Tiger93

Charleston wasn't even very good last year and they were still a handful when we played them both times. I completely agree on Kelsey. Hofstra was good last year, but I felt like their style played right into the hands of our time (probably a long way of saying we could light up their defense). I always worry about Delaware, and obviously for good reason based on last year. It sounds like Monmouth lost almost everything from last year, but King Rice has done a solid job at times with that program. I still view Stony Brook as a solid program too. I think one of those two teams (likely Stony Brook) will be right around that UNC-Wilmington mix area you predicted. However, I am prepared to be completely wrong since I am basing most of my thoughts on overall program quality and not what they actually on the roster this year.

Three Man Weave did a quick-hitting Mid-Major podcast (episode 270). Along the lines of what TuTigers2012 said a little while back they ripped the new additions to the conference and probably overrated the departure of James Madison in hoops (although I had forgotten they beat Virginia, as did Navy). They also mentioned Towson as finishing 45 spots higher than anyone in our conference last year in Ken Pom (we were 75 and Hofstra was 120), and that we were part of a rare group of teams that had the best offensive and defensive efficiency in our conference. Much like us they talked about it being a big disappointment that we didn't win the conference tournament and said this year should be our year. They mentioned Hofstra and Delaware being in the mix again, and were wondering how lucky UNC-Wilmington was last year and if they could replicate what they did. For me, leaving out College of Charleston in that conversation seemed a little odd because I am frightened of what Pat Kelsey can do with this team in year two, but it was a 2-3 minute quick conversation. I also still believe that Stony Brook and Monmouth are better hoops programs than they are getting credit for. Of course, they both seem like they lost enough that they might be regrouping this year. Personally, I just have a hard time believing they won't at least be tough road opponents (we have to go to Long Island to face Stony Brook). Finally, at the end of the podcast they were going over their list of top 5-6 mid-major teams in the nation. They named other teams, and towards the very end one of them chimed in informally "I might put Towson somewhere on that list". That is all. I just figured I would share.

Towson is one of the remaining 10 undefeated teams in the nation. Oddly enough Hampton, who we play this week, is one of those 10 but is 3-0 against a pretty easy schedule. https://www.ncaa.com/stats/volleyball-women/d1/current/team/51

I had meant to watch this match, but didn't get home until the fourth set. It was impressive that after Pittsburgh pushed back in the third set Towson just took over the middle to late stages of the fourth to close out the match. Like you said, it felt like Pittsburgh could not figure out a way top stop Barrett. It also felt like we were finding many different ways to either quickly beat their block, hit around it or hit through it with clever shots. Also, as you mentioned our block was impressive as well. Very exciting to get that win and in the same day beat a very solid American team. Winning the conference has become the standard this program has set, but to beat a top 10 team really raises the bar. Of course, we will probably always get sent to Penn State if we make the NCAA Tournament because there is an imbalance of home sites not being represented in our region, and the committee tries to keep costs down and is lazy. Would love to repeat our 2019 undefeated conference record, but I realize that is a lot easier said then done. The challenge will be keeping up this consistently high level in conference play and being ready for the conference tournament. The good news is a win like this (and possibly the wins over Rutgers and American) might put our RPI in a spot where if we lose a couple of matches the NCAA Tournament could still be in play. I am still very exciting to see how this program builds off this huge victory.

Very solid article. Good to see some of the other team write-ups and expectations with some detail. The concern the writer raises about Sylla is a valid one. From the clips I watched on video (not that I am any sort of expert), the same lack of perimeter game jumped out to me and obviously it is easier to score at that size at D2 than D1. I still think he will be a very solid player, but when I hear D2 Player of the Year it feels like a transformational impact player and Sylla feels more like a solid piece to round us out. That still probably works, but just worth noting from an expectation standpoint. Mat, I believe you have been saying since he announced he was coming to Towson, but Conway feels like the potential transformational piece. However, I do agree with some of who have expressed concerns about the layoff. This team will be good. I am just wondering if we are fighting for the top spot in the conference and hoping to get there good, or if all of long suffering fans could finally witness a team good enough to emphatically win a conference crown. Feels like the first one, but that is why I am looking forward to having the season start to answer some of the questions. Let's hope football can do well, and get the ball rolling in a good direction to get us primed and ready for a strong hoops season (I do realize one has nothing to do with each other, just we be nice to get the positive vibes started early).

Fair enough, but I would point out that we were in position to be seeded No. 13 or 14 last year if we had made the tournament, and Lunardi's bracketology has us at No. 13 projected going into the year. If people who know nothing about our school and conference can project us there, I certainly don't think it is unrealistic. Also, if we are not beating quality non-conference opponents and playing really well in conference play I actually will have less confidence we will make the NCAA Tournament. These things are all connected. I will continue to point out the limiting viewpoint of the NCAA Tournament or bust mentality. I am more focused on making what happened last year more of the norm, and developing the mentality to breakthrough and make it to the NCAA Tournament. Was the .500 being goal a response to my comment or a general one, because I didn't ever say only .500 was a goal? I personally would like to us assert ourselves and win a regular-season title comfortably, but out off all the goals I listed that might be the most unrealistic based on the fact that it is not the way we roll and with Monmouth and Stony Brook this conference has probably gotten quite a big more competitive. Of course, getting to a conference tournament final feels like the toughest accomplishment since we haven't done it since 1992 I believe. My main point is if Skerry wins 20+ games, has us in the NET top 80 and wins a regular-season title this year, but does not make the NCAA Tournament I will not be calling to replace him. Year-to-year program quality is what we are aiming for, and while the NCAA Tournament is ultimately part of that I will have faith that if we keep enhancing our reputation and raising the level of play as we started doing last year we will get there. More importantly than the NCAA Tournament is that we all look forward to watching this team play every year and have teams that can realistically win conference titles (and have an NCAA Tournament berth as possibility) on an annual basis. It won't happen every year, but last year should be closer to the norm not an aberration. That being said, I will be just as gutted as the rest of you if we have a year like last year and can't finish it off with a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament is the main goal, but my checklist for the year would be: 1) Win at least nine games in non-conference play 2) Beat at least one of Northern Iowa, Clemson or UMass (who should be a lot better this year under Frank Martin) 3) Finish in the top 80 of the NET ranking (preferably top 60) 4) Win a second regular-season title (and try to do it in a somewhat dominant fashion) 5) Make the finals of the conference tournament (since we haven't done that since 1992) 6) Make the NCAA Tournament I realize No. 6 is the main goal, but these other checkmarks are part of the journey of a successful season. I would be ecstatic if we made the NCAA Tournament and will celebrate it with everyone else here, but frankly I would be disappointed if we made the tournament as 15 or 16 (I know beggars can't be choosers) and got crushed. I think it is important to beat good teams to build experience to gain confidence in those situations, build a good resume to give ourselves a shot to be decently seeded if we can make the tournament, and try to establish some dominance in the conference. Frankly, I think having the NCAA Tournament be the only thing that defines success is short-sighted, but yes like the rest of you it will be a disappointment if we don't make it. We started hitting a lot of checkmarks of being a successful program last year, but obviously missed the big one. I think we need to hold our program to the standard that all these things should be expected and the more checkmarks we hit during the year the better shot we have of being ready to achieve our goal of the making the NCAA Tournament, and who knows maybe winning a game. That is the way we should be thinking.

Always good to win a road tournament no matter where it is, and especially to sweep all three teams. That Pittsburgh tournament will be a good barometer of just how special this team is this year. It is amazing that this program is 30-4 in conference play since 2019. Looking forward to seeing how the build on what they have already accomplished.

Still weird to see NC A&T and Hampton on a conference schedule. For some reason Monmouth and Stony Brook seem more natural. In Stony Brook's case because they are already on the football schedule, and in Monmouth they just seem like a natural fit for the conference. I do think NC A&T will be good for football. Overall, this is pretty solid schedule and I do agree that UNC-W and Charleston is a tough way to finish.

Are they still actively looking for one more matchup, or is it pretty close to finalized and we just haven't heard yet?

Does that give us a full non-conference schedule, or is there one more game to fill?

Good list. I might flip 6 and 7, but it is pretty close. I was looking back at best single seasons every by a Towson running back and clearly Terrance West's 2013 season was the gold standard. West's 2011 season vs. Vinson's 1993 season is an interesting conversation, but I think West would probably have to get the edge with the 29 touchdowns and playoff appearance (although I still think the 1993 team got robbed of a bid because they were independent, after beating Delaware head-to-head and watching them make it). One thing that stood out like a sore thumb is that we haven't had a 1,000-yard back since 2015 and running the ball has been our team identity when we did it well. Jerry Howard came the closes last year at 932 yards. I am just judging by pure numbers, but there are some fun conversations about next best seasons. Here is the list I put together, but it just takes into account the stats and not the season's results, receiving stats or anything else. I am sure I am missing some aspects, but tried to capture as much as I could. Thank you Mat for provoking these conversations. It is fun to look at this stuff. 1. 2013 Terrance West - 413 carries, 2,509 yards, 41 TDS, 6.08 yards per carry, 157 yards per game 2. 2011 Terrance West - 194 carries, 1,294, 29 TDS, 6.67 yards per carry, 118 yards per game (always strange to remember that the first couple games West was still being worked in as the top back) 3. 1993 Tony Vinson - 293 carries, 2,016 yards, 23 TDs, 6.88 yards per carry, 202 yards per game (this was the most yards per carry that I found of these seasons. I am biased because I watched this one with my own eyes while I was in college, but an awful weather/performance game at Hofstra derailed this season. As did the homecoming game to Howard, which is still one of the greatest college football games I have watched, despite the awful result) 4. 2014 Darius Victor - 250 carries, 1,305 yards, 12 TDS, 5.22 yards per carry, 109 yards per game (things started to get a little bunched starting at 4) 5. 1994 Brian McCarty - 188 carries, 1,005 yards, 16 TDs, 5.95 yards per carry, 100.5 yards per game (I only included 1,000 yard seasons and double-figure TDs, I know the yards are a little light, but the runs per carry and TDs were impressive, and again this is a season I watched as a student so I may be biased) 6. 2000 Noah Reed - 297 carries, 1,422 yards, 14 TDs, 4.79 yards per carry, 129 yards per game (this could very easily be No. 4, but as much as he is rewarded being an absolute bulldog and having third-most carries in school history, I dropped one or two spots for the yards per carry) 7. 2012 Terrance West - 195 carries, 1,046 yards, 14 TDs, 5.36 yards per carry, 105 yards per game (This is a tough season to judge, because we played two games FBS competition (LSU and Kent State), and West did well against LSU but no one showed up for the Kent State game) 8. 2015 Darius Victor - 207 carries, 1,021 yards, 15 TDs, 4.93 yards per carry, 93 yards per game (I put this eighth because of the 15 TDs, but every other metric would probably have it at 9th) 9. 1995 Larry Washington - 205 carries, 1,101 yards, 12 TDs, 5.37 yards per carry, 110 yards per game (I believe we played pretty weak competition during this transition year before we joined the Patriot League, but this list could shift around pretty dramatically if I took level of competition into account) 10. 1998 Jason Corle - 236 carries, 1,073 yards, 11 TD, 4.55 yards per carry, 98 yards per game (this was down lower because of the yards per carry)

By the way, thank you for putting these together. It is a fun read. Players from my college days like Stevie Thomas, Ralph Blalock, Scooter Alexander and John James are always fun to discuss and compare to the players who have come along since. That Big South era was a blur, but it also our best regular-season basketball until some of the Skerry years. Especially taking into account our regular-season conference play success. I am often trying to think in my head of the best Towson teams of the era since I have been around (1993-now). While we were going through the run last year, I was comparing the 1993-94 squad to the 2013-14 and 2021-22 teams. I also really liked the personnel and the way the 2012-13 team was playing at the end of the year even though their record was not comparable to some of the better teams. I would think the two NCAA Teams would be our gold standards of the D-1 era.

I agree about Stevie settling for the free-throw jumper way too much, but athletically and talent-wise he was every bit as capable as a lot of those guys higher on the list. He also played on a better team where other guys did the scoring. Overall, your ranking is probably right but Thomas had a ton of upside. As for 1994-95 season, I stated incorrectly that Towson was ineligible for postseason play. There was just no automatic bid for the Big South that had something to do with all of the teams leaving the next year (I believe). We were a very unmotivated team in conference play that year for that reason. Like you said, part of the reason we redshirted Scooter was to make a run in the NAC in our first year. I do know Charleston Southern won the conference tournament and did not play in the NCAA Tournament.

These rankings seem about right, but I think context of what type of team these guys played on could move a few guys up and down. I feel like skill-wise Stevie Thomas could be as high as fifth or sixth on this list, but in 1993-94 Scooter Alexander and Ralph Blalock did most of the scoring and John James took some of his rebounding numbers. His numbers were 11 ppg and 7.5 rpg when James was gone and Alexander redshirted in 1994-95. Of course, if he was better maybe that team could have been better. Towson was ineligible for postseason that year and it felt like there was some motivation missing that year. The next year Alexander and Blalock were both there again as was transfer Matt Dellinger, which took away some of his rebounds. Him and Dellinger had some knock down, drag out battles with Malik Rose and co. when Drexel beat us three times, but I do remember Rose getting a lot of touch foul calls in that matchup. That being said, Drexel was clearly the better team. He also had some good battles with Tunji Awojobi that year as well. In Thomas' four years, Towson finished first in the Big South twice (of course we choked in the tournament), went 67-43 overall and 36-22 in conference play (held back by the crappy 6-10 year in the Big South in 1994-95). I am probably looking at this through the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia, but I will always stick up for John James and Stevie Thomas being very underrated historically. Although, I will say the most frustrating part about Thomas is it always felt like he settled for outside shots and could do more inside. It felt like he had the potential to be even better than he was.

We had a pretty solid strength of schedule last year that helped boost our NET ranking. Ohio State, San Francisco, Monmouth, Pittsburgh (not good, but we tried), New Mexico (not good, but we tried), UNC Greensboro (not as the past, but usually very good), Kent State and Penn made up a solid schedule, and the fact that Navy was in the 60s in the RPI when we played them helped quite a bit too. I do think sometimes we have to be willing to swallow our pride and just go play a road game with no return against one or two good teams. I know 2020-21 was an awful year, but we did play Virginia, San Francisco, Buffalo and had Iona and Maryland on the schedule before COVID cancellations. At least the last two years Skerry has tried hard to create a challenge schedule. I expect this one to round and be decent when all is said and done. When we were playing non-D1 teams on top of all the locals in previous years that certainly made for a soft underbelly of the schedule. This Savannah tournament has the potential to have some pretty good opponents or some lousy ones depend on the matchup. I feel like we should always play Loyola, UMBC and Navy. It also feels like one of Coppin State and Morgan State should be on the schedule even though it is usually a low RPI game. I don't like playing both. I would also swap out one of the first three if Maryland would ever put us back on the schedule. I also like when we play either George Mason or George Washington, although both have not been very good recently.

Looks like they used their regular starting pitchers. Their RPI was in the 50s last week, which is a longshot to make the tournament, but I can't imagine that they would want to damage by not trying against the last-place team in the league.

Funny that we had only won two games in the conference play all year going into last week's series against first place College of Charleston and then won two of three from CofC when they had only three conference losses coming into the series. They were sitting in the 50s in RPI and dropped about 10 spots after that result. Very disappointing baseball season for Towson overall and I wonder about the general direction of the program, but I do give them credit for playing hard to the last out of the season against a very good team.

I know this might sound silly, but I would not discount Stony Brook and Monmouth coming right in and being part of this mix. King Rice has done a pretty solid job with Monmouth (although he had kind of hit a bump in the round until last year) and Stony Brook has won 18 or more games in nine of the last 11 years. These teams are used to winning and I expect them to make this a tougher conference. My other worry is trying to somehow making our trip to the NCAA Tournament before Pat Kelsey really gets things going at College of Charleston. I feel like it is only a matter of time before they become a perennial favorite in this league. They already are pretty solid and he is only in year two. The additions for football didn't really up the quality of basketball, and honestly I am not sure what NC A&T and Hampton do in hoops. However, I feel like Monmouth and Stony Brook definitely make this a tough hoops conference.

With social media, the NIL stuff and the wild west of the transfer portal I actually don't blame these players for changing their mind every other minute. Like you said with Zane, he moved on for what he thought were greener pastures and others have done that too. If Cam did that, I would have tipped my hat thanked him for a great year last season. I hope he is happy and can have another All-Conference season. As Bay Area said, there are a lot of things coming at these players, and they end up not only managing their skillset/playing careers but also their public images on social media platforms.

Weird, but great news! Holden is free to do what he wants with his career and I am not going to criticize him either way. However, what I never understood is it felt like Towson was always a great fit for him and he was great fit for us. Now that he is back everyone can put their full effort into having another successful regular-season and finally getting to the NCAA Tournament!

Again, I think the best news about this is that Skerry actually did a pretty solid job of getting some good transfers to come to replace the three from last year. It sucks that we have to continually do this, but that is the game of the transfer portal and at least Skerry understands it and is working hard to address it. Mat, it does seem like the upside of Conway is the big factor here. That is a long layoff, but as you said it also gives him type to get more physically ready and hopefully battling with Big East caliber players day-to-day in practice is an experience he can benefit from. Just like a lot of transfers, we won't really know until we see it play out on the court. I am really interested with the experiment to see how what I interpret as a physical tweener who dominated D-2 (Sylla) translates to the CAA. It feels like it should go well, but it is obviously another wait and see. I would say 1.5 of the transfers worked out last year. Holden was obviously great, but I definitely agree he faded down the stretch a little. Still, I appreciate what he did for this program no matter what the future holds for him. Terry Nolan Jr. struggled with the respiratory issues, but when he was on the game he made such an intangible different for the team. Even the games he did not play well, just having on the court with his quickness and point guard skills really change the way he played. I would probably say half successful because even though he made such a huge different he missed a lot of time and his struggles down the stretch were a big reason we didn't get over the hump against Delaware. You can't put it all on one person, but he really struggled to do the great things he did during season in the conference tournament. Completely agree on Rizzuto. I was very disappointed with Paar, but there is a small part of me that holds out hope that there were some factors holding him back last year and he can make a jump. He has the physicality to be successful and found himself in position to make some plays a lot, he just got in so much foul trouble and always seemed rushed. If he can slow the game down and stay out of foul trouble, I think he could be very solid. I am not giving up on him, because he did seem to bring a positive attitude even with all of the struggles.

This is probably oversimplifying things, but seems like it is fair to say: Ryan Conway replaces Terry Nolan Jr. Sekou Sylla replaces Cam Holden Nygal Russell replaces Antonio Rizzuto Overall, it is probably a step back because last year's transfers came in with some serious qualifications in terms of past all-conference honors. Although an argument could made that D-2 Player of the Year is more impressive than all-conference honors in the America East and maybe OVC. It will also be interesting to see what we can get with our last spot. Conway also seems to have as much or more talent, we just don't need what the transition will look like. Feels like Timberlake and Gibson are maxed out on what they can be, although Timberlake could probably be a slightly more consistent scorer (he was pretty solid last year and obviously was a First-Team All-Conference player). I won't assume Thompson has maxed out, because of the leap he made last year. Feels like maybe slight improvements in passing and ballhandling, and maybe extending the shooting range, but overall I am pretty happy with what he gave us last year. Feels like that leaves us with Paar needing to have a better year, Hicks need to continued quality development and the freshmen making an immediate impact being key elements to this being a quality team next year. Russell seems like a solid get. It feels like Conway and Sylla could have high ceilings, but hard to project based on shaking off rust and jump from D-2 to D-1 respectively. It is hard to expect transfer classes like last year every season. Skerry really struck gold, but I do think he is pretty solid at playing the transfer portal game.

That is a pretty solid list of potential suitors and honestly I can't fault Cam if he goes to a bigger more historically successful program. No matter what perceived or real slight might have happened with us we gave him a great opportunity to elevate his profile and he ran with it, and he helped guide us to one of the most successful seasons in school history (minus the actual NCAA Tournament berth we all crave). Win-win for both parties. I have less problem with transfers who leave for these types of opportunities even though it really sucks on our end. If people are getting better opportunities, I don't want to stop them. I would say that there should probably be a limit of two transfers at the most, because it gets kind of nonsensical and they may as well go switch overseas pro teams and get paid at that point (or adult-league teams if they aren't good enough or overseas or G-League).

I agree with all of the above. The table was set for Holden to have a great year. He really was a unicorn for Towson in the versatility he provided, and there were definitely some games where he willed us to wins. I can't fault these kids anymore for their decisions even when I don't like what they are doing. It is what it is. Mat, I didn't watch the Miami video because when I looked at the boxscore it looked like a game where no one even tried to play any defense. I did watch a decent amount of the video you posted from the regional final where Sylla's team got knocked out. Looked like a physical player who could get to his spot and score. I agree it is hard to judge shooting when it looked like he could get anywhere he wanted within 10-15 feet of the basket and score on most occasions. Feels like he can come in and be pretty good, but definitely would have enjoyed having him play with Cam. Seeing guys transfer in and out makes me appreciate Gibson, Thompson and Timberlake even more. The biggest joy I got out of last season was seeing the amazing evolution of Thompson's game, and I hope he can elevate his game even more. Such an easy player to root for. I also got a lot of joy out of the 4-5 or games when Timberlake was on fire. However, I know we need a lot more with those guys if we have aspirations to be successful. Any thoughts/rumors about what we might do with the last two spots? Seems like it has been pretty quiet since Sylla's addition.