MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Butch Estes doesn’t need to think long to remember yesteryear. Not after Johnson & Wales gave then Barry University’s first-year men’s basketball coach’s team fits in the season opener.
Guess what, opening night is right around the corner, and the Wildcats will be on the other side of the floor again.
Barry hosts Johnson & Wales 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Health & Sports Center. The Wildcats are 4-0 entering the game.
“They’re a pretty athletic, high-energy bunch of kids who are off to a pretty good start,” Estes said. “I think the challenge for us is the mental part of the game after playing the opponents we’ve played in preseason. These kids are very capable of playing us to a very competitive game. I’m concerned that we’re mature enough and experienced enough and have the proper leadership to really be ready to play on Friday night.”
Barry owns a 4-0 series record against JWU, having won last year’s game at the Wildcat Center in North Miami, 83-73, in front of a not-a-seat-available crowd of 1,017. The last three meetings have been decided by 11 points or less, including an eight-point Bucs win on Nov. 10, 2012 at home.
Of course, all of that means nothing now as the new season wipes the slate clean for both schools. In the exhibition season this year, the Bucs dropped a pair of games against two Top 8-ranked NCAA Division I teams at Louisville and Florida. Now the real season begins. How all that factors into Friday’s opener is still to be determined, but right now there’s a buzz around BarryU.
“The pulse is pretty good,” Estes said. “I think people are excited about our team. I think our team’s excited about our team. And candidly even as a coach, I’m always a little more guarded … we have potential to be very good. I think we have a lot of the parts that you would want in a good basketball team. I think we’re all optimistic about it. I just think, you know, you hear the coach speak all the time, ‘We’ve got to stay grounded. We’ve got to stay with the process. We’ve got to make sure we’re doing the daily things, and not take anybody for granted and be ready to play each night, and play the best we can.’
“As far as talent, we do have some good talent. We have experience. So yeah, I think there’s a lot of optimism and excitement and encouragement and anticipation on behalf of anybody who’s associated with this basketball team.”
Senior guards Deric Hill (10.8 ppg, 7.6 apg) and Juan Ferrales (15.7 ppg, .426 3-point FG %), junior forward Yunio Barrueta (14.1 ppg, 9.0 reb) and senior forward Savad Garner (9.4 ppg, 6.6 reb) all were starters last year. Sophomores Adrian Gonzalez (11.5 ppg, .545 FG) and Arie Williams (4.9 ppg, .379 3-point) played significant roles in their first year in Estes’ system. With the addition of 6-foot-8 power forward/centers Jevoni Robinson and Tray Leonard, both of which had double-doubles at No. 8 Louisville in the exhibition, and shooting guard Anders Haas, one of six Division I transfers on this team, the Bucs bench is deeper than it has been in a long time. Especially considering sophomore forward Alvaro Simoza and junior guard Toure Hunt also have familiarity with Buccaneers basketball. Newcomers Kendall Leslie, Josh Irving and Charles Agumagu add extra depth and athleticism.
“I do believe we’re playing an exciting brand of basketball,” Estes said. “It’s kind of a high-flying, up-tempo (style). It’s really fun to watch. It tends to get crowds pretty excited if it goes well. Anytime you’re an institution like Barry, we have to work at it.”
POST-GAME AT BUCKY’S COVE
Speaking of which, after the home opener, the Buccaneers will begin a new tradition with a post-game gathering in the newly-renovated Bucky’s Cove in the Landon Student Union on campus, where fans and students can interact with the coaches and players after the game.
“I am so excited about that,” Estes said. “That’s just right down my alley. I think in my past experiences, going to a basketball game has to become part of a quality of a student’s life while at college. It’s happening, it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s where you want to be. We are in the process of trying to create that atmosphere here, and I think this post-game celebration, or whatever it might be called, is just a beginning step because one of the important things is that our athletes are able to interact with our students. This certainly is creating an atmosphere where that will be very easy and very well-received by both parties. It goes in the category of fun. It goes in the category of making our players feel that they are special, and that they are creating an experience that they are making the student experience more fun here. I just think it’s all positive in all directions, and I know we’ll have to be patient with it because the first night it may not be full, but let’s evaluate it at the end of a year, and see how we do.”
BACK TO THE GAME
Before the post-game festivities, there’s a game to be played. One with cross-town bragging rights and pride involved. Estes insists his team will get the message.
“It will be stressed,” he said. “I’m also trying to, in practice this week, make sure they have honestly an uncomfortable week. I want them to be uncomfortable. The intensity with which we’re approaching the opening game … it’s a little bit more than normal. But there is an element, most players are pretty excited about the opening night. Motivation, usually on the opening night, is not a big thing because it is the first game of the season, (and) we have been through two straight losses even though we played well. So I anticipate us being ready, but with that said, they have some talented players. They have a guard that can really shoot the ball, they have a power forward that’s really versatile, who can score in multiple ways. They have a center that’s absolutely the same size as Tray Leonard. He’s 6-7, weighs about 270. It’s gonna be like two sumo wrestlers down there in the post. We may have to get two or three referees just for that particular matchup.”
JWU’s Jumaoke Smith, Josh Medina, Luke Walters, Ricardo Suarez, Frank Bennett and Joel Kukulu are all capable double-figure scorers who’ve proven that in the Wildcats’ four games this year.
“This is a team that’s got some ability, and then you add on the fact that we’re their big game, they’re gonna bring a huge crowd over here,” Estes said. “It should be a tremendous atmosphere here for opening night.”