LEWISBURG — The Bucknell basketball offices are hopping this week and there’s a general sense of excitement as a new era of Bucknell basketball has officially begun. And there’s little question as to who the energetic force behind the charge is — new men’s basketball coach Dave Paulsen.
Paulsen was named the successor to Pat Flannery on May 20 and has spent much of his time since then traveling back and forth between Lewisburg and Williamstown, Mass., completing the sale of his former home while wrapping up the purchase of his new home.
Still, the 43-year-old Paulsen is bustling with energy, ready to embrace his new position.
“It’s really exciting,” he said with a smile from his new office, which at the moment features just a laptop and a couple of boxes. “It’s like I told (Bucknell athletic director) John Hardt, every time I’m back on campus I’m more excited. I think this is a really special place.”
Paulsen — who arrived in Lewisburg via his alma mater, Williams College, where he coached the Division III power the last eight seasons and achieved national coach of the year honors following the 2003 and 2004 seasons — can hardly contain his enthusiasm when discussing Bucknell and the opportunity to coach at such a unique institution.
“To me, Bucknell and Davidson in my coaching lifetime have demonstrated that you can be committed to winning at an academic liberal arts institution and actually win NCAA Tournament games,” he said. “They are the only two, that I know of, that have done it. That’s a really special niche.”
Paulsen and his staff, which consists of Dane Fischer, Tim Sweeney and Michael Cotton, were blown away when they arrived in Lewisburg and were able to see first hand the commitment the university had made to the basketball program.
“For a school this size, there’s maybe a similar arena out there, but there’s no arena as nice as Sojka (Pavilion),” he said. “But it’s everything. It’s the locker rooms, the video capability — it all speaks to the fact that Bucknell is not just giving lip service to success in both the field of academics and athletics. That’s something any potential student-athlete will see as well.
“Now, it’s our job to make sure it’s not just ‘Wow’. We have to get to work.”
Paulsen has talked to each of the players returning for the 2008-09 season, as well as each of the three incoming recruits. Each member of the staff will be contacting team members as well, Paulsen said.
“I think they’re excited,” the Bison coach said of the players. “I think we’re all looking forward to getting to meet one another and getting to know one another.”
Key to Paulsen’s approach, especially once the students are back on campus, will be from the ground up. Everyone will have their shot, he said.
“I haven’t seen any of their game tapes and I might not until the fall. I want to enter with a clean slate.
“The guy that leads the team in scoring or rebounding will have a clean slate and the guy who never got off the bench has a chance.”
Paulsen is anxious to see the players on the court and said he will craft his offensive and defensive schemes around the strengths of the players.
His style may closely resemble that of his predecessor, or it may be completely different.
“I don’t know at this point,” he said. “My style may be just like Pat’s. I have to see what our players’ strengths are.”
Paulsen, along with his wife and three daughters, will move to Lewisburg permanently in August, though he will continue making the trips back and forth. He still has to oversee the Williams basketball camps and will do so while Flannery runs the Bison basketball camps in Lewisburg.
“I can’t wait to get into the community and meet more people,” said Paulsen. “Everyone has been so nice so far. I just want to make the transition as smooth as possible for my wife and daughters (ages 6, 9 and 13). We were very entrenched in a community not unlike Lewisburg.
“We look forward to getting to know the people of this community.”
Notes: Wednesday marked the first time that all four new coaches were in the Bucknell basketball offices at the same time. Fischer and Sweeney have been on campus, but Cotton has been commuting while wrapping up business in North Carolina. Fischer comes to Bucknell via Rider, Sweeney from Davidson, which made a run to the Elite Eight this winter, and Cotton from a Durham-area high school.

chris brady: 570-742-9671
sports@standard-journal.com