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Men’s basketball faces semi-pro opponents in season’s first of two exhibition matches

The Bearcats will have their work cut out for them against Upstate AAU, a club team made up of former collegiate and semi-pro players, which edged BU last year on a long rang three-pointer just before the buzzer
Brien Shanahan - Sports Editor

courtesy of Binghamton Athletics
Head coach Al Walker

The Binghamton University men’s basketball team will open their inaugural Div. I season at home this Saturday with the first of their two exhibition matches.

The Bearcats will have their work cut out for them against Upstate AAU, a club team made up of former collegiate and semi-pro players, which edged BU last year on a long rang three-pointer just before the buzzer.

BU Head Coach Al Walker expects great individual challenges from the team, but believes the Bearcats’ youth and excitement can overcome the elder squad.

“They are a tough team and will come in here expecting to win,” said Walker. “But, they don’t have as much experience playing together as we do. We’ll do well on Saturday night if we use that to our advantage.”

Walker is still unsure of what lineup he will put on the floor this weekend, but will likely spread the playing time throughout his squad, which returns four starters and six letterwinners from last years 14-14 team.

In the forward and center positions, Walker can go with any combination of 6’8 senior Joost Ooms, 6’6 junior Jeffrey St. Fort, or newcomers 7’0 Nick Billings and 6’8 Stanley Ocitti. While the guard position boasts a mix of youth and experience in 6’6 freshman Andrew Hannan, 6’0 sophomore Brett Watson, 6’1 junior Anthony Green, 5’10 senior Mike Wright and 6’4 senior Jeffrey Daws.

“We have so much depth at every position,” said Walker. “We have veteran players and some very talented, younger players. When our young guys gain a little experience, we’ll be real dangerous.”

On Sunday, Nov. 11, BU will face another talented team in the Quebec-based Bishop’s University. In the former Canadian national champions (1999), the Bearcats will see a more “team-oriented” style of play that will be typical of their regular season opponents.

Sunday’s game, which starts at noon, will be the first part of a doubleheader with the women’s team, who will follow with a 2 p.m. start against the Nor’Easter Storm.

“These exhibition games will be important for us to see where we stand and where we need to be,” said Walker.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will need to be sharp when they open their regular seasons on Nov. 16 – the men at home against Dartmouth University and the women at Seton Hall University.