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Saturday, November 11, 2006
With Pat Flannery's history of stress-related ailments, you couldn't help but look to the Bucknell bench midway through the second half of the Bison's exhibition win over Mansfield when junior big man Darren Mastropaolo put the ball on the floor out near the foul line and beat his man off the dribble for an easy layup.
But Flannery was not clutching his chest. Quite the contrary. Flannery is actually very pleased with the way Mastropaolo has been working to expand his repertoire.
For two seasons at Bucknell, the 6-8 kid from Maine has been the consummate role players, setting vicious screens to get other guys open, shutting down the opposition big men on defense, taking charges ... all the little sorts of things coaches love that don't always show up in box scores. Now he is looking to contribute more.
It's not like Mastropaolo's expecting to replace the 26-point hole left by the graduation of Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee all by himself. A look at the chiseled muscle he put on in the weight room in the off season makes it clear he is not planning to give up the physical stuff he has built his game on. But have no doubts, Mastropaolo is planning to be more rounded this season. He is looking for his shot more, and when he has the ball down low on the post, he is not hesitating to take it to the hole.
"He wants to be a more complete player," said Flannery, who is obviously pleased with Mastropaolo's progress.
Against Mansfield, Mastropaolo missed the first four shots he put up, before making the last two he tried, including that driving layup. Flannery attributed the early misses, all from close range, on Mastropaolo rushing a little. That will go away as he gets more comfortable with his expanding offensive role, Flannery figures, pointing to the 17 points he put up against Chris McNaughton in the Blue-Orange scrimmage as evidence of Mastropaolo's potential.
An expanded offensive contribution by McNaughton could be big for the Bison, making it tougher for teams to double McNaughton in the post.
"If opportunities present themselves, I am going to be more aggressive," Mastropaolo said. "It might be important this year for me to be a little more aggressive."
"He is one of those kids that is just a winner. He does all the things you want him to do," Flannery said.
Those things -- the screens, the defense -- won't take a back seat to Mastropaolo's newfound offensive aggressiveness.
"I know I was on the floor for certain reasons. I played to my strength, and my strength is getting guys open to score," Mastropaolo said.
Even though he didn't show a lot of offense his first two seasons, Mastropaolo insists nobody should be shocked to see him going to the bucket.
"In the past, it wasn't like I was incapable of scoring. I was just trying to be a little more of a role player," he said.
As for that dribble penetration move; Mastropaolo just smiled. "You like that?" he asked. "A lane opened up, so I just took it to the hole."
Mastropaolo said he didn't worry a bit about Flannery's heart.
"Coach has gotten a lot more faith in me when I've got the ball," Mastropaolo said.
"We need to keep him aggressive," Flannery said. "You've got to like the things that he does."
BONUS BISON LINKS:
(Daily Item)
(AP -- written by Eric Thomas)
(Albany Times-Union)
But Flannery was not clutching his chest. Quite the contrary. Flannery is actually very pleased with the way Mastropaolo has been working to expand his repertoire.
For two seasons at Bucknell, the 6-8 kid from Maine has been the consummate role players, setting vicious screens to get other guys open, shutting down the opposition big men on defense, taking charges ... all the little sorts of things coaches love that don't always show up in box scores. Now he is looking to contribute more.
It's not like Mastropaolo's expecting to replace the 26-point hole left by the graduation of Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee all by himself. A look at the chiseled muscle he put on in the weight room in the off season makes it clear he is not planning to give up the physical stuff he has built his game on. But have no doubts, Mastropaolo is planning to be more rounded this season. He is looking for his shot more, and when he has the ball down low on the post, he is not hesitating to take it to the hole.
"He wants to be a more complete player," said Flannery, who is obviously pleased with Mastropaolo's progress.
Against Mansfield, Mastropaolo missed the first four shots he put up, before making the last two he tried, including that driving layup. Flannery attributed the early misses, all from close range, on Mastropaolo rushing a little. That will go away as he gets more comfortable with his expanding offensive role, Flannery figures, pointing to the 17 points he put up against Chris McNaughton in the Blue-Orange scrimmage as evidence of Mastropaolo's potential.
An expanded offensive contribution by McNaughton could be big for the Bison, making it tougher for teams to double McNaughton in the post.
"If opportunities present themselves, I am going to be more aggressive," Mastropaolo said. "It might be important this year for me to be a little more aggressive."
"He is one of those kids that is just a winner. He does all the things you want him to do," Flannery said.
Those things -- the screens, the defense -- won't take a back seat to Mastropaolo's newfound offensive aggressiveness.
"I know I was on the floor for certain reasons. I played to my strength, and my strength is getting guys open to score," Mastropaolo said.
Even though he didn't show a lot of offense his first two seasons, Mastropaolo insists nobody should be shocked to see him going to the bucket.
"In the past, it wasn't like I was incapable of scoring. I was just trying to be a little more of a role player," he said.
As for that dribble penetration move; Mastropaolo just smiled. "You like that?" he asked. "A lane opened up, so I just took it to the hole."
Mastropaolo said he didn't worry a bit about Flannery's heart.
"Coach has gotten a lot more faith in me when I've got the ball," Mastropaolo said.
"We need to keep him aggressive," Flannery said. "You've got to like the things that he does."
BONUS BISON LINKS:
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