For the students who make up True Blue and all other supporters of the UB's men's basketball team, life as a fan is more promising than ever.
Despite low expectations for the 2010-11 season, head coach Reggie Witherspoon's program ultimately went further than any other team in Buffalo men's basketball history. The Bulls finished the year with a record of 20-14, going .500 in the Mid-American Conference.
Last year's team was one with just two seniors that lost its five leading scorers from the season before. Though the team may not have been able to go as far as many expected, Witherspoon knows that they did surprise many.
"I think what people may have seen is that we got to a point where we hit a wall energy-wise once when we got into conference play," Witherspoon said. "If you were to say that you were going to be top 20 in the country in blocked shots, steals, field goal percentage, and win 20 games, it would have been shocking to people."
The team's memorable campaign was due largely to guard Byron Mulkey, who takes with him valuable leadership and leaves a hole at the point guard position. Mulkey averaged 13 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game for Buffalo last season.
The daunting challenge of replacing him awaits junior Tony Watson II and sophomore Jarod Oldham. Fans got a preview of the future through these players last season and will definitely see one or both of them at the reins for the Bulls this time around.
"[Oldham and Watson] are the guys who play the position in practice," Witherspoon said. "They are anxious but we can get them seasoned and up to speed. We'll see how fast we can do that."
Oldham pleased fans last season with his defensive prowess and he stood out the most amongst his fellow freshmen, with the exception of sophomore forward Javon McCrea.
McCrea took the MAC and the country by storm with his performance – including a dominant 28-point, 13-rebound output in the team's MAC-tournament ending loss to Kent State. Voted MAC Freshman of the Year, McCrea was third on the team in scoring and second in blocked shots.
He was also invited to try out for the USA Basketball Men's Under 19 World Championship Team. He was named a finalist for the squad. Thirteen finalists remained and twelve went on to make the final cut to travel overseas with the team. Unfortunately, McCrea was the final player cut from the team. Witherspoon, who coached the USA team last year and was on the committee that chose it in 2006, is well aware of this achievement, and is very proud of his young star.
"This has never happened for the program and rarely happens for someone in this conference," Witherspoon said. "In 2006, Blake Griffin got cut from the team, just to tell you how competitive it is. It's a tremendous honor."
Buffalo was at its weakest when on the road. Witherspoon cited travel as a major detriment to his team's productivity on the season.
"We are trying to discover different ways to travel, to conserve our energy, and get better sleep," Witherspoon said. "Only two of our last nine games were at home. In spite of that our end of season RPI was 139, so top third in the country again. We did a lot of great things but we have to find a way to build on that."
One way to build on that should come by way of the team's returning leading scorer, senior guard Zach Filzen. Along with senior forward Titus Robinson, Filzen is playing with Athletes in Action on a tour of East Asia this summer.
"[Robinson] had his ups and downs," Witherspoon said. "There was an adjustment on his part with the presence of a Javon McCrea, but we are definitely expecting [senior forward Dave Barnett], Titus, and Zach to be more assertive in their leadership capacity. Byron was a tremendous leader that everybody trusted, and that's something you have to earn."
Together with senior center Mitchell Watt, Buffalo will rely heavily on consistent play from its veterans to maintain poise. With the developmental opportunities that the players have earned this year, Witherspoon is optimistic.
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