Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Captains Named
11/4/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 4, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell men's basketball coach Dave Paulsen has announced that seniors Patrick Behan (Leesburg, Va./Notre Dame Academy) and Stephen Tyree (The Woodlands, Texas/Strake Jesuit) along with junior Darryl Shazier (Newport News, Va./Menchville) have been picked as team captains for the 2009-10 season.
Behan was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection a year ago, when he led the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and rebounding at 6.8 per game. He earned the Benton A. Kribbs Award as the team's most valuable player, thanks in large part to a terrific finish to the season. Behan recorded eight 20-point games a year ago, including five straight to conclude the regular season.
Behan, who has played both power forward and center, became the 22nd player in program history to record 400 points and 200 rebounds in the same campaign. He had four double-doubles, was a two-time Patriot League Player of the Week and averaged better than 15 points per game against league opponents.
Tyree is a welcome addition back to the lineup after a knee injury sidelined him for the entire 2008-09 season. The athletic 6'3" wing was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, when he started all 31 games and led the team in assists (88), rebounding (4.8) and field-goal percentage (.579). He shot a stellar 66.7 percent and averaged just a shade under 10 points per game in league games as a sophomore. Tyree was one of the team's vocal leaders last season, even while sidelined with the injury.
As the team's starting point guard, Shazier assumes a natural leadership position on the team, and that was validated by his selection as captain. He is Bucknell's first junior captain since Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee in 2004-05.
A year ago, Shazier became the first Bison player to win the Patriot League assists title. He averaged 4.6 helpers per game while also leading the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.06) and ranking second in minutes played (36.1). Shazier also produced 7.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game in 2008-09. He scored in double figures nine times, including a career-best 21-point day against Army.
The Bison will have an open intrasquad scrimmage this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Sojka Pavilion, then they open the season on Friday, Nov. 13 against Mercer as part of the World Vision Invitational in Providence, R.I.
