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Welcome to the SEC: How ‘dad strength’ helped Brycen Goodine level up his game

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4 months ago

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Welcome to the SEC: How ‘dad strength’ helped Brycen Goodine level up his game

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The next stop of Brycen Goodine’s basketball journey is the University of Oklahoma. 

Coming off an impressive year at Fairfield University in which Goodine finished as one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters, the New Bedford native announced that he will be heading out west to play for the Sooners in his final year of eligibility.

“When I was younger, I would always wonder where I’d end up playing,” said the 24-year-old Goodine, who has also had stints at Syracuse University and Providence College. “I never would have guessed it would be somewhere in the Midwest and in the SEC (Southeastern Conference), but I think that’s why I chose it. It’s something different and something I haven’t tried before. I’m excited about it.”

Oklahoma finished the 2023-24 season with an overall record of 20-12, but did not make the NCAA tournament as the first team to be left out on Selection Sunday. 

“I get the sense from the coaching staff that they have a really big plan for our team,” Goodine said. “They want us to go to March Madness. That’s the culture I want to be a part of — on the biggest stage possible. It’s going to be fun.”

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Goodine said he was amazed by what the University of Oklahoma had to offer. 

“It’s definitely on the top side of the elite regarding the resources and the technology they have, their coaching staff and their mindset in their approach to athletics,” he said. “I’m curious to see how I do in that kind of environment.” 

Goodine makes ultimate comeback

Getting to finish out his college career at Oklahoma is more meaningful for Goodine, who had to battle back from a torn meniscus he suffered when he first got to Fairfield in 2022.

“When I got hurt, I thought it was over,” he admitted. “As you can see, I’m still here so you never know what can happen.”

A determined Goodine spent his long offseason working on improving different aspects of his game.

“I was able to sit back and think about areas of my games that needed work,” he said. “Honestly I didn’t even work on shooting. I said, ‘I know I can shoot. What other ways can I figure out how to score?’ I was focusing on ball handling, my footwork and my strength.”

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Goodine started the first few games of his redshirt junior year at Fairfield, but missed an early portion of the season when his son, Koen, was born.

When Goodine returned, he went on a tear.

He notched 40 points in a Jan. 5 win over Siena and netted 37 in a March 7 victory over Canisius, owning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s two highest-scoring games of the season. 

“I heard about dad strength, but I didn’t know it until I got it,” he said. “It’s just will power. That’s what dad strength is. It makes me put in 100%. Not that I didn’t do that before, but it just ensures I do that every single time I’m out there.”

Coming off the bench in 24 of 31 games this year, Goodine relished his role.

“My mindset was no matter what I’m doing — if I come off the bench or if I start, I’m going to play the same way,” he said. “I was able to watch before I went in and I was able to visualize whatever the team was lacking and what we needed and I said, ‘I’m going to go in and do that’ — whether it was rebounding or we’re not driving or we’re playing with low energy. 

“Every time I was trying to come in with a spark of energy no matter what.”

Goodine connected on 77 3-pointers in 2023-24. He ranked third in NCAA Division I in catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, knocking down 49% of his shots on four attempts per outing. 

“Brycen was one of the best 3-point shooters in the country last season,” said Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser in a press release. “He can score in a variety of ways and gets his athleticism and length into the game. He has a scorer’s mentality combined with a high level of efficiency.”

Last season, Goodine averaged 13.9 points, 3 rebounds and 1.4 assists and was named the MAAC Sixth Player of the Year.

“That was a team award because without my team having success and getting recognition, I don’t think I would have been nominated for that,” Goodine said. 

Fairfield, which finished the season with an overall record of 24-13, lost to Saint Peter’s in the 2024 MAAC Championship and to Seattle in the Ro College Basketball Invitational semifinals.

Goodine’s road from Bishop Stang to Oklahoma

Goodine’s dream of playing college basketball started well before he led Bishop Stang to the Div. 3 state championship in 2016, but he didn’t expect it to take so many turns.

After winning the NEPSAC Class AA championship his senior year at St. Andrews School in Barrington, Goodine spent one season at Syracuse University (2019-20), playing in 23 games and averaging 1.9 points and 1.0 rebounds.

He then transferred to Providence College, where he helped the Friars reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2022. He appeared in a combined 37 games in his two years in Providence and averaged just under 2 points. 

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: New Bedford’s Brycen Goodine is enjoying Providence College’s historic run to the Sweet 16

Goodine played in four games at Fairfield before he hurt his knee.

“At each place, I’ve earned small chips toward what I have now,” he said, noting that playing at this level is a full-time commitment. “It’s not even the playing and the working out; that’s two hours every day, but it doesn’t stop when you leave the gym. It has to be your lifestyle. Every morning you wake up, you’re prepping and getting your mind right or you’re eating or taking care of your body and recovering. 

“Those are all things I didn’t understand when I was younger. That’s what I’ve learned that got me success here. You’re not going to get by just showing up to practice because no one is just doing that.”

Goodine said he’s looking forward to his time at Oklahoma. 

“My goal for this year is to just be a professional on and off the court; just be able to be good at whatever I do,” he said. “I feel like if I do that, I’ll have a lot of opportunities after that and who knows where I’ll end up.”

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