2013-14 Bucknell Men's Basketball Media Guide - Bucknell Athletics

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2013-14 Season Outlook Ryan Hill Hass is another interesting option. He has the potential to be a devastating scorer, as evidenced by his 2,522 points at the high school level. Even in a limited role last season he poured in 20 points in 47 total minutes. There is little question that Hass can score at the Division I level, but the coaching staff has been working hard to get him up to speed at the defensive end. If he can continue to develop in that area, Hass is another player who could be in line for an increased role in 2013-14. “Chris has made tremendous strides,” Paulsen said. “He is a very talented offensive player. He has the ability to shoot from deep, he can attack the rim off the bounce, and he is athletic and has become more consistent. Last year he was a pretty good catch-and-shoot guy, and he has the potential to be a great one. He’s become more mature in his approach to the game. We want him to be the happy-go-lucky goofy kid that he is, that’s what makes him so special, but he’s making progress on establishing a little bit of an alter ego when he walks onto the floor. His biggest challenge is on the defensive end, but I’ve been pleased with the progress he’s made up to this point.” With four 1,000-point scorers on last year’s roster, Paulsen was confident in his team’s ability to put the ball in the basket. So a much greater percentage of his practice time was devoted to defense and rebounding. It paid off, as the Bison ranked No. 1 nationally in defensive rebounding percentage and No. 4 in field-goal percentage defense, and they conceded more than 70 points in a game only twice all year. “I’ve never coached defense more intensely than I did last year, because I knew we could score,” said Paulsen. “We probably could have been even better offensively, but I wasn’t as worried about that. If we could defend and rebound, I knew we could be really good, and we were able to do those things. This year we have nobody coming back besides Cam who scored more than three points per game, so this year the first week of practice we spent more time on the offensive end than I ever have. Now we are trying to catch up defensively. It’s a fine line. We have to do some things to be able to score, so offensively we are adding some wrinkles and layers because our personnel is different and our strengths are different. But we have established a clear identity as a team in terms of how we defend, and we don’t want to lose that.” The challenge of replacing Muscala and Willman in the frontcourt will obviously be enormous, but Paulsen says he doesn’t want the heir apparents to feel pressured to make up for all of that production alone. The most experienced of the returnees is graduate student Brian Fitzpatrick, who is using his fifth year after sitting out in 2010- 11 following a transfer from Penn. Fitzpatrick was typically the first big man to come off the bench in each of the last two seasons, and he had some big games in that reserve role, most notably a 10-rebound performance with Muscala in foul trouble in that key win at Lehigh last season. The lefthander is a strong, physical presence who likely will be thrust into a primary role for the first time in his career. “Fitzy had an unbelievable year for us two years ago,” said Paulsen. “Last year his numbers weren’t quite as strong, and I attribute a lot of that to him being behind physically coming off the wrist surgery that kept him out for the beginning of preseason. Now his role is going to expand, potentially as much as anyone in our program. To some degree, how well he is able to expand his role will be a factor in our team’s success. He’s got versatility that hasn’t always been displayed based on his role, but he’ll be able to display it now. At the same time, he has to continue to embrace being our best low-post scorer and being a dominant rebounder. If he can do both of those things, he will have a very good year and our team will have a very good year. I don’t want him to think he has to be Mike Muscala. I just want him to be the best version of Brian Fitzpatrick that he can possibly be. If he plays to his potential, he is really good. We just need him to be focused on the two or three things he can do at a high level.” Sophomore Dom Hoffman played in 29 games off the bench a year ago, primarily in relief of Willman at the power forward spot. He had a 10-point game at home against Lehigh, and he was able to contribute while making the adjustment to the size and quickness at the Division I level. “Dom has really made some nice strides,” Paulsen commented. “He is a tremendously skilled forward. He is a smart player off the pick-and-roll and is a good mid-range jump-shooter. He is a very good passer and can help facilitate our offense. I often said that Joe Willman was the smartest player I have ever coached. On the offensive end of the floor, Dom has a chance to catch and even exceed Joe. Where Joe set himself apart is that he was also one of the smartest defensive players I have coached. Right now Dom has to make significant strides defensively and on the glass. He’s done a lot of work on his body and his conditioning level is better. He’s going to have a ton of opportunity to play, and I think he is poised to make some more significant strides.” Junior Cory Starkey, sophomore Matt Banas and freshmen D.J. MacLeay and Ben Oberfeld are also battling for time up front. Starkey has been extremely dedicated to improving his game over the last two seasons, and he could be in line for a more prominent role if he continues to develop throughout the preseason. “I would have similar comments about Cory as I would about Joshea Singleton,” said Paulsen. “Cory is relentless in his work ethic, he is a tremendously supportive teammate, he is an absolute joy to be around, and he is playing much better. He’s worked tirelessly on his body and is stronger and more athletic than when he got here. He’s improved his ability to score around the basket, and he’s also extended his range out to the 3-point arc. He’s good off the bounce, so he gives us some versatility at the four spot to be able to score inside or outside, and to guard bigger bodies and smaller, quicker players who often populate the four-spot in our league.” Banas joined the Bison as a recruited walk-on last season, and Paulsen has been impressed with his development over the last year. “Matt has worked extremely hard and has made huge improvements,” noted Paulsen. “He is stronger and more athletic and consistent. He’s put himself into the equation, which is a tribute to his work ethic and his improvement.” MacLeay and Oberfeld enter the program with good strength and toughness. Adapting to the speed of the college game is their biggest challenge. “D.J. is tough, strong and competitive,” Paulsen said. “When he gets his legs under him, he is a very good pick-and-pop jump shooter. And when he gets his legs under him, he has a good low-post game and is a good rebounder. Right now the pace of the game is a huge adjustment for him. So he finds himself having to rush his mechanics to get a shot off. In practice he’s had some days when he’s looked phenomenal and some days not so much, which is very typical of a freshman at this stage. He is a dedicated, serious guy. I don’t think there is any question he is going to be a very good player, it’s just a matter of when. “Ben Oberfeld is a very big, strong physical presence,” added Paulsen. “He has a high basketball IQ, especially on the defensive end. He has very good feel defensively. He is a good rebounder. The offensive part of his game lags a little bit behind the defensive side at this point, but he’s been working very hard. And again, the adjustment to the pace of the game is something that he’s going through.” With Boston University and Loyola Maryland joining the Patriot League this year, four extra conference games and an additional layer of Patriot League Tournament games have been added to the schedule. League play will now begin on Jan. 2 — the Bison host American in the PL opener — and there is no longer a full week off at the midpoint of the conference calendar. All 10 teams will qualify for the Patriot League Tournament, with the bottom four seeds meeting at home sites in opening-round games on Monday, March 3. The winners of those games will then move into the quarterfinals two nights later. Paulsen knows that the league is wide open this season, and a play or two could make a huge difference. Ironically, even though losing highquality talent and personalities like Muscala, Johnson and Willman stings, Paulsen thinks the team as a whole will come to appreciate its accomplishments more this year than in the past. “Last year when we beat Lafayette to win the championship, I felt relief more than joy, and that’s not right,” Paulsen admitted. “I guess that’s part of the deal in our league, and I’d rather be in that situation every year where you are trying to win with a really good team. I had a ton of fun coaching that team every day, but in a twisted way, expectations will be different. We were so focused last year on the pot at the end of the rainbow that we didn’t always stop to enjoy our successes. This year I think there will be more of a sense of accomplishment, and we won’t get caught up in our successes, but I hope we will enjoy them a little more. “We took everyone’s best shot for three years, and this year I’m sure everyone is going to want a piece of us, but we are not going to be the preseason favorites. That’s okay. Let’s figure out who we are in the non-conference schedule, and then let’s try to be really good in January and February and March. What we can’t do is get hung up if we lose a game here or if a guy doesn’t play well there. Do we respond and get better, or do we wallow in despair If we can respond to mini bouts of adversity, then we can be very good.” 2013-14 Bucknell Men’s Basketball • 28 • www.BucknellBison.com
Bison Basketball Notebook bison News & Notes PRESEASON PICKS: Prior to the start of preseason, the Patriot League’s head coaches and sports information directors predicted the league standings and all-conference team. Bucknell was picked fourth in the poll, while Cameron Ayers was named to the Preseason All-League Team. Patriot League Preseason Poll 1. Boston University 162 (18 first-place votes) 2. Lafayette 130 (2) 3. Army 115 4. Bucknell 113 5. Loyola 109 6. Lehigh 93 7. Holy Cross 70 8. Colgate 49 9. American 36 10. Navy 23 Preseason Player of the Year: D.J. Irving, Boston University, Sr., G Preseason All-League Team: Cameron Ayers, Bucknell, Sr., G Dylon Cormier, Loyola, Sr., G Dave Dudzinski, Holy Cross, Sr., F D.J. Irving, Boston University, Sr., G Mackey McKnight, Lehigh, Sr., G Ben Brackney AYERS ON BUCKNELL SCORING CHART: Guard Cameron Ayers enters his senior year with 1,065 career points. That total ranks 31st on Bucknell’s all-time list. Ayers also ranks ninth all-time with 139 career 3-point field goals. NEW VICTORY MARK: Bucknell finished last year with a 28-6 record. The 28 victories were the most in the 118-year history of Bison Basketball, and that total also set a new Patriot League record. It was the third year in a row that Bucknell won at least 25 games, also a program first. MORE BIG WINS: Last season’s non-conference wins included Purdue, George Mason, La Salle and New Mexico State. La Salle would go on to advance to the Sweet Sixteen and ended the year No. 24 in the national rankings. New Mexico State won the WAC title. The Purdue win was Bucknell’s first over a team from the Big Ten “MOOSE” ON THE LOOSE: Mike Muscala graduated last year as the most decorated player in program history. Some of the highlights: became the first player in league history to sweep PL Player of Year, Defensive Player of Year and Scholar-Athlete of Year; Senior CLASS First Team All-America; AP Honorable Mention All-America; NABC First Team All-District; Lute Olsen All-America; USBWA All- District; starting center in Reese’s Division I All-Star Game at Georgia Dome on Final Four weekend; earned second Patriot League Tournament MVP; earned fourth All-Patriot League citation. IRON MEN: Joe Willman bettered Bryan Cohen’s year-old record for most career games played with 134. Willman never missed a game in four years, and graduated ranked 23rd on Bucknell’s all-time scoring list with 1,162 points. He saved his best for last, scoring a career-high 20 points on 10-for-16 shooting in the NCAA Tournament game against Butler. That great performance allowed him to pass current assistant coach Charles Lee on Bucknell’s scoring chart. While Willman never sat out a game in four years, Muscala and Bryson Johnson missed only one each, both due to minor injuries. That trio played in 400 of a possible 402 games. AYERS ALL-LEAGUE: Cameron Ayers earned First Team All-Patriot League honors last season after averaging a career-high 12.4 points per game and producing better than a 2-to-1 assist-toturnover ratio. It was his second career all-league citation. HONORS FOR PAULSEN: Head coach Dave Paulsen was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award last year, and he was also the NABC District 13 Co-Coach of the Year with Harvard’s Tommy Amaker. PATRIOT LEAGUE PROWESS: The Bison are 212- 96 (.688) in Patriot League regular-season games, the best record of any league team. They have finished at least .500 in PL play in 19 of 23 seasons, and over the last three seasons they are 37-5. The Bison won a league-record 23 straight contests against conference foes from Feb. 23, 2005 to Jan. 12, 2007. Bucknell had a streak of 35 straight wins at home against conference opponents come to an end in 2008. Season Rec. Pct. Reg. Ssn. Fin. 1990-91 7-5 .583 4th 1991-92 11-3 .786 2nd 1992-93 13-1 .929 1st 1993-94 6-8 .429 5th 1994-95 11-3 .786 1st (T) 1995-96 8-4 .667 3rd (T) 1996-97 9-3 .750 2nd 1997-98 8-4 .667 3rd 1998-99 9-3 .750 2nd (T) 1999-00 8-4 .667 3rd 2000-01 4-8 .333 5th (T) 2001-02 8-6 .571 3rd (T) 2002-03 7-7 .500 5th 2003-04 9-5 .643 3rd (T) 2004-05 11-3 .786 2nd 2005-06 14-0 1.000 1st 2006-07 13-1 .929 1st (T) 2007-08 6-8 .429 5th (T) 2008-09 4-10 .286 7th (T) 2009-10 9-5 .643 2nd 2010-11 13-1 .929 1st 2011-12 12-2 .857 1st 2012-13 12-2 .857 1st SCHOLAR-ATHLETE SUCCESS The Bucknell basketball program has enjoyed tremendous success in the classroom in recent years. Among the highlights: The Bison men’s basketball team combined for a 3.49 grade-point average in the spring 2013 semester, one of the highest in the country. Bucknell had combined GPAs over 3.0 in both semesters in 2012-13, the fourth straight year the team has accomplished that. The Bison men’s basketball program posted a perfect score of 1,000 in the NCAA’s Academic Performance Rate (APR) study, released last June. That earned the Bison program an NCAA APR Public Recognition Award. The APR awards have been given since 2007, and the Bison men’s basketball program has been honored in all seven years. Bucknell has claimed 124 national Academic All-Americans since 1970, including nine from men’s basketball. The total of 124 ranks fifth among all Division I institutions, trailing only Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State and Stanford. In the Patriot League’s 23-year history, the league’s men’s basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year has come from Bucknell 10 times. Last season, Mike Muscala and Bryson Johnson both earned spots on the five-man Academic All-Patriot League Team, while Muscala earned national Capital One Academic All-America honors for the first time. Muscala was also one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes integrity and community service in addition to academic and athletic success. TOURNAMENT SUCCESS: Bucknell has an alltime record of 32-19 in 23 Patriot League Tournaments. The Bison have reached the championship game 10 times, including wins in 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2013, and reached at least the semifinals in 18 of 23 years. Bison PL Tourney Log Year Seed Results 1991 4 def. Army 67-49; lost Fordham 82-76 1992 2 def. Army 74-55; def. Holy Cross 86-77; lost Fordham 70-65 1993 1 def. Lehigh 69-65; def. Colgate 75-73; lost Holy Cross 98-73 1994 5 lost Holy Cross 96-91 1995 2 lost Army 94-78 1996 4 def. Lafayette 56-55; lost Colgate 67-61 1997 2 def. Lehigh 84-54; def. Colgate 71-58; lost Navy 76-75 1998 3 def. Holy Cross 60-56; lost Navy 80-61 1999 3 def. Holy Cross 76-52; def. Lehigh 58-50; lost Lafayette 67-63 2000 3 lost Lehigh 73-62 2001 6 def. Colgate 75-68; lost Navy 88-64 2002 3 def. Army 70-59; lost Holy Cross 64-57 2003 5 def. Lehigh 52-47; lost Holy Cross 75-50 2004 4 def. Holy Cross 66-60; lost Lehigh 60-45 2005 2 def. Lafayette 70-34; def. American 53-35; def. Holy Cross 61-57 2006 1 def. Army 59-47; def. American 64-50; def. Holy Cross 74-59 2007 2 def. Navy 62-43; def. Army 68-47; lost Holy Cross 74-66 2008 7 def. Navy 87-86 (3OT); lost Colgate 54-40 2009 7 lost Holy Cross 75-56 2010 2 lost Holy Cross 67-64 2011 1 def. Army 78-51; def. Lehigh 66-64; def. Lafayette 72-57 2012 1 def. Navy 87-63; def. Lafayette 79-52; lost Lehigh 82-77 2013 1 def. Navy 58-42; def. Army 78-70; def. Lafayette 64-56 championship games in bold. 2013-14 Bucknell Men’s Basketball • 29 • @BisonSports
Page 4: Welcome to Bison Basketball!
Page 7 and 8: Welcome to Bison Basketball bucknel
Page 9 and 10: Taking on the Best In recent years,
Page 11 and 12: Above Left: J.R. Holden taking on K
Page 13 and 14: ucknell in sojka pavilion Year Over
Page 15 and 16: Above: A look at some of the new eq
Page 17 and 18: Bucknell ranked SECOND nationally i
Page 19: NCAA Qualifier joe stolfi Patriot L
Page 22 and 23: This is Bucknell ... Bucknell Unive
Page 24 and 25: “ONE OF THE BEST SMALL TOWNS IN A
Page 26 and 27: Bucknell Basketball Alumni The Succ
Page 28 and 29: 2013-14 Season Outlook after three
Page 32 and 33: 2013-14 Bucknell Roster ALPHABETICA
Page 35 and 36: 42 cameron ayers • senior • gua
Page 37 and 38: 25 matt banas • sophomore • for
Page 39 and 40: 33 ben brackney • senior • guar
Page 41 and 42: 10 brian fitzpatrick • graduate s
Page 43 and 44: 32 ryan frazier • sophomore • g
Page 45 and 46: 14 chris hass • sophomore • gua
Page 47 and 48: 11 ryan hill • Senior • guard
Page 49 and 50: 50 dom hoffman • sophomore • fo
Page 51 and 52: 3 steven kaspar • junior • guar
Page 53 and 54: 1 joshea singleton • junior • g
Page 55 and 56: 22 cory starkey • junior • forw
Page 57 and 58: • freshman • center • 6-9 •
Page 59 and 60: The Coaching Staff Head coach Dave
Page 61 and 62: PERSONAL Date of Birth: Sept. 14, 1
Page 63 and 64: Bucknell’s athletic training staf
Page 65 and 66: Opponents/Year in Review
Page 67 and 68: 2013-14 patriot league Opponents OP
Page 69 and 70: 2013-14 NON-CONFERENCE Opponents OP
Page 71 and 72: 2013-14 Patriot League Composite Sc
Page 73 and 74: SCORING OFFENSE Team...............
Page 75 and 76: 1 Led by a game-high 18 points from
Page 77 and 78: 12 Mike Muscala recorded 26 points,
Page 79 and 80: 24 Cameron Ayers scored 19 points a
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Bison Basketball History Now in our
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1. mike muscala....................
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37. harvey carter..................
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3-Point Field Goals Attempted, Seas
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8. Joe Steiner 1960-61 23 296 12.9
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Scoring Year Name g Pts. Avg. 1947-
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STEPHEN TYREE 1980 Al Leslie.......
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2/6 Juniata W 32 24 2/14 George Was
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2/5 Rutgers W 101 89 2/8 at Connect
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Year-by-Year Results Pat Flannery a
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MIKE butts 2/24 at Drexel* W 98 89
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Abe Badmus and the Bison battle Kan
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NCAA Tournament 1987: #1 Georgetown
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Bucknell made a return trip to the
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It started with a 74-52 win at Navy
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All-Time Lettermen boakai lalugba H
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Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame Chr
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Athletics Facilities Whether it is
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John P. hardt Director of athletics
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Dave Paulsen chats with Steve Orist
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Welcome to Bison Country Where to S
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Media Information Keep up with the
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What it Means to be a bison “...
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2013-14 Bucknell Men's Basketball Media Guide - Bucknell Athletics

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