6-foot-8, 250 pound Enoch Andoh has agreed to cast his educational and athletic lot with Bucknell University of the Patriot League.

According to Andoh, "I just fell in love with the place, it reminded me somewhat of the gorgeous, yet spacious Stanford campus." He visited the campus over the Labor Day weekend.

Asked why he decided to commit in September, Andoh said, "I wanted to get it done before basketball season begins."

Other schools Andoh considered were Portland, New Mexico, Colgate, Princeton, Oral Roberts and UC Riverside. Portland was especially tempting, with newish Coach Eric Reveno, the former Stanford big man and assistant coach, but Bucknell was able to close the deal by making Andoh its top frontcourt recruit.

Having put in the time and effort to better his basketball skills, culminating in a compelling display of tournament and showcase performances all summer, Andoh is looking forward to signing an official letter-of-intent on November 12.

Besides the impressive physical layout of the school, Andoh sees a good fit for himself in Coach Pat Flannery's basketball program. "They push the tempo and can also slow it down to pound it inside. There is also good chemistry among the players and with the coaching staff."

The 2007-2008 Bison roster shows two underclassmen at center, a junior and a freshman, plus a senior and sophomore at power forward. So early playing time will be available for the earning.

Flannery has headed the Bisons for 13 years, being named Patriot League Coach of the Year for the third time last season when his squad went 22-9 overall, 13-1 in league play.

The Bison men's basketball program may be underpublicized but it's no fault of Flannery and his players. In 2004-2005, Bucknell finished 24-5 and beat Kansas--yes Kansas--64-63 in the Big Dance. The Bison won 27 games the following season, made the top 25 and topped Arkansas 59-55 to reach the second round of the NCAA championship.

Bucknell, now playing in a new home arena, rewarded Flannery with a contract extension running through 2011.

For those unfamiliar with the Lewisburg, PA school, it's an institution of 3,500 students overlooking the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania. According to the official school web site, "In the most recent NCAA study, Bucknell ranked first in the nation with a perfect 100 percent graduation rate of its student-athletes" and "Bucknell ranks third in the nation for the number of student-athletes named to national Academic All-America teams."

Andoh expects to major in engineering, an unusual choice for most D-1 basketball players but his better-than-solid 3.45 grade point average is indicative that academics receive as serious of a commitment from Andoh as athletics.

Bucknell is a member of the Patriot League with the other members being Army, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Colgate, Navy, Lehigh and American.

On another local note, the Bisons are part of the Cal Golden Bear Classic to be played December 28 and 29 this year in Berkeley.