Dave Paulsen drove down the long, straight, tree-lined road that led to a basketball camp in the Poconos back in 1987.

Paulsen was taking the next step in his life, from college graduate to, hopefully, college basketball coach.

His first introduction shortly after finding a parking spot was Pat Flannery, who was coming back from a run.

"He introduced himself and we've had a relationship since that day," Paulsen recalled. "We exchange phone calls and see each other on the road."

It was a long journey for both aspiring coaches.

Flannery, who was just starting as an assistant coach at Drexel 21 years ago, eventually climbed through the Division III head coaching ranks -- winning a national title along the way -- before making the leap to Division I.

The Bucknell alum took the program to new heights in the 21st century.

Back-to-back Patriot League titles. The only unbeaten regular season in league history and the only two NCAA tournament victories in PL annals.

Flannery got out of the rat race last month, announcing his retirement.

Paulsen replaces him on the Lewisburg campus, following a similar path: some Division I pedigree and a Division III national title before making the jump.

The Williams College alum and head coach for the previous eight seasons accepted Bucknell's offer Tuesday morning. After avoiding

being run off the road by a couple of tractor trailers while conducting a conference call via his cell phone, he was to have met

with the Bison coaching staff and called returning players Wednesday when he arrived on campus.

Paulsen hopes only to remain himself and continue the tradition that Flannery built in his 14 seasons on the bench.

"It was going to take something really special to leave Williams," Paulsen admitted. "It's a great school, my alma mater.