Bryant Bulldogs ready to take the next step?
Friday, October 14, 2011
The 2011-12 season will be Bryant University’s fourth year at the Division I level, and the 3rd year competing within the Northeast Conference.
The big question is – are they ready to take that next step toward Division I competitiveness?
Now one full year removed from a disastrous 1-29 season, the Bulldogs saw marked improvement last year in winning nine games overall, and seven within the NEC. This season marks the final year of a four-year transitional period from Division II before becoming a full-fledged Division I program in all sports, including men’s basketball, and officially the 12th member of the NEC.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis is also the 4th year for head coach Tim O’Shea at Bryant, and his 11th season to head a program overall. From the look of it, O’Shea appears confident his Bulldogs can take that next step up in competition…or, he’s a mad man. The schedule this year features teams from nine different conferences around the country, including the Big East, the ACC, the Pac-12 and the Mountain West.
Strengths:
Start at the top with the head coach. O’Shea embraced the challenge of creating a program from scratch – with all due respect to the previous Division II success, that saw the program one win away from a national championship in 2004. The Bulldogs also return a solid core of players, featuring the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year in 6-6 forward Alex Francis, and starting point guard Frankie Dobbs (who grew up in Rumford, RI). Additionally, sophomore guard Corey Maynard and forward Clay McMath from Australia, and big men Ben Altit (6-10) from Israel and Alex Herzing (7-0) from Virginia give Bryant legitimate size that it hasn’t previously had since joining D-I.
Weaknesses:
There are no seniors on the Bryant roster, which sometimes happens when a program begins anew. There are five juniors and eight sophomores, so it’s not exactly a freshman-laden squad…but there will be the need for a younger player to step up and provide that leadership on the floor as the season progresses.
New Players:
There will be many eyes on freshman Ben Altit from Israel, where he played on the Israeli Junior National Team, and for the famed Maccabi Tel-Aviv club team. He averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as a starter, and Altit also led Maccabi to the 2011 Israeli Cup title. He’ll be joined as a newcomer to the roster by redshirt freshman Troy Robinson, a 6-6 forward from Roslindale, MA.
Big Losses:
Forward Cecil Gresham graduated from the program as a 1000-point scorer (14th on the all-time Bryant list), so it will be tough to replace a “go-to” guy in the line up. Forwards Barry Latham, Michael Chroney and Papa Lo have also moved on from the team.
Big Games:
There will be many – starting with the World Vision Invitational at San Diego State. The Bulldogs will face the Aztecs in their season opener on November 11th, with SDSU finishing last year ranked 6th in the AP Poll and in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Bryant will play Providence in the Dunkin Donuts Center on December 10th, and travel to face the Big East’s Notre Dame, ACC foe Boston College on December 18th, and Arizona on December 22nd. The home schedule features intrastate rival Brown on January 23rd.
Predictions:
The non-conference schedule is a big bite to chew…and with a roster that is still relatively young, the natural inclination is to say Bryant should struggle to win eight or nine games again this season. However, there appears to be more talent on the roster, and if players stay healthy and continue to develop, opportunities will present themselves. The team – and program – should be in considerably better shape for next year, when the Bulldogs have their first chance to win a league championship and reach “March Madness,” in the Division I NCAA Tournament.
