BULLDOGS OPEN 2012-13 SEASON ON ROAD AT TOP-RANKED INDIANA UNIVERSITY FRIDAY AT 8 P.M.
Full Game Notes
Watch: Big Ten Network (Bryant Ch. 40)
Listen: iuhoosiers.com
Twitter Updates: @BryantGameday
Live Stats: iuhoosiers.com
THE PARTICULARS
The Bryant University men's basketball team opens the 2012-13 season -- the team's first with full Division I eligibility -- with the toughest test in program history, taking on preseason No. 1 Indiana University Friday night in Bloomington, Ind. The game will tip off from Assembly Hall at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and will be carried live on the Big Ten Network.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and the Hoosiers have met once before, when Bryant traveled to Bloomington on Dec. 28, 2009. The matchup came in Bryant's second season of Division I play, and Indiana won the contest, 90-42, getting a game-best 15 points apiece from Christian Watford and Verdell Jones III. Current seniors Raphael Jordan (26 minutes), Erick Smith (5 points, 18 minutes) and Vlad Kondratyev (10 points, five rebounds) are the only Bryant players remaining from that Bulldog squad.
SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS
Top-ranked Indiana returns five of its six starting options from a season ago, when the Hoosiers posted a 27-9 record en route to the program's first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2002. The Hoosiers boast two players placed on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 list in senior and Preseason Big Ten pick Christian Watford (12.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg), and reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and 2012-13 National Preseason Player of the Year Cody Zeller (15.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, .632 shooting percentage). The pair will lead a lineup that also includes one of the nation's top incoming freshmen in MacDonald's All-American and local product Yogi Ferrell, named to the 2012-13 Sporting News Preseason All-Freshman Team. With 1,690 all-time program wins, Indiana has come out on top in the last 14-straight season openers and will look to keep that streak alive against the Bulldogs.
THIS ONE COUNTS: BRYANT UNIVERSITY ENTERS FIRST YEAR OF FULL DIVISION I ELIGIBILITY IN 2012-13
After the completion of the NCAA-mandated four-year transition period that began in 2008-09, Bryant University became a full and official member of Division I, effective September 1, 2012. With the transition now behind it, the Bulldogs enter into their first year with full NCAA and Northeast Conference (NEC) postseason eligibility. The 2012-13 campaign is the program's fifth competing at the DI level and fourth playing within the NEC, of which Bryant is the 12th full member.
OPENING NIGHT
Since the inception of the Bryant men's basketball program in 1963-64, Bulldog teams have done fairly well in season openers, going 27-22 (.551) all-time in the first game of the year. Bryant took the win in the program's first eight season tips, not suffering an opening-day loss until the 1971-72 season. But the Bulldogs haven't been as hot as of late and haven't taken a victory in the season's first contest since 2005-06, when they topped Adelphi, 70-62. The Bulldogs are still winless in their first outing in the program's four-year Division I history, and Bryant is 6-7 in its last 13 season openers after a 75-63 loss to San Diego State in the team's 2011-12 debut. The Black and Gold begin the year on the road for the fourth-straight season in 2012-13.
FIRST UP...
The Bulldogs continue their trend of facing off against the toughest competition in the nation in 2012-13 and will play their first official NCAA Division I game against nationally top-ranked Indiana at Assembly Hall on Nov. 9. The game, slated to tip off at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The contest marks the season opener for both squads and will be the first time a Bryant side has ever played the country's No. 1 team.
THE GRIND CONTINUES
The 2012-13 schedule doesn't get much easier in the opening month of play, as the Bulldogs turn around to play BIG EAST and intrastate rival Providence College at the Dunkin' Donuts Center just three days after facing preseason favorite Indiana (Nov. 12; 7 p.m.). Following the 2012-13 home opener against the University of New Hampshire (Nov. 17; 1 p.m.) and a road contest against crosstown foe and Ivy power Brown (Nov. 21; 7 p.m.), the Black and Gold take on the ACC, traveling to Conte Forum for a tip against head coach Tim O'Shea's alma mater, Boston College Nov. 25 (2 p.m.).
PULLING RANK
Friday's contest against top-ranked Indiana might be the program's first faceoff against the nation's No. 1, but it is not the team's first competition against an opponent appearing in the national rankings. Last season, Bryant took on three teams who were receiving votes in the polls when they took the court against the Bulldogs — the University of Arizona (Dec. 22, 2011), the University of Notre Dame (Nov. 27, 2011) and San Diego State (Nov. 11, 2011).
A 1000 REASONS...
After leading the Bulldogs in points scored and points per game each of the last two seasons, junior forward Alex Francis stands just 48 points away from becoming the 32nd 1,000-point scorer in Bryant University men's basketball history. The New York native is also just 39 boards away from the 500-rebound mark and currently boasts a career shooting percentage above .500 (355-696; .510). His career 15.9 points-per-game average put him on pace to eclipse the 1000-point landmark in the fourth game of the season, on the road at Brown Nov. 21.
CLUB 500
Junior leading scorer Alex Francis recorded 509 points last season as a sophomore, becoming the first Bulldog to top 500 points in a single season since John Williams did so back in 2005-06 (628 points in 31 games). Francis registered double-digit points in 29-of-30 games last season, the lone exception coming in a six-point performance against Robert Morris on Jan. 6. With his career only half behind him, Francis has scored double-figure points in 52 contests, having suited up in just 60.
BACK FOR MORE
The Bulldogs return 10 letterwinners from the 2011-12 roster and lost no players to graduation. However, the team will be without the skills of standout rookie Ben Altit, who returned to Israel to fulfill mandatory military service. Altit was the team's top shot blocker a season ago (37) and appeared in all 30 games with 17 starts. Still, Bryant returns four healthy scorers from the top of last year's stat sheet, including leading scorer Alex Francis (17.0 ppg) and junior sharpshooter Corey Maynard (11.4 ppg), who missed the final third of the 2011-12 season due to injury. Starting point guard Frankie Dobbs returns for his senior season after finishing second in the conference in assists per game (4.6), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.70) and first in minutes played (38.0) a year ago. Dobbs also finished in the league's top-10 in free throw percentage (7th, .818) and 3-pointers made (8th, 2.33) while finishing 16th overall in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Francis's 17.0 scoring average was good for sixth overall, while his rebounding (7.4 rpg), field goal percentage (.512), defensive rebounds (5.3/game) and minutes played (32.63) all fell within the NEC's individual top-10 for the 2011-12 season, as well. Averaging 7.1 points per game, senior Raphael Jordan also returns after finishing fourth on the scoring depth chart last campaign. Bryant's four top scorers represent the return of 71.5 percent — or 1325 of the team's 1852 points — of last year's scoring.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Four true rookies and a pair of transfers all become active on the Bulldog roster in 2012-13. After sitting out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Bryant welcomes the activation of redshirt-sophomores and top shooters Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt./Holy Cross) and Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn./Columbia University). The newcomers are joined by a quartet of true freshmen in 6-foot-4 forward Curtis Oakley (South Euclid, Ohio/Charles F. Brush), 6-foot-1 guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J./Choate Rosemary Hall), 6-foot-8 forward Andrew Scocca (Melrose, Mass./Worcester Academy) and 6-foot-3 guard Declan Soukup (Melbourne, Australia/Hallam Senior).
FAMILY MATTERS
The 2012-13 Bulldog roster features family ties for a number of players. Redshirt-sophomore Joe O'Shea is the nephew of head coach Tim O'Shea, while starting point guard Frankie Dobbs is the son of assistant coach Happy Dobbs. Despite 2012-13 marking his first year as a student on campus, rookie Andrew Scocca is also not unfamiliar with Bryant or Bulldog Athletics, as older sister Maria graduated from the Smithfield, R.I., school in 2012 after spending four seasons at the top of the Bryant volleyball stat sheet. Andrew hopes to rival his sister's success as a Bulldog, as Maria graduated with more than 1300 kills (sixth all-time) and left Bryant as the program's all-time leader in total blocks (546), block assists (465) and blocks per set (1.08).
FAMOUS FAMILY
Bryant seniors Frankie Dobbs and Daniel Calandrillo and freshman Curtis Oakley all have close family ties to the basketball world. Dobbs grew up around the collegiate game, particularly the college game within Rhode Island, where his father, Frank "Happy" Dobbs — now a Bulldog assistant coach — served as the Brown University head men's basketball coach from 1991-1999. Dobbs came to Brown after assistant coaching stints at Dartmouth and Boston College and a successful career as a four-year starting guard at Villanova from 1980-84, after which he was drafted by the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.
Calandrillo also comes from a line of BIG EAST stardom. His father, Dan Calandrillo Sr., scored 1,985 points for Seton Hall from 1978-82 and was named the 1982 BIG EAST Player of the Year as a senior. The elder Calandrillo was also drafted into the NBA and went on to play in Europe and for the CBA.
Oakley is the nephew of NBA vet Charles Oakley, who played 19 seasons in the pros with five different teams, including 10-straight seasons with the New York Knicks from 1988-98. A 1994 NBA All-Star, Oakley played four years at Virginia Union University and retired from the NBA in 2004, posting career numbers of 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting just under 50 percent.
WRAPPING UP THE TRANSITION YEARS
The 2008-09 Bryant men's basketball team, the first squad to face a full slate of Division I competition, posted an 8-21 record in a strong debut campaign. Injuries and stiff competition devastated the 2009-10 Bulldogs, who finished the season 1-29 in their NEC debut, but the Black and Gold bounced back in impressive fashion a season later, going 9-21 overall while earning seven conference wins, both Division I program records. Bryant ended the regular season tied for eighth in the league standings, a finish that would have qualified the Bulldogs for the NEC Tournament had they been eligible. Faced with key injuries and one of the non-conference toughest slates in the league in 2011-12, the Bulldogs found themselves on the wrong side of a number of close contests and the owners of a 2-28 mark. The team has added key weapons and vital depth at every position in 2012-13, though, with the goal of acheiving unprecedented success in its first year of Division I eligibility.
CIAO!
The Bryant University men's basketball team took team bonding to a new level in 2012-13, traveling all the way to Italy this past August. The team's nine-day, three-game tour of the European nation included stops at Rome, Florence, Cantu and Lake Como. The Bulldogs played in a trio of exhibition contests while abroad, falling to Pro B Italian League team Latina in a 71-70 heartbreaker before dropping an 85-82 decision to Lucca and routing Team Cantu, 102-48, to wrap up international play. Dyami Starks led all scorers on the foreign tour, scoring 76 points (25.3 points per game) while Frankie Dobbs chipped in 46 points (15.3 ppg). Want to find out more about the team's trip to Italy? Check out the stories from the words of the players' themselves at www.bryantbulldogs.com.
