First-year Bucknell men’s basketball coach John Griffin III knows that there’s a learning curve on the court your first year as a coach at Division I.

He admitted as much at a recent informal media outing.

But that’s not a bad thing. It’s part of the job for Griffin, and he knows that’s how you get better and improve as a program and team. That’s what he wants for Bucknell, his alma mater.

“Every day I learn something new. There’s the on-court learning curve, which is building out a practice plan and then deciding what ultimately helps you win versus what is a distraction and a waste of time,” Griffin said. “I’m learning that as I go. Aside from basketball, how do you bring energy to Bucknell and Lewisburg? I’ve always enjoyed that part of coaching.”

Griffin is looking to bring energy to Sojka Pavilion this year and to Lewisburg. And that begins Monday at home for a 7 p.m. tip against Delaware. He was hired earlier this year as the Bison’s men’s basketball coach and inherits a team coming off a 12-20 season in which Bucknell went 5-13 in the Patriot League.

But the Bison coach knows there’s room for improvement. There always is at this level, and that’s why he continues to talk about the process becoming a good basketball team every day with his team.

“I even showed them the definition of the word process since I talk about it so much. It’s a series of events that leads to an ending. So every day, in some capacity, will be part of our success or part of our failures,” Griffin said. “This group is young enough that they are just taking every day for what it is.”

Bucknell hasn’t recorded a winning season — be it overall or in the Patriot League — since going 21-12 and 13-5 in the league during the 2018-19 season.

Since then? A 14-20 season in 2019-20, a 5-7 win in the abbreviated COVID-19 year, a 9-23 year in 2021-21 and of course last year’s 12-20 mark.

But Griffin wants to change that and get Bucknell back to winning and being contenders in the Patriot League. Griffin noted that he doesn’t have a goal board though for players. The goal is simple: get to the big dance.

“When you come to Bucknell, your goal is to make the NCAA Tournament. We have a program identity attached to being in the NCAA Tournament, and we have an alumni base that is very proud of that identity,” Grifin said. “Part of our summer of teaching has been educating them on the history of Bucknell.”

Xander Rice led Bucknell last year with 14.1 points per game (452), Alex Timmerman averaged 11.4 (366), Andre Screen averaged 11.2 (324) and Jack Forrest averaged 10.1 (223) as that foursome helped provide some offensive spark for the Bison.

Forest is the only returner of that group back, and he’s excited for this year to get underway.

The men’s season begins Monday, Nov. 6, with a home game at Sojka Pavilion against Delaware.

“Game one. It’s hard to really look too far ahead when you’re practicing every day and really focusing on that first game,” Forrest said.

The Bison were picked to finish ninth in the Patriot League, and it’s something Forrest noted is fuel for him and his teammates to build upon.

“It’s motivation. It’s not eating at me, but it’s motivation. The people who vote on that aren’t in our gym every day seeing what we’re doing,” Forrest said. “If anything, it’s just a little extra motivation for us.”

For Griffin, he noted what he felt were the biggest things the Bison need to do to be able to come out competitive and in the win column.

“In order to come out victorious, you just have to be competitive and you have to instinctively do things that are aligned with the habits that we are trying to build: rebounding, transition defense, when you get in the paint making the right decision,” Griffin said. “Things of that nature.”

Griffin also noted valuing possessions on offense and communicating at a high-level to contest every shot on defense.

“If those pillars are ingrained in every player, then we’ll be able to put some lineups out there tat can be productive for us,” he added.

Not to mention the benefit of having a versatile lineup that can contribute from everywhere.

“We have versatility within lineups that can make us explosive offensively, because of our ability to shoot,” Griffin said. “We’re going to play fast and the floor will be spread, and with that comes decision opportunities.”