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Post by CoachSBU on Nov 29, 2014 22:11:28 GMT -5
Oh, wanted to say it was good to see complimentary games from Xavier Smith who played some great defense and had four rebounds in eight minutes of action and Taqque, who didn't play bad in the limited action he saw, either....Andell played his best game of the season, by far, in my opinion....nice drives to the hoop and less emphasis on trying to take the team load on his shoulders, which he seemed to be doing in the first few games as far as I was concerned....
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Post by class70 on Nov 29, 2014 22:21:22 GMT -5
7191 is a good crowd - pleased to see. Now let's beat Hurley and the boys and move on. That is 1058 less than my guess, but a very good showing. I hope this will be an annual event that continues to build.
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Post by Padre Jud on Nov 29, 2014 22:21:40 GMT -5
YN is a man on a mission with 5 blocks in the first half. Bonnies still turning over too often but lead 35-25 at half.
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Post by kcSBU03 on Nov 29, 2014 23:24:40 GMT -5
7191 is a good crowd - pleased to see. Now let's beat Hurley and the boys and move on. That is 1058 less than my guess, but a very good showing. I hope this will be an annual event that continues to build. Quite a few less than 12 though
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2014 6:37:47 GMT -5
Four teams and 7191 is a good crowd? 3000 Bona fans. If the classic continues we should participate, but enough nonsense about playing 3 games there as one poster has suggested. Buffalo will not support college hoops unless it is the NCAA tourney. It really was a sad crowd.
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Post by birdman on Nov 30, 2014 7:46:35 GMT -5
Need to go 10-2 before conference play to have a shot at 18 wins........
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Post by hnk373431 on Nov 30, 2014 7:55:55 GMT -5
St. John's - Gonzaga NIT doubleheader at Madison Square Garden drew 5500. first round drew 5100.was happy with the size of the crowd considering the programs are all in rebuilding modes this year.
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Post by class70 on Nov 30, 2014 8:04:31 GMT -5
7191 doesn't sound bad to me. If you divide it by 2 it's a lot more than you would see in those little gyms at Niagara and Canisius. Buffalo is still recovering from an epic snowstorm and this is the first time in many years that one of these doubleheaders has been played. I hope the favorable buzz from this will increase next year's crowd and maybe lead to some good national TV. The crowd at FNC was way bigger than what I saw in the largely empty Barclay Center for NBC-SN's telecast of Vandy's beatdown of LaSalle.
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Post by jh on Nov 30, 2014 8:15:40 GMT -5
Throwback afternoon brings back memories By Bucky Gleason | News Sports Columnist | @tbnbucky | Google+
on November 29, 2014 - 11:16 PM
, updated November 29, 2014 at 11:29 PM
Mark Schmidt didn’t even see how his team looked in Buffalo Braves’ orange in the Big Four Classic when his telephone rang. It was his best friend from Rhode Island asking if he could get his hands on a specific jersey worn by St. Bonaventure against Niagara.
“He wanted to know if we had a guy on our team that had No. 15,” Schmidt said Saturday after Bona beat Niagara, 74-59. “He wants to buy it.”
Who knew Chris Dees was so popular?
Never mind Chris Dees. Schmidt’s friend actually was feeling nostalgic about Ernie D, a cult hero to Schmidt and other hoops junkies growing up in Providence in the early 1970s. Ernie DiGregorio was a star at Providence College before he became one of the most popular players with the Braves.
“I remember when Providence played UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in 1973,” Schmidt said. “I was 10 years old. I begged my parents to let me stay up and watch the game. I had to take a nap from 8 to 11. They woke me up at 11 so I could see the game.”
You couldn’t help but feel sentimental about the Braves after seeing the four local Division I schools decked out in versions of their old uniforms Saturday during the doubleheader at First Niagara Center. The afternoon sent Schmidt and fans old enough to remember the Braves back to their childhoods.
One of my earliest sports memories was seeing Ernie D, with his bushy black hair and husky build, play at Memorial Auditorium after the Braves took him in the first round in 1973. I can still see him throwing a behind-the-back pass from midcourt to a teammate for a layup. I was 6 years old.
The Braves left for San Diego in 1978. I’m 47 years old now and still angry over their departure. If they would have stayed another two seasons, when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rescued the NBA, maybe the Braves would still be in town. All these years later, it’s still maddening.
And that’s what made Saturday a special day.
Basketball fans were treated to an old-fashioned doubleheader complete with old-fashioned uniforms. St. Bonaventure beat Niagara and UB beat Canisius in a pair of nonconference games. I’m sure the results mattered to the teams involved and their fans. They meant little to people like me.
The doubleheader drew 7,191 fans, a good crowd considering how much had changed in 16 years since the previous one. St. Bonaventure 7-footer Youssou Ndoye brought back memories of Bob Lanier. UB’s Shannon Evans wore Bob McAdoo’s No. 11 while playing like No. 9, the late, great Randy Smith.
It wasn’t quite like the old days at Memorial Auditorium, but it was good, entertaining basketball that was worth the price of admission. Here’s hoping the four schools can figure out a way to come together and make the doubleheader an annual event in the name of restoration.
Of course, that means sacrificing for the greater good. Canisius played twice at St. Bonaventure in order to make it work Saturday. All four schools would be asked to surrender home games in the future. Perhaps they can find local sponsors to help with finances and turn it into a can’t-miss tradition.
You know Buffalo. It’s the same city that for years sold out Coca-Cola Field after it was built. We fill the joint for the NCAA basketball tournament and Frozen Four and World Junior Championships even though we know little about the players involved. It’s time for the downtown doubleheader to become chic again.
“If we can develop some tradition and people see good basketball, they’ll come looking for it,” UB coach Bobby Hurley said. “Hopefully, it’s something that continues. It makes a lot of sense to do it with the natural rivalries here. To bring everyone together is a great idea. You have to play good basketball, though.”
Saturday was a start, a good start.
Schmidt had a few suggestions about how to make improvements, such as covering the 300 level inside the arena or drawing curtains behind the baskets. It would turn an 18,000-plus seat arena into a smaller, more charming and louder venue. The Bonnies play in a terrific atmosphere in the Reilly Center.
Regardless, it needs to continue with the idea they can create history while acknowledging history just the same. Over time, storylines would emerge in Buffalo the way they do in other cities, such as Philadelphia. It wouldn’t take long to generate some animosity among the four schools.
Canisius and UB played a physical game in the nightcap. Tempers flared on the court. Pockets of fans voiced their allegiance. Casual basketball fans who enjoyed the two games eventually will lean toward a particular school. It’s how it worked when local college basketball had its corner of the market.
Attitudes changed over the years, particularly after the Braves left town. The Aud closed, leaving rivalries to the ghosts from the 1960s and ’70s. The NFL and NHL grabbed a stronger hold of the community, especially after the Bills started building a dominant team in the late 1980s.
Really, the only thing missing Saturday was a ceremony honoring the Braves and former college stars. Looking for a boost in attendance? For the umpteenth time, raise a banner for the Braves and acknowledge their existence. People making decisions at the arena act as if the Braves were just a rumor.
It could start by honoring McAdoo, Smith and late coach Jack Ramsay. Bob Lanier was a local treasure and national giant while playing for St. Bonaventure. Calvin Murphy was the best player in Niagara history. Canisius’ John McCarthy played in the NBA and later coached the Braves.
Sad but true, only a small minority of Buffalo sports fans know the Braves had three rookies of the year (McAdoo, Ernie D and Adrian Dantley), the NBA’s most valuable player (McAdoo) and an All-Star Game most valuable player (Smith) in a six-year stretch before they bolted for San Diego.
“Ernie D was the guy,” Schmidt said. “If you asked our guys about those guys, they would have no idea. But if you brought those guys back for a halftime thing, it would be tremendous. Today was a good first time. Now, we have to build on that. Hopefully, there will be more.”
email: bgleason@buffnews.com Ndoye fulfills tall order for Bonaventure
Double-double helps Bonnies beat Niagara St. Bonaventure’s Youssou Ndoye dunks the ball in the second half against Niagara Saturday afternoon.
St. Bonaventure’s Youssou Ndoye dunks the ball in the second half against Niagara Saturday afternoon. James P. McCoy/Buffalo News By Bob DiCesare | News Sports Reporter | @tbndicesare
on November 29, 2014 - 11:43 PM
Not all that many 7-footers end up playing mid-major college basketball. Those who do are typically one-dimensional talents, either shot-blockers or rebounders and oft-times a stationary presence in the low post.
That’s the way it was when Youssou Ndoye arrived at St. Bonaventure as a raw talent from Senegal with a scant background in the sport. That’s not the way it is any longer.
There was much to marvel at Saturday afternoon as Ndoye struck for a double-double – 23 points and 11 rebounds – in powering the Bonnies to a 74-59 victory over Niagara in the opener of the Big 4 Classic at First Niagara Center. There was the half-court steal that he finished off the dribble with a reverse dunk while being fouled. There were the brush burns he accumulated – a 7-footer with brush burns! – in pursuit of loose balls at the offensive and defensive ends. And how about that little left-handed hook he threw down in the opening minutes, a signal that he hit the court this day with his passion gushing.
This is Ndoye’s senior season, his last go-round at the college level, but his first three starts were unbecoming of a preseason third-team all-Atlantic 10 selection. Although pulling down 10 rebounds a game, he had attempted just 10 shots and grown passive against zone defenses employed in large part to frustrate him.
Niagara took a different approach. The Purple Eagles (1-4) looked at the scoring averages of Bona’s Marcus Posley (18), Andell Cumberbatch (13.5) and Dion Wright (12.3) and committed to defending the perimeter game. The emphasis required a hefty amount of man-to-man defense, leaving Ndoye in single coverage against a starting lineup with no one bigger than 6-foot-5. He thrived.
“We got Youssou going,” said Bona coach Mark Schmidt. “They played him man-to-man. They played him straight up in the post. He got some really easy baskets inside. Youssou played with some aggression, some passion, and that’s what we needed.”
“These last couple days in practice, that’s what we worked on, just throwing the ball inside and going off me,” Ndoye said. “We got a pretty young team, a bunch of young guys, so we are just trying to figure out how to play together. Right now, I think today we got better just playing together, knowing like where to go with the ball and like trying to get me the ball like on the right spot, on my sweet spots and stuff. I think my teammates did really a great job just finding me, and I was able to execute on most of them.”
Ndoye went 9 of 16 from the field, 5 of 7 from the line. All five of his blocks came as the Bonnies built a 35-25 halftime lead. From there, the lead expanded in rapid fashion as Cumberbatch (16 points) and Wright (14) fed off the room created by Ndoye’s assertive presence. Bona led by as many as 23.
“I thought he played very well,” said Niagara coach Chris Casey. “He responded to the fact we played him one-on-one in the post. We did start doubling him a little bit down the stretch in the second half to try to get the ball out of his hands.”
Niagara entered focused on limiting Bona’s open looks from the perimeter.
“We were concerned about their inside guys, too, but more so about their three perimeter guys,” Casey said. “Their three perimeter guys I believe are their three top scorers. They’re very good players. But good teams find other ways to beat you, and he stepped up, got a lot of touches and played very, very well.”
The Bonnies (4-1) carry a three-game winning streak into Wednesday’s showdown with visiting UB – the Big 4 Classic championship game, if you will. Niagara (1-3), which got 13 points apiece from Ramone Snowden and Karoon Davis, plays at St. John’s on Tuesday.
email: bdicesare@buffnews.com
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Post by Padre Jud on Nov 30, 2014 8:26:47 GMT -5
A few observations: it would have been fun if they had worn the short shorts of the 1970s, to make the uniforms look more authentic. Also, too bad the Bona Wolf wasn't there, and even a few of our cheerleaders, even though they were probably at home on break. It was great to see so many Bona fans in the Cobblestone before the game. Go Bona's!
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Post by jh on Nov 30, 2014 8:36:39 GMT -5
Four teams and 7191 is a good crowd? 3000 Bona fans. If the classic continues we should participate, but enough nonsense about playing 3 games there as one poster has suggested. Buffalo will not support college hoops unless it is the NCAA tourney. It really was a sad crowd. Exactly right - lets play 4 !!!!
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Post by old timer on Nov 30, 2014 8:46:03 GMT -5
I am happy Ndoye had a breakout game. I happy for the team. I am happy for Ndoye who works very hard and is a great kid. And I'm happy that the haters might be silent for at least one game. He had at least two blocks and one or two altered shots OUTSIDE the paint right in front of our seats. He also caused a number of poor passes by his activity on "D". He is no "stiff".....albeit with "soccer" hands.
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Post by bigdobber on Nov 30, 2014 8:57:24 GMT -5
None of these tournaments draw. Buffalo stacks up ok compared to the rest of the tournaments but the times have changed. Back in the 70's the holiday tournament at MSG filled all bottom rings and partially on top. I would say13000. When St. Johns was in the Finals, close to a sellout. The economics of TV has been the game changer. Bonnies need to keep winning and we could be OK.
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Post by ceharv on Nov 30, 2014 9:39:27 GMT -5
This year's tourney was just a start; the crowd good for something where history had to be created by reference to a local pro team. Good to hear there was some bad blood between the Griffs and UB. A little of that will help with the crowds in the future, b/c we bring our own history with Canisius and Niagara and things will build with UB as they improve and the two of us vie for the top spot in the WNY college hoops scene, and Wednesday could go along way in moving ahead in that battle. We need to be the dream landing place for the top local talent, and to be that we need to play some games in Buffalo in addition to being just 60 miles away. Going forward, this tourney can be our premier local showcase, so let's push for the tourney to continue. Next year, bring back the Big Cat and honor him at halftime in front of his home town. I presume his number has been retired, but has it? If not, how about duel ceremonies a couple of days apart on his named court in the RC, then in his hometown? But even if it has already been retired, come up with an excuse to bring him home for another honor. And if the Eagles could do the same with Murphy, think how special that would be for a year two boost for the tourney. Someone in our J school could put together a highlight video of the two to play at a ceremony. Hell, if I could still drive, I'd come up just to see that, and get some wings and do a winery tour in the process (it would be worth it just to see the what if-looks on the faces of everyone associated with Canisius)!
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Post by fjs64 on Nov 30, 2014 9:50:18 GMT -5
This year's tourney was just a start; the crowd good for something where history had to be created by reference to a local pro team. Good to hear there was some bad blood between the Griffs and UB. A little of that will help with the crowds in the future, b/c we bring our own history with Canisius and Niagara and things will build with UB as they improve and the two of us vie for the top spot in the WNY college hoops scene, and Wednesday could go along way in moving ahead in that battle. We need to be the dream landing place for the top local talent, and to be that we need to play some games in Buffalo in addition to being just 60 miles away. Going forward, this tourney can be our premier local showcase, so let's push for the tourney to continue. Next year, bring back the Big Cat and honor him at halftime in front of his home town. I presume his number has been retired, but has it? If not, how about duel ceremonies a couple of days apart on his named court in the RC, then in his hometown? But even if it has already been retired, come up with an excuse to bring him home for another honor. And if the Eagles could do the same with Murphy, think how special that would be for a year two boost for the tourney. Someone in our J school could put together a highlight video of the two to play at a ceremony. Hell, if I could still drive, I'd come up just to see that, and get some wings and do a winery tour in the process (it would be worth it just to see the what if-looks on the faces of everyone associated with Canisius)! Retired numbers.......of course 31 is... gobonnies.sbu.edu/sports/m-baskbl/MensBasketballRetiredNumbers
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