Bucknell University Athletics
At Bucknell, Hoops is More Than Big Talk
12/6/2005 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2005
By Malcolm Moran
USA TODAY Writer
Kevin Bettencourt had begun to hear the buzz about what would happen tonight at Bucknell's 4,000-seat Sojka Pavilion in Lewisburg, Pa., about 165 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
But he did not begin to understand the impact until the Monday after Thanksgiving, when the senior guard for the Bison men's basketball team walked to class and happened upon the ticket line for tonight's game against No. 4-ranked Villanova.
Even with the Bison having two road games before Villanova, several hundred students were standing on line. "Everybody at school has been talking about the Villanova game," said Bettencourt. "That's all that has been on everybody's mind."
A 5-0 record is Bucknell's best start since 1983-84, when a 24-5 season began with six consecutive victories and ended in the East Coast Conference tournament. It's the third time since 1936 that Bucknell has opened with five consecutive wins.
The crowd for Villanova -- and its coach, Bucknell alumnus Jay Wright -- is expected to surpass the school record of 3,897 set last year against Holy Cross. Bucknell, which lists an enrollment of 3,350 in its media guide, narrowly missed a spot in the latest USA TODAY poll of coaches. It is two spots behind No. 25 Arizona (2-3) and one behind a Syracuse team (6-2) that has lost to the Bison at the Carrier Dome. (Related item: Surprises common so far in 2005)
"These are waters Bucknell has never been in," said Pat Flannery, head coach for a 12th season, member of the school's class of 1980, a former guard and captain.
"I have some kids that have been around a little bit. ... The fact is these kids get into the game and it's a three- or four-point game with two or three minutes, and we believe. Now, maybe we won't win them all, but we believe we can."
Program in turnaround mode
Last season's Patriot League championship, and the unforgettable first-round elimination of Kansas in the NCAA tournament, did not become an ending. Bucknell has earned four road victories, including at Big East members Syracuse and DePaul.
The Bison make a complete commitment to playing defense, sometimes with a matchup zone but mainly going man-to-man. Last year they held opponents to 59.0 points a game, 10th best in the nation; this season, the average is 59.6 points.
Offensively, they have balanced scoring, led by Bettencourt (15.0 points) and 6-11 junior center Chris McNaughton and 6-3 senior swingman Charles Lee (both at 13.6 points). The Bison have a sense of precision in their passing, with lots of backdoor cuts and movement without the ball.
With all but one reserve back from last year's 23-10 team, the Bison have had to manage rapidly rising expectations all around. Saint Joseph's (3-1) is at Bucknell on Dec. 21, and the Bison travel to No. 1 Duke (7-0) on Jan. 2. "It seems like we only play Syracuse, Villanova and Duke all season, and then go to the tournament," McNaughton said with a smile.
McNaughton's game-winning shot against Kansas in the first-round NCAA game last season became the most visible moment of Bucknell's rise.
After the second-round loss to Wisconsin and a trip home, the players began to experience the feelings that had been created. There was a parade to celebrate their success. Bettencourt walked into class and heard the applause of his peers.
"You definitely realized, down the road, how meaningful it was for our school and our team to beat a team like Kansas in the NCAA tournament," he said. "Now it has picked up more and more. Now you go to class, and everybody is talking basketball."
By Sue Ogrocki, AP "I don't look much like a basketball player," says Bettencourt, shown here reaching over Wisconsin's Clayton Hanson for a loose ball.
Bettencourt remembered how the program was perceived in his freshman season, when the Bison had a 14-15 record against a schedule that included Notre Dame, Penn State and Arizona State.
"I don't look much like a basketball player," said the 6-2, 190-pound co-captain. "People didn't even know I was on the team, I don't think, for the first year and a half." The program's ability to recruit was about to change.
This is the third season Bucknell can give athletic scholarships, a policy first approved by the Patriot League after a request by Holy Cross nearly a decade ago. When Bucknell was limited to need-based aid, Flannery was limited in his ability to compete with other demanding academic schools. This Bison team has seven scholarships, and next year's will have 10. Flannery does not expect to approach the limit of 13 allowed by the NCAA.
"Instead of having three good players, or two, and filling in, we're now able to get that fourth kid and that fifth kid," Flannery said. "Now we become legitimate in size and ability and shooting."
The coach has never had a junior college player on his Bucknell roster, and there has not been a transfer. "I guarantee you, I do not get into Bucknell now," said Flannery, who led the Bison in assists four years. "And none of the guys I played with do." Bucknell was one of two schools in the 2005 NCAA tournament to achieve 100% graduation. Patriot League executive director Carolyn Schlie Femovich cited the competitive NCAA games played by Holy Cross vs. Kentucky, Kansas and Marquette in the years before Bucknell's breakthrough victory. "We're very pleased that with the use of scholarships in basketball we have been able to attract not only the better athletes, but better students," she said.
Proving themselves to others
Now the question is, how high can Bucknell raise the bar? The senior class won 10 of 11 near the end of its freshman season. Last year's victories against Pittsburgh and Saint Joseph's became high-profile examples of a growing confidence.
"You'd just be happy to play a team like Notre Dame or Michigan State," Bettencourt said. "Now we come in, and we're not intimidated. It's amazing how far it has come. A brand new arena at school. The fans have really rallied around us. ... It's completely night and day."
With two minutes to play in a close game at DePaul on Saturday, Flannery asked his players what defense they wanted. The answer was man-to-man. The perfect season remained perfect.
"He lets us make suggestions," Bettencourt said. "He really listens to us. ...
"Sometimes, in a game you're not supposed to win, you can get rattled down the stretch. Once we did it once, we proved we could do it. We started believing in ourselves. If you looked at our schedule at the beginning of the season and could have told me we'd be 5-0, with two Big East wins and four road wins, it's crazy."
Now the lines are getting longer. The Bison are supposed to win. To beat Villanova, Bucknell's Bettencourt, Lee and 5-11 junior guard Abe Badmus (8.0 points, 3.8 assists) must contend with one of the nation's finest backcourts, featuring Allen Ray, Randy Foye and Mike Nardi. A real challenge.
"It's stuff that you dream about when you're a little kid," McNaughton said. "You watch TV, you watch these kind of games, and now you're actually there."
