Binghamton Bearcats: Previewing a Season that WILL NOT be vacated

Last Season: 8-23 overall; 4-12 (t-8th in America East)

Head Coach: Mark Macon (third season)

Key Losses: Mahamoud Jabbi, Greer Wright, Moussa Camara

Newcomers: Carlyle Francis (JUCO), Chris Longoria, Omar Richards, Ben Dickinson, Storm Clonch, Chris Rice, Jabrille Williams (walk-on), Byron Brown III (walk-on; JUCO), Mike Horn (walk-on)

Projected Lineup:

- G: Jimmy Gray, Jr.
- G: Carlyle Francis, Jr.
- G: Robert Mansell, So.
- F: Taylor Johnston, Jr.
- C: Kyrie Sutton, Sr.

- Bench: Alex Ogundadegbe, So.; K.J. Brown, So.; Chris Longoria, Fr.; Omar Richards, Fr.; Storm Clonch, Fr.; Ben Dickinson, Fr.; Jabrille Williams, Fr.

Looking back...: The Bearcats lose their top three scorers from a team that struggled mightily at times last year. Even more significant is the fact that one of those players was Mahamoud Jabbi, the undisputed heart and soul of last year's team; a man who, if not vocally, undeniably led by example. A tenacious rebounder (7.8 per game), excellent shot blocker (1.6), and perhaps most surprisingly, an effective three-point shooter (hitting none in '09-'10 to 33 on 84 attempts last season), Jabbi's play seemed to frequently inspire his comrades. There may not have been a more enjoyable-to-watch, passionate and easy-to-root-for player than Mahamoud Jabbi to wear the Bearcat Green and White since the program went D1 in 2001.

"Looking back..." and the rest of your Bearcats preview continues after the jump:

 Greer Wright once again led the team in scoring (13.4 per game), assists (3.5) and steals (1.1), though he was not nearly as integral in the few wins Binghamton did register as his statistics would lead one to believe. For starters, Wright did not even play in two of the team's wins. In back-to-back victories over Manhattan and Cornell in mid-December, he managed 18 total points on 3-14 shooting with nine turnovers. In a 30-point drubbing of Hartford, Wright scored a measly two points with four fouls and four turnovers in 23 minutes. Coincidentally, Wright's best performances did in fact result in victories, but they were so few and far between -- as in opening night's two-point win at Colgate (27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, a block and 9-11 on FT attempts in 40 minutes) and the 26-point shellacking versus UMBC in the AE Conference Tournament (31 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists) -- that he was considered a ghost by Binghamton fans and detractors alike for much of the year. A rather disappointing senior season for such a talented player. It's not often the America East sees a 6'8" swingman with Wright's ability. Despite his consistent disappearing act in 2010-11, in the coming years I feel the Bearcats will be hard-pressed to find another player capable of doing what Wright could do any given night.

Four-year vets Moussa Camara and Chretien Lukusa are also among the departed. Camara in particular proved to be a consistent scoring option in a fine senior season, individually speaking. His 11.2 points per game average was second on the team and the .386 3FG% he posted was a career-high. "Moose" ended his collegiate career with a bang, averaging 22.5 points in the AE Conference Tournament.

Current outlook...: There's no way around, the Bearcats are in for a long winter, but that's not to say they will be in a state of hibernation. Senior center Kyrie Sutton showed flashes of dominance as he and Binghamton-native Jimmy Gray developed a fine two-man game as the season wore on. Sutton averaged just 18.2 minutes a game, a surprisingly low number to those who noticed he was fouling less and committing fewer turnovers than seasons prior. As a low-major the America East will always have a dearth of bigs who barely jump high enough to slide a piece of paper under their feet and move at a snail's pace, which gives Binghamton, with having Sutton, at least one advantage over a fair share of their conference brethren.

Along with Sutton, returning juniors Taylor Johnston and the aforementioned Gray (who started 21 and 19 games last season, respectively) will be looked upon to shoulder the burden of dealing with the four personnel losses mentioned above. Gray, a walk-on last year who was just recently put on scholarship, quietly put together one hell of a sophomore season as he finished among the top eight in steals (1.3 per game), assists (2.9) and 3-pt. FG% (.403) in America East play. Any improvement at all from the point-man will go a long in stabilizing what could be a rocky journey for this year's team. Johnston, stuck behind Camara who had a hold of the team's go-to three-point specialist role, played well at times and finished the year 19-48 from the beyond the arc. If he shoots a similar percentage this season, a year in which his attempts likely increase significantly, the Bearcats will have a dangerous outside threat at the forward position to complement Sutton's more traditional post-play.

Rounding out the expected starters are sophomore Rob Mansell, who was featured prominently in the Breakout Week series posted earlier in this month, and incoming junior transfer Carlyle Francis, an intriguing player and one who could make a splash in his first D1 season. Out of Pickering, Ontario, the combo guard played two seasons for the loaded 2009-10 and 2010-11 Tallahassee CC squads that featured talents who would move on to conferences such as the Big East (Hugh Robertson, USF), SEC (Marvell Waithe, Arkansas) and ACC (Bernard James, FSU), among others. Francis looks generously listed at 6'2", but has the ups to make up for any lack in height, something all Binghamton fans witnessed if they were in attendance for Late Nite Madness. Statistically, he scored 10.5 points per game on over 40% shooting from 3-point range and added 3.2 rebounds en route to being named to the All-Panhandle Conference second-team. The JUCO transfer should see significant time on the court, either splitting ball-handling duties with Gray or playing more of a two-guard type role alongside Mansell.

Going forward...: Look, this team is young. Like really, really young. They have nine players who weren't on a D1 roster last year, six of which are freshmen and two of whom are walk-ons. To put things in perspective a bit, consider this: Mike Horn, a 2009-10 walk-on who played five minutes that season but was not on the roster last year, has the 8th most D1 experience on the sixteen-man roster. Did I mention how young and inexperienced this team is?

OK, moving on. Macon's second recruiting class is compiled of a wide-variety of players from all around the country. The South is represented by sharp-shooting Georgian Chris Longoria, who starred for McIntosh HS before playing his senior season for perennial power Wheeler High, and leaper-extraordinaire Dalton "Storm" Clonch, a North Carolina native. Coming from California by way of CJEOTO Academy in New Jersey is Omar Richards, a 6'8" forward who isn't afraid to put the ball on the court and is a favorite of mine to see playing time early in the year. A pair of players representing the Mid-Atlantic region are forward/center Ben Dickinson of Gonzaga High (District of Columbia) and Chris Rice of Triton High in New Jersey. Rounding out the freshmen class is New England's Jabrille Williams, a 6'6" swingman capable of doing a little bit of everything and, more interestingly, the son of current New York Knicks assistant and former-NBA first-round pick Herb Williams.

With any luck, this year of transitioning from a senior-laden team to one with many new faces will result in valuable playing experience for the young group expected to carry the program in the coming years. For now though, it will be on the backs of Kyrie Sutton, Jimmy Gray and Rob Mansell if Binghamton has plans of making the coaches' preseason prediction of a last place finish look foolish.

See you at tip off!