Evaluation of the postseason

[mat1992 2,237]

Finished at 20-14 and 13-8 in the CAA counting the tournament. Probably a tad better than I thought they'd finish. In the CAA Tournament, I thought we saw the future in three strong freshmen and then many questions after that. Charles Thompson gave what he had but it's time to move on. He also was suspended for the first half of the W&M game, had a Flagrant foul that was shaky against UNCW and then fouled out against Charleston. That Ante Brzovic dunk that basically won the game and was a huge mistake (apparently made by Sulaiman not helping out) was partially due to CT not being on the floor. He directed everyone and knew where to be.

I'm not going to destroy these kids because I know they played hard and are feeling like crap after this loss. But facts are facts. This is a business now. Some are getting NIL money even if it's small or just bagels or whatever. Yes, I'm not saying the coach is not responsible for all of this, in terms of recruiting, gameplan, development, end of games coaching. Of course, he's culpable.

*Christian May came into this tournament as the leading scorer. He had two decent shooting games against UNCW and NC A&T on the road (6-of-15 3pt) after going 1 for his last 14 from 3pt. In three games in the CAA Tournament, he went 1 for 9 from 3 point range and the one banked in. He did not take a 3 against UNCW, but also shot just 5 for 17 from the field in three games. Took just 17 shots in around 28 minutes per game.

*Dylan Williamson. Breakout star for Towson. For some reason, didn't get to the FT line against Charleston and that hurt because he was 17-for-17 from the line in two games. He went from around 62% from the line to 68%. He averaged around 15 points in three games. He made 11 of 28 from the field and 7 of 13 from the three-point line with five assists and two turnovers.

*Tyler Tejada shot 11 of 27 from the field and 5 of 14 from beyond the arc with 10 rebounds. Not great numbers but was certainly aggressive and scored 31 points in three games. Had 16 against Charleston in the semis.

*Nendah Tarke had an erratic season and that continued in the tournament when he scored 29 points in two games, but went 0-8 when it mattered against Charleston, Wound up going 9 for 31 overall and 2 for 13 from 3-point range. Also 9 for 14 from the line. Did not get to the line against Charleston. Had just three assists in three games with seven turnovers. In his last eight games, he went 5 of 31 from three-point range.

*Tomiwa Sulaiman started out with 12 points against W&M and then started the next two games and scored just three points. He was 3 for 3 from three-point range so you'd think they'd try to get him one or two looks against Charleston but no. He shot 6 of 9 from the field, but had just seven rebounds in three games. Assuming he returns, needs to improve on the boards, but he's a role player. 

*Messiah Jones scored just eight points in three games on four of 12 from the field and took no three-point shots even though he shot 39.3% from beyond the arc, small sample size at 11 of 28, but that was the best mark on the team. Had seven rebounds in the semifinals and 12 in three games. 

*Charles Thompson should not be included here since he's gone, but he was decent in this tournament scoring 32 points on 11 of 16 shooting. Also 10 of 13 from the line though he missed two FTs against Charleston. Had 17 rebounds in three games, seven assists and three blocks. He should have had more attempts in the paint.

*Mekhi Lowery's impact on this team can't be judged by numbers. Defensively, he was everywhere with four blocks and two steals. Scored 10 points and that was in the UNCW game. Was 5 of 7 from the field. So took just one shot in the other two games.

[TSU88 1,073]

22 minutes ago, mat1992 said:

Finished at 20-14 and 13-8 in the CAA counting the tournament. Probably a tad better than I thought they'd finish. In the CAA Tournament, I thought we saw the future in three strong freshmen and then many questions after that. Charles Thompson gave what he had but it's time to move on. He also was suspended for the first half of the W&M game, had a Flagrant foul that was shaky against UNCW and then fouled out against Charleston. That Ante Brzovic dunk that basically won the game and was a huge mistake (apparently made by Sulaiman not helping out) was partially due to CT not being on the floor. He directed everyone and knew where to be.

I'm not going to destroy these kids because I know they played hard and are feeling like crap after this loss. But facts are facts. This is a business now. Some are getting NIL money even if it's small or just bagels or whatever. Yes, I'm not saying the coach is not responsible for all of this, in terms of recruiting, gameplan, development, end of games coaching. Of course, he's culpable.

*Christian May came into this tournament as the leading scorer. He had two decent shooting games against UNCW and NC A&T on the road (6-of-15 3pt) after going 1 for his last 14 from 3pt. In three games in the CAA Tournament, he went 1 for 9 from 3 point range and the one banked in. He did not take a 3 against UNCW, but also shot just 5 for 17 from the field in three games. Took just 17 shots in around 28 minutes per game.

*Dylan Williamson. Breakout star for Towson. For some reason, didn't get to the FT line against Charleston and that hurt because he was 17-for-17 from the line in two games. He went from around 62% from the line to 68%. He averaged around 15 points in three games. He made 11 of 28 from the field and 7 of 13 from the three-point line with five assists and two turnovers.

*Tyler Tejada shot 11 of 27 from the field and 5 of 14 from beyond the arc with 10 rebounds. Not great numbers but was certainly aggressive and scored 31 points in three games. Had 16 against Charleston in the semis.

*Nendah Tarke had an erratic season and that continued in the tournament when he scored 29 points in two games, but went 0-8 when it mattered against Charleston, Wound up going 9 for 31 overall and 2 for 13 from 3-point range. Also 9 for 14 from the line. Did not get to the line against Charleston. Had just three assists in three games with seven turnovers. In his last eight games, he went 5 of 31 from three-point range.

*Tomiwa Sulaiman started out with 12 points against W&M and then started the next two games and scored just three points. He was 3 for 3 from three-point range so you'd think they'd try to get him one or two looks against Charleston but no. He shot 6 of 9 from the field, but had just seven rebounds in three games. Assuming he returns, needs to improve on the boards, but he's a role player. 

*Messiah Jones scored just eight points in three games on four of 12 from the field and took no three-point shots even though he shot 39.3% from beyond the arc, small sample size at 11 of 28, but that was the best mark on the team. Had seven rebounds in the semifinals and 12 in three games. 

*Charles Thompson should not be included here since he's gone, but he was decent in this tournament scoring 32 points on 11 of 16 shooting. Also 10 of 13 from the line though he missed two FTs against Charleston. Had 17 rebounds in three games, seven assists and three blocks. He should have had more attempts in the paint.

*Mekhi Lowery's impact on this team can't be judged by numbers. Defensively, he was everywhere with four blocks and two steals. Scored 10 points and that was in the UNCW game. Was 5 of 7 from the field. So took just one shot in the other two games.

Good analysis. I might catch some flak for this, but what the hell…yes, we won 20 games, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that 3 of those wins were over Concordia (no, maybe it was Arcadia. Concordia is my dental insurance); UMBC & Coppin. 

Let’s also keep in mind that our record vs the top 4 teams in the CAA (C of C, Hofstra, Drexel and UNCW) was a pedestrian 4-4. 

Other than DWill, the offensive stats in the tournament for the players who might be back next season are sobering. While I don’t know this for a fact, my assumption is we may not have enough assets to bring in an impact player via the portal. If we’re going to bring in more Sylla’s, Sulaiman’s, Rizzuto’s, Russell’s, then there’s not much hope. 

2 questions as I see it: (1) can Skerry bring in any impact transfers; (2) can this coaching staff develop the players who are going to return? My opinion on these questions, based on the last 13 years, is probably obvious 

 

 

[mat1992 2,237]

6 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

Good analysis. I might catch some flak for this, but what the hell…yes, we won 20 games, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that 3 of those wins were over Concordia (no, maybe it was Arcadia. Concordia is my dental insurance); UMBC & Coppin. 

Let’s also keep in mind that our record vs the top 4 teams in the CAA (C of C, Hofstra, Drexel and UNCW) was a pedestrian 4-4. 

Other than DWill, the offensive stats in the tournament for the players who might be back next season are sobering. While I don’t know this for a fact, my assumption is we may not have enough assets to bring in an impact player via the portal. If we’re going to bring in more Sylla’s, Sulaiman’s, Rizzuto’s, Russell’s, then there’s not much hope. 

2 questions as I see it: (1) can Skerry bring in any impact transfers; (2) can this coaching staff develop the players who are going to return? My opinion on these questions, based on the last 13 years, is probably obvious 

 

 

I have no problem playing a few locals a year. Who cares if they suck? It's not our fault. I'm not into asterisks. We were a pretty good team but not good enough.  Arcadia or whatever is just a school we don't need to play even if nearly every mid-major does it. About the only thing it's good for is the deep bench, but we already play about 10 players.

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

We need NIL money to land any significant transfers going forward.  They aren’t coming to play for Pat knowing their stats will shrink playing in this offense.  
I pray our trio stays but I’m gonna assume we lose at least of one of them as they want to move up the ranks.  We had that game tonight and we let them off the ropes.   

[TSU88 1,073]

6 minutes ago, Bay Area Tiger said:

We need NIL money to land any significant transfers going forward.  They aren’t coming to play for Pat knowing their stats will shrink playing in this offense.  
I pray our trio stays but I’m gonna assume we lose at least of one of them as they want to move up the ranks.  We had that game tonight and we let them off the ropes.   

I wasn’t worried about Williamson possibly bolting, that is until he avg’d 15 or so ppg in the tournament. Hopefully, people don’t start whispering in his ear that he’s too good to stay here. Same concern with Tejada; not so much as to Lowery.

The concerning part, aside from our “coach for life,” is that that our limited NIL has to be split two ways: (1) to buy portal players; and (2) to retain existing players. 

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

8 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

I wasn’t worried about Williamson possibly bolting, that is until he avg’d 15 or so ppg in the tournament. Hopefully, people don’t start whispering in his ear that he’s too good to stay here. Same concern with Tejada; not so much as to Lowery.

The concerning part, aside from our “coach for life,” is that that our limited NIL has to be split two ways: (1) to buy portal players; and (2) to retain existing players. 

Jevon Porter of Pepperdine would be the ultimate get with his family ties to the NBA and his scoring ability but that’s not gonna happen.  We tried the D2 route but haven’t gotten lucky yet.  You gotta mix up the coaching staff and add a coach with some sort of recruiting chops up his sleeve.  

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

12 hours ago, Bay Area Tiger said:

We need NIL money to land any significant transfers going forward.  They aren’t coming to play for Pat knowing their stats will shrink playing in this offense.  
I pray our trio stays but I’m gonna assume we lose at least of one of them as they want to move up the ranks.  We had that game tonight and we let them off the ropes.   

You can play and win a style where individual stats aren’t great, especially at the mid major level (see our opponent last night) but when you either hold the ball and not get a shot or have a selfish guard go 1 on 3 and air ball numerous layups and brick 27 footers it’s tough 

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

Our official theme song as Towson 🏀🐯 diehards fanatics!

Edited March 12 by Bay Area Tiger

[TSU88 1,073]

49 minutes ago, Bay Area Tiger said:

Our official theme song as Towson 🏀🐯 diehards fanatics!

Ain’t nothing washing away the pain of last night. A whole jug of Tide detergent wouldn’t be enough