MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Barry University men’s basketball team is about to be indoctrinated into British reality.
British Broadcasting Channel will be on hand for Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. game against Florida Memorial to film segments with the Buccaneers basketball team and school mascot Bucky for a reality show expected to air in the spring. The theme is mascots’ involvement and influence at sporting events.
“The exposure’s great,” BarryU eight-year assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. “BBC coming over here and doing something just adds to our name worldwide, I guess. We are looking at some kids from over there in London, England … so I think if our name gets out over there, it’ll help us in a lot of different ways, help the school in a lot of ways, and help our program in terms of recruiting.”
Barry’s game against Florida Memorial is the first of three for the Bucs this week. The Buccaneers will host the Odio Thanksgiving Classic Friday and Saturday, beginning with Friday’s 5 p.m. tip between Young Harris and Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in the four-team tournament named in honor of former Barry coach Cesar Odio, who oversaw the program for 18 years, three of which culminated in the NCAA Tournament.
FMU (0-2) is coming off a 74-48 loss at Florida International (3-0) Friday night. Samuel Dorismond scored 22 points for the Lions in the loss to the Division I Panthers. Shaquille Harding had 11 points, and Roody Romain pulled down 10 rebounds.
Barry is 28-13 all-time against Florida Memorial, having won last year’s game, 82-51, in front of 1,273 fans in the Health & Sports Center. That win snapped a two-game Lions win streak in the series. The Bucs are 18-6 at home against FMU.
“It’s a good game for the city, a good game for the community,” said Saunders, who’s been part of the rivalry since his playing days as a Buccaneer in 2003. “They’ll bring a lot of fans over. I know our Bucky’s Crew will be in full effect, so it’s really, really good for the community. Coach (Kenny) Bellinger does a good job. They always give us a very competitive game over here. Looking forward to the competition tomorrow night, and looking forward to the crowd and the support.”
Barry’s Yunio Barrueta has scored in double figures in both of the first two games. He, Adrian Gonzalez, who was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, Juan Ferrales and Anders Haas have averaged 11 or more points per game in the first two. Barrueta leads the team in scoring (20.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 reb). Jevoni Robinson (7.0 reb), Tray Leonard (6.0) and Savad Garner (5.5) are key reasons the Buccaneers outrebounded their first two opponents by 15 boards per game.
“We looked at some film from the Mayaguez game. We did a lot of things well, and there are certainly some things we need to improve upon,” Saunders said. “It’s just another test for us. It doesn’t matter who’s coming in here. It’s just another chance for us to get better, and keep plugging along.”