Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Opens Season Friday at Michigan State
11/20/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2003
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After more than a month of practice and a handful of scrimmages, the Bison finally get to rip the lid off the 2003-04 season on Friday night in East Lansing, Mich. And what a challenge the opener will be for Bucknell, which tackles a Michigan State squad that has national championship aspirations after making a run to the Elite Eight a year ago. Ranked third in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, the Spartans are the highest-ranked team a Bucknell basketball squad has ever faced. The Bison line up this season with one of the deepest teams of coach Pat Flannery's 10-year tenure. Five seniors and three starters return, and that group will be supported by a promising freshman class that features four young players who are all likely to see action against Michigan State. Bucknell earned a victory in its only exhibition contest of the preseason, a 79-64 win over Big Apple Basketball last Friday. The Spartans dropped a 97-83 decision to the Harlem Globetrotters on Nov. 2, but last Thursday they defeated Nike Elite 85-81.
scouting the bison
While Bucknell returns five seniors, nine letterman and three starters, Pat Flannery's squad may have a bit of a different look in 2003-04. Armed with one of his deepest and most athletic teams in years, Flannery's squad may look to play a bit faster tempo this season than in recent years. Bucknell ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense a year ago, allowing only 58.8 ppg, but the Bison also struggled at times offensively, averaging only 58.2 ppg.
last time out
Bucknell had four players score in double digits in a 79-64 win over Big Apple Basketball last Friday in Sojka Pavilion (see boxscore, page 20). Kevin Bettencourt had 17 points and freshman Chris McNaughton came off the bench for 14 points and eight rebounds. Bucknell had five players grab at least six rebounds and held a 52-36 edge on the glass. Defensively, the Bison forced 21 turnovers and held Big Apple to 30.6 percent shooting for the game, including 25.7 percent in the first half.
first meeting with spartans
Bucknell and Michigan State are meeting for the first time on Friday. In fact, it is the first time in school history that the Bison have played a basketball game in the state of Michigan. The only other time that Bucknell has played a team from Michigan was a 1981 loss (76-60) to Eastern Michigan at the Siena Tournament in Loudonville, N.Y.
new heights
Third-ranked Michigan State is the highest-ranked team Bucknell has ever faced in men's basketball. Georgetown was ranked No. 4 when it defeated Bucknell 75-53 in the 1987 NCAA Southeast Regional in Atlanta, while Bucknell's other NCAA Tournament opponent, Syracuse, was ranked ninth when the Bison and Orangemen squared off in 1989 in Dallas.
bucknell vs. the big ten
The Bison have only played three current members of the Big Ten: Penn State (24-73), Iowa (0-1) and Ohio State (0-1). Bucknell will play Northwestern for the first time on Dec. 3, as well as resume its annual rivalry with nearby Penn State on Jan. 3.
milestone year for flannery
Now in his 10th season as head coach at Bucknell, Pat Flannery has become the second-winningest coach in both Bucknell and Patriot League history. His 135 wins at BU rank second in school annals, trailing only the legendary Charlie Woollum, who won 318 games from 1975-94. Woollum notched many of those wins with Flannery as his point guard in the late-1970s. The only Patriot League coach to amass more wins than Flannery is Navy's Don DeVoe, who has 177 in his 11th season with the Midshipmen.
webber, quinn named captains
In a vote of their teammates, seniors Matt Quinn and Roland Webber were elected team co-captains during preseason practice. Quinn averaged 6.2 ppg and 2.6 rpg in a starting role last season, and he is potentially one of the Patriot League's most dangerous 3-point shooters. Webber, one of the most popular players in the locker room, will play a reserve role in the backcourt this season.
the Bison in season openers
Bucknell is 73-35 (.676) all-time in season openers, including 5-4 (.556) under head coach Pat Flannery. The Bison have dropped their last two season openers, falling 68-55 at Central Connecticut in 2001 and 73-42 at Notre Dame last season.
not a rookie anymore
Sophomore guard Kevin Bettencourt, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year, is the team's leading returning scorer entering the 2003-04 campaign. Last season he averaged 11.1 ppg - tops among PL newcomers - and set a league record with nine rookie of the week citations. His 321 points were fourth-most in school history, and the most in 25 years, for a freshman. After playing the shooting guard almost exclusively last season, Bettencourt will see some time at the point this year following to the graduation of three-year starter Dan Blankenship.
welcome to bucknell
With merit aid in place for the first time at Bucknell, Pat Flannery has brought in three talented scholarship players, as well as a fourth recruited newcomer. All four players figure to play prominent roles this season. The first merit-aid recipients in Bucknell men's basketball history are John Clark, a 6'7" forward from Tulsa, Okla. (Cascia Hall Prep); Donald Brown, a 6'6" forward from Long Island who played at St. John Baptist H.S. and St. Thomas More Prep; and Chris McNaughton, a 6'11" forward/center from Leutershausen, Germany. In addition, Bucknell also welcomes the addition of 6'0" point guard Ibrahim "Abe" Badmus of Chicago, who attended Notre Dame High School for Boys in Niles, Ill. The freshman class averaged nearly 17 minutes in the exhibition game against Big Apple Basketball and totaled 24 points and 23 rebounds.
welcome back
In addition to the four members of the freshman class, two other significant players rejoin the team this season after sitting out all or part of last season, giving Pat Flannery the feel of a six-man recruiting class. Junior guard Antario Glover took the 2002-03 season off to concentrate on his studies, but he's back in terrific shape and is expected to contribute immediately. Sophomore guard Charles Lee played in the first 10 games as a freshman last season and was providing a spark off the bench. Lee is now a projected starter at the off guard spot after sitting out the second semester last season while concentrating on academics.
twin towers
Bucknell has two players at least 6'11" in height for the first time. Senior Davorin Skornik and freshman Chris McNaughton are two of the tallest players in school history and are expected to share time at the center position. In the exhibition game against Big Apple Basketball, the duo combined for 19 points (7-8 FG) and 15 rebounds in 29 minutes.
setting the standard of excellence
With a perfect 100% graduation rate according to the latest NCAA/USA Today survey, Bucknell is a national model of scholar-athlete success. Bucknell, which recently garnered a USA Today Academic Achievement Award for leading the nation in graduation rates, also ranks third among all Division I institutions (behind Nebraska and Notre Dame) in total number of Academic All-Americans, with 106 since 1970. Bison teams also get it done on the playing fields, winning the Presidents' Cup - the Patriot League's all-sports crown - in 10 of 13 years, including the last six in a row.
sojka pavilion
Bucknell will be playing its first full season in its brand new, 4,000-seat arena - Sojka Pavilion (pronounced SOY-ka). The facility is a part of the new Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center, which also includes a 16,000-square foot fitness center, a state-of-the-art natatorium featuring a 50-meter-by-25-yard pool, a new sports medicine center and new office suites for coaches and staff. The Bison debuted in Sojka Pavilion last Jan. 15 vs. Lehigh and went 3-3 in their new digs over the last six weeks of the season.
preseason prognostications
Bucknell was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League in a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion Holy Cross is the preseason favorite, followed by Lafayette, Colgate, American, Lehigh, Bucknell, Navy and Army.
new faces on the sidelines
Pat Flannery welcomes two new faces to his coaching staff this season. Nathan Davis joins the staff after serving as an assistant for the last five years under Don DeVoe at Navy. Mark Prosser, the son of Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser, joins the Bison after working as an assistant at Wofford last season.
tough schedule
Bucknell faces one of its toughest schedules in recent memory, with three road games against Big Ten teams and three home games against top Ivy League competition. In addition to the opener at Michigan State, the Bison travel to Northwestern on Dec. 3 and Penn State on Jan. 3. Bucknell opens its home slate next Wednesday, Nov. 26, against Ivy power Yale, a team that gave top-ranked UConn fits earlier this week in the Preseason NIT. The Bison also face Penn and Cornell at home, travel to College of Charleston for a tournament just after Christmas, then face a grueling Patriot League schedule that begins and ends with two-game road trips.
patriot league powers
No Patriot League team has won more regular-season conference games than Bucknell since the start of league play in 1990-91. The Bison carry an impressive 109-59 (.649) conference ledger and have posted 11 winning or even conference records in 13 years.
all stars the norm
Last year's selection of Boakai Lalugba to the All-Patriot League First Team give the Bison at least one first-team all-star in every year since 1984, a run of 20 straight years. It is believed to be the longest such streak in Division I basketball. Bucknell has had a first-teamer in all 13 years in the Patriot League, plus its last seven in the East Coast Conference.
bison briefs
Bucknell director of athletics John Hardt served as an associate AD at Michigan State from 1996-99 ... Kevin Bettencourt's 65 3-pointers made last season were fifth-most in school history ... Bettencourt and Matt Quinn are tied for 17th on Bucknell's career list for 3-pointers with 65 each ... the Bison made 171 3-pointers last season, third most in school history.
