WNY College hoops

by Steve

I figured this place was way over due for a college basketball post and with some exciting developments already this week its the perfect time. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Niagara Falls and for that matter all of Western New York has been producing some highly touted and sought after basketball talent for a while now, from Greg Oden to Paul Harris and now the next great hope Johnny Flynn.

The Niagara Falls product has already taken college basketball by storm by breaking Carmelo Anthony's freshman single game scoring record in his first game. And what did he do for an encore? Only get mentioned in the same breath as Kevin Durant and the aforementioned Oden on Sportscenter tonight. Granted they said he wasn't necessarily as good as them yet but he was mentioned. Well, to follow up on his 28 point record breaking night, he was held to only 5 points BUT it was his three pointer with less than 6 seconds left to break a tie game and give the Orange the victory.

Here's what DraftExpress has to say about the 6'0 Flynn " A bit undersized, but very athletic, Flynn is an excellent ball-handler with both hands, a quick point guard who can split defenses pretty easily and feed his teammates. He shows very nice footwork in his slashing attempts, as well as excellent ability to finish near the rim by elevating for layups and finish even through contact. In Novi Sad, he seemed to be a pretty solid shooter, with off-the-dribble skills and range out to the three-point line. "

Also aiding in the win was the other Niagara Falls stand out guard, Harris, who has 32 points and 28 rebounds in Syracuse's first 2 games, averaging well over a double-double per. The all Niagara Falls back court for 25th ranked 'cuse should be reeking havoc throughout the Big East all season, and I for one can not wait to be a witness.


Now on to the actual local teams.
University of Buffalo Bulls

Expectations are low for the University at Buffalo Bulls heading into the 2007/08 campaign. Just two years removed from finishing 46th in the RPI, this Bulls team has pretty much zero resemblance to that team with no seniors in the starting lineup and only one fifth year senior even on the roster. The starting line up looks something like this: Junior Greg Gamble G/F, Sophomore Max Boudreau F, Junior Vadim Fedotov F/C, Junior Andy Robinson G, and sophomore transfer Rodney Pierce G.

Here's the good news, the Bulls are already 2-1 and tonight upset(UB was favored by 1 but it seems like it was an upset) South Florida of the Big East at Alumni Arena. Junior guard Sean Smiley gave 16 big points off the bench while Pierce tossed in 20 as the Bulls defeated USF 76-69. Who the hell knows how the Bulls season will end up, they're winning games early and if they can ride players like Gamble and Pierce, this team could compete in the MAC East.

ESPN's Blue Ribbon said this about their 07/08 season "The Bulls are likely one- to two years away from once again being a factor in the Mid-American Conference title chase and will have a hard time putting up the kind of rebounding numbers from last season that saved them in several games. Combine that with a young team that will be prone to mistakes, and it could be a long season in Buffalo." Bulletin board material? You better F'n believe it.

Season highlights include 11/20 @ Niagara, 11/23 @ Pitt, and 11/27 vs Canisius. Their conference schedule starts January 6th so I guess, go big blue.

MAAAAAAAAAAAC
Niagara University
Niagara, Canisius does anyone really care that much? Niagara DID make it to the big dance but have lost 4 starters from last year. They should still be highly competitive again this year, they got the coach in Mihalich, they have last years hot streak, they still have Charron Fisher look for them to roll in the MAAC again. Plus next year they have two Big East transfers in Bilal Benn, a 6-5 wing from Villanova, and Rob Garrison, a 6-2 guard from Connecticut.
Highlights: vs UB 11/20, vs Bona 11/28, @ St. John's 12/15

Canisius College
Canisius does have the co-maac rookie of the year in Frank Turner but lack experience from what I hear, they'll be around .500 in the conference is my prediction.
Highlights : Canisius vs. WVU in HSBC Arena 12/22, @ Bona 12/1, vs Niagara 1/18, @ Niagara 3/2