The BU Zoo Blog

Everyone and their mother had Binghamton picked last this year.  With a victory over Hartford last night, the Bearcats clinched at least an 8-8 conference record and the 5th seed in the AE Tourney.  At of things to be proud of on this basketball team.  Can’t say the same thing about the people in charge.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Kyrie Sutton delivered his best performance in a Binghamton University jersey, scoring a career-high 18 points as Bearcats cruised to a 66-53 victory over Hartford in an America East Conference men’s basketball game on Wednesday night at the Events Center.  Greer Wright added 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, with Dylan Talley adding 15 points for BU (13-17, 8-7 America East), which prevailed in front of 4,791 fans in its final regular-season home game this season.  The victory clinched the fifth seed for BU in next week’s America East tournament in Hartford.”

Usually Tuesdays are Monday-less sucky cousin but today I feel very happy to get back into the flow of things.  A lot of work to do, but its not the end of the world.

• Pipe Dream: “If you read the statement looking for anything like an administrative apology, you would have been extremely disappointed. In fact, the review was barely mentioned. The only quote DeFleur included to sum up the 99-page report, which implicated her and key University administrators as playing main roles in the scandal, was Judge Judith Kaye’s comment that BU was “one of the nation’s premier public universities” – one of DeFleur’s favorite phrases, and hardly Kaye’s own words.  We’re pretty sure that’s not the message Kaye’s team of lawyers was trying to send.  This kind of evasion seemed to be the real, and only, purpose of the statement. Instead of accepting the blame that so obviously lies at their feet, DeFleur and Swain made a mockery of themselves and the University by throwing around hollow rhetoric of honesty and commitment to values; we’ve all seen that their actions indicate otherwise. Honor and integrity are nowhere to be seen in this mess.”
• Pipe Dream: “The Bearcats’ star junior Greer Wright had an off game, converting on only one of eight shots for seven points while also turning the ball over four times. However, junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi, who has been hot of late, and freshman guard Dylan Talley picked up the slack and then some for the Bearcats. Jabbi and Talley scored 20 and 25 points, respectively – both career highs for the first-year Division I players. Jabbi also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game while Talley dished out five assists to only two turnovers. ‘We were just hitting on all cylinders today,’ Macon said.  Leading by just eight points, 20-12 with 11 minutes to play, the Bearcats caught fire and pushed out to a 46-29 halftime lead. Jabbi had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half.  Binghamton tallied a total of 18 assists, its highest output of the season. ‘I had them doing things in practice where I wouldn’t let them shoot the ball,’ said Binghamton interim head coach Mark Macon. ‘It showed today with how they shared the ball.’”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “‘We wanted Judge (Judith) Kaye to lead the review and investigation, we wanted to begin immediately and contracting through the state takes a long time, and we did not want tuition or taxpayer dollars used,’ SUNY spokesman David Henahan said in an e-mail Monday.An Albany news Web site Monday raised questions about whether SUNY should have used a competitive-bidding process instead of directly hiring the law firm that employs retired New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who headed the investigation. The probe cost $913,381, which is to be split between SUNY and BU.”
• WBNG (Video): “Noticeably absent on the Bearcat bench Sunday was assistant coach Mark Hsu.  He was prominently featured in retired Judge Judith Kaye’s 99-page audit of the program, named for assisting former player Malik Alvin pay his court fees after being arrested for stealing condoms at Wal-mart, and then again for helping Alvin fix a plagiarized school assignment.  Hsu did not travel with the team on their recent road trips, and after the game interim head coach Mark Macon was asked about his future with the program. Macon would only  say that he could not answer those questions.  Following that press conference, the university released a statement. ‘After consultation with America East commissioner Patrick Nero, interim director of athletics Jim Norris has determined that assistant coach Marc Hsu will not be coaching in practice or games until further notice.’”

Yesterday, I left NYC for Long Island to celebrate Papa Phyr’s 60th birthday.  Today, we are prepping for tonight’s Binghamton-Stony Brook game .  We’ve been very fortunate that the game has been usually scheduled for a weekend.  I can jet out from the city and take the train right to Stony Brook.  This game has special meaning for me because I grew up around Stony Brook in the neighboring town Setauket (along with the Town of Rich People Old Field make up the Three Villages).

My dad told me yesterday that he will be wearing his Stony Brook shirt tonight.  I can’t blame him.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Despite findings critical of her role as overseer of the Binghamton University’s athletic department, Lois DeFleur will be allowed to retire as president on her own terms.  SUNY officials said Friday they’ve had no discussions about the possibility of removing DeFleur before her summer retirement date, despite a spate of incidents that included suspensions and a drug arrest in the basketball program, a sexual-harassment lawsuit, the reassignment of the athletics director and the benching, with pay, of the basketball coach.  ‘We have no intention to try to alter her schedule’ to leave July 30, said Carl Hayden, the attorney who chairs the SUNY Board of Trustees.”
• Press & Sun Bulletin:”BU has won six straight games over the Seawolves (17-7, 9-2 AE), including a 64-62 victory on Jan. 12 at the Events Center when Greer Wright nailed the game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds left.  Wright, last week named the America East Player of the Week for the third time this season, is averaging team-best 15.4 points for the Bearcats.  Since losing back-to-back games at BU and Maine, Stony Brook has won five straight games to move atop the America East standings, most recently an 83-64 home victory over then-second place Maine on Wednesday.  In the win over Maine, Muhammad El-Amin scored a game-high 24 points. El-Amin leads Stony Brook in scoring with a 15.5 per game average.  ‘I don’t look at standings, but I know the other coaches and the kids do,’ Macon said. ‘I’m just worried about us getting better, but I know this game is going to be a dogfight.’”
• Wall Street Journal: “Binghamton University’s basketball program is a big deal in the America East Conference, and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament last season. But while no one would confuse the Bearcats with a big-time athletic machine, the lawlessness and culture of entitlement, malfeasance and favoritism exposed by a recent State University of New York-commissioned report on the controversy-plagued program puts Binghamton up there among college sports’ troubled programs.”
• Deadspin: “In a report from the Department of Obviousness, Binghamton’s attempt to build a competitive basketball team resulted in numerous violations in recruiting, academics, and assorted criminal behaviors. So, mission successful if they wanted to build a real D1 program.”
• Pipe Dream: “In its final pages, the report recommends that BU establish a “more active role” in oversight and control of the athletics program, and that SUNY should consider appointment of an athletic oversight officer.  ‘At times, as this report shows, the intensity of the desire to win may undermine and compromise that primary [academic] mission,’ it reads. ‘The president took no corrective action in her role as the supervisor of the athletic director and the person charged with ultimate responsibility for BU’s intercollegiate athletic program.’ DeFleur, who over winter break announced her plans to retire this July, held a press conference with campus media groups Tuesday. Pipe Dream reporters, who had requested an interview several times, were present at the conference. In total, the reporters were allowed to ask three pre-approved questions before the meeting came to an end.  At the conference, DeFleur said she will have no administrative involvement with the University once she retires, aside from giving her support. She said she believes ‘change is good.’”
• Pipe Dream: “Despite Pipe Dream editors practically begging her for an interview, DeFleur only consented to sit down to pre-approved questions at her recent press conference, in which she gave an impressive speech and answered nothing at all. She was then conveniently out of town when the audit results were released. The hypocrisy is sickening, especially coming from the woman who has continuously touted our claim as the Premier Public University of the Northeast. All the while, she has been privately putting academics second to her NCAA dreams.  And now, after dragging this school through the mud on her quest to D-1 fame, DeFleur is leaving the premises and not looking back, leaving us to deal with the mess.  With all due respect Ms. President, we’ve been taught that it’s honorable to own up to your mistakes, not set up others to take the fall and cover your own ass. Your skeletons are coming out of your airplane hangar, and if you have any respect for the school you’ve claimed to love for the past 20 years, you should show your commitment by sticking around to help us salvage this school and its reputation.”

After Jim Norris came out and said yesterday that the report would be done soon, it looks like the time table shifted up a little bit:

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “This could be the day the public will get some answers about what happened inside Binghamton University’s athletics program.  Top officials in the state university system are scheduled to reveal the findings of a four-month investigation into troubles that got six men’s basketball players kicked off the team and their coach suspended, prompted claims that a female employee was sexually harassed, and cost the athletics director his job.  SUNY’s executive committee will meet this morning to discuss Judge Judith Kaye’s probe of the program, and likely will release the report later in the day, said SUNY spokesman David Henahan. He said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Trustees Chairman Carl Hayden are scheduled to answer questions in a 2 p.m. conference call with reporters.  The report is expected to contain recommendations for BU, though details weren’t available Wednesday night.”

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “It was a different story Saturday, when the Bearcats allowed a game-closing 11-0 run in a 61-49 loss at Maine. BU hopes to avoid a repeat when it visits University of New Hampshire in an America East Conference contest at 7 p.m. Thursday. The two teams met 12 days ago at the Events Center in a game won by BU, 76-73, in overtime. In that Jan. 30 game, Greer Wright scored 29 points and Dylan Talley converted a three-point play with 21 seconds left in overtime for the Bearcats (11-14, 6-4 America East). It was one of three games during BU’s four-game winning streak that the Bearcats won by six points or fewer. With the exception of its 80-63 victory at University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Jan. 27, all of BU’s other America East games have been decided by single digits. Wright hopes to continue his torrid play since the start of BU’s America East schedule. The junior transfer from City College of San Francisco is averaging 19.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in America East play. Those represent increases from his season-long averages of 15.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.”

Congrats to the Saints and how that everyone had a Super Sunday.  My girlfriend’s parents came into the city to celebrate her mom’s birthday.  We took a little trip to the Museum of the City of New York.  It was small but had a couple really interesting exhibits including a multimedia exhibit on how New York has changed over time made by some of the folks that did the New York documentary for Ric Burns and PBS.

On the basketball front, Binghamton lost to Maine on Saturday to start a four game road trip.  The game was a lot closer at the end than the score reflects, but you still have to give Maine a lot of props.  There defense was nasty all game.  They found a way to shut down Greer Wright at least for a half.  They shot the ball better, out rebounded us, and got to the line more.  You usually don’t win games where that happens.  I wouldn’t want to play Maine in the tourney.

• Maine Campus: “The 12-point win would seem to indicate that McNally’s confidence produced an easy win for the Black Bears. What the final score does not show is the Binghamton Bearcats were within two points of the lead with possession of the ball 2:06 in the second half.  On Binghamton’s possession, they got the ball to their leading scorer, Greer Wright, who got fouled on a lay-in attempt but failed to convert on both of his free throws. Junior forward Troy Barnies ripped down the big rebound and got the ball into the hands of point guard Junior Bernal. Bernal quickly got the ball up the court and found Gerald McLemore (nine points) wide open for a three in the corner. The sharp-shooting sophomore had made just seven of his last 29 from beyond the arc, but he found his groove at the right time at the end of the game. ‘It was a big shot. I wasn’t making them all, but I kept shooting,’ McLemore said. ‘I mean, what am I going to do, sit outside and not shoot it? If I’m open, I have to shoot it ­— and luckily it went in and it was a big boost to our team.’”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Binghamton trailed by 10 with 4 1/2 minutes of the second half elapsed but drew within 50-49 when Greer Wright made a steal near midcourt and charged in for a layup. However, the Black Bears scored the final 11 points of the afternoon, including 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Mahamoud Jabbi had 12 points and nine rebounds for Binghamton, which shot 18-for-53 from the field and was outrebounded, 39-35. ‘They played tough, they pounded the ball inside and they rebounded,” interim BU coach Mark Macon said. ‘When you look at the rebounds and the fouls, it doesn’t look like a disparity. But from a coaching standpoint, a foul under the basket is different from a foul in the middle of the court.’  Binghamton (11-4) is 6-4 in conference play, one game behind third-place Maine. The Bearcats play their next three away from home. Next comes a 7 p.m. game Thursday at New Hampshire.”

Not much news on the Binghamton basketball front but some interesting quotes from the aftermath of the victory over Albany.  Mark Macon sings during a press conference and Will Brown thinks Greer Wright should be POY!

On a side note, NYC Binghamton fans note that the Stony Brook-Binghamton game is on Saturday Feb. 13.  You can take the LIRR to Stony Brook.  The train station is within walking distance of both the reception and the game.

• Albany Times Union: “This was a first for me covering college basketball. After Binghamton beat UAlbany 78-73 on Wednesday night, Bearcats interim coach Mark Macon opened his news conference by breaking into a song at the podium. Nobody seemed to recognize the tune, so Macon explained.  ‘You all know that song,” Macon said. ‘It’s about somebody asking somebody to dance who already has a partner. He’s not there with her. He just wants to borrow for a couple of minutes, for a couple of songs. Maybe her partner wouldn’t mind.’ Um, OK. All I can say about Macon as a singer is that he was a fine basketball player. And a pretty fair coach, too, since Binghamton is tied for third after being picked last in the preseason.”   You HAVE to love Mark Macon.
• BU Pipe Dream: “‘I don’t think anyone knew where the heck Jabbi and [Umur] Peten came from,’ Brown said. “And they’re good players; I didn’t know who they were. Jabbi killed us [in Albany] and he killed us here.’  Brown had a lot of praise for the surprising Binghamton team that is tied for third place in the conference standings.  ‘They got guys that can play one on one and get in the lane and make plays,’ Brown said. ‘They’re long and big and good and I think everybody needs to admit it. They’re gonna win a lot more games.’  Brown also praised Wright’s individual talents saying they are a key to the Bearcats’ success.  ‘Greer Wright is a first team all-league player, he’s the leading scorer in the league,’ he said. ‘I think he might be the player in the league right now, though I’m sure Blakely will win it.’”  That has to be the most praise I have ever seen Will Brown give Binghamton.

Every victory has shown something special about our Bearcats.  The victory last night against Albany was no different.  The man of the night was Mahamoud Jabbi.  The walk-on from NYC and SUNY Oswego had his third double-double in four games.  His jump shot may look ugly but he has been making it the second half of the season.  Macon during the postgame interview admitted that stop trying to change his technique.  As long as it goes in that all that matters.  Without Jabbi’s performance in the first half with Greer Wright in foul trouble (again), Bearcats probably lose this game.

Also felt really good to sweep Albany this year  (even in a down year).  Bearcats are down just one game out of first place in the loss column and are heading on a monster 4 game road trip to Maine,UNH, BU and Stony Brook.  I will be heading out to Stony Brook for the game.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “BU assured itself the win when Talley converted a free throw, Albany missed a 3-point try and subsequent follow-up attempt, and Wright extended the lead to 78-71 on a fast-break dunk with 15 seconds remaining.  ‘They got to most of the loose balls, the 50-50 balls; that was the difference in the game,’ Brown said. ‘… We didn’t get stops when we needed them most, and they got to the 50-50 balls.’  Talley finished with 17 points, Jabbi 12 to go with a game-high 10 rebounds, and Umur Peten nine points for BU.  Binghamton finished  with 16 assists and five turnovers — a ratio Macon will gleefully accept any night against any opponent.  ‘I saw that and I almost passed out, but I had enough water in my system not to,” he said. “It’s because they played zone. It slowed the game down and we got a chance to see things. When the game is played slow, you have less mistakes.’”
• Albany Times-Union: “‘Somehow, we always a find a way to give up a segment in the game where we get down nine, 10 (points), and that kills us,’ said UAlbany freshman guard Logan Aronhalt (16 points).  The Bearcats began that run when freshman guard Dylan Talley sank a 24-foot 3-pointer from the top of the circle at the halftime buzzer to give Binghamton a 34-31 lead and rouse the crowd of 3,991 at the Events Center.  Binghamton (11-13, 6-3) then scored the first two baskets of the second half on Moussa Camara’s layup and 3-pointer to build a 39-31 lead that UAlbany could never completely overcome.  ‘First three or four minutes of the second half, there it was right there,’ coach Wil Brown said.’That’s where I thought we lost the game, or allowed them to get the momentum and get the crowd back in the game.’”
• WICZ (Video):”‘It was a tremendous game played by two up-and-coming teams,” interim head coach Mark Macon said. ‘It was a game of runs and we had the last one. I’m very proud of our guys. They stayed together and are growing up.’  The Bearcats had to manage with their top player, Wright, saddled with foul trouble throughout the game. Wright, who leads the conference in scoring (20.0 ppg. in AE play), was whistled for three fouls in the first half and played just 24 minutes in the game. He still managed to score a game-high 19 points.  ‘We have a bunch of stars on our team and they all can shine,’ Macon said of his team’s perseverance without Wright in the game. ‘One star got taken away and the other guys stepped up and made plays.’”\
• AP:“Greer Wright scored 19 points and Dylan Talley added 17, including three free throws in the final 49 seconds, to lead Binghamton in a 78-73 win over Albany (N.Y.) on Wednesday night.  Leading just 64-60 with 3:29 left, Talley finished a three-point play that sparked Binghamton’s 9-2 run. He then hit a pair of foul shots to put the Bearcats up 75-65 and, after Albany cut the lead with a pair of 3s, Talley knocked down a free throw with 27 seconds left to push the Binghamton lead to five.”

Regents grading went very well for me.  A good chunk of my students passed with a 65 and most of them passed with a 55.  However, its time to look on to the new semester.  I got new students, new classes, and new things to prepare.

The new semester has also been a transitional period for the Bearcats.  After their OT victory over UNH, Binghamton isn’t just looking for respect, they are looking to be a top team in the conference.  A big reason they have emerged from a potential contender is because of the play of Greer Wright.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Greer Wright scored 29 points as Binghamton University went overtime for a 76-73 men’s basketball victory over New Hampshire on Saturday night at the Events Center.A three-point play by Pina Guillaume with 2:01 to play in the extra session put BU on top to stay, 71-68.Wright scored the final points on a pair of free throws with 9.4 seconds to play. Chretien Lukusa added 10 points and eight rebounds for BU.The attendance figure announced was 4,811.”

Obviously, I watched the State of the Union address last night.  I’m not going to get into my politics, but I think the State of the Union is the one political speech that everyone should watch.  The speech got a little spicy this year as Obama called out the Supreme Court that recently made a decision that could pave the way for corporation (including foreign-owned) to spend whatever they want on political campaigns.

While the State of the Union is a little shaky, the State of the Bearcats is actually pretty strong.  With Dylan Talley back from injury and providing a legit second scoring option, Greer Wright has become a legit First-Team All-America East type of player.  Last night, the Bearcats had a very convincing victory over UMBC  80-63.  Just like the Vermont game, Bearcats were able to win because they were able to get to the free-throw line (and make them!)

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “‘We just want to win one game at a time, and not try to jump the gun,’ Macon said. ‘Our conference has a lot of parity, so I just want us to play at a high level, play to our strengths and just worry about what we can do.’  Among the pleasing things on the stat sheet for Macon was his team’s 21-for-25 performance from the free-throw line. BU entered Wednesday’s game eighth out of nine teams in the America East Conference in free-throw shooting percentage (.642). Believe me, I looked at that,’ Macon said of his team’s free-throw numbers. ‘I think that was great. We’ve been working very hard at that, and we finally hit free throws. They can  ‘win or lose games for you.’  BU also enjoyed a 39-27 advantage on the boards. Jabbi’s 13 rebounds were a career-high and the junior transfer from SUNY-Oswego is averaging nine rebounds over his last seven games.”
• AP: “Dylan Talley scored 22 points to lead four Binghamton players in double figures as the Bearcats defeated Maryland-Baltimore County 80-63 on Wednesday night.  Binghamton (9-13, 4-3 America East Conference), which entered the game averaging 59.0 points per game, had a season-high point total in winning its second straight game. The Bearcats also snapped a five-game losing streak to the Retrievers in Baltimore while sending UMBC (1-20, 0-8) to its 11th loss in a row.”

4000 people showed up on Sunday to see the Bearcats take on rival Vermont in Marques Blakely final college game at the Event Center.  Everyone knows how good Marques Blakely is.  The Bearcats showed this with double and triple-teams.  However, it was the emergence of another star that have the Bearcats entrenched in the America East title race.  His name is Greer Wright and he torn the Catamounts up for 30 points and led Binghamton to a 73-67 victory.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “With Greer Wright scoring 30 points — including a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining that gave BU the lead for good — the Bearcats held off the University of Vermont, 73-69, in an America East Conference men’s basketball game in front of 3,928 spectators at the Events Center.  Mahomoud Jabbi and Moussa Camara added 14 points each for BU (8-13, 3-3 America East), which would have fallen into a sixth-place tie in the conference and three games out of first place with a loss but now remains firmly entrenched in a wide-open America East title chase.  Unlike Thursday’s 64-63 loss at Hartford, in which BU squandered a 10-point lead in the last five minutes, the Bearcats finished strong Sunday.  It started with Wright, who was magnificent on a day in which he also tallied 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.”
• Burlington Free Press: “The University of Vermont men’s basketball team relinquished first place with its second consecutive loss.  Greer Wright racked up 30 points to guide Binghamton to a 73-67 victory over UVM Sunday afternoon at the Events Center, which yanked the Catamounts into fourth place in the America East Conference….Three days after missing a dozen free throws in a 65-60 loss to Stony Brook, Vermont went 20-for-31 from the foul line against Binghamton.  ‘I don’t think we came out ready to play and turned it over a lot early and they jumped out to a good lead,’ Lonergan said. ‘Turnovers and missed free throws I felt cost us the game….’  ‘They took advantage of being at home and out-played us,’ Lonergan said about Binghamton. ‘I give them credit. They play hard, crashed the boards and are very talented offensively.’
• Pipe Dream: “With the Catamounts holding a 62-60 lead with just 2:01 left, Wright hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead. He followed with two free throws to give BU a three-point lead with 1:33 to go. Jabbi hit a pair from the line with 1:07 left and Wright grabbed a defensive rebound and hit two more free throws to put BU up 69-62 with 57 seconds left to seal it.  ‘Today we closed our game out,’ Binghamton head coach Marc Macon said. ‘The guys wanted to perform for the students.’  Coming into the game, the Bearcats were the worst free-throw shooting team in the America East, but tonight they made 10 of 12 down the stretch to close the game.  Wright opened the game with stellar shooting; he hit 10-15 from the field and 5-6 from 3-point range. He had BU’s first eight points and propelled his team to a 28-20 lead at the break. The Catamounts were plagued early by sloppy play, including two turnovers to start the game that led to early BU fast-break points.”