Published: September 20, 2009 02:42 pm      

TIM'S TAKES: Bulls score prized recruit McRae

COMMENTARY

The UB basketball team hasn’t had a force in the low post since Mark Bortz. That might change with the verbal commitment from Section V star Jevon McRae, who stands 6-foot-7 and is only 16-years-old as a senior.

McRae, who plays for Newark High School, played for local coach Sal Constantino in a tournament last fall and hung 35 points on a team comprised mostly of Division I players.

“He’s young, but the kid has great hands,” Constantino said. “He finishes everything around a basket. He’s got a really big upside. I think the MAC is a great conference for him. It’s a really good fit. And for them, it’s a heck of a get.”

On a team that’s had great guard play, but been spotty in the post the past few seasons, it sounds like McRae is exactly what the Bulls needed.

Empty barn at HSBC?

The thought of a Jan. 2 home game at HSBC Arena against Iona has to be a drag for the Purple Eagles, although coach Joe Mihalich told us more than once that he’s happy to give his team to play in every environment possible.

We get why it has to happen — the league is considered a host for the NCAA Tournament when it comes here next March — but the thought of sacrificing a home game at the raucous Gallagher Center is a tough one to stomach.

It’s possible there won’t be 1,000 bodies in the 18,000-seat arena that night.

While Mihalich stayed expectedly mum on the prospect of a game at HSBC, he said he’s happy with the two tournaments the team will take part in, including a three-game extravaganza in Daytona Beach.

“It’s hard to get home games and we like tournaments,” Mihalich said. “It’s like a mini-season. You go on the road, win a game and play for a championship. It’s like a practice run for the MAAC Tournament.”

All-Time team reflects recent struggles

If you haven’t noticed, today’s game against the Buccaneers will include a halftime ceremony honoring the 50th Season All-Time Team. Sure seems the team’s attachment to history has become greater than ever in the past few seasons, and while that’s partly because it’s fun to think about the good old days, it’s also because the last decade has been so forgetful.

Call it a diversion.

It’s hard to argue with most of the picks on the team, although we’re not sold on Henry Jones at safety or the omissions of Will Wolford and Jerry Butler. But what’s really fun about looking through the roster is the era from which the players were picked. No player who debuted after 1996 was chosen, a glaring case of the team’s recent futility since their last Super Bowl appearance.

And conveniently, just one running back was picked — Thurman Thomas. Seems there was another great back in the team’s past, but we can’t remember his name.

Seems nobody can.

And Jonah Bronstein brings up a good point — since the team loses position credibilty, why not just make it the top players in team history? Does it really make sense that Butler is omitted, but Pete Metzelaars is included? Butler was one of the five best receivers in the game at his peak. Metzelaars was never one of the best 10 tight ends.

Also on the Bills: The guy who removes and affixes Jonathan Stupar’s locker nameplate deserves a vacation. Has any player ever made the transactions wire more in a two-week span? ... We’re betting Marcus Buggs won’t see any third downs today and he might be pulled on the majority of second downs. Is this Nic Harris’ coming-out party? ... Our favorite stat in the weekly notes package provided by the Bills is the record of coaches who’ve made it to a fourth season with the franchise. Lou Saban went 10-3-1 in his fourth year (1965) and won the AFL title, Chuck Knox took the Bills to 10-6 in 1981 and Marv Levy led the Bills to their first Super Bowl and a 13-3 record in 1990. If you see lightning striking a fourth time — meaning at least a 10-win season — you’re a better meteorologist than Aaron Mentkowski. And that’s not a knock on our boy Aaron, who’s one of the few we trust. NT born and bred, of course.