Bucknell University Athletics
Bailey, Blankenship Named Bucknell Men's Basketball Captains
10/5/2001 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 5, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior guard Bryan Bailey (Hempstead, N.Y./South Side H.S.) and junior guard Dan Blankenship (Moundsville, Pa./Wheeling Park H.S.) have been named co-captains of the Bucknell University men's basketball team for the 2001-02 season, head coach Pat Flannery announced.
With 135 combined varsity games under their belts, Bailey and Blankenship comprise one the Patriot League's top returning backcourts.
A First Team All-Patriot League point guard, the 6-1, 175-pound Bailey led Bucknell and ranked third in the league with a scoring average of 17.7 ppg., last season. He scored in double figures in 25 of 27 games in 2000-01, including a career-high 30 against Lock Haven in the season opener. A member of the 2001-02 Preseason All-Patriot League team, Bailey also led the Bison last season in steals (47) and three-point field goal percentage (.436), and he was second in assists (78).
Bailey, who also served as a co-captain last season, is Bucknell's first two-time captain since J.R. Holden in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
One of Bucknell's defensive stoppers, Blankenship has not yet missed a game in his collegiate career, playing in all 57 contests over the last two seasons. A year ago he averaged 8.1 ppg., and a team-best 2.9 apg. At season's end he was named the Bison's defensive player of the year. Blankenship registered a career-high 14 points in Bucknell's 75-68 win over Colgate in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament last March.
The Bison are coming off a 14-15 season but return 12 lettermen and five players with significant starting experience. Bucknell is looking to build on a fine finish to the 2000-01 campaign, which featured a three-game winning streak to end the regular season and the first-round upset of Colgate at the Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell begins its preseason workouts on Oct. 13 and opens its 2000-01 campaign on Nov. 16 against Central Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Classic.
