Ubbullsfan09

13 hours ago, MaineBull said:

Anyone know who this Daniel Shao is listed on men's roster (see mens hoops roster on Buffalo official website)?  I assume he is a walk on.  

He was on the bench throughout the year last year (he was tagged in some GH3 and UB posts on Instagram), I’m guessing they decided to let him join the roster this season. 

7 minutes ago, DaBulls99 said:

Last one. Another Canadian. No idea the level of competition, but saw he averaged 32 pts a game in 2022-23 

 

From his highlights looks to be a solid slasher and self creator, albeit on a lower level than D1 at the CCAA level. Was described one of the best in the league, but I’ve yet to find official stats. Another Canadien guy for this roster 

I hate to be negative but I watched full game tape on Oboh and he does not look like a D1 prospect at all. The competition he plays is terrible, he plays out of control and has poor footwork. His FIBA stats against real competition showed inefficiency (shooting 31% inside the paint) and averaged 2 turnovers per game as a big man. Just seems like he relies on being bigger, stronger and more athletic than his competiton

I get he has probably improved, but Ogbonna couldn’t even win the starting QB job at his FCS school and looked terrible as a passer last season. 

Mighty would be a nice pickup in my opinion. Hopefully we could land him, I think  he’s just the type of big we’re looking for. 

We are returning just 2 of our top 7 players according to Evan Miya’s Bayesian Player Performance rating, and they played limited minutes last year. Granted this is not a perfect metric, and the freshman can take a step forward but right now it’s looking extremely rough for next year. Who is going to score points next year? It seems all GH3 has recruited so far is guys who will be decent role players. By the way, Fulcher was rated as the 3rd worst player in the country by this metric, is a turnover machine and shot 19% from 3 as a guard and he’s our returning leading scorer. Ouch 

This is nothing more than speculation, but I do believe we should go after this mass Canisius exodus hard. (There already was some discourse on Staveskie and Long) From my understanding, Calvin Cage was a very well liked assistant coach at Canisius and recruited many of those players to Canisius. Pretty much every player in their rotation is in the portal currently, and even thought it may hurt our pride, Canisius’s team last season would beat our team by 30 and we need to jump on a chance to grab some of those pieces and insert a proven D1 presence into our lineup. As much as people on here would like to complain, I would 100% take proven MAAC basketball players (we would probably finish worse in the MAAC anyways) over freshman with no D1 offers which is GH3’s current strategy 

2 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

Are people really upset that a basketball player who only had scholarship offers from Albany and Fairfield and decided to walk on at Arkansas State and was not recruited by UB?

Is that the level of recruit that people want?

I mean all 3 programs had much better seasons than us. The recruits GH3 are bringing in are not of a higher caliber, most have no D1 offers or offers from MAAC schools and other low majors. 
 

and yes, I think it’s smart to bring in local kids and build a pipeline, even just as a walk-on. It looks like Hodgson, who just had a much better first season than GH3, is picking up on this and even has Adam March giving the team NIL who funded Blue Collar U

I mentioned in a recruiting thread how the Bulls should start to build a local recruiting pipeline. Hodgson just grabbed the All Time Western New York scoring leader Jaiden Harrison from Bishop Timon as a preferred walk-on

Any word on a portal QB? We are in big trouble if Ogbonna is QB1 going into next season. 

Looks like a solid player, but how many wings do we really need? I feel like we need some guards that can ball handle (big issue last year) and more big man depth 

1 hour ago, MuchMany said:

I hear you on PG being a weak spot, especially because Adams (still on the team as of now) handled so much point. But inside we're replacing Sy and Jo with Oboh as things stand. We already had weak rim protection and suspect rebounding. Replacing a star and a vet role player with one unknown freshman is questionable.

PG: Fulcher

SG: Boldin, Sabol

Wing: Adams, Graham, Batchelor, Wilson, McVeigh, Jackson, Akot

PF: Williamson

C Oboh

It's just a very strange roster balance at this point with only one spot yet to fill.

Lol what a horrible roster construction. Halcovage is just finding whoever he can to piece together a team! Too many wings, very thin big man core and no point guard (please no one try and tell me Fulcher is a D1 caliber point guard) and no solid shooting guard with only one spot to fill. We either need NIL or a new coach because this is just looking on track for another embarrassment of a season. 

Looks pretty athletic from his highlight tape, which is mostly dunks. Looks very skinny for a D1 player but he has time to build up strength. Doesn’t seem like he has any other D1 offers which is concerning, but maybe we’ve found a diamond in the rough we can develop. 

Im really not sure if Halcovage is the guy after that travesty of a season, both on and off the court a poor job. The talent of our recruits was shockingly low this season. Sabol is a shooter and nothing else (would be a 7th-8th man that is on the floor when you need an offensive spark on a decent team), Fulcher is a turnover machine and a poor shooter, McVeigh and Wilson improved but still don’t seem D1 caliber yet and we saw nothing of Fakaminde. Boldin is solid but doesn’t look to be an impact player that will change a game. If we want to ever be competitive again, we need to go the route of mining the transfer portal or finding a way to bring in better recruits. I want to see Halcovage get one more recruiting cycle, but if it’s another disaster we should consider firing him .

Also we desperately need NIL money if we want to stay relevant.

On 3/5/2024 at 11:21 PM, enrique14150 said:

The Bulls couldn't get over the hump tonight.  They closed the gap to 7 at the half, working past a bunch of early three's by Ohio.  Second half they were behind by double digits again (almost 20 at one point)...fought back to down 7.  Ohio took a timeout, the Bulls got a good defensive stop...and on the ensuing possession Chatman bricked both free throws.  Over the next three or four possessions Chatman and Adams kept turning it over.  I kept yelling, "you guys are the seniors!" You're supposed to be the ones they count on during times like that.  Ugh.  It's not the first time either.  I'm going to say this as nicely as I can, but bluntly speaking, I'm not going to miss them.  Adams regressed this year (one of the guys behind me said it's because he's not playing out wide like he should), Chatman puts up points but screws it up at the worst possible moments. What are they going do without them? How about maybe, win.  18 turnovers, many by guys who are experienced enough to know better, way too many.  A sneaky stat lately, and I'd have to look back to see if this is a recent development - the Bulls have been outrebounding teams, or pretty even, and scoring more in the paint.  It's not what I would expect from this lineup.

Zakir - I don't know why we didn't see more of him, he had a nice putback and foul early on.
Wilson - a little ragged today, he and others had a tough time driving to the net.
Sabol - wasn't getting looks, as soon as my brother said "he only has 1 point" he hit a three.
Fulcher - was getting beat off the dribble by their quick point guard. For these guys, a lot of this can't just be taught, they have to play and learn it themselves, so all this game time is valuable.
McVeigh - actually hit a couple shots, and had a couple scrappy rebounds.

Ohio - Clayton was ridiculous.  I was amazed at the times he actually missed.  This game is a little closer if Ohio doesn't manage to shoot 42% from three. 

There were times that not a single student (outside of the band) put their horns up for a free throw. For shame.

In the end, Ohio hit too many from three and UB turned it over too much.  The team defense has gotten better though - they're extending opposing possessions, they're not giving up so many easy buckets. It felt like the kind of game 2 months ago they would've lost by 25.  The fact that the team is still playing hard tells me that either (a) the coaching staff hasn't lost them or (b) they're trying to each make the best possible highlight film for other teams to see.  The optimist in me hopes for the former.  I keep finding this season that I just like going to games.

I agree on Adams, but the Chatman hate is ridiculous. He is the only reason we have won any games at all this season and consistently puts the team on his back offensively. He would turn the ball over less and make less mistakes in general if he actually had a supporting cast, rather than borderline D2 caliber players surrounding him 

I don’t really feel comfortable with starting any of these players. Ogbonna is straight up not a FBS level passer and admittedly I haven’t seen much at all of Gray and Watts , but I don’t believe they are difference makers if they couldn’t find playing time despite the QB woes last season. I hope we find a decent QB in the next portal window. 

5 hours ago, MuchMany said:

Making my triumphant return to a live game tonight! Expecting a 5-10 point win to be honest.

We lost by 10 last matchup and have looked woefully uncompetitive in almost every MAC game, let’s just hope for a win period 

Hey one silver lining about us being so terrible is that I don’t get mad when we lose and it’s a pleasant surprise when we win! 

3 hours ago, RapidsFan said:

Niagara Falls High School is coached by Niagara Falls legends Carlos Bradberry and UB alumnus Modie Cox - they're about to make a playoff run.

Niagara Falls gears up for final stretch of season with focus on scoring

Additionally, Bishop Timon would be a fun team to go watch. Consistently score 90+ points and have one of the few D1 prospects in the area. Ranked as one of the top teams in the stats 

I feel as if I’ve warmed up to the hire based on the reaction I’ve seen from people who are on the college football landscape. It is only a special teams coordinator role, but he was considered one of the best for that role in the country and from what I’ve heard was Shane Beamer’s right hand man. The Ball State saga looks bad, but Ball State is historically a hard place to win at and he is the second best coach by winning percentage in their history. I think he will be a very solid hire, but time will tell as my initial reaction was a lot more pessimistic 

Uninspired hire of a coach with a mediocre at best resume, just what I expected from this constantly spiraling program. 

14 minutes ago, skrabukes said:

How telling is it when pretty much the entire fan base (as small as it seems to be these days anyway) is either happy that Mo is gone or basically in the mindset of "whatever"? It's incredible to me that someone who made $2mil+ here, with incredibly subpar results, is being hailed as a "great hire" by those online and by the fans of Alabama. What has he ever done? Prior to UB's <.400 record (including .333 versus FCS teams) he left the "co-DC" job before even coaching a game. What a racket this guy has made for himself. 

Bad head coach or not he did bring in multiple top of the MAC recruiting classes and was considered a solid  coach before taking the job. Definitely doesn’t have the chops to be a head coach, but could be a solid recruiter/ defensive coach 

9 hours ago, RapidsFan said:

Buffalo Coaching Search: Coaches Who Would Be Good Candidates For Buffalo Football’s Head Coach Vacancy

Former Syracuse Head Coach Dino Babers

Dino Babers was recently fired from Syracuse, but he would be a good fit for Buffalo. He’s obviously been a head coach in the state of New York and has been a head coach in the MAC.

Babers went 78-70 over eight seasons with the Orange, who made back-to-back bowl games for the first time in a decade at the end of his tenure. In two of his final three seasons at Syracuse, the program was in the top 25 in the FBS in total defense.

Syracuse reached three bowl games with Babers as head coach. He also mentored seven All-Americans during his time there.

Before that, he was the head coach at Bowling Green. The Falcons were 8-6 overall in his first year there in 2014, winning the MAC East, and went 10-3 in his second and final season there en route to a MAC Championship in 2015. He was also 19-7 in two seasons as Eastern Illinois’ head coach before that.

He’s been an assistant at a variety of other places like UNLV (1988-89), Northern Arizona (1990), Purdue (1991-93), San Diego State (1994), Arizona (1995-2000), Texas A&M (2001-02), Pitt (2003), UCLA (2004-07), and Baylor (2008-11). If Babers desires to keep coaching, Buffalo should at least think about hiring him

Toledo Defensive Coordinator Vince Kehres

When considering coordinators in the MAC, Vince Kehres, who has head coaching experience, stands out. Not only has Toledo thrived as a team, the Rockets have also been successful on defense the past couple years.

This past season, the Rockets were third in the league in scoring defense (20.3 points per game allowed) and sixth in total defense (331.8 yards per game allowed). The year before, they led the MAC and were 18th in the nation in total defense (326.1 yards per game allowed) and were 10th in the country in defensive passing efficiency and 12th in passing yards allowed (183 per game).

In Kehres’ first season at Toledo in 2020, the Rockets were second in the conference in total defense (362.2 yards per game allowed) after finishing last (475.7 yards per game allowed) in 2019. The following year, the Rockets were first in the MAC in scoring defense with 21.8 points per game allowed and second in total defense with 349.7 yards per game allowed. They also ranked in the top three in other metrics like defensive pass efficiency and passing yards allowed (198.2 per game).

Before Kehres went to Toledo, he worked his way up the ranks at his alma mater, Division III Mount Union. As the team’s head coach for seven seasons, he went 95-6, which was more wins than any other collegiate coach at any level during that time. He led Mount Union to national championships in 2015 and 2017.

He worked with the team’s defensive line from 2000-03 and with the program’s offensive line in 2004 before becoming its defensive coordinator from 2005-12. He was Mount Union’s head coach from 2013-19.

Kehres is obviously familiar with the MAC and has proven he can be a successful head coach.

Tennessee Running Backs Coach Jerry Mack

Jerry Mack’s resume includes time as a head coach and a coordinator. He’s also recruited and coached all across the country.

Mack has been Tennessee’s running backs coach since 2021. This last year, the Volunteers were ninth in the country with 204.8 rushing yards per game.

Before this, he was an associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach at Rice. He’s also been a head coach at North Carolina Central, a wide receivers coach at Memphis and South Alabama, an OC and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Central Arkansas, and a wide receivers/tight ends coach at Jackson State.

Mack certainly deserves to be a head coaching candidate for the Bulls.

UNLV Offensive Coordinator Brennan Marion

Brennan Marion was in just his first season as UNLV’s offensive coordinator in 2023. However, he’s done well with the Rebels and has other coaching experience as a coordinator.

He also has some experience coaching on the eastern side of the country.

Marion helped UNLV’s offense thrive in 2023. The Rebels were 22nd in the FBS in scoring offense with 34.4 points per game and were 42nd with 412.7 yards per game gained.

Before this, Marion was a passing game coordinator at Texas in 2022, a wide receivers coach at Pitt in 2021, a wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2020, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary in 2019, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard in 2017 and 2018, and a running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016.

The expertise he brings would benefit Buffalo.

Kansas Co-Offensive Coordinator Jim Zebrowski

Jim Zebrowski was promoted to co-offensive coordinator at Kansas before this past season. He followed Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold to Kansas from Buffalo, so maybe Zebrowski would be open to returning to the Bulls as their head coach.

At Kansas, Zebrowski worked with Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean. Those two are top five in KU’s record books in career passing touchdowns and top 10 in career passing yards.

He was Buffalo’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach previously from 2017-20. In 2018, he coached quarterback Tyree Jackson, who was the first player in Buffalo history to become the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and first quarterback to earn all-conference accolades. Jackson threw for 3,131 yards and 28 touchdowns, both single-season school records. In 2017, the Bulls set a school record with 3,490 passing yards with Zebrowski’s guidance despite starting three different quarterbacks.

Before that, he was a quarterbacks coach at Minnesota (2011-15) and Northern Illinois (2010). If Zebrowski was willing to leave Kansas, he would make plenty of sense for Buffalo.

I like the sound of Babers, Kehres and Zebrowski. Mack and Marion not so much.

I’m really hoping we go the Leipold route and hire a lower division head coach that has had success. Like other posters have said, our best seasons in history have been with coaches from that mold (experience with winning as a head coach). Really not much to add on what other posters have said, I just really think a lower level successful head coach is the way to go  I would be really disappointed if we hired Polian, seems like such an uninspired hire, a mediocre if not downright bad coach at Nevada and couldn’t even hang onto a special teams coordinator spot at LSU. 

Forgot to mention this, but Daemen almost beat us in this years exhibition on the back of mostly Buffalo/Rochester players