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mat1992

General MBB 2023-24 thread

By mat1992, in Tiger Basketball

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mat1992    2,239

mat1992
Posted

The Sun on Tarke 

https://x.com/baltsunsports/status/1720171267397947478?s=46&t=nScacl1TWT-KyOwj5stBaw

Towson men’s basketball opens its season Monday, but it might have to face Colorado without one of its top players.

Shooting guard Nendah Tarke, who transferred from Coppin State, is still waiting for the NCAA to clear him to play this season. The obstacle revolves around Tarke’s earlier decision in mid-May to commit to Nicholls State before changing his mind in early June.

Tigers coach Pat Skerry said he remains positive that the NCAA will grant Tarke the waiver he needs to play.

“We’re still waiting,” he said Thursday afternoon during his team’s media day at TU Arena in Towson. “We haven’t gotten any negative news, and I’m entirely optimistic that we’re going to get there.”

Tarke — who was not made available for interviews — is expected to be a key contributor for Towson, which said farewell to four starters in shooting guards Nicolas Timberlake and Nygal Russell, small forward Cam Holden and point guard Ryan Conway.

Last winter at Coppin State, Tarke, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound redshirt junior, averaged 12.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 32 games, including 31 starts, and was voted to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference All-Defensive team for the second consecutive year.


In three seasons with the Eagles, Tarke racked up 1,025 points (a 12.2 average), 502 rebounds (6.0), 182 steals (2.2) and 175 assists (2.1).

“He’s really a good potential fit for what we don’t do,” Skerry said. “He does a little bit of everything. He can guard, he can pass, he can get to the glass, he can cut, he can get rebounds. You can mix him in a lot of different lineups, which I think is going to be the strength of this group. So he only enhances us.”

When Coppin State fired coach Juan Dixon on March 15, Tarke entered the transfer portal and eventually chose Nicholls State over Loyola Chicago, Rutgers and South Alabama. But a health scare to his 60-year-old mother Elizabeth forced Tarke to reconsider, and after decommitting from Nicholls State, he chose the Tigers over interest from Iona, Pittsburgh and Rutgers.

NCAA transfer rules prohibit a player from transferring to two programs in the same offseason; sitting out one season is the penalty. But Towson officials submitted documentation in the past few months arguing that Tarke did not enroll at Nicholls State or practice with any players or coaches there.

 
The situation is reminiscent of what North Carolina junior wide receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker endured in September. Walker, a transfer from Kent State who cited his mental health for the basis of his application for a waiver, had been denied eligibility by the NCAA, which drew heated reaction from football coach Mack Brown, athletic director Bubba Cunningham and chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz.

On Oct. 5, the NCAA reversed course and granted Walker eligibility after saying it had “received new information” that was not “made available by UNC previously.” The organization also took the unusual step of criticizing the Tar Heels for their handling of the situation.

Skerry isn’t ready to go that far. He is simply eager for some word from the NCAA.

“This isn’t like bowling or archery. You’re trying to put a team together,” he said. “So yeah, we’re trying to treat him like a guy coming off a sprained ankle or a concussion or something.”

Tarke is still practicing with the Tigers and will travel with them to Colorado. If he is frustrated by the NCAA’s snail-like movement, he hasn’t shown it, according to graduate student power forward Charles Thompson.

“I don’t know if he’s just really good at hiding his emotions or something, but it just seems like it’s another day for him,” said Thompson, who knows Tarke from their high school playing days when the former suited up for St. Stephens & St. Agnes in Northern Virginia and the latter represented Bullis in Montgomery County. “He’s just really happy to be here.”

Skerry said Dixon attended a Towson practice a couple of weeks ago at his invitation and gave Skerry some advice on coaching Tarke.

“He told me, ‘You’ve got to jump on him a little more,’ and I said, ‘I haven’t totally jumped on him a lot because I feel for him,’” Skerry said. “It’s not easy to show up every day and work hard. He’s a kid. So I do feel for him.”

Season opener

Towson at Colorado

Monday, 7:30 p.m.

TV: Pac-12 Network

 

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TSU88    1,074

TSU88
Posted
52 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Any idea on how to “watch” mondays game on pac 12 net?

I’ll be there in person 

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