Tremendous buzz surrounded the Events Center at the men’s basketball team’s Nov. 18 season opener against Niagara.
“We finally have a chance this year,” said senior Ali Amjad. “NCAA Tournament, here we come!”
And the high expectations for the team went far beyond the student fans, as coaches and players felt the NCAA Tournament was a realistic possibility. But, five games into the season, the Bearcats have yet to erase the doughnut in their win column.
The Binghamton squad that was supposed to rely on their run-and-gun offense this season has shot 21-for-84 from three point range, with shooting guards Troy Hailey and Schafer Jackson shooting a combined 6-for-26.
The loss of 7-foot center Nick Billings left the Bearcats with a 6’6” center in Jordan Fithian who has less rebounds (19) than point guard Mike Gordon (20). The Bearcats as a team have suffered on the boards, managing to out rebound their opponents only once this season. And with 6’9” Ian Milne sidelined for at least four weeks due to a sports hernia, the Bearcats’ rebounding woes may only get worse.
Last season, the Bearcats got off to another slow start, going 4-11 in their first 15 games. This year was supposed to be different. The 2005-06 men’s basketball team was supposed to make history for our University by winning the America East Conference. Although the season is very young, the only history this team seems to be making is eclipsing the 1996-97 basketball team’s start of 0-7.
The conference is still wide-open as no team has a winning record. However, watching Albany go toe to toe with UCLA before losing 83-75 and witnessing Vermont’s new point guard, Mike Trimboli, win back-to-back rookie of the week awards, the competition is not going to be easy.
This year’s theme was billed as “The time is now.” The Bearcats, who have had more turnovers than assists in all five games, need to start playing better now, before time runs out.