The Bryant University men's basketball team hosted its inaugural media day Wednesday in Smithfield in anticipation of the Bulldogs' 10th Division I season.
The Bryant men's basketball team returns eight letterwinners, including three starters – senior Bosko Kostur, sophomore Adam Grant and sophomore Ikenna Ndugba – with Grant being an NEC All-Rookie Team selection who led conference freshmen in scoring. Ndugba leads all NEC returners in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Senior Hunter Ware and junior Taylor McHugh add experience in the backcourt for a Bryant team that ranked second in the NEC in scoring a year ago. Sophomore Sabastian Townes looks to step into an expanded role in the post after performing off the bench as a freshman. Townes averaged 13.2 points per game when playing at least 20 minutes in his first year in Smithfield. Senior Gus Riley and sophomore Tanner Johnson also return for the Bulldogs.
Bryant welcomes five newcomers for the 2017-18 season. Freshmen Ryan Layman, Charles Dudley and Dren Dedushaj join the squad along with redshirt freshmen Brandon Carroll and Monty Urmilevicius. Carroll and Urmilevicius both have a year in the program under their belt, as both were part of the Bryant squad a year ago.
Bryant opens its non-conference slate with a trip south to face Georgia and NC State. The Bulldogs will also square off with Rutgers, Memphis and Louisville in preparation for Northeast Conference play. The Memphis and Louisville games are part of the Gotham Classic, with contests against Albany and Siena also part of the event.
Bosko Kostur, Hunter Ware and Gus Riley comprise Bryant's senior class in 2017-18, and are joined by an experienced group of underclassmen and talented freshmen as the Bulldogs aim for their first NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level.
"We’ve got two sophomores that had very good freshman years in Ikenna Ndugba and Adam Grant, Hunter Ware has been terrific in practice and Taylor McHugh has experience. I really think our backcourt, as long as we stay healthy, is going to be a real strong part of our team. Bosko Kostur is now a fifth-year senior. I think he’s in a position to step up and be one of the better players in the NEC. Bash Townes, if you look at his points per minute, he’s a guy that just knows how to be productive on the offensive end of the floor." - Tim O'Shea