The cup was a lot more than half full for the Buffalo Bandits during the 2000 National Lacrosse League season.

And that's a big improvement from nearly empty, which is how the same cup looked just one year earlier.

The Bandits cleaned house after the 4-8 disaster that was 1999 and emerged with a younger, faster, more focused unit that charged into the playoffs. With an 8-4 regular season, the Bandits' four-game improvement was easily the biggest in the league and last Saturday's 15-11 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks in the semifinals did nothing to take away from all the good things the team accomplished.

Unlike last year's offseason that produced a coaching change and a glut of personnel moves, it appears some minor tinkering is all that's needed to make the club's engine purr come 2001.

"We'll be back," said coach Ted Sawicki. "There's no question that this team is going to be something else next year. It really is. Believe it."

Here's how it happened:

Youth was served

Nine rookies saw action for the Bandits this season, not including the head coach, by far the most of any team in the playoffs. (Rochester used five, Philadelphia and Toronto just two each). D'Arcy Sweet (15 goals and 15 assists, for 30 points) and Pat Maddalena (11-12-23) made immediate contributions on offense; Chris Seller and Kyle Couling did the same on defense.

"We had a lot of rookies and we found each other maybe sooner than even I thought we would," Sawicki said. "But I'm sure that hurt us against Rochester. How many rookies did they use? Just one (John Grant Jr.). Our rookies will file that away and learn from it."

Moves that mattered

General manager Kurt Silcott pushed all the right buttons. He and Sawicki decided to employ a run-and-gun style and the acquisitions fit perfectly into that plan.

It started with Chris Driscoll (12-23-35), who was picked up from Rochester at the tail end of last year. Silcott signed Derek Malawsky (28-33-61) as a free agent, got second-team All-Pro Mike Accursi (30-18-48) from Syracuse, Shawn Williams (21-19-40) from Toronto and Chris Prat (20-15-35) from New York. Those moves accounted for five of the top six scorers on this year's team.

"We couldn't be more pleased with all the guys we brought in," Silcott said. "We practiced what we preached in terms of speed and we'll try to get even faster. We think that's the way to win in this league."

Silcott has another ace up his sleeve. He owns Syracuse's first pick in this September's entry draft. The Smash finished last again so, barring league expansion, that means he'll have his pick of the litter.

Priceless originals

The two remaining original Bandits - 31-year-old, nine-year veterans John Tavares and Rich Kilgour - both had great seasons in their own ways. Tavares (34-49-83) won the league MVP award and had perhaps his steadiest season. He also smiled a lot more than he had in '99.

"I'd have to say that I'm a bit surprised we did this well," Tavares said. "Last year, we were unsure of what we were coming into. This year a lot of guys established themselves and got a lot of confidence in the process."

Kilgour (4-9-13) emerged as a defensive specialist and was the glue that held the team together.

"I hope everyone realizes what a great young team we've built here," Kilgour said. "All the pieces are there."

Taking back the fort

The team made HSBC Arena "our house" again. A year after losing five of six, the Bandits flip-flopped and went 5-1 there in the regular season.

Concerns

It wasn't Shangri-La all season; the Bandits did lose five times. Here's what needs work:

• Buffalo often dug itself early holes, 5-0 at Toronto before a big rally; 9-1 against Rochester in the regular season and 8-1 against the Knighthawks in the playoffs. "One of the biggest faults of our team is that we couldn't seem to put four good quarters together," Accursi said. "We'd always put three or two and maybe be able to squeak out a win. Against the better teams, you have to put four good quarters together."
   
• Team defense was lacking. Buffalo scored more than anybody else but only Syracuse surrendered more. Starting goaltender Matt Disher had his moments but sometimes got very little help from his friends. The Bandits were intent on outscoring their foes. When they ran into a hot goaltender, they were in trouble.
   
• The Bandits can build it, but will they come back? Though the product was much-improved, home attendance wasn't. The Bandits, who sold out most every home game as recently as 1997, ranked fourth out of eight with an average crowd of 8,186, up only 80 people per game from '99. "We want to get that up to around 12,000," Silcott said. "It's something for us to shoot for."