Reggie Witherspoon looks drained these days. Perhaps it was because it took all he could muster this season to coax 10 victories from a mostly inexperienced Buffalo team (10-20, 3-13 MAC). But Witherspoon's voice perked up ever so slightly at the mention of the 2008-09 season. His sophomore laden group will be more seasoned juniors.

"You can't get experience by watching college basketball," Witherspoon said. "It's a phenomenon that a lot of young kids are learning. A lot of them got a chance to play and that's good.''

Considering Buffalo lost big men Yassin Idbihi and Parnell Smith from the 2006-07 team and Witherspoon didn't replace them with adequate players, a 10-win season was to be expected. But a repeat in 2009-10 will mean the end of Witherspoon's tenure at Buffalo.

Recruiting, or lack thereof, has been one of the key issues in Buffalo's fall. Since landing strong back-to-back recruiting classes in 2001 and 2002 that included Turner Battle, Mark Bortz and Calvin Cage, the Bulls have recruited only three players who have averaged double figures in scoring in a season: Idbihi, Andy Robinson and Eric Moore, who transferred to Fairleigh Dickinson after the end of last season.

This season, Buffalo's inexperience, as well as inconsistency on offense and defense, plagued the team all season. That, and an overall lack of talent that falls squarely on the coaching staff.

The personnel losses, nevertheless, are minimal. Seniors Andrew Atman and Christian Schmidt played sparingly throughout their careers. Buffalo didn't sign anyone during the early-signing period, and has two scholarships to give. It hopes to land a pair of big men.

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