The Saga of Marcus Bullocks: 2010 onward

[Granite Armadillo]

Background

Marcus Bullocks, the three-year starter for the University of New Hampshire. As he went, so did the Wildcats. But when his basketball career ended unceremoniously after his senior season, Bullocks was uncertain what was in store for him next. He thought, much like many former college basketball players, that he would give coaching a try.

 

After a brief stint as a graduate assistant with his alma mater, the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native bounced around as an assistant for the next few years. It was after the 2009-10 season that he received his big break: a shot that he, admittedly, questioned whether he deserved.

 

Howard University, the federally-chartered historically black university in Washington, D.C., had a historically mediocre men’s basketball squad (and that’s putting it kindly). The program had only made the NCAA tournament twice: in 1981 and 1992. Both appearances were brief, as the Bison were bounced in the first round. Indeed, Howard had not won a conference regular-season championship since 1992—nearly twenty years ago. Gil Jackson was tabbed to lead the program beginning in the 2005-06 season. In Jackson’s five seasons at the helm, the Bison went a dismal 37-188 for a .239 win percentage. Howard’s one silver lining was that most of the wins came in MEAC conference play, where the Bison were 25-59. After yet another sub-10 win season in 2009-10, though, the athletic department felt it had no choice but to move on from Jackson.

 

Bullocks was shocked when he got the call. At the time he was a promising, but raw, assistant with Vermont. He hadn’t stuck anywhere and didn’t expect to be in line for a head coaching shot anywhere. Howard had heard good things, however, about Bullocks and was impressed with the Catamounts 25-10 finish and NCAA tournament appearance from the previous season. The brass at Howard thought what harm would be caused by at least bringing Bullocks in for an interview? And during the interview, they were enthralled with the young man’s charisma. He envisioned Bullocks traveling around the Mid-Atlantic enticing high schoolers to come to the Chocolate City and thought he would do well. Howard felt that Bullocks’ flaws—his rough eye for talent and average coaching ability—could be masked with a solid staff.

 

What will Bullocks be able to do with this rare opportunity? Will he lift the Bison to new heights? Or, will his career be forever tarnished by Howard’s historic struggles?

[Granite Armadillo]

Preseason

 

Howard found itself struggling to fill out its coaching staff. With a budget of $160,000 meant to be spread across three positions, Bullocks didn’t have a whole lot of cash to splash around. His initial strategy was to spend “big” on a recruiting coordinator in an effort to build towards the future. Many of the “flashier” options the Bison had, though, spurned them for any other program. The rookie head coach found himself seeing more talented scouts and assistants also ignore his offers for bigger programs. Howard went weeks having its calls ignored and, for a brief moment, the athletic department became concerned with its new coach’s ability to fill his staff. It was a few weeks into the summer that Bullocks began having his calls returned. In the end he managed to recruit Jefferey Hair, Gary Kiley. and Thurman Cupp to fill the roles of recruiting coordinator, scouting director, and assistant coach, respectively.

 

If you got Bullocks a few pints in he may admit that he did not get what he expected for his initial staff. Hair, for instance, was a solid (but not great) recruiter out from Monmouth. At 61 years old and of average skill, Bullocks knew he’d have to carry the brunt of the work on the recruiting trail. Recruiting was not something he shied away from, however. It was the one area that, during his brief tenure as an assistant coach, he felt comfortable and competent. Kiley, on the other hand, was somebody who the new coach was expecting to lean on. At only 29 years old, the Sturgis, Michigan-native didn’t have a whole lot more experience under his belt than his new boss. Howard was hoping Bullocks would not able to obtain a seasoned scout to help him spot diamonds in the rough, but it was evident to everybody that the program settled for the best it could obtain at the meager salary of $40,000. At least with Bullocks' assistant, Cupp, the Bison obtained a steady hand to help coach up its recruits. Cupp wouldn’t deny that he was not a specialist. He considered himself a jack-of-all-trades type, though; somebody who could give the roster an all-around training throughout the season.

 

With his staff in order, the rookie head coach needed to shore up his roster. He felt the program needed to build its confidence. The last time the Bison had won 10 or more games was during the 2002-03 campaign when the team went 13-17 under then-head coach Frankie Allen. Since its last conference championship in 1992, Howard had only been above .500 once—in 2001-02. So Bullocks went about scheduling squads of a similar pedigree to Howard. To keep the department’s budget in check, he focused on teams the school could conceivably travel to by bus like VMI and Stony Brook. Bullocks also arranged for his crew to travel to Durham, New Hampshire for a chance to play his alma mater—a match-up that he secretly hoped would become an on-going series.

 

With his schedule complete, Bullocks hit the recruiting trail for the first time. He struck out over the summer at three- or two-star recruit he sought. By the time the season rolled around, he had the following on his call list:

 

 

He had three scholarships to offer. He knew, based on his roster, that he needed at least one center, and preferably either another body at the four and the wing. As a former point guard, he’d love to mold a recruit in his image. Yet he also knew that he wouldn’t need to worry about depth at that position for a season or two. Howard’s season would tip-off against NJIT. As he headed into the season, Bullocks took at a look at his squad:

 

 

Editor's Note: I hope you all enjoyed my preseason rundown. I forgot to take screenshots of a few steps along the way, but moving forward I intend to follow a similar format for the preseason. I am curious, for those who are reading, what you predict Howard's record will be for 2010-11?

[Granite Armadillo]

2010-11 Season

 

 

After starting the season off 0-3, the Bison faithful thought the Bullocks era was going to be more of the same. Harold England’s opening night stress fracture surely did not help matters. But a two-game home stint against VMI and Bryant, coupled with the emergence as George Pete as an offensive force, managed to help stabilize matters. Even with a five-game road trip in the middle of non-conference play, Howard found itself at .500 and one win away from matching last season’s total wins as it headed into conference play. Bullocks roster was relying heavily on its big man—George Pete and Gregory Weaver—to score buckets. The team was shooting under 45 percent from the field on average, and under 20 percent from the three-point line. Howard won when it managed to limit its turnovers and keep teams away from the line.

 

 

Howard ended its first campaign under Bullocks doubling last season’s win total and notching the school’s first double-digit win program in nearly a decade. South Carolina State took home the MEAC regular season championship, but the Bison ended with eight wins and earned the fifth seed heading into its opening conference tournament matchup against Coppin State. Howard split its regular season matchup against Coppin State, with each team picking up a win on their home court. One could understand Bullocks being anxious, as his team was blown out when they played the Eagles at the Physical Education Complex in Baltimore.

 

 

Although the team lost, and ultimately felt to .500 for the season, the moral victory was that the match-up was far closer than the teams’ previous encounter. As was the case all season, turnovers made the difference. The Eagles had a plus-six turnover advantage that simply gave it more opportunities to score. Abram Ruth led the team in scoring, but it was the senior class of George Pete, Gregory Warner, Harold England, and Ruth that shined. Redshirt sophomore guard Eric Shutt showed flashes and gave Coach Bullocks reason for optimism for his sophomore season. Coppin State managed to win the conference championship, upsetting the top-seeded Bulldogs for its fifth NCAA tournament appearance in program history (and second in the past four seasons).

 

Coach Bullocks had three scholarships to fill. He was losing his biggest stars, George Pete and Gregory Weaver. Pete made the first-team all-conference squad, while Weaver was named second-team all-conference. Bullocks managed to snap center Marion Moller, wing Gerald Powell, and guard Amos Evans. Evans, the 6’6” shooting guard out of Maryland, was top-rated prospect for the Bison. A solid athlete, what was most exciting for Howard was his above-average three-point shooting ability. For a team averaged 13.2 percent from deep, Evans would hopefully open up the floor for his teammates as a long-range threat. Moeller was the least heralded recruit of the bunch, but Coach Bullocks loved the Virginia product’s potential as a role player. Moeller was not going to be an offensive force. What he could do, though, is grab boards, play defense, and block shots. Powell, another Maryland native, rounded out Bullocks' first recruiting class. Much like Evans, big wing brought some much needed shooting to the Chocolate City. His biggest issue was his weight—at 243 pounds, Powell was 13 pounds heavier than Moeller. Powell looked like a good candidate to redshirt his freshman season in the hopes that he could get into better shape.

 

The Bison snagged one walk-on to fill out the roster. Chris Lee, a 6’8”, 232-pound big man out of Delaware also expressed his desire to join the team. A former All-State player, Lee’s only real strength was his defensive ability and ability to snag boards. He was much more limited than Moeller in that role, though; he lacked the all-around ability and athleticism that Moeller had. While he may never crack the starting line-up, Bullocks could envision a role for Lee as a back-up center a year or two down the line. For now, Coach Bullocks, like many other coaches, sat on the sidelines as the Florida Gators won the NCAA Tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

[Granite Armadillo]

2011-12 Offseason

Howard needs to build off the modicum of success it had in 2010-11. As it headed into the offseason, Coach Bullocks was concerned that his squad for his second season would not be as deep as hisfirst team. Without George Pete, there was going to big a massive question mark for the team to figure out. While the Bison faithful were excited about Amos Evans, could they really expect the true freshman to carry the scoring load? Of the returning roster, only Eric Shutt started all 30 games. In 26.9 minutes per game last season as a redshirt sophomore, Shutt scored 7.3 points per game while hitting 45.1 percent from the field and 20 percent from deep. Shutt was a decent scorer but was practically a sieve on the defensive end. Jack Smith, the true sophomore Bullocks would likely tap to play the four, only averaged 14.4 minutes per game, and saw more success as a rebounder in that time than as a scorer. Hal Broadus showed flashes in 2010-11 during his 13.7 minutes per game, but he was a wing who could not stretch the floor. Harold England and Tyler Shafer would both be back, and after England showed a propensity for turning over the ball Bullocks was not so sure he wanted the redshirt junior taking the helm for a second season.

 

In short, Coach Bullocks had a lot of uncertainty on his roster. He continued with his strategy of scheduling teams he thought the Bison could be competitive against. Howard would open on the road with a back-to-back of Army (a 2010 win) and NJIT (an opening night loss). Much like his opening season, Bullocks had a five-game road stint in late November/early December. This year the team would not only face off against familiar foes (NC Central, Grambling State, and VMI), but would also travel to face Western Illinois and North Florida. Bullocks was hopeful his team could end notch four or five wins in non-conference play to build some confidence before it headed into MEAC play.

 

On the recruiting trail, Coach Bullocks had two scholarships to play with. He needed more depth in the frontcourt and was also going to secure another wing player. Bullocks' initial call list this season included a wider range of recruits, with a particular focus on wing players who could shoot the three ball.

 

The first scholarship Howard offered was to 6’10” center Dave Rider out of Aberdeen High School in Maryland. Rider, Bullocks thought, could dominate as a big, bruising center in the MEAC. He was a two-star recruit ranked No. 138 at his position; signing Rider would be a huge get for Bullocks which is why he made a personal effort to entice the young man into coming to the District. The second scholarship was offered to 6’6” forward John Grant. Grant was a junior college prospect from Maryland Community College. Bullocks thought he was a day one starter. Grant had a strong shooting stroke, could rebound, and could play solid defense. He was only a one-star prospect but was ranked No. 134 at his position. Before the regular season even began, the Bison managed to get both of its top prospects to sign: it never needed to offer another scholarship.

 

Unfortunately, it was not all roses and good times for Howard. Before the regular season kicked off, Coach Bullocks got word from the athletic director that Jack Smith—the Bison’s projected starting center—was going to be suspended due to poor academic performance. Smith would miss the entire non-conference slate. Chris Lee, the walk-on, was going to get the nod for the starting line-up.

 

 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: I will likely not post against until late Sunday. I am Central Time. I wanted to give the readers a chance to comment on the 2010-11 campaign, their thoughts on recruiting, and see if anybody has any predictions for the 2011-12 season.

[Granite Armadillo]

2011-12 Season

 

 

Coach Bullocks felt optimistic when the Bison pulled off a 61-55 win on the road against Amy. His freshmen played well. Lee crashed the boards and contained his defensive assignment to 2-13 from the field. Evans scored 13 points and tallied four assists, while Powell led the team in scoring and hit two threes. In fact, the team hit 36.4 percent of its threes for the game. Howard knew it had a tough contest against NJIT, but it could not expect what was to happen next. Well into the second half Amos Evans, who had scored nine points at that point, went down with a pain in his knee. The doctors would later confirm that Evans—who was pegged to be a focal point in the offense—was going to miss the rest of his freshman year with a torn ACL. Eric Shutt would reclaim his starting job, while Evans would be designated a medical redshirt.

 

At first, it seemed like the Bison could slip in Shutt and still be competitive. Through the first nine games, the team had the same record it had during the 2010-11 season. When Howard made its return to Burr Gymnasium in December, though, it was clear that this team was in dire need of as a scoring threat. Coach Bullocks’ squad would head into conference play in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Gerald Powell was the team’s leading scorer with 11 points per game on a poor 34.9 field goal percentage. Overall the team was averaging 50.8 points per game, 27.8 rebounds per game, and 13.3 turnovers per game. Meanwhile, it was allowing its opponents to average 58.2 points per game on 43.5 percent from the field. Johnson Haight, who Howard was relying on as a veteran big man, struggled with injuries. The one shining grace was Lee, who leads the team in rebounds per game with 5.2 and averaged 1.59 points per position (second on the team and first among the starters). By the time conference play rolled around, Coach Bullocks was hoping a healthy Haight and the return of Jack Smith may help stabilize the roster.

 

 

Bullocks and company did not start off conference play strong. Howard lost its first eight in MEAC. In total, the Bison lost 15 straight in the middle of the season. The team’s struggles caused Bullocks to find ways to shake up the roster. His first move was to pull Harold England from the starting lineup in favor of Tyler Shafer. A few games later Sonny Sikes and David Brown had their minutes reduced in order to give Hal Broadus and Chris Lee more playing time. The game plan was changed to encourage the team to pass the ball more. These modest changes helped, as Howard ended the season on 6-4 (and, perhaps more crucially, lifted themselves from the bottom of the conference.

 

Howard averaged 51.6 points per game, 29.2 rebounds per game, and 8.4 assists per game. Overall, the team shot 41.3 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from three. Gerald Powell led the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game while shooting 36.1 percent from the field and 23.4 percent from three. Johnson Haight, the redshirt junior from D.C., led the team in rebounds with 5.9 per game. It was a trying season, but Bullocks thought the return of Evans and the addition of Dave Rider and John Grant should help the team’s offensive woes. The Bison found themselves as the ninth seed and traveling to Maryland-East Shore for a first-round matchup in the MEAC conference tournament. While Bullocks felt his team could pull out the win, he was less optimistic that they could advance past top-seeded Morgan State.

 

 

Coach Bullocks managed to lead his team to a first-round upset of the Hawks in a defensive slog. Both teams shot less than 30 percent of their shots and the Bison were killed on the boards. In the end, though, Howard got to the line more and that proved to be a difference as Johnson Haight was a perfect six for six from the line. Howard ended up being the only first-round upset in the MEAC tournament, as seven-seeded Delaware State managed to edge past Bethune-Cookman and Hampton took care of business against Florida A&M. Coach Bullocks’ reward for his first MEAC tournament win? A showdown with Morgan State, who won the pairs only game in the regular season.

 

 

Yet somehow, despite eight more turnovers than the Bears, the Bison managed to continue their mini-Cinderella story. Gerald Powell led the charge with 22 points on six of nine shooting, while Harold England redeemed a rough season with 11 points off the bench. Once again fouls were the difference. Morgan State’s 26 fouls kept Howard at the line and effectively neutralized any edge the top seed had due to their opponent’s mistakes. Howard was to continue dancing, somehow finding itself in the MEAC semifinals against North Carolina A&T. Coach Bullocks’ team wasn’t the only MEAC tournament upset: Norfolk State found itself bested by sixth-seeded Hampton.

 

 

Alas, the Bison were not going to find themselves with an unlikely NCAA tournament bid. Howard was not able to gain a discernible edge on the Aggies. Gerald Powell led the charge with 15 points, and Eric Shutt also found himself in double figures. The MEAC tournament final was the Aggies facing off against Hampton in an unlikely pairing, and it was Hampton—the sixth seed—who found itself representing the MEAC at the NCAA tournament. Hampton was named the 16th seed on Selection Sunday. Its opponent? Wake Forest, who was the highest-seeded representative of the ACC despite failing to win either the conference’s regular season or tournament championship.

 

Predictably, the Deacons took care of business against Hampton. March Madness lived up to the hype in 2012. Not a single one seed made it past the Sweet Sixteen. Creighton became the first No. 1 seed to lose in the first round when it was defeated by Southern California. Marquette was the mini-Cinderella, making it all the way to the Elite Eight. Yet when the dust settled, the final consisted of two traditional giants: Duke and UCLA. Coach K managed to take home the title, the fifth of his illustrious career, and his second in the past three years.

 

 

 

 

 

[BenSlice]

This is really good, excited to keep reading!

[Granite Armadillo]

2012-13 Offseason

Jefferey Hair, after two years as Howard’s recruiting coordinator, announced his retirement in the early days of the offseason. Coach Bullocks decided to bring the rest of the staff back despite the rocky season. Instead, he decided to use his budget to “upgrade” the recruiting coordinator position. While Hair was serviceable in his role, the Bison were going to need quality assistants if they were truly going to change the culture. Alfred Jenkins, the 32-year-old assistant from Big Stone Gap, Virginia was precisely what Bullocks was looking for. He came at a hefty price for Howard at $70,000, but Coach Bullocks hoped that Jenkins' experience at TCU would lend the program credibility with recruits.

 

With the personnel matters handled, the Bison sought to build on the momentum they had in the 2011-12 season. Amos Evans was still out with a torn ACL in May of 2012, but it looked as if he would be ready to return by the start of the season. Assuming he was at 100 percent, Evans would likely replace Eric Shutt at the two. Dave Rider, the true freshman and Howard’s stud recruit, would replace Johnson Haight as the starting five, while junior college standout John Grant would take over for Gerald Powell at the three. While Powell played admirably as a freshman, Grant was a more consistent shooter and better perimeter defender. Rounding the starting lineup would be Jack Smith and Tyler Shafer at the four and the point, respectively. At least that was the plan on paper.

 

Howard continued its recent tradition of scheduling the bulk of its nonconference schedule on regional teams within the same prestige level as it. Fans would be familiar with most of Howard’s opponents, as Coach Bullocks scheduled his squad to play NC Central, Bryant, and VMI for the third year in a row. The team also was slated to test itself on the road against the likes of Liberty and Navy, both teams that ended the season above .500. And, what would be a special occasion for Bullocks, New Hampshire would be making its way to the Chocolate City for a follow-up to their 2010-11 contest.

 

Coach Bullocks had four scholarships to fill when he headed on the recruiting trail. He anticipated leaving one scholarship open for a potential transfer, an option he had not considered during his first two seasons. He would need to use at least one of his scholarships on a point guard, as guards Raymond Padilla and Harold England would be departing at the end of the season. He’d likely use another on a wing player, as Eric Shutt would be graduating and he needed to anticipate the departure of Hal Broadus, John Grant, and Tyler Shafer the following season.

 

Our first three scholarships went out to Donovan Ewing, David Guyer, and Richard Kite. Ewing was a 6’8” power forward out of Maryland. A solid inside presence with a good defensive background, Ewing was a two-star recruit ranked number 99 at his position. Guyer meanwhile was a shifty 5’11” point guard from Pennsylvania. He would be the Bison’s top recruit under Coach Bullocks if they could get a commitment from him, as he was rated three stars and ranked within the top 350 overall recruits. Guyer could shoot, he could handle the ball, and he had tremendous potential. Unfortunately for Howard, he had his eyes set on Coppin State and La Salle. Finally, Richard Kite rounded on the initial crop of offers. Kite was a solid shooting guard. At 6’3” and 187 pounds, he had enough athleticism to compete in the MEAC. He also would provide some much desired shooting on the perimeter, and was not a major defensive liability.

 

Kite’s scholarship offer was revoked after he made it clear he preferred nearby UMBC. He was replaced by David Hallowell, an athletic shooting guard from Virginia who could do everything well but nothing great. Guyer was leaning towards Morgan State, but leading Coach Bullocks to revoke his scholarship offer. Howard instead extended an offer to one-star recruit David Kuhns, a 5’11” point guard out of North Carolina. While not as glamorous as Guyer, Kuhns could shoot and provide enough quickness to help out what has been an inconsistent offense during the Bullocks era. When summer came to a close, though, nobody had committed to the Bison.

 

When word came down that Rider would miss the first part of his freshman year due to an academic suspension, Coach Bullocks starting lineup on opening night looked like: