By PAUL GOTHAM
When the UB Bulls take the court in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Dontay Caruthers will add his name to the list of former East High greats who have gone on to play on the sport’s biggest stage.
“It’s feel like a dream,” Caruthers said Sunday evening by phone. “It hasn’t hit me yet, but I think when I actually get on that court it’s going to hit me.”
Caruthers and UB earned a No. 13 seed in the South Region and will open Thursday against No. 4 seed Arizona.
“It’s a great feeling,” Caruthers added. “It’s like surreal. It’s hard to put into words.”
UB finished 15-3 during the regular season and grabbed first place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East. In a league historically limited to only one bid in the NCAA Tournament, the Bulls capped their conference tournament run with a 76-66 win over Toldeo in the championship game.
“We focused on one possession at a time instead of one game at a time,” Caruthers said of the the Bulls’ approach to being the top seed in the MAC tournament. “When you think about the outcome of the game, you tend to mess up during the game. We know if we take care of each possession one at a time, then the score will take care of itself.”
The 6-foot-1 guard recovered from a lower leg injury earlier in the season that forced him to miss 11 games. He returned to the lineup on January 19th and has played more than 21 minutes over UB’s last five games. The MAC Defensive Player of the Year last season, the Rochester native is averaging seven points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 23 games played this season.
“I have great teammates and coaches helping me adjust and get back to the tempo once again,” Caruthers said of his rehab. “It was pretty easy. The only thing that was kind of difficult was getting back in shape after being out for a month and a half. It tends to take a toll on you.”
The NCAA Tournament appearance will be UB’s third in four years the last two under head coach Nate Oats. The Bulls made their first trip in program history to the Big Dance under former head coach Bobby Hurley in 2015. After missing out a year ago, the Bulls enter the field of 68 with a lineup of five juniors, a sophomore and a freshman among the top eight players.
“I knew I was coming to a winning program at the right time and to help build on that success,” Caruthers noted. “Last year didn’t go as planned, but we always had the pieces. We added a couple more junior college transfers and it just sealed the deal.”
Like his high school coach before him, Caruthers adds to the list of former East High players who have played in the NCAA Tournament.
“I think of all the great players who have gone through East High and appeared in the NCAA Tournament,” Eagles coach Darrell Barley said referring to Tony Scott, Art Long and Chad Thomas. “Now you have Dontay following in the footsteps of all those guys. I’m just so happy for him to have this opportunity.”
Barley led Canisius to the 1996 NCAA Tournament – the school’s last trip.
“It’s just great to see his maturity and the man he has become,” Barley said of Caruthers who is his first former player to appear in the NCAA Tournament. “When he was sitting out earlier in the season, he was on the bench cheering for his teammates. Coach Oats has done a great job helping him to mature.”
Caruthers started his college career at Midland Community College and transferred to UB for his sophomore season.
UB and Arizona will tip off at 9:40 PM from Boise, Idaho. The game will be televised on CBS.
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