"Why? Very simple. It's The Right Thing To Do. You cannot put a price tag on history and tradition. No other reason is necessary."

When Hegedus arrived during the 1981-82 season, he led the junior varsity team to a 15-1 record. That same season, the varsity club lost a school-record 20 games.

With Hegedus in the varsity lineup two years later, the Bison won a school-record 24 games. That record stood until the recently-completed 2005-06 season, when Bucknell won 27 games.

Bucknell was 60-26 and won two East Coast Conference championships during the three seasons Hegedus played. He led the team in rebounding during the 1982-83 season (5.3 per game) and the 1983-84 season (6.6).

"Based on our win-loss record this past season, changes needed to be made. This aspect of coaching college basketball is business. We have offered to assist those who are choosing to move on."

The Eagles have dropped Holy Cross like a bad date, joining fellow New England basketball powers/’fraidy cats Providence, UConn and UMass in scratching HC off their schedules in recent years. This loss stings more than the others because the series dates back to the 1905-06 season, and Holy Cross has played the Eagles more than any other opponent.

Holy Cross, which beat the Eagles three years ago and took them to overtime the following season, combined the emotion from its underdog status and a swarming defense to become a very dangerous opponent for BC. The Eagles might win most years, but the close games and occasional losses were difficult for Skinner to explain to fans, the alumni, and the media, who didn't necessarily view the contests in the context of an anything-can-happen rivalry, but as a powerful team from a major conference somehow having trouble with a small school from the academics-first Patriot League.

The Eagles had one of their best teams in years this past season, but still had struggled to shake off the injury-riddled and not very deep Crusaders in January. Holy Cross stayed with BC until junior forward Keith Simmons cramped up and had to leave the game, the Eagles eventually winning, 63-53. Afterward, Skinner complained about the physical play of the Crusaders, as if freshman Alex Vander Baan was outmuscling broad-shouldered All-American Craig Smith underneath.

NORMAN, Okla. – Bryan Goodman, a Choctaw (Okla.) High School graduate who spent the last six years as an assistant coach at Bucknell, has been named OU’s director of basketball operations, announced head coach Jeff Capel on Monday.

Goodman helped the Bison to a 105-76 (.580) overall record over the past six seasons, including a 52-30 (.634) Patriot League mark. Bucknell posted combined 50-15 (.769) overall and 24-4 (.857) conference records over the past two years, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament each season. In 2005, No. 14 seed Bucknell downed No. 3 seed Kansas, 64-63, in Oklahoma City. This past March, the ninth-seeded Bison eliminated eighth-seeded Arkansas, 59-55, in Dallas. They finished the 2005-06 campaign with a 27-5 record and went 14-0 in Patriot League play.

“Bryan brings a lot to our program, especially with him having roots in here in Oklahoma,” said Capel. “He is a very good basketball mind who was an integral part of Bucknell’s recent success. He’s a very-well-thought-of assistant coach who will take over our operations position. He’s very organized and very thorough with everything he does. I’m tremendously excited because I think he’s a big-time addition to our staff.

“I got to know him last summer with USA Basketball when I was an assistant coach on the World University Games team,” continued Capel. “We played in Turkey and Bryan used to live there. He and his wife were visiting his mom and his step-dad, who live there now, and he was a godsend for our team. He basically served as a liaison for our squad, getting us around and organizing outings and so forth. We kept in touch and developed a friendship, and now we’ll be colleagues working together.”

The USA squad finished with an 8-0 record and won the gold medal.

“I can’t even express how excited I am,” said Goodman, who was raised in Midwest City and played at Choctaw High School under former coach Rich Holden. “I grew up a Sooner –– ‘Billy Ball’ was my thing. I’m so happy to be a part of the Sooners’ program and to be with Jeff. He’s a great guy with a tremendous amount of character. I’m just giddy, I really am.”

Added Goodman, “I had a wonderful time at Bucknell. It’s a beautiful place, a great school. The athletics department, and the basketball program in particular, have gone to new heights recently and I was very fortunate to be a part of that. It’s a tremendous academic school that attracted great character kids. Coach (Pat) Flannery gave me a lot of responsibility right off the bat as a young guy, and I couldn’t ask for more than that. It was a wonderful experience and it was tough to leave, but the opportunity to become a Sooner was really a no-brainer when I got the call.”

Prior to joining the Bison’s staff, Goodman worked for two seasons at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, about 12 miles south of Bucknell’s campus.

Goodman graduated from Barat College in Lake Forest, Ill., in 1996 with a degree in interdisciplinary social science. He earned a master’s degree in history from DePaul University in 1998 before returning to Barat as an assistant coach for two years. Goodman lettered three times as a point guard at Barat and served as a team captain his final two seasons. He was an Academic All-American as a senior.

Goodman, who was born in Ankara, Turkey, and his wife, Amy, have three children –– Grace, Reece and Clark –– all born in January.