspoken on the floor. Shazier, a quick lefty with a good handle, is coming off a solid rookie season. A tenacious defender, he also distributed the ball well and picked up a college motion offense fairly quickly. As he gets older and plays with more confidence, expect his scoring average — 3.1 points per game last season — to rise. After all, he once averaged 22 points per game in a terrific high school district on the Virginia coast.

Shazier was indeed enjoying an outstanding preseason until suffering a footb injury in a scrimmage game. His status for the season opener against Maryland is still uncertain.

“Darryl has been very impressive in our individual workouts,” Paulsen said in September. “He is in good shape. I think with a year under his belt he’s come back with plenty of confidence. What we are doing is going to be somewhat different than what he’s done in the past, but he’s got a good basketball IQ and has picked things up quickly. Now we’re talking with Darryl about being more vocal on the court and extending his leadership. With Stephen’s absence, that becomes even more critical for Darryl, but he’s going to figure very prominently in what we do.”

Bucknell does have an experienced three-man senior class in Justin Castleberry, Josh Linthicum and Jason Vegotsky. All three returned to school with various physical issues, however, limiting Paulsen’s on-court exposure with each of them. Vegotsky had offseason thumb surgery, which delayed his return to full basketball activities until around the first of November. When healthy, Vegotsky is as good a pure shooter as there is in the Patriot League. A career 40-percent shooter from 3-point range, the Yardley, Pa., native has hit a number of pressure shots in big games for the Bison, including game-winning treys against Xavier and Cornell during his sophomore year. The former Patriot League All-Rookie Team member also missed the start of last season with a stress fracture in his foot, and he was never really 100 percent all season. He is hoping for a quicker recovery heading into his senior campaign.

Linthicum had offseason elbow surgery, but he was back participating in team fitness workouts by mid-September. At his best, Linthicum gives the Bison a significant physical presence in the low post. He is not a flashy player but packs plenty of power. The best stretch of his career came last December, when he was doing a little bit of everything: scoring, rebounding at both ends, defending the post and blocking shots. His 18-point, 11-rebound, 5-block effort against North Dakota State at the Golden Bear Classic was the best of his career, and he followed it up with a 9-point, 12-board game against Long Beach State that featured three follow-up dunks or tip-ins in the final three minutes to help close out the win. Unfortunately for Linthicum, he dislocated a kneecap about a week after his all-tournament performance in California. He missed the first 10 Patriot League games and did not have the same impact after returning.

This season, Paulsen is hoping to simplify Linthicum’s role to get him back to where he was in December.

“I told Josh he’s got a chance to be the biggest, strongest kid in the Patriot League,” Paulsen said. “But he has to play like the biggest, strongest kid in the Patriot League. My sense is in the past he’s overanalyzed things. I told him if he can bury a guy in the paint and make two two-foot shots, put two offensive rebounds back in, and score off of two passes when a guard dribbles down the lane and dishes it off to him, then he’s got 12 points without even making a post move. That’s what we want out of him. We want to make the game as simple as possible for him. Let him concentrate on a couple of tasks and do those well, and he’s certainly been receptive to that idea.”

The third senior is Castleberry, who has been a dynamic offensive player for the Bison over the last two seasons. He averaged a career-high 10.9 points per game and had three 20-point games as a junior, when he ranked in the top 16 in the Patriot League in scoring, 3-pointers made (55), field-goal percentage (.387), 3-point percentage (.377) and free-throw percentage (.774). Castleberry is a career 38.4 percent shooter from the arc, and he canned multiple 3-pointers 18 times last season, including a 6-for-9 performance against St. Bonaventure. Castleberry has also shown an ability to drive the ball, and he also ranked among the league leaders in free throw attempts a year ago.

“Justin has the ability to score and an intuitive sense of the game,” said Paulsen. “He’s got a good skill package and my sense is that if he’s in shape he’s not going to get rattled in a game. He’s got a certain unflappability that a young guy is not going to have.”

Junior forward Patrick Behan brings a number of skills to the “4” position. He started 14 games last season and was a big scorer at the beginning of the year. Behan tallied a career-high 18 points against La Salle, 17 at Wagner and 16 apiece against Villanova and Albany. After hitting four 3-pointers in the Villanova game in mid-November, however, he seemed to lose confidence in his outside shot and did not make another trey the rest of the year. When he is hitting from long range, Behan is potentially a difficult matchup for the opposition.

“Pat Behan has been very receptive to the new staff and has worked hard this offseason,” Paulsen said. “Pat can be a real tough matchup for the ‘4’ men that we play against. I think right now he is a good shooter with the ability to become a great shooter. If he can become a great shooter, then he’s an unbelievably hard matchup. It’s important for Pat that the other guy has to adjust to him, and not the other way around. He’s got to take his skill level from good to great so that he can take bigger, slower ‘4’ men outside and knock down threes and space the floor. I can see him being guarded, and having to guard, a 6-9 muscle-bound guy one game, and a 6-4 quick, athletic guy the next game. He should be able to extend the floor on the monster guy, and he should be able to post the 6-4 quick guy. That’s his challenge. He’s got to get where he’s so proficient at those skills that the other team has to react to him, versus him reacting to the guy who’s a step quicker or 50 pounds heaver. I think he can get there, and when he does it’s going to have huge implications for our entire team.”

Sophomore G.W. Boon is a physically impressive wing who does a number of different things well. Boon has a smooth lefthanded jump shot with good range — he was third on the team with 29 3-pointers last season — and he can also take the ball to the glass. Boon is also a strong defender who was called upon to guard taller players on occasion. He missed some time with a shoulder injury during preseason practice but is expected to be available on opening night.

“G.W. has a great attitude about him, and it’s clear that he worked very hard in the offseason. As a young player, he is still processing everything on the floor, but he has the size, the body, the athleticism and the desire to be very good.”

Junior Zach Evans is fighting for his first chance to be a significant contributor on game nights. A scrappy rebounder and good defender, Evans came on a bit in the latter part of last season, and he played a career-high 10 minutes in Bucknell’s exciting overtime win at Colgate in February.

“Zach Evans is a terrific athlete,” commented Paulsen. “He can run, he can move laterally and he can jump. That would lead me to believe that he can be a good rebounder and defender, although I only have the individual workouts to base that on so far. If he can be great at those two things, now he’s a key contributor. He has shown the ability in our workouts to really drive the ball well, but he’s struggled with his consistency with his shot. Zach doesn’t have much of a track record, but he’s an interesting sort of wild card because he has some tools that could make him a factor. He’s got enough size and athleticism where he could be an effective guy driving and cutting and moving and defending and rebounding. Our system would be good for him if he plays up to his potential.”

Three scholarship freshmen are also working hard in the preseason to garner playing time right away. Enoch Andoh is a 6-8 low post presence from an outstanding Archbishop Mitty program in San Jose, Calif. Andoh is very strong and should be a good complement to Linthicum and Behan up front.

“Enoch has a chance to be very good,” Paulsen said. “He’s very skilled. He has a good basketball IQ. He’s been dinged up a bit in the preseason, so we’ve got to get his fitness level back to 100 percent. As he adjusts to the pace and physical stamina to compete at this level, I think he’s going to be able to score. I like what he’s done so far. He’s got a good body and a good skill set with instincts around the basket.”

Bryan Cohen is a versatile 6-5 guard from Abington Friends High School in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., outside Philadelphia. Cohen appears best-suited for an off-guard or wing position, but Paulsen thinks he also has the ability to back up Shazier at the point when necessary.

“Bryan Cohen has been impressive in our workouts,” Paulsen offered. “He’s going to be a guy who can impact a game. Clearly he’s going to have all the freshman adjustments to make, but he can be a guy who can make a couple of jump shots, make a couple of drives to the basket, a couple of assists, some rebounds, take some charges. When he’s a junior or senior he may not lead the league in any one statistical category, but it wouldn’t shock me if he ranks among the leaders in a bunch of them. He’s got a toughness about him and a savvy about the game.”

Probese Leo, a native of The Bahamas by way of St. Pius X High School in Houston, is an interesting frontcourt prospect. An athletic, 6-8 forward, Leo has only been playing organized basketball for two years. His upside is tremendous, however, and the coaches can envision the day when he becomes a dunking, rebounding, shot-blocking force. Plenty of hard work on the practice floor is going to be required to get there, but Paulsen seems pleased with his makeup.

“Probese has a chance to be a good player, but we are going to have to be patient with him and bring him along,” said Paulsen. “He’s long and athletic and he wants to be good. He’s only been playing the game for two years, so everything is new to him both on the court and in terms of the intensity that’s required to play Division I basketball.”

Three walk-ons will round out the roster this season. Junior guard Matt Fiery is in his second year in the program, a solid practice player with some quickness and a solid left-handed jump shot. Freshman Ryan Ebner, a 6-7 forward out of The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., will work with the frontcourt unit. A terrific athlete, Ebner will also pitch on the Bison baseball team in the spring. Also, Joe Mackey, a 5'10" freshman guard has been practicing with the team this fall. With the team’s overall health an issue during the preseason, establishing good top-to-bottom depth is of major importance to the first-year coaching staff.

“In order to play the way I’d like us to play we need depth,” said Paulsen. “I’d like to play nine or 10 deep. Establishing that is a concern. We would like to play up-tempo for sure, but in order to be able to do that you have to have depth and you have to be able to rebound the ball and you have to defend. So those are the first things. Defensively I’d love to play primarily man-to-man. I have a vision of how I’d like to play, whether we can get it all incorporated immediately is unclear.”