Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Favored to Repeat as Patriot League Champs
10/27/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 27, 2011
2011-12 Bucknell Men's Basketball Media Guide
LEWISBURG, Pa. –Bucknell head coach preseason\ poll of coaches and sports information directors. Coming off a 25-win season and a league championship a year ago, Bucknell received the maximum 14 first-place votes. It was also announced that junior center Mike Muscala earned a spot on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
Coaches and SIDs do not rank their own teams in the preseason poll, so Bucknell's 14 first-place nods and 98 voting points made it the unanimous choice to repeat as Patriot League champions. Lehigh earned the other two first-place votes and finished second in the poll with 82 points. Holy Cross was picked third with 73 points, followed by Lafayette (55), American (47), Colgate (44), Navy (34) and Army (15).
Lehigh's C.J. McCollum was named Preseason Player of the Year by a narrow margin over Bucknell's Muscala, who is the reigning PL Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. Joining McCollum and Muscala on the Preseason All-League Team are Devin Brown of Holy Cross, Tony Johnson of Lafayette and Jordan Sugars of Navy.
Bucknell returns four starters and 10 lettermen from a team that finished 25-9 overall and 13-1 in the Patriot League. After starting the year 2-6, the Bison won 23 of their next 25 games. That included victories over Army, Lehigh and Lafayette at the Patriot League Tournament, and Bucknell went on to play in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history, where it fell to eventual national champion Connecticut.
Following is a more in-depth preview of the 2011-12 Bison:
Returning four starters from a team that finished 25-9 overall and won 16 of 17 games against Patriot League foes en route to a championship season, it might seem as if Bucknell is the overwhelming favorite to repeat as conference champion again in 2011-12. Indeed, the league's coaches and sports information directors unanimously picked the Bison No. 1 in the preseason poll. Even with those lofty expectations, head coach Dave Paulsen still has some concerns heading into a year when his team will surely have a large bulls-eye on its collective back.
Complacency clearly has not been an issue, as Paulsen noted that all of his players worked hard this offseason on both their skills and their conditioning, and that the culture of the team in terms of focus and commitment has never been better. What Paulsen is anxious about, however, is how his veterans will cope with the mental side of defending a championship.
Bucknell compiled an impressive list of accomplishments a year ago. The 25 wins were second-most in program history. The Bison went 14-1 at home and 23-3 after December 1. They beat eventual Sweet Sixteen team Richmond on the road, and nearly knocked off Boston College and Marquette. Statistically, they were one of the best in the nation in 3-point shooting, free-throw shooting and fewest turnovers.
Bucknell boasted the Patriot League Player of the Year in center Mike Muscala, two All-Patriot League guards in Bryson Johnson and the now-graduated Darryl Shazier, a repeat PL Defensive Player of the Year in Bryan Cohen, and an All-Rookie Team honoree in Cameron Ayers.
Despite all of that success, the Bison exited the 2010-11 campaign with a bitter taste in their mouths after a lopsided loss to Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament. There was no shame in that defeat — the Huskies were the hottest team in the country, as they were coming off a Big East Tournament title and would eventually win the national championship in impressive fashion — yet Bucknell expected a better showing.
Paulsen's challenge is reminding his players that they can't win the Patriot League title or a game in the NCAA Tournament on the first day of preseason practice.
“When things weren't going so well a few years ago, we kept hammering into the guys to 'embrace the process,' to literally focus on one possession at a time,” said Paulsen, the reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year. “Well the exact same thing holds true when you have high expectations like this team does. We still have to embrace the process every day, and not worry about the things that are outside our control. The degree to which we can manage our own expectations will determine how good we can be. We are certainly excited about the opportunity to defend a championship. That's why these guys came to Bucknell. They want to be in a position where people expect them to compete for a title.”
On the floor, Paulsen is concerned about having the same quality depth the team enjoyed last season, along with the ability to take care of the basketball and get stops defensively.
While the team does return four starters, the one loss is huge. While Muscala deservedly earned league MVP honors, Shazier was clearly the engine of the team. In fact, Shazier and Muscala were named co-MVPs at the team's end-of-season awards banquet. Shazier compiled 185 assists and only 50 turnovers last season, the second-best ratio in the country, and the Bison ranked 26th out of 336 Division I teams in fewest turnovers with 11.2 per game.
Mike Muscala was named to the Preseason All-PL Team  |
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“Darryl played the point guard position about as well as you can play it last year,” said Paulsen. “We are going to have to replace him collectively. Who ends up starting at point guard is less important than having superior attention to detail, and not turning the ball over, at all five positions on the floor. The other thing we are going to miss with Darryl, and this went somewhat unnoticed, is that he was a very good on-ball defender. We were the best defensive team in the league last year, so we don't want to take a step back defensively at point guard.”
The top candidates to assume Shazier's minutes at point guard are Ayers, who played mostly off the ball during a very productive rookie season, along with sophomore Ryan Hill and freshman Steven Kaspar.
If Ayers moves into the starting lineup, that, along with the graduation of super sub G.W. Boon, makes depth a concern for Paulsen. Even as a reserve, Boon was Bucknell's third-leading scorer last year, and Paulsen said he was as valuable a bench player as anyone in the country, even though he sometimes got lost in the mix among all the record-setters last year. Both Boon and Ayers averaged better than 7.5 points and 20.5 minutes per game. Paulsen felt like in essence he had seven starting players — eight if you want to count now-graduated Stephen Tyree, who was limited by injury last season — and a big part of preseason practice will be spent figuring out who can step into those key bench roles.
Ayers averaged 7.5 points during his rookie year and was named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team after three sparkling performances during Bucknell's run to the title. Hill also spent time backing up Shazier at the point, and he got to play in 32 games off the bench. While his scoring production wasn't quite there yet, Hill handled the ball and defended well. Most importantly, he received the benefit of going head-to-head with the savvy veteran Shazier every day in practice, and Hill has come back this preseason looking more confident in all phases. Kaspar comes to Bucknell from the Memphis area, and he has been impressive since day one of preseason workouts with his quickness and creativity.
Two other key components in the backcourt are Cohen and Johnson. Cohen has carved out a reputation as a defensive stopper, as he is routinely assigned to mark the opposition's No. 1 scorer. Cohen has frustrated many a scoring whiz through the years, and he earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year honors in both 2010 and 2011.
“[Bryan] has accepted and relished the challenge of stopping the opposition's best player,” said Paulsen. “But he has also led our team in making 'winning plays' late in games. Whether it is diving on the floor for a loose ball, taking a charge, tipping out an offensive rebound or hitting a big shot, he always seems to be there for us. He has embraced the fact that he has become more of a secondary scorer as his role has evolved, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been unbelievably valuable to our team.”
Johnson emerged last season as one of Division I basketball's most lethal long-range threats. After shooting 32.8 percent from 3-point distance as a freshman, last year he set out to reach the 40-percent mark. He did even better, canning 45.6 percent (99-217) from the arc, the seventh-best figure in the country. Led by Johnson, Bucknell shot 40.0 percent as a team from 3-point range, one of only seven teams in the nation to do so. Johnson's 99 treys shattered the Bucknell record by 20, and he ranked second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game.
“Bryson obviously had a terrific season shooting the basketball last year,” said Paulsen. “First and foremost, we want him to continue to be one of the best shooters in the country. He has had a productive offseason and has improved considerably in terms of what he can do off the dribble. He has gotten stronger, which has helped him defensively. All of that is great, but without question Bryson's No. 1 priority is to keep striving to be the best shooter in the country.”
Two other young players — sophomore Ben Brackney and freshman Joshea Singleton — are also looking to make an impact in the backcourt. Brackney played in 18 games last season, and he started to see some key minutes as the year went on. Brackney is a versatile player who can play a number of positions, and when he is on can be a deadly 3-point shooter. Singleton is a gifted athlete from Kinston, N.C., and he brings the ability to drive the ball to the basket.
Juniors Muscala and Joe Willman have developed into the Patriot League's premier frontcourt combo. Muscala had a monster sophomore year, earning Patriot League Player of the Year, Tournament MVP and Honorable Mention All-America honors after averaging 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Muscala has always had a keen outside touch for a 6'11” center, and last year he improved in the paint, both as a rebounder and with his low-post game.
“Mike obviously had a terrific sophomore season, and he was very deserving of his Patriot League Player of the Year Award,” complimented Paulsen. “The thing I was most excited about was that he made such big strides in his rebounding, getting to the free-throw line and becoming more of a presence around the basket to complement his shooting skill. Mike has worked just as hard this offseason. His biggest challenge now, like with the rest of the team, is managing his own expectations. He can't think he has to make every shot. If he comes up empty on one possession, he just has to move on to the next one. He's such a competitor, that can be difficult for him.”
While Muscala has garnered many of the headlines, Willman has become one of the league's more underrated players. As the starting power forward last year, he averaged 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 46.6 percent from the field. Like Muscala, Willman has a very good mid-range jumper, and he is a strong defender and rebounder.
“Joe had an outstanding sophomore year, especially in the early part of Patriot League play, where he really carried us in certain stretches,” said Paulsen. “Joe does so many things that do show up in a boxscore, like scoring and rebounding, but he also does tons of things that don't show up. He is a very good defender around the basket, and he can guard bigger guys as well as the more mobile 4 men. He has been very impressive in the preseason workouts, and it looks like he has made significant strides since last season.”
Bucknell has plenty of candidates to back up Willman and Muscala, and Paulsen is counting on most, if not all, of them to be consistent contributors this season. Senior Enoch Andoh can play both the 4 and 5 spots, and he turned in some big minutes when called upon late last season. Junior Colin Klebon played in 29 games off the bench a year ago, and he is healthy this year after experiencing some injury problems late last year. Klebon is a tough inside player who also features a nice lefty shooting stroke from the outside. Junior Brian Fitzpatrick is eager to make an impact after sitting out all of last year after transferring in from Penn. Fitzpatrick has excellent size and strength at 6'8”, 238 pounds, and Paulsen hopes he can assert himself as another physical presence inside. Senior Probese Leo is looking to move up the depth chart after seeing limited action so far in his career. And freshman Cory Starkey is fitting in well so far after a standout prep career in northern Michigan.
 Two-time PL Defensive Player of the Year Bryan Cohen  |
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Cohen, Johnson and Muscala have been elected co-captains for the 2011-12 season. Although all three have been vocal on and off the floor throughout their careers, each is now in a formal leadership position for the first time.
“This is a new role for all three of those guys in terms of leadership,” said Paulsen. “Darryl and G.W. and Stephen handled most of that over the past couple of years, and even though these three have been less visible, they have been every bit as important in the locker room.”
Heading into a treacherous non-league schedule that includes seven 2011 NCAA Tournament teams, Paulsen likes the makeup of his team. He feels that if the Bison can clear some of those mental hurdles, account for a loss of depth, take care of the ball and be solid on defense, they can be a championship squad again.
“We are going to have five experienced starters who are all poised and unselfish players,” said Paulsen. “They know what it takes to manage your way through a season, and they have been in big games on big stages. Overall we have a high basketball IQ, which makes them a pleasure to coach every day. I think ultimately we will have some versatility, especially in the backcourt, and I am really pleased with the way we attacked the offseason and preseason workouts. The commitment level is definitely there.”
