2023-24 Patriot League Previews: Bucknell Bison

2022-23 Regular Season Result: 12-20 (5-13) 10^th in Patriot League

2023 Patriot League Tournament Result: Lost in First Round at American

Coach: John Griffin III (1^st season)

Key Departures: Xander Rice (Guard), Andre Screen (Center), Jake Van Der Heijden (Forward), Alex Timmerman (Center)

Key Additions: Pip Ajayi (Forward)

Bucknell has found themselves in the bottom four of the Patriot League in three out of the last four seasons including finishing in last place this previous season. New coach John Griffin III looks to restore the tradition of this once proud program as he takes the reigns of his alma mater from Nathan Davis who was let go after a 20-loss campaign. The Bison lost three starters and a key role player which normally would be a big deal, but on a team that finished in last place returning starters or not there is nowhere to go but up.

The program from Lewisburg will need to replace some veteran leadership. Xander Rice, who made the third team all patriot and led the offense contributing 14 points per game and a little under four assists grad transferred to Monmouth. The second leading rebounder in the Patriot League Alex Timmerman graduated. Starting center Andre Screen made his way to Butler and Jake Van Der Heijden ended up at North Florida.

To replace some of the production lost the new staff recruited Pip Ajayi from division two Mercyhurst. Griffin spoke glowingly of the 6’6.5 forward talking about how he blocked 45 shots for his team last year and secured 89 offensive rebounds. Griffin thinks he can be in contention for the league’s defensive player of the year. Ajayi has accepted a leadership role on the team along with Jack Forrest. Forrest, who spent time with Griffin when they were both at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, has been plagued with injuries throughout his career, but when he is on the floor his production is good. If he can stay healthy, he will provide solid offensive contributions for Bucknell.

The experience and leadership from Ajayi and Forrest will be needed because this Bucknell team is young. Seven of the 13 scholarship players are freshmen and sophomores. Ian Motta and Josh Adoh are two players that Griffin wants to see them continue to progress. When describing Motta Griffin said, “he can be a nice addition that people are overlooking”. Adoh on the other hand did not see the court as much as Motta but was efficient in his 11 minutes per game shooting 42% from the floor and 39% from three. Elvin Edmonds will likely assume the point guard duties as he has the most experience under his belt in that position.

Guards Quin Berger and Josh Fulton are two players who will likely be in the rotation. Berger similarly to Forrest spent time at Saint Joe’s. In the frontcourt, Ruot Bijiek saw some playing time last year under Davis and showed he was capable. As a lengthy 6’9 forward, he should be able to be disruptive on defense for the new staff. Lastly, I was told Noah Williamson has great speed getting up and down the floor the seven-footer from Latvia should be able to spread the floor and draw the back-to-the-basket traditional five men across the league out of the paint.

Griffin told me that he has a desire to play an up-tempo brand of basketball. He talked about wanting to build “a brand in which the league will have to prepare for” and compared the philosophy to VCU or Houston. If Bucknell can get out to early runs in games it could propel them in games.  

Bucknell is one of a handful of teams in the league that went overseas to play games against international competition this summer. They went to Italy. While the competition was not elite, it allowed the Bison to try different lineups and proved that they could make threes when they hit 21 in their second game. The non-conference schedule will provide a much more accurate assessment of how the team expects to fair in league play. Griffin put together a difficult schedule which is unusual for first-year head coaches who normally try to play easier teams to get early wins and build confidence in their players. When I asked him why he put together a schedule that included so many quality programs (most of whom were not carry-over games from prior seasons) he said “I want to make sure the Bucknell brand is still relevant, and to do that you have to play teams that are nationally good. I want to be known as the Patriot League team that will play anybody anywhere”.  Bucknell is facing Duke, Penn State, Saint Bonaventure, and La Salle as well as traditionally good mid-majors such as Delaware, Penn, Princeton, and Merrimack.

Next season Bucknell will have two marquee games inside Sojka Pavillion when they host the Richmond Spiders and Saint Bonaventure Bonnies out of the Atlantic Ten Conference. Both games are the return of home and home series that were started in the 2022-23 season and 2023-24 seasons respectively.

I really like Griffin as a coach and think he is a long-term great hire for Bucknell. The energy that he brings to the program is great to see. I love it when coaches get involved with the student body and community. It is one of the keys to program building that is not prioritized or properly sustained by a lot of coaches, but Griffin embraces it with open arms. I hope he continues to do so. That being said I think the program is three to four years away from seriously contending for the Patriot League title. As I mentioned earlier, they are a very young team. Rebuilds take time particularly because of player development and recruiting. I think once the program in Lewisburg gets rolling they will be a team that nobody wants to face. Until then I see them residing towards the bottom of the league in year one.

I expect Bucknell to finish 8^th

I’ve put a lot of effort into these previews. Many hours were spent researching, interviewing, and writing in depth previews for all ten of the Patriot League men’s basketball teams. I enjoy covering the conference and my goal is to provide the best national coverage of Patriot League Men’s Basketball. If you enjoyed the coverage and would like to support my work my PayPal username is @HappeningHoops while obviously not expected any and all donations are always welcomed. Thank you!

All Team Previews

1. Colgate
2. Lehigh
3. American
4. Loyola
5. Lafayette
6. Holy Cross
7. Navy
8. Bucknell
9. Boston
10. Army