The next stop on Brycen Goodine’s basketball journey is the University of Oklahoma.
After 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 he will head west to play for the Sooners in his final year of eligibility.
“When I was younger, I always wondered where I would end up playing,” said Goodine, 24, who also attended Syracuse University and Providence College. “I never would have imagined he would be somewhere in the Midwest and the SEC (Southeastern Conference), but I think that’s why I chose him. It’s something different and something I haven’t tried before. “I’m excited about that.”
Oklahoma finished the 2023-24 season with a 20-12 overall record, but did not reach the NCAA tournament as the first team to be left out of Selection Sunday.
“The coaching staff gives me the impression that they have a great 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 surprised by what the University of Oklahoma had to offer.
“They’re definitely at the top of the elite in terms of the resources and technology they have, their coaching staff and their mentality in their approach to athletics,” he said. “I’m curious to see how I do in that kind of environment.”
Goodine makes his definitive return
Finishing his college career at Oklahoma is more meaningful for Goodine, who had to battle a meniscus tear he suffered when he first arrived at 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 to improve different aspects of his game.
“I was able to sit back and think about areas of my games that needed improvement,” he said. “Honestly, I didn’t even work on set. I told him, ‘I know I can shoot.’ What other ways can I figure out how to score? “I focused on my 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, she burst into tears.
He scored 40 points in the Jan. 5 win over Siena and scored 37 in the March 7 win over Canisius, owning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s two highest-scoring games of the season.
“I heard about Dad’s strength, but I didn’t know it until I got it,” he said. “It’s just willpower. That’s Dad’s strength. It makes me go 100%. “It’s not that I haven’t done that before, but it ensures that I do it every time I go out.”
Goodine came off the bench in 24 of 31 games this year and enjoyed his role.
“My mentality was that no matter what I’m doing, whether I come off the bench or whether I start, I’m going to play the same way,” he said. “I was able to observe before I came in and I was able to visualize what the team was missing and what we needed and I said, ‘I’m going to come in and do that,’ whether it’s rebounding or we’re not driving or we’re playing with low energy.
“Every time I tried to come in with a spark of energy no matter what.”
Goodine hit 77 3-pointers in 2023-24. He ranked third in NCAA Division I in catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, hitting 49% of his shots on four attempts per outing.
“Brycen was one of the best 3-point shooters in the country last season,” Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser said in a news release. “He can score in a variety of ways and brings his athleticism and durability to the game. He has a scoring mentality combined with a high level of efficiency.”
Last season, Goodine averaged 13.9 points, 3 rebounds and 1.4 assists and was named MAAC Sixth Player of the Year.
“That was a team award because without my team having been successful and getting recognition, I don’t think I would have been nominated for that,” Goodine said.
Fairfield, which finished the season with a 24-13 overall record, lost to Saint Peter’s in the 2024 MAAC Championship and to Seattle in the semifinals of the Ro College Basketball Invitational.
Goodine’s Trail from Bishop Stang to Oklahoma
Goodine’s dream of playing college basketball began long before he led Bishop Stang to the Div. 3 state championship in 2016, but he didn’t expect him to turn so many laps.
After winning the NEPSAC Class AA championship as a senior 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 at Providence and averaged just under 2 points.
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Goodine played four games at Fairfield before injuring his knee.
“In each place, I’ve gained small chips for what I have now,” he said, noting that playing at this level is a full-time commitment. “It’s not even about playing and exercising; It’s two hours every day, but it doesn’t end when you leave the gym. It has to be your lifestyle. Every morning you wake up, get ready and put your mind in order or eat or take care of your body and recover.
“Those are things I didn’t understand when I was younger. That’s what I learned that allowed me to be successful here. You’re not going to get it just by showing up to practice because no one is doing that.”
Goodine said he is looking forward to his time in Oklahoma.
“My goal for this year is simply to be a professional on and off the court; I can just be good at whatever I do,” he said. “I feel like if I do that, I’ll have a lot of opportunities afterwards and who knows where I’ll end up.”
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