Boasting a roster laden with fresh faces, young talent and a hunger to win, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team is optimistic and ready to kick off its 2011-12 campaign.
Despite the need to fill some rather large statistical holes vacated by last year’s graduates, the Bearcats are confident about their chances for this year and beyond as a result of both the development of the upperclassmen and the arrivals of new players.
“I think this year we’ll be more talented,” head coach Mark Macon said. “We have better inside position, I think, because we have a few taller guys. I think we have better ballhandlers and more guys that can do different things. It may not look that way at the beginning, but we look at what we’re going to do in the tournament.”
The optimism is a welcome sign for a Binghamton squad that struggled throughout most of the 2010-11 campaign. The team finished 8-23 (4-12 America East), compiling lengthy losing streaks and even lengthier cold spells in scoring — the team shot just 39.7 percent from the field on the year.
“We’ve got to learn from last year,” junior guard Jimmy Gray said. “This year we have different personnel, and we have young players. But we just have to see the mistakes that we made and really improve on them in practice and see where that gets us.”
The squad that will try to revamp the program features just one senior on the roster, and only seven of the 16 players participated on last year’s team. The team lost its top three scorers and top two rebounders, not to mention its leaders in assists, steals and blocks.
But Macon emphasized that this roster does have the talent to make up for its losses, particularly with its returning players.
“Some of these new guys coming in can really score … [but] we’re going to have to run our offense through someone, and we prefer it be the elder statesmen,” Macon said. “But if there’s a young guy who can be an elder statesman, why not let him?”
Binghamton’s key returners are point guard Gray, sophomore guard Rob Mansell, junior forward Taylor Johnston and senior center Kyrie Sutton. Gray found his groove last year toward the end of the season, racking up 71 total assists and becoming a threat from behind the arc. This year, he said he seeks to further develop his leadership skills on the team.
“I have to take the responsibility of being an upperclassman and a leader on the team,” he said. “I started to develop the leadership role last year late in the year, just because it was my first time really getting the hang of playing a lot. I want everybody to try their best and do what they can on the floor. If they do that, I think we’ll be more successful.”
“He progressed really well over the summer,” Macon said of Gray’s development. “I think he’s done a great job of being a floor leader. He has a small, squeaky voice but he’s been able to really develop, and people are actually listening and doing what he says, because he is an elder statesman. He is our point guard at this time, and he’ll have to be me on the floor.”
Also returning are sophomore big man Alex Ogundadegbe, junior forward Javon Ralling and sophomore guard K.J. Brown. None averaged more than 11 minutes per game last year.
But much of the focus for the Bearcats is on the newcomers, as the team brings in six freshmen and three transfers. For Macon, this represents the first roster that is almost entirely composed of his own recruits since taking over the team in 2009.
“It feels great,” Macon said of building his own team. “But it’s going to be a learning experience because now you have to start at the beginning. Though you have your veterans in place, you still have five or six guys who do not know the system, and it’s their job, as well as your job, to teach those guys the system. They’re above the curve in terms of their learning, so they’ve picked it up; it’s just implementing it and being able to go do it with some fluidity. Right now that doesn’t happen, but it’s expected.”
Given the departure of key seniors last year, Macon believes the younger players will play a significant role in helping to fill the void as the season goes on.
“Recruiting is about getting talented players on the floor, and we have talent,” Macon said. “You have to teach them still. After you play that first game, you’re no longer a freshman to me; you’re a basketball player. We’re going to gain experience by playing.”
The new faces include guards Storm Clonch, Chris Longoria, Byron Brown, Chris Rice, Carlyle Francis, Mike Horn and forwards Jabrille Williams, Omar Richards and Ben Dickinson.
One thing Macon stressed about the incoming class was the increase in size, as Dickinson towers at 6 feet 9 inches and Richards at 6 feet 8 inches. A disadvantage in height has been a perennial weakness for the Bearcats in recent years.
“We have some mobile big guys as well, not just inside guys that’ll sit on the post and play that way,” he said. “We have guys that can step off the post and shoot a little bit, that can handle the ball real well. Of course we want to have good inside play, because we have teams in our conference that have good inside play, so we’ll be able to defend them.”
When asked about his tangible goals for the season, Macon had only one response.
Championship.
“That’s the only goal I like to say,” he said. “We’re here to win championships, and you develop kids to be the best that they can be, but, ultimately, you want to be the America East champs and go to the big dance. But you start with one game, one practice. It all comes down to the three or four games you get in the tournament. I can’t say I have enough experience, but I have enough talent.”
“We want to play to the best of our ability,” Gray said. “We want to show people that even though we are young, we can still compete at that level against the upper class teams.”
The Bearcats’ first contest is an exhibition against Mansfield University scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Events Center. The first regular-season contest is a home date with Colgate University on Saturday, Nov. 12, and the all-important conference matches begin in January.
While the Bearcats, who will attempt to return to the top of the America East for the first time since 2008-09, could be considered raw and inexperienced, Johnston aptly summed up with seven simple words why this could still be a big year for the team.
“We may be young,” he said. “But we’re hungry.”