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

Head Coach Dave Paulsen
After ushering Bucknell through one of the
most successful three-year stretches in school
and Patriot League history, Dave Paulsen has
a brand new five-year contract and will be
entering his sixth year on the Bison sideline
in 2013-14.
The Bison won a school-record 28 games
(28-6) in 2012-13 and became the first team in
Patriot League history to record three straight
outright regular-season titles. The 78 wins over
the last three seasons is also a program mark,
and in that span Bucknell won two Patriot
League Tournament titles (2011, 2013) and
made two trips to the NCAA Tournament and
another to the second round of the NIT (2012).
In 2013 Bucknell was awarded a No. 11 seed
at the NCAA Tournament, the second-highest
seed in program history.
Paulsen won the 2011 and 2012 Patriot
League Coach of the Year awards, making him
only the third coach in league history to receive
the honor in consecutive years. He was also
named the 2013 NABC Co-District 13 Coach of
the Year alongside Harvard’s Tommy Amaker.
The awards were well justified, as Bucknell
went 78-25 overall and 37-5 in the Patriot
League over that span.
Paulsen, a two-time National Coach of
the Year who led Williams College to the 2003
Division III national championship, was named
the head men’s basketball coach at Bucknell on
May 20, 2008.
Paulsen in 2011 was one of 16 finalists for
the Hugh Durham Award, presented to the
national Mid-Major Coach of the Year. In his
five years at Bucknell, Paulsen has a 99-65 (.604)
record. The 99 wins are fourth-most in program
history, while the .604 winning percentage is
second-best among those who have coached
for at least three years. Including eight seasons
at Williams and three each at Le Moyne and St.
Lawrence, Paulsen’s career record is now 361-
185 (.661).
Paulsen’s initial Bucknell recruiting
class resulted in a record three
Patriot League All-Rookie honorees
in Bryson Johnson, Mike Muscala and
Joe Willman. Muscala developed into a
two-time Patriot League Player of the
Year, an All-American and an NBA Draft
selection, while Johnson and Willman
both became All-Patriot Leaguers and
1,000-point scorers. Paulsen recruited
another All-Rookie/All-Patriot League
student-athlete the following year
in Cameron Ayers, who has been a
key player on two NCAA Tournament
teams.
“The Bucknell men’s basketball
program has achieved an incredible
amount of success under the leadership
of head coach Dave Paulsen, and
I am pleased that Dave will be here to
continue to grow the storied tradition
of Bison Basketball,” said director of
athletics and recreation John Hardt in
announcing Paulsen’s new contract in
March 2013. “Since his arrival at Bucknell,
Dave has shown an unwavering
commitment to our scholar-athlete
model. In addition, the program’s players and
coaches have represented themselves and our
University in exemplary fashion. The passion
and enthusiasm that he brings to work every
day have clearly rubbed off on his team and
his staff. The landscape of college basketball is
rapidly changing, and I look forward to working
with Dave through these new and exciting
challenges.”
Paulsen, a 1987 Williams graduate and a Phi
Beta Kappa scholar, has coached at every level
of college basketball over the last two decades
and is considered a highly sought-after consultant
on the principles of the motion offense.
Paulsen, 49, came to Bucknell as its 20th
head basketball coach after leading Williams to
the top of the Division III ranks. In eight years
at Williams, he guided the Ephs to a 170-53
(.762) record, including a combined 61-3 mark
in 2002-03 and 2003-04. His team captured
the 2003 national championship and was the
national runner-up in 2004. The National Association
of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coach
of the Year in both 2003 and 2004, Paulsen’s
teams won three NESCAC championships
(2003, 2004, 2007) and made four NCAA Tournament
appearances (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007).
He was a three-time NESCAC Coach of the Year
and two-time New England Coach of the Year.
Prior to his tenure at Williams, Paulsen
served as head coach at Le Moyne from 1997-
2000 and at St. Lawrence from 1994-97. He compiled
a three-year record of 42-39 at Le Moyne,
while also serving as the school’s director of
NCAA compliance. At St. Lawrence, he posted
a 50-28 record in three seasons, including the
1995-96 and 1996-97 campaigns in which the
Saints made back-to-back NCAA Tournament
appearances, and he was twice named the
Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Coach
of the Year.
In 1989-90, Paulsen served as the gradu-
ate assistant coach on Steve Fisher’s staff at
Michigan while completing his master’s degree
in history. Paulsen was part of a Wolverines
program that went 23-8 and advanced to the
second round of the NCAA Tournament, and he
had the opportunity to coach six players who
would later become NBA draft picks.
From 1990-94, Paulsen was the senior
assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at
Cleveland State, helping the Vikings to a 64-50
record in four seasons, including a 22-6 record
(15-1 Mid-Continent Conference) in 1992-93.
Paulsen graduated from Williams cum
laude with departmental honors in history. He
was also a member of the Ephs’ varsity basketball
team. In 1987, his squad captured the ECAC
New England Division III championship.
Upon his return to Williams as head coach,
Paulsen also served as an assistant professor of
physical education, which is fitting since he is
widely regarded as one of college basketball’s
most accomplished teachers.
Known as an offensive innovator, Paulsen
has produced four acclaimed instructional
videos, entitled “Ten Offensive Principles for the
Adaptable Motion Offense,” “Motion Offense for
Beginners,” “Developing Explosive Perimeter
Players,” and “Principles of Effective Post Play.”
Paulsen has been a featured clinician at
numerous developmental camps and coaches
conventions throughout the nation, including
the prestigious Nike Championship Basketball
Clinics. He was even asked to participate in a
pair of clinics in Portugal.
Paulsen has been chosen to serve on the
NCAA Division I Regional Advisory Committee,
where he will provide input on the selection of
the NCAA Tournament field. He is a member of
the NABC Congress, and in 2011-12 he became
a voter in the USA Today Top-25 Coaches’ Poll.
“I believe that Bucknell is unique among Division
I institutions in its commitment to excellence
both academically and athletically,” said
Paulsen. “I have never had more fun coaching
a group of young men than I did [last] season
because of their relentless work ethic, tremendous
focus and inspiring unselfishness. We are
proud of the accomplishments of the team, but
also hungry to constantly improve and carry
on the tradition of great basketball teams that
have characterized Bucknell basketball history.”
Paulsen and his wife, Kathy, have three
daughters: Claire (18), Sara (14) and Molly (11).
2013-14 Bucknell Men’s Basketball • 58 • www.BucknellBison.com