DDSCB 23: All Gas No Brakes

[CoachPrm15]

Head Coach Ricky Tyler


June 18, 2023

"During my playing days, and my time as a GA and Assistant at Nova and Buffalo you generally had a good idea about the type of team you were going to have in the following season. With the exception of some early NBA departures while I was at Nova it was easier to plan a roster. Now we are in era of the transfer portal which makes team planning much more challenging. A major wrench was thrown into my plans when Joseph Anderson announced he was entering the transfer portal. He was looking to move to a bigger school to boost his chances of being drafted by an NBA team. While I would have loved to have Joseph back for his Senior season I understood his decision, as I coach I will never stand in the way of a player doing what is best for their career. Joseph ended up signing with Indiana which will put him on a bigger stage and puts him close to his home state of Indiana.


Even before Joseph decided to transfer I knew we had to replishnesh the guard position losing Clifton Cox and Donte Westbrooks to graduation. Add Joseph to that list the staff had to find a way to replace 50 points per game and 15 assists per game. I set a plan in place to look for experienced guards who could contribute immediately. Also transfers had to fit our player profile of being able to shoot, have a high basketball IQ, and be good fits in the locker room.


Clint Croshere from Baylor was the first player brought in. Clint is a Senior point guard who comes to us from Baylor. Even though Clint is from Colorado, he is a Canadian born player with family in Toronto, so Buffalo was appealing to him. Clint is a pass first point guard, he only played 16 minutes a game at Baylor but averaged 4.5 assists in limited minutes, add the fact he is a 37% three-point shooter he will be able to start at point guard from day one.


Shooting Guard, Lamont Woolfolk another Senior comes in from Kent State. Having played against him in MAC play we were already familiar with his game. He averaged 13.1 points per game and shot 38% from three point range. He scored 16 points against us when we played. Lamont's motivation for coming to us was he wanted to make the NCAA Tournament. He will compete with Lennox Gaines for the starting shooting guard role.


Next we added another point guard in Matt Tebbs from Eastern Illinois. Matt is a Junior who averaged 7.0 points per game and 5.1 assists per game his sophomore season. He is another good three-point shooter at 36.5%. Matt will backup Clint this season and then start after Clint graduates.


Finally, Power Forward Jason Gilbert joins us from South Dakota State. Jason is a skilled four man who averaged 16.4 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Jason will allow Darryl Newman to move back to his natural small forward position for the upcoming season. Jason is a Senior who wanted to play at a higher level. Overall, I' am very pleased at are efforts in the transfer portal. We have added four quality players, who will help us replace what we lost."

[PointGuard]

Good transfer haul, especially getting 3 who hit well from beyond the arc since that's a big part of your game.

[CoachPrm15]

Good transfer haul, especially getting 3 who hit well from beyond the arc since that's a big part of your game.

The incoming transfers really do fit my gameplan as a coach, was critical to get them especially after losing my best player. It was an unexpected loss but that element of the game makes it more realistic, challenging, and fun to play.

[CoachPrm15]

Head Coach Ricky Tyler


September 4, 2023

2023/2024 Buffalo Bulls Roster

#25 Dan Brown PF 6-7 197 Jr. Wappingers, NY 1.5/3
#12 Marcus Buchanan PF 6-8 229 Jr. Croton, NY 2/3
#42 Chris Bullett PF 6-9 213 Fr.Rs Wilmington, DE 1/3
#41 Wendell Campbell C 6-8 249 Fr.Rs Walton, NY 0.5/3.5
#21 Cedrick Coleman SG 6-0 182 Fr. Chappaqua,NY 1.5/3
#15 Clint Croshere PG 6-4 181 Sr. Erie, CO* 4/4
#40 Lamont Fisher C 7-1 281 Jr. Niskayuna, NY* 4/4
#3 Lennox Gaines SG 6-3 205 Sr. Goshen, NY* 3.5/3.5
#44 Jason Gilbert PF 6-6 196 Sr. Platte, SD* 3.5/3.5
#14 Tanner Howard SG 6-5 215 Sr. Penn Yan, NY 0.5/0.5 WO
#55 Casey Mcdyess C 6-9 243 Jr. Ontario, NY 2.5/3
#24 Darryl Newman SF 6-8 241 Sr. Watertown, NY* 3.5/3.5
#5 Matt Tibbs PG 6-0 208 Jr. Lagrange, IL 3/3.5
#23 Adonis Thomas SF 6-6 214 Sr. Mamaroneck, NY 0.5/0.5 WO
#20 Lamont Woolfolk SG 6-1 173 Sr. Ada, OH 3/3.5


Staff

Head Coach Ricky Tyler 31
First Assistant Jamie Quarles 38 Scouting
Second Assistant Angres Thorpe 52 Recruiting
Third Assistant Brendan Foley 36 Practice


"I feel like we will be a deeper team this season, definitely we will be able to go 9 players deep. If one or two others develop, we potentially can go 10 to 11 players deep. We are much deeper in the frontcourt, and the versatility of this team will allow me to use a variety of lineups. Defensively we can put a lot of length on the court, that should improve our defense in the half court. The biggest question is where will the scoring come from? Initially I feel we will be a really well-balanced team until one or two players step into those roles of being the lead options.

Lennox Gaines is the one to watch out for in that regard, he played behind three excellent guards last season and learned a lot in that process. Lennox spent his summer really working on his game, he put on 7 pounds of muscle since last season ended. With the offensive talent he has, combined with the work he put in I really feel he will have a breakout season. Our top 9 players are Juniors or Seniors, so we have a lot of experience on our team. That level of maturity will allow us to gel quicker with all of the new additions."

[CoachPrm15]

Assistant Coach Angres Thorpe


October 3, 2023

"We as coaches are very excited about our incoming class of recruits, with five scholarships at our disposal we knew we had to be very active to help replace the number of seniors that we have. Four perimeter players to go along with one post player were signed. Rivals rates our recruiting class as the 38th best in the country which by far is the highest rated class Buffalo has had during the Rivals era. The class features three players inside the Rivals Top 150 with Small Forward Arlon Walker being the highest rated recruit. Arlon physically could play for us now; he looks like a football wide receiver, and he did have a number of scholarships offers in football. Walker can develop to be a three-level scorer who will be able to play the 3 and 4 positions for us. Brandon Clark is a heady point guard who looks to pass first, he really excels are setting others up and he absolutely loves to play defense. Bryan Sanders is an absolute walking bucket; in the various camps we watched him bomb away from three-point range. Center Pete Morrison was really underrated in our opinion, a very good rebounder with a better offensive game than one would expect. He can operate on the block while having the ability to step out and hit a 12-to-14-foot shot. We had targets rated ahead of Shooting Guard Rob Watkins but the more we saw him play, the more the coaches fell in love with his game. Rob is very versatile; he does a lot of things well."



Recruits

Arlon Walker SF 6-5 221 Scarborough, ME National Rank: 100

Brandon Clark PG 6-0 204 Skaneateles, NY National Rank: 115

Bryan Sanders SG 6-2 191 Hamden, CT National Rank: 125

Pete Morrison C 6-8 270 New London, NC National Rank: 247

Rob Watkins SG 6-3 189 Spring Valley, NY National Rank: 340

[CoachPrm15]

December 1, 2023


Senior Guard Lennox Gaines

"I knew my role was going to increase with the departures from the previous season at the guard position. During the summer I worked harder than I have even done, everyday in the gym my routine was 1,000 made three pointers a day. In addition I put in work with my handle and shooting off the dribble to be more than just a catch and shoot player. Coach Tyler was able to get me a gig as a instructor at Jalen Brunson's summer camp. That was the first time I've ever been around a professional player and I made sure to pick his brain as much as possible. I was able to work out a few times with him which was a huge eye opener for me.

Even with the amount of new players I like the fact we quickly geled together, Darryl and Me have made the adjustment to becoming the focul points of the offense. During the month of November we averaged 35 points per game. Coach wanted to challenge us more in the non-conference to sharpen us for postseason play. We played against three Big East Teams, one Big Ten team, and one Big Twelve team. In those games we went 3-2 and were competitive in all of them. Contiuning with the theme of getting us ready for postseason play we played three true road games and three neutral site games.

I was named to the Myrtle Beach Invitational All-Tournament Team averaging 20 points per game in the three games. In the championship game of the tournament we felt we let one slip away against Butler, we didn't covert good looks and that was frustrating. Clint Croshere has been phenomenal to play with, his court vision and delivery are amazing. At times I marvel at his ability to find teammates great shots. If this was NBA 2k Clint definitely would have the dimer skill because dude drops dimes everygame."

November 2023

@Rutgers 82-76

Nicholls St 92-75

@DePaul 78-84

North Dakota St 83-61* Myrtle Beach Invitational

UCF 92-61* Myrtle Beach Invitational

Butler (15) 76-82* Myrtle Beach Invitational

@Iowa (14) 75-77

[CoachPrm15]

December 31, 2023


Fatima Amine - Coach Tyler's Girlfriend

"Ricky and I have been dating for six months, I first met Ricky during a Buffalo sports Gala during the spring. I was introduced to Ricky by a friend of mine who works in the Buffalo Athletic Department. Both of us have sporting backgrounds so we hit it off fairly quickly. I grew up in Toronto playing soccer and running track, currently I work for the Buffalo Bills in the promotions department focusing on digital and social media promotion. I'll admit I didn't know much about basketball before I started dating Ricky, I saw an occasional Toronto Raptors game growing up but I will confess I'm still learning the game.

Those close to Ricky say I've added some balance to his life, before we started dating Ricky's life consisted of basketball, basketball, working out and his dog Interceptor. Ricky is the definition of a workaholic, there has been many of days he's spent all night at the Buffalo facility working on something basketball related. Ricky was able to find some time to come to the Eagles-Bills game with me after the Myrtle Beach Invitational, he's definitely been letting me hear it because his Eagles beat my Bills. I told him we'll see how things shape up come playoff time.

With the Bills in the middle of a playoff push my free time has been limited, I was able to attend one Buffalo Basketball home game during the month of December. They did put on a show beating LaSalle 87-60. Lennox Gaines is someone Ricky always talks about; he views him like a younger brother and raves about the player he has become for Buffalo this season. In the LaSalle win Lennox scored 28 points making a career high 7 threes in the process. Even though I've only been around the team a limited amount of time it is evident of the family atmosphere Ricky has built. Lennox was most excited when walk on Senior guard Tanner Howard scored against LaSalle. The Buffalo community has definitely embraced their basketball team, Bulls tickets have become quite the hot item."


December 2023

Portland 90-66

@Dayton 99-57

LaSalle 87-60

@Ole Miss 80-93

@Central Michigan 90-72

@Ohio 107-87

[CoachPrm15]

January 31, 2024



Senior Guard Clint Croshere

"When I decided to enter to transfer portal my number one goal was to find a school in which I could play a lot, I had offers from Power Five schools and eventually my decision to come to Buffalo was a surprise to some people. Buffalo wasn't on my initial list but upon meeting Coach Tyler I immediately knew I wanted to play for him. Even though Buffalo is a Mid-Major team I really felt the staff is building a special program. The style of play is appealing for any point guard, Coach Tyler having played the position himself gives me a lot of freedom to make decisions. I do not regret coming to Buffalo at all, the team is clicking on all cylinders and I' am leading the nation in assists.


We went through the month of January undefeated, currently we have an 11-game winning streak. Our average margin of victory during the win streak is 17.4 points, offensively we have averaged 90.8 points per game during the win streak. The rest of the country has begun to take notice as we cracked the top 25 of the rankings. Currently we are ranked number 18 in the nation, with the way we are clicking we really feel the sky is the limit for us."

January 2024


@Ball State 88-71

@Western Michigan 98-88

Bowling Green 84-65

Northern Illinois 97-83

Miami Ohio 74-52 (23)

Kent State 88-80 (23)

@Toledo 78-73 (22)

Eastern Michigan 93-59 (22)

Kent State 102-77 (18)

[CoachPrm15]

Senior Forward Darryl Newman


March 1, 2024

"We've gone from the hunter to the hunted this year, while it brings a new level of pressure it is very fun being the team everyone in the MAC gears up for the most. Every night we have to be at our best because of the target on our chests, we know it will make every other MAC team's season if they can knock us off. Our winning streak was extended to 12 games with a 79-61 victory against Toledo in which six of our players scored in double figures. Our win streak was snapped at 12 games losing a 77-79 heartbreaker at Northern Illinois, I had a shot to win the game, but my three-point shot grazed the rim as time expired. The Northern Illinois fans stormed the court as they "made their season" by beating us.

Despite the disappointment we weren't going to dwell on the loss for long. We rebounded by winning our final six games of the month starting a new winning streak in the process. Offensively we've really mastered Coach Tyler's system, when we are clicking as one, we feel we can beat anyone in the country. In the six wins we averaged 87.6 points per game and won those games by an average margin of 23.1 points per game. I think the aspect that makes us elite offensively is we can beat teams with a variety of players. While Lennox and I lead the team in scoring each win in the streak featured a different leading scorer in each game. We are in the midst of a history making season, for the first time in school history we are ranked in the top 10 teams in the nation."

Toledo 79-61 (18)

@Northern Illinois 77-79 (13)

@Miami Ohio 63-52 (13)

Ball State 97-74 (12)

Western Michigan 93-68 (12)

Central Michigan 99-64 (11)

@Eastern Michigan 91-67 (11)

Ohio 83-62 (10)

[CoachPrm15]

Senior Forward Jason Gilbert


March 6, 2024

"To say this has been my favorite season playing basketball is an understatement, transferring to Buffalo I didn't know much about the team. I knew they were coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and they played an up-tempo system. When I first met the coaches, I knew Buffalo would be the ideal place to finish my college career. Coach Tyler only promised me two things, a great education and every opportunity to earn a starting position. I found that very refreshing, I visited other schools during my time in the transfer portal and the coaches would make all kinds of promises. I'm the type of person who doesn't want to be given anything; I want to earn everything I get.

The step up in competition is something I've embraced whether it is a MAC opponent or the teams we played in a challenging non-conference schedule. I've always believed in my abilities and the team has allowed me to blend in what I do well with what the team does well. At South Dakota State I played more on the inside, at Buffalo the coaches have really helped develop me into a stretch four. Early in the season the coaches kept encouraging me to shoot more as I was passing up open threes. I've never had coaches who encouraged that aspect of my game, shooting 36% from three has really opened the other areas of my game. Heading into our last MAC game we wanted to continue our positive momentum heading into the MAC Tournament. We traveled to Akron for their Senior night, and we were absolutely ruthless. We did not give them any hope at all blitzing them in route to a 103-70 win. My 19 points and 8 rebounds helped us cap off a 19-1 MAC season."