By Tom Housenick
For The Daily Item
May 22, 2008 07:34 am
—
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.
"Bucknell is a special place that combines a real commitment to the student-athletes, academics and a chance to win the Patriot League
championship and in the NCAA tournament.
"I know I inherit a tradition-rich program from Pat."
The two-time D-III national coach of the year and leader of the 2003 D-III national champions, Paulsen is not unfamiliar with the Patriot
League.
His Ephs sent shock waves through the PL in December 2003 when they beat host Holy Cross, Bucknell's main rival.
It came on the heels of Williams' national title run.
"Nothing will top winning the national championship," Paulsen said.
"But in some ways, we received more notoriety, more national press by going into Worcester and knocking off Holy Cross.
"It was really phenomenal, really emotional."
Paulsen and Flannery have similar philosophies in one major area: defense.
Both have made it a priority in their plan for program success. The Bison annually were among the nation's best defensive teams in recent
years under Flannery. Paulsen was 170-53 in his time at Williams.
"He used a matchup and me, probably 98 percent man-to-man," Paulsen said. "But we both like to attack the game. You've got to make it hard
for teams to score."
Paulsen has made four instructional videos, including one on his version of the motion offense, something he will bring to Bucknell and
tweak according to the talent available.
That talent includes senior guard Justin Castleberry and junior forward Stephen Tyree, who are expected to be named captains for the
2008-09 season. Sophomores G.W. Boon and Darryl Shazier, who played a lot as freshmen last season, also figure to be considerable contributors.
Bucknell lost sophomore center Todd O'Brien (transferring to Saint Joseph's), but have three promising freshmen joining the returning
group.
One difference between Flannery and Paulsen could be on offense.
Bucknell almost always was a patient, efficient half-court team.
"We've been pretty up-tempo at Williams," Paulsen said. "We really tried to run, tried to get easy baskets in transition rather than slug
it out in the half-court game. But you've got to stop teams first and you've got to be able to rebound.
"How much we run, how effectively we run, we'll have to evaluate the personnel and the personnel we're going to compete against first."
Paulsen hopes to continue the tradition of successful Division I head coaches who have come from the lower levels, including Wisconsin's Bo
Ryan, West Virginia's Bob Huggins and Michigan's John Bieline.
"I didn't have the staffing or resources, but I've operated my program like a Division I program. I've used that model for the past 14 years,"
Paulsen said.
Bucknell's search firm contacted Paulsen about two weeks ago. He met with Bucknell officials in Washington, D.C., on Mother's Day weekend.
He and his wife, Kathy, came to Lewisburg last weekend,. He received an offer Monday morning and accepted the following day.
Flannery replaced highly successful Charlie Woollum, but created his own path to success. Paulsen did the same at Williams after taking
over for Harry Sheehy III.
"I'd be an idiot not to embrace the legacy and culture at Bucknell,"
Paulsen said. "But I can't be Pat Flannery-like. I'm sure he didn't when he replaced (Woollum). I've had a track record replacing a living
legacy."
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Photos
Dave Paulse New Bucknell coach