During the 2013-14 athletic seasons, many high profile senior athletes left an impact on their respective teams. From Khalil Mack to Javon McCrea, the class of 2014 had some of the most prolific athletes in school history. But in their absence, there is a talented group of underclassmen ready to step in.
There are proven commodities, like the men's basketball team's Shannon Evans and the volleyball team's Tahleia Bishop, and also those who haven’t had a chance to make their mark yet like the football team's Jordan Johnson. One thing is for sure, though: the success of UB's teams in 2014-15 relies on young players. Here’s a round up of who and what to watch for this year in UB Athletics.
Game to watch
Football vs. Baylor Sept. 12
The football team hosts national powerhouse Baylor Friday night on Sept. 12. The game marks the first time a game at UB Stadium will be televised on ESPN. Buffalo has the opportunity to showcase the school and brand on a national stage against one of most dominant schools in the nation.
The Bulls will hope for a better performance against the Bearcats than they displayed last season. Buffalo lost 70-13 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas, in their second game of the season.
Players to watch
Shannon Evans, sophomore guard
Anyone who watched a Buffalo men’s basketball game last season knows the impact the first-year guard Shannon Evans had coming off the bench. Evans electrified the team and the Alumni Arena crowds with his energy and highlight-reel plays while being the team’s most productive rotational player.
Evans averaged 8.5 points and 3.3 assists a game and despite his height (6 foot 1), always made his presence known, raising his arms to pump up the home crowd and slapping the court when on defense.
Now a sophomore, Evans will likely take on a starting role as the team’s probable No. 1 point guard and replace Javon McCrea as the face of the team and as the Bulls’ most exciting player.
Tahleia Bishop, junior outside hitter
Tahleia Bishop is a killer for the volleyball team.
Last season as a sophomore, Bishop accumulated a team-leading 400 kills en route to Buffalo’s greatest winning season (18) since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1998.
First-year head coach Reed Sunahara will depend on Bishop to lead the team, as Christine Fritsche, the only Bull to come close to Bishop’s 400 kills with 238, graduated. Even though the junior outside hitter and coach have yet to compete together in an official game for the Bulls, Sunahara already has a good idea of the kind of player Bishop can be.
During the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) World Championship Qualifiers in Mississauga, Ontario, in May, Bishop and Sunahara both represented team Jamaica.
The UB connection led the Jamaican national team to not only its first match victory at the World Qualifiers, but also its first medal in women’s indoor volleyball – earning bronze.
Jordon Johnson, sophomore running back
The Buffalo backfield has seen plenty of talent over the past several years, including James Starks and Branden Oliver, who hold the all-time record for touchdowns and rushing yards, respectively, and are both signed with NFL teams.
With Oliver graduated and signed with the San Diego Chargers, the Bulls search for their next great running back. That player may be someone who has been with the team for two seasons, but has never played a down. And like Starks, a Niagara Falls native, the Bulls found this player just a few miles down the road from campus
Sophomore running back Jordon Johnson, a former Sweet Home High School quarterback, is back after enduring a season-ending elbow surgery last season and redshirting as a true freshman the year before. Johnson will compete with junior running backs Anthone Taylor and Devin Campbell for carries and has already shown off his explosiveness to Bulls fans.
In the annual Blue-White spring football game on April 19, Johnson ran for 114 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, the latter of which went for 43 yards. Regardless of who is the No. 1 running back, Johnson will be an offensive asset for the Bulls’ offense.
Teams to watch
Women’s basketball
After clinching its first season above .500 since 2002-03 and winning the most MAC games in a two-year stretch in its first two seasons under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, the women’s basketball team may no longer be under the radar in 2014-15.
The Bulls finished last season with 17 wins and clinched a No. 4 seed in the MAC Tournament – their highest ever. The team was upset by Ball State in their first game of the tournament, however, 74-60.
The Bulls graduated only three seniors and return over 80 percent of their scoring from last season. Several All-MAC performers like junior guard Mackenzie Loesing (second team), senior forward Kristen Sharkey (third team) and sophomore forward Alexus Malone (freshman team) will continue to be focal points. The team will also benefit from the return of sophomore forward/guard Rachael Gregory, who medically redshirted last season recovering from a torn ACL she suffered 17 games into her freshman season. Gregory was the team’s leading scorer at the time of her injury.
With the return of key players and now more experience playing in big games, the Bulls may be booking a few extra nights in Cleveland for the tournament this season.
Men’s soccer
Despite finishing just 3-11-4 last season, optimism surrounds the men’s soccer team heading into head coach Stu Riddle’s second year at the helm. The Bulls return several exciting young players from last season, including sophomore midfielders Russell Cicerone and Nicolai Berry, who combined to score nine of the team’s 15 goals last season. Cicerone was named MAC Freshman of the Year and made the All-MAC team.
After beginning the season without a win in its first seven games, Buffalo finished 3-6-1, including a late season three-game home stretch in which the team defeated Gannon and Hartwick and took nationally ranked Akron to overtime. Buffalo looks to carry its momentum into this season and hosts Bryant in its first home game at UB Stadium Sept. 5 at 7 p.m. after two road games in California.
Storylines to watch
Year two of Bobby Hurley era
Controversy erupted when Athletic Director Danny White fired 14-year men’s basketball head coach Reggie Witherspoon in March 2013. For many, anger turned to optimism when former Duke legend Bobby Hurley was hired to replace Witherspoon.
Hurley did not disappoint in his first season on the job, bringing a high-flying, guard heavy offense to Alumni Arena, resulting in the program’s first-ever MAC East title. The season ended in disappointment, however, as the Bulls were upset by Eastern Michigan in their first game of the MAC Tournament.
Hurley will try to continue the upward trajectory of the program without its all-time leading scorer, Javon McCrea, and fellow graduated seniors Jarod Oldham and Josh Freelove. Hurley’s utilization of guards Jarryn Skeete and Shannon Evans and junior forward Justin Moss transitioning into McCrea’s old role is just one of the many storylines to watch heading into the season, which begins in November.
Football team moving on without graduated senior class
The seniors of the 2013 football team were a group of players that the school will remember for a long time. Everyone knows about the success of now Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack and the attention he brought to the school, but Mack was just one of the many seniors that helped carry the program to an eight-win season and a berth in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
The team also lost all-time leading rusher Braden Oliver, all-time receiving touchdown record holder Alex Neutz, along with standouts Fred Lee, Colby Way and Najja Johnson among others. Look no further than the fact that seven members of the senior class from last season signed with an NFL team this spring to see the impact they made on the football program.
Head coach Jeff Quinn now has to go through the process of replacing the some of the best players in school history with unproven players.
On defense, players like Adam Redden, Courtney Lester and Jarret Franklin will have to lead the defense, the latter of whom has the daunting task of playing Mack’s position. The Bulls have a crowd of unproven receivers like Devon Hughes, Boise Ross, Jacob Martinez and Marcus McGill and a trio of running backs including Anthone Taylor, Jordan Johnson and Devin Campbell who could see significant carries out of the backfield.
It will be a different looking Bulls team when they take the field at UB Stadium Aug. 30 for the season opener against Duquesne.
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