Bryant Set to Open as Division I Program
On Wednesday night, Bryant University plays its first Division I basketball game. The program officially became a member of Division I on August 1, and they have made it through two exhibition games. Now the real season begins.
The Bulldogs had a successful run in Division II before making the move, so the program is used to winning. They ended their time in Division II with five consecutive NCAA Tournament trips, highlighted by a run to the national championship game in 2005. While that will be difficult to sustain because of the move up, it’s not bad to go in on such a note, especially for recruiting. There is an obvious bump in recruiting that can be expected when coaches can tell prospects they are now a Division I school, but when it’s a program that has won, there is an additional selling point.
Bryant also has another thing in its favor: its coach. That would have been the case had there not been a coaching change, since Max Good guided the program into its final days before the jump. After he headed across the country to become the top assistant for good friend Bill Bayno at Loyola Marymount, Tim O’Shea left Ohio to take over the program.
O’Shea’s move is one that might at first glance be viewed as not even a lateral one, as he goes from an established program in one of the top mid-major conferences to a Division I newcomer. But he wanted to return to an area he’s lived for much of his life, a place he calls home and one he knows well, and now that he’s there one can expect that it will only help. There’s something to be said for being in a place one wants to be instead of chasing dollars or the highest level.
“You can tell he wants to be here, and that means a lot to us,” said senior guard Chris Birrell.
In fact, the entire staff has solid local roots. Dwayne Pina played high school ball at New Bedford and his college ball at Boston College while O’Shea was an assistant there, Kevin Kurbec is a Smithfield native and Providence alum, and Mike Kelly hails from Cape Cod and was once the head coach at Rhode Island College.
The Bulldogs are also not starting with a bare cupboard in terms of experience. Four starters are back from last season’s 18-13 team, and they also get junior Nick Pontes back in the lineup after he sat out last season to concentrate on academics.
Birrell will run the show and is an effective floor leader. The son of a former pitcher in the Red Sox organization, he had 10 assists with just two turnovers in their second exhibition game and averaged 4.5 assists last season. Joining him on the perimeter will be sophomore Barry Latham and junior Cecil Gresham. Latham has a solid body and is a good defender with a lot of potential, and was widely regarded as a steal when they signed him out of high school. Gresham was second on the team in scoring last season and can shoot from long range. He shouldn’t have an issue with the new three-point line after knocking down over 42 percent of his three-pointers last season. Seniors Andrew Lyell and Peter Lambert, along with freshman Sam LeClerc, figure to be among those off the bench on the perimeter.
The frontcourt will be bolstered by the return of Pontes, an undersized power forward with some toughness and post scoring ability. He’ll likely be joined by senior Jerann Wright, who started 30 games last season, while Ryan McLean, another senior, should also get good minutes. There isn’t much size, as two players are 6’7″ and the only taller player is UMass transfer Papa Lo, who is not eligible until next season. That was a priority in recruiting, and they have help on the way with two players 6’8″ or taller joining the program next season.
The Bulldogs play a very difficult non-conference schedule that includes games at Connecticut, Iowa, Boston College, Rutgers, Providence and Maryland. They also play a full Northeast Conference schedule, although they are ineligible for the conference tournament. It’s clear that this team will get to see what Division I is like in a big way early.
“What I stressed to them in the locker room is, now that we’re making this historic move to Division I, this is how it’s going to be every night and then some,” O’Shea said after the second exhibition. “They have to take on this challenge of getting better every night.”
Even with all of the road games, the Bulldogs open up their Division I tenure at home against Albany on Wednesday night. It’s a game whose significance as part of the bigger picture isn’t being downplayed by the coach.
“It’s really a unique situation here,” said O’Shea. “When the jump ball goes up against Albany, it’s a really big deal for this school historically. Win or lose, that’s a big deal, the move to Division I.”
In high school, every kid dreams of playing at the Division I level when it comes to college. You can see it in grassroots camps and tournaments all across the country, from the kids to the coaches who try to give them every opportunity to play at that level. Some pull out all the stops in trying to get a Division I scholarship.
Now the young men at Bryant have that opportunity right in front of them. As nice as it is, they are also reminded of the responsibility that comes with the privilege of playing at this level and in a program’s first season.
“A lot is being asked of these guys,” said O’Shea. “I said in the locker room, coming out of high school, you guys wanted a chance to play Division I basketball. Now you’re getting it. What we have to do is find a way to elevate wherever we are now, to be better in November, be better in December and January, and represent the school as best we can in our first year of Division I.”
