Jerome Benimon is a leading candidate for CAA Player of the Year. (photo courtsey of Towson Athletics)

After Towson got off to a 3-2 start, I haven’t written too much or focused too much on them exceeding the win total of last year.  It was obvious early on this season that Towson was much better, and the talent level on the two teams wasn’t even close to comparable.  However, before the 2011-12 season is completely put in the rearview mirror, there is another statistical oddity the bears mentioning. 

When Towson lost to VCU on Jan 25, 2012, it set an NCAA record for 41 consecutive losses. A victory in the next outing at home against UNCW ended the streak.  If Towson wins its final two games—tonight at George Mason and Saturday at home against Hofstra—it will set another NCAA record. This time it would be a record on the opposite end of the spectrum.  A final record of 18-13 would signify a 17.5 game improvement over last year.  The current record for biggest improvement in one year is 17 games, accomplished by Mercer in the 2002-03 season, and UTEP in the 2003-04 season.  However, one thing should be pointed out about those teams.  They both were “good enough” to win six games in the season before their turnarounds. Neither Mercer or UTEP, were considered among the worst teams in Division I during those seasons.   Towson’s talent level last year arguably was not near as good as either of those teams, and as a result suffered several large defeats, despite playing with a hard effort every night.  They just did not have the talent level as most other teams in the CAA.

Coach Pat Skerry has led the Tigers in record turnaround (photo courtsey of Towson Athletics)

This year’s Bryant University squad is currently at a 17 game improvement over last year.  There is a notable fact on Bryant as well.  It is a recent reclassification into Division I, and played last season with many players that were recruited when the school was Division II, but played against a largely Division I schedule. 

Tiger head coach Pat Skerry, has been asked often this year about the difference between this year’s team and last year’s squad. He has answered it the same way every time by saying “we’ve got better players.”  Earlier in the year, he wouldn’t put too much attention on how much better this year’s team was or how much more it could accomplish than last years.  However, for the first time after Saturday’s victory over Drexel, he allowed a bit of reflection on how much this year’s team has accomplished. “I do every day—think about it—with the staff, but I probably don’t say it to these guys—players—as I want them to focus on the process.  I know what we can really become a year from now.  I told the kids before the game. We’ve only got a week left, and the NCAA and CAA can take away our post season.  But nobody can take away the next 40 minutes, nobody can take away our game Tuesday against George Mason.  I’ve said it all year, and it’s not just coach speak, I’ve got great respect and appreciation for these kids. They’ve done a great job all year.”

Junior transfer and leading scorer Jerrelle Benimon sat out last year during the 1-31 season, but practiced with the team every day, even though many of those players are no longer here.  Even though he is aware of the great turnaround, he thinks it could have been even better. “We’re obviously having a great season. But honestly it could have been better, we lost some games we probably shouldn’t have.  We’re in second right now—in the CAA—so I don’t think you could ask for too much more” was his reply when asked his thoughts on the season.  He is correct, the Tigers could already have locked up the largest turnaround, if they had beaten UMBC and Coppin State.  Combined both of those teams have a record of 12-43 on the season. Towson’s losses to those teams were in mid December when Benimon was the only consistent scoring threat for the Tigers. 

Since the beginning of CAA play, Towson has five players averaging in double figures.  They have become a much harder team to defend with that balance. 

Benimon referenced the second place standing in CAA play.  Towson’s 11 wins in the CAA are the most conference wins it has had since joining the CAA in the 2000-01 season.  Towson has beaten every team in the CAA this year except first place Northeastern University and George Mason.  The Tigers will have a chance to remove the Patriots from that list later tonight. 

Junior Marcus Damas has been the Tigers best defender all season.

As mentioned earlier, and has been much discussed this year, Towson will not be able to play in the CAA tournament.  Because they are ineligible for the NCAA tournament, due to a low APR during the years before Skerry’s arrival, the CAA has declared them ineligible to play in the CAA tournament in two weeks in Richmond.  The CAA does not want to take a chance on having a team that is NCAA ineligible win the conference tournament and in the process cost the league its only bid to the tournament.

With Towson being picked 10^th out of 11 teams in the CAA Pre-Season poll, winning the conference tournament may have seemed like a long shot chance. Towson would be a very tough out in the tournament and would have as good of chance to win it as any team in the conference.  When asked about how tough Towson would have been to beat in the tournament, a few of the CAA coaches said are only concerned about the teams that will be there. 

 However, whether they admit it or not, you can bet the fact that Towson is not making the bus ride down to Richmond has many coaches breathing a sigh of relief regardless of the teams that are there. 

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 Yet despite all that, the 6’2” freshman has been counted on to put all the pieces together, as the Tigers looked to improve vastly on last year’s record.   Coach Pat Skerry has stuck with Hairston the entire season, while he has learned the point guard position at the college level.  He might not have as many assists and may have more turnovers than a coach would like from the point guard. However, he has provided a spark on both offense and defense at key times during the season.

However, none of those obstacles compare with what Hairston faced this week.  He found out on Wednesday that his best friend from High School passed away after collapsing on the court during a game in North Carolina.  Josh Level of New Garden Friends collapsed during the final minutes of Tuesday night’s game at Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem. He later died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Jerome Hairston named CAA Rookie of the Week for Fourth Time

Hairston spoke about his relationship with Level following Saturday’s 72-71 home win over Drexel. “He was a real close friend. He was my teammate last year. We went to a boarding school, so we lived together. We got a little closer than you would get at an average high school.  He was a great kid, a great player and one of the top prospects in his class.  He would say stuff like, ‘It’s a privilege to play this game, not everybody can do it’ he was a very appreciative person.” 

Hairston turned those emotions into a positive on the court right from the start, he scored Towson’s first four points of the game in less than 1-minute by hitting a jump shot on the first possession and stealing a pass and taking it the length of the court for a layup.  Hairston scored 14 of his career his 20 points in the first half.  Hairston’s 6-6 shooting from the field helped stake the Tigers to an 8-point halftime advantage. The Tigers held off a second half Drexel comeback.  A key play down the stretch was a steal by Hairston with 11 seconds to go and Drexel trailing only by a point and possession of the ball in Damion Lee’s hand.  Hairston stepped in the passing lane, made the steal and took off down court before he was fouled with 09 seconds to go.   Hairston made one of the two free throws, and Towson hung on for the victory when Kazimbe Abif of Drexel only hit one of two free throws with 02 seconds left.

The 20 point three steal performance earned Hairston Rookie Of The Week honors in the Colonial Athletic Association for the fourth time this year.  Towson only has two games remaining this season, and one thing that’s certain, is the approach Hairston will take into those final two games.  “From here on out, I’m trying to play for him and appreciate every minute I get on that floor, because tomorrows not promised” he said as he recounted his memory of his friend and teammate.

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However, you could very well use that same phrase to see how the Tigers handle the prosperity that now comes with a winning record.  The Tigers are 12-12 overall and 7-4 in Colonial Athletic Association play.  This is new territory for Towson, in its eleven previous seasons in the CAA, Towson has never posted a winning record in conference play. 

Not only is Towson on pace for a winning record in the CAA, it’s only one game out of second place, and they play the current second place team—Delaware—tonight at the Towson Center in a 7:00 PM start.  In fact, the Tigers have three games this week, and each one presents the Tigers a chance to handle prosperity.  If a team is going to be considered a top tier team in its conference, then there are three type games it’s must win on a regular basis.  It must win at home, against the teams that will finish well below .500 on the season.  Check, Towson accomplished that in its 81-68 win over UNC-Wilmington on Monday night.  A game in which Towson actually led by 24 points until Coach Skerry cleared the bench with about three minutes left to play. 

Junior Marcus Damas provided 12 second half points against UNCW on Wednesday night.

The second type of game a top tier team must win is a home conference game against a team that is also in the top tier of the league.  The game against Delaware tonight will be just such a game.  The Blue Hens are currently 6-3 in the CAA and are on a three game winning streak. The Tigers will get a chance tonight to put a check mark in that box. 

The final type game a top-tier team must win is on the road against a team with a like record.  That chance will come Saturday night when the Tigers take on Georgia State in Atlanta.  The Panthers have the exact same overall and conference records as the Tigers. Like Towson, Georgia State has won two games in row, the first of those wins was handing first place Northeastern its first conference loss of the season last Wednesday night in Boston.

The Tigers have shown incredible improvement, as this season has progressed.  Not only have they far exceeded last year’s win total of one; they are playing their best basketball of the season right now.  The convincing win over UNCW exhibited the depth that Towson expected to display this season.  In all seven of the Tigers conference wins they have had at least four players score in double figures and on two occasions landed five players in double figures.  When asked about his team’s offensive balance of late coach Skerry responded, “I really thought we’d have a lot of them—big offensive nights earlier in the season—and I was really worried about how we were going to defend and rebound.  I probably made an error early on, because we spent so much time on our defense and rebounding.  Then the games started and we weren’t as efficient as we could have been on offense.  But we have good players and good players get you baskets.”

If the Tigers are able to win these next two games, they will have pulled off the trifecta of quality wins, and in the process will be well on its way to posting at least a 10-win season in conference play since the 1995-96 when it was a member of the America East Conference.  

Behind Delaware with a CAA record of 6-3 are four teams including Towson at 7-4. With a little less than half of their league games remaining, teams will begin to separate into one of three tiers, the top, middle or the bottom.  Towson has spent the better part of the past five seasons in the bottom part of the league. They no doubt will finish at least in the middle tier this year and if they continue to combine the offensive balance and strong defense that Skerry so often preaches, they could very well find themselves in the top tier for the first time ever.   That would be handling prosperity very well. 

 Photo Courtsey of Towson Athletics

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UMBC Head Basketball Coach Aki Thomas suspended Forwards Brett Roseboro and Will Wise for an altercation at practice on Friday. Neither player traveled with the team to Boston for their game against the Terriers on Saturday. Roseboro was averaging nearly 10 points and six rebounds per contest. He has been one of the Retrievers best defenders this season. Wise has seen action in just six games this year and has played just 21 minutes. UMBC forward Chase Plummer is expected to start in place of Roseboro in Today’s game against Boston University.

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Over the last three games, the Tigers have averaged 71.7 points a game. That is 19 points more per game than it averaged when it lost four straight from December 8^th to December 19^th.  For the majority of the season, junior transfer Jerrelle Benimon has carried the load offensively for the Tigers, averaging a Double/Double (16.5 points and 11.7 rebounds)through the first 15 games. 

However, recent scoring support from fellow transfer Mike Burwell, last year’s returning scorer Marcus Damas and freshman Jerome Hairston has provided the Tigers with a much more balanced attack.  During the three game stretch, Damas, Burwell and Hairston have averaged 13, 10 and 10 points respectively.  We’ve got some pretty good players, our hope was it was just a matter of time before you get your offense up to speed” said Tiger Coach Pat Skerry in a conference call to members of the media on Tuesday morning.

“Guys were missing some shots early in the year that they can probably make. We’re no-where near where we need to be in taking care of the ball, but the balance—scoring—is something that we expected out of the gate” Skerry continued.

One of those players making shots now is Burwell. Burwell, expected to provide a reliable outside threat to compliment the play of the front line, but he had yet to become a consistent threat.  However, Burwell is hitting nearly 42% of his 3-pointers during the winning streak.  Despite his struggles earlier in the season, Burwell had said coaches and his teammates had told him to keep looking for his shot.  “We’re coming around a bit offensively, which is encouraging,” said Skerry.

It—the improved offensive play—is coming at an opportune time as league play is in full swing. Towson is 7-8 on the season and 2-0 in the CAA for the first time ever.  While the Tigers are ineligible for post-season play in either the CAA Tournament or the NCAA tournament, each win puts the program a step further away from the Towson of the past.  “I have great respect for our guys, in knowing what they inherited.  They are all new. They have practiced very well and our chemistry improves every day.  We have a lot of upside with this group,” Skerry said in regards to his team’s status.

The number of games on the road has helped this team build the chemistry that Skerry talked about.  The players have spent a lot of time together the past two months. Here is a synopsis of the Tigers travel during the first eight weeks of the season.  After opening with a road trip to Charleston to play the College of Charleston, the Tigers then made a 10-hour bus ride to Richmond, Kentucky where they played four straight days in the Comfort Suites Invitational. After making the same 10-hour trek back home, the Tigers did get to stay near campus for the next 11 days as they played 3 local road games, Loyola, UMBC and Georgetown, with a trip to Vermont squeezed in.  A game that at the time was the Tigers signature win of the year.  

After the Christmas break, the Tigers traveled nearly 3,000 miles across country to take on Oregon St.   A trip that was right out of the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, as it included a 3 hour delay at the airport in Chicago and then required a nearly two hour bus ride from the airport to the campus of Oregon St.  The Tigers returned home that night after upsetting the Beavers and arrived back at BWI in the early morning hours of December 30^th. 

After a short New Years Eve break, the Tigers again went wheels up, flying to Raleigh, NC, where yet another nearly 2 hour bus drive awaited to Wilmington, to take on UNCW.  Why stop for rest now, the Tigers immediately boarded another bus after the Wilmington game and drove through the night arriving back on campus around 5:00 AM on January 3^rd.  However, they needed to keep its bags packed as the next day it was back on the bus for the 1.5-hour drive up I-95 to Drexel.  The Tigers had a leisurely day on Saturday before tipping off against the Dragons at 4 PM.  Following its 13^th road game of the year, the Tigers headed back to Towson on Saturday night enjoying its 69-66 upset of the Dragons.

The Tigers can now unpack for a while, as five of the next six games are at the Towson Center.  The only road game during that stretch is the very short drive to Newark, DE next Wednesday to take on the Delaware Blue Hens. 

A win tonight against William & Mary (7-6) would give the Tigers its first four-game winning streak since the 2000-01 season.   Coach Skerry realizes the Tribe presents a big obstacle to the Tiger’s first home win of the season. “Major, major challenges, we are very focused on William & Mary.  They are probably the best offensive team we will have faced to this point in the season. 

We haven’t won at home so we have our work cut-out for us.  I have great respect for what Coach Shaver and his team are bringing up here,” concluded Skerry.

-Photos courtsey of Towson Athletics-

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Up to this point this season, I have focused on Towson, and I will continue to do so going forward.  However, with a changing landscape in the CAA, I thought I would give you a look at how the league has shaped up so far. In no particular order, here is a “so far” and “what’s ahead” look at each CAA team.

TOWSON: 5-8

SO FAR: If you have followed my blogs at all, you know the Tigers have played very well in all but three of its 14 games.   Key road victories at Vermont and Oregon State were the highlights.  The win against the Beavers proved to be extremely fortuitous timing.  Not only did it snap a four-game losing streak, it provided yet another boost of confidence to a team that is still trying to find its identity with six of the eight-player rotation being new to the team.

WHAT’S AHEAD: The Tiger’s open league play with two road contests.  Tonight against UNCW, which is 5-7, with the five wins all coming at home.  On Saturday, Towson travels to Philadelphia to play pre-season favorite Drexel.  Drexel has struggled this year at 4-8, so the Tiger’s might be catching the Dragons at an opportune time.  It is only two games, but the result of these two could be an indication of how the Tigers will fair the rest of the way.  Winning both games would no doubt get the rest of the conferences attention, if the Tigers have not already.  A split would still be good progress, with picking up a conference win on the road.  Two losses would not be the end of the world by any means. 

DELAWARE: 5-8

SO FAR: The Blue Hens enter conference play on a two game winning streak.  Delaware is one of three CAA teams—George Mason and Old Dominion being the others—to beat the University of Virginia this year, beating the Cavaliers 59-53 in the NIT-Tip-off Tournament.   The Blue Hens have two of the best players in the league.  Senior Jamelle Hagins, has nine double-doubles on the season and is second in the nation in rebounding at 12.5 boards per game.  Junior Devon Sadler is the leading scorer in the conference at 19.2 points per game.

WHAT’S AHEAD:  Delaware does not open CAA play until Saturday when they travel to Norfolk, VA to take on Old Dominion, after that they host Hofstra at the Bob Carpenter Center on January 9^th. 

DREXEL: 4-8

SO FAR: Injuries have definitely played a role in the Dragons struggling start to the season.  The Dragons lost Chris Fouch for season in early November with an ankle injury.  The Dragon’s have not only missed Fouch’s 16.7 points per game from last year, but also the senior leadership he was expected to provide.   Drexel does have pre-season CAA player of the year, Frantz Mazzenat is second in the CAA with 4.5 assist per game so far.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Drexel travels to Atlanta tonight to open against Georgia State before they return to host Towson on Saturday afternoon.

GEORGE MASON: 7-5

SO FAR: George Mason is one of only two CAA teams to have a winning record at the end of the non-conference schedule.  As such, the Patriots have the highest RPI of any team in the league; they are currently 52^nd in the Collegiate Basketball News Poll. The Patriot’s have a couple signature wins, a 63-59 win at home to open the season against the Virginia Cavaliers.  In addition, Mason won on the road at Rhode Island and in the Richmond Coliseum against Richmond Governors Classic.   The Patriots missed an opportunity to pick up a road win against a Big East team when they lost 61-57 to the University of South Florida last Saturday night.  George Mason is led by junior Sherrod Wright, who has scored 20 or more points five times this year. 

WHAT’S AHEAD: After hosting Northeastern University in its conference opener tomorrow night, the Patriots travel to Williamsburg to take on cross-state rival William & Mary.  William & Mary is actually the first place team in the CAA right now, as they beat Old Dominion 71-62 on December 1^st in the only league game played before today. 

GEORGIA STATE: 5-8

SO FAR: The Panthers had an ambitious schedule to start the season playing on the road at Duke then BYU in its first two games.   They followed that however with three wins in the coaches versus cancer tournament.  Georgia State is led by one of the best freshman in the conference R.J. Hunter who is averaging 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.   Hunter is the son of Panther Head Coach Ron Hunter.

WHAT’S NEXT: After hosting Drexel tonight, the Panthers get a second home game against James Madison University.  This is the last year in the conference for the Panthers, as they will be moving to the Sun Belt Conference next season.  Because of the move, the Panthers are ineligible to participate in this year’s CAA Tournament.

HOFSTRA: 3-10

SO FAR: A promising 3-2 start and a three game winning streak all ended on November 30^th, when Hofstra suspended four players following arrests for their roles in dormitory burglaries.  Since the suspensions, the Pride has lost eight games in a row.  Hofstra does boast the CAA’s ninth leading scorer Taran Buie who is averaging 15.3 points per game.

WHAT’S NEXT: Hofstra will be the last team to open league play as they don’t play again until January 7^th, but they will do so at home when Georgia State visits. The Pride has a quick turnaround when they travel down to Delaware on January 9^th to face the Blue Hens.

JAMES MADISON: 6-6

SO FAR: The hottest team in the CAA coming into conference play, the Dukes have won five of six, with the only loss being a one-pointer to Richmond in the Governors Classic.   A trio of talented seniors lead JMU.  Rayshawn Goins is the team’s leading scorer at 14.3 points per game, Devin Moore is also in double figures at 11.2 points and A.J. Davis has had 18 and 11 points respectfully the last two games.

WHAT’S NEXT: JMU is looking at three road games in the next five days.  After playing on the road against Old Dominion and Georgia State, the Dukes will have another non-conference game on Jan 7^th at Hampton University. 

UNCW: 5-7

SO FAR: Home court has not meant more to any team in the league than the Seahawks.  All five of the teams wins have come in the friendly confines of Trask Coliseum.  In addition all seven loses have come on the road.  Senior Keith Rendleman, a pre-season first team all conference selection leads the Hawks in scoring at 16.2 points per game while trailing only Hagins of Delaware and Towson’s Jerrelle Benimon in rebounding with9.7 boards per game.  The game against Towson tonight will feature two of the best inside players in the league in Rendleman and Benimon.

WHAT’S NEXT: After hosting Towson on Wednesday night, the Seahawks play two on the road, at Northeastern on January 5^th and then at James Madison on January 9^th.

Northeastern:  5-7

SO FAR: The Huskies have possibly been the most inconsistent team in the CAA so far. They started the season out in a big way by beating Belmont and UC Riverside to get to the Championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout, before falling in the finals to Charlotte.  That began a stretch that saw Northeastern lose six of its next seven games.   The Huskies do have the league’s best three-point shooter in senior Joel Smith who has made 32 threes on the year.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Huskies face two tough road games; Wednesday night at George Mason then at Drexel  on January 8^th.  Sandwiched in-between is its home opener against UNCW on Jan 5^th.

 OLD DOMINION: 2-11

SO FAR: After perennially seeing the ODU at or near the top of the CAA standings, it is a shock to see them at the bottom.  However, the Monarch’s have several new players.  Among them is transfer DeShawn Painter one of many BCS transfers to show up in the CAA this year.  Painter is leading ODU in points scored at 11.2 per game. 

WHAT’S NEXT: After hosting JMU and Delaware on Jan 2^nd and 5^th respectfully, ODU travels up I-95 to Fairfax to take on George Mason in what might be the toughest opening stretch for any team in the conference.

WILLIAM & MARY: 7-4

SO FAR: Without a doubt the surprise of the conference this year.  The Tribe was picked to finish 9^th in the CAA pre-season poll.  Its four losses? How about this list, at Miami of Ohio, at Wake Forest by only six points, at Richmond in double-overtime and at Purdue by seven points.  Sophomore guard Marcus Thornton is third in the league in scoring at 18.3 points per game, and has named Player of the Week twice by the Conference. 

WHAT’S NEXT: The Tribe will test itself against one more BCS opponent when they play at Vanderbilt Wednesday night.  The first conference game of the year for William& Mary will be at home on Saturday against George Mason.  That game should give the Pride a good idea of how they stand against the elite teams in the conference.

That is a wrap on the conference to date, and what lies ahead in the next week.  It will be a conference season like no other in recent memory, as only seven of the 11 teams will be eligible to play in the conference tournament in March at the Richmond Coliseum.  Nevertheless, the top seeds for that tournament are more wide open than they have been in several years. 

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The win ended a four game losing streak that saw Towson play very well on the road at Georgetown and Temple and not so well at home against Coppin State. Sandwiched between those games was a home loss to a very good North Dakota State team. A game in which Benimon was very limited due to an ankle injury sustained three nights earlier against Temple.

Strong Team Defense by Towson Was A Key In Vicotry Over OSU

Looking at the entire non-conference slate, the Tigers finished 5-8. Any way you look at it, that has to be considered a success, and to state the obvious, is a huge improvement on last year’s 0-12 record.  However, a closer look at that 5-8 reveals a few things that bear looking at.

To start with, six of the losses came to teams with a combined win/loss record of 56-16 as of Saturday. Among those, are No. 15 ranked Georgetown and A-10 power Temple. In addition, Loyola of Maryland, Eastern Kentucky and North Dakota State are ranked in the Top 25 Collegeinsider.com poll. Only losses to 2-10 UMBC and 3-11 Coppin State stand out as “bad losses.”

What has to be made of the mixed results? It is clear that Towson has the talent and work ethic to play well against and beat any team on its schedule while at the same time perhaps looking past some not so highly regarded opponents. Seven of the Tiger’s regular eight-man rotation had not played together before this year, so perhaps they are still looking for the one or two leaders who make sure everyone is ready to play regardless of the opponent’s record or reputation.

The Tigers do have veteran leadership in junior transfers Jerrelle Benimon and Mike Burwell as well as graduate student Bilal Dixon. After the Coppin State loss, it would have been fair to question where the leadership and direction would come from among the players. Benimon has proven with his play on the court that he can lead with results and often is too unselfish with the ball in trying to keep everyone involved. He has said he feels like he can be a leader to the younger players on the team. Coming from the Georgetown program, he no doubt has had the opportunity to learn what it takes for a team to compete against the best in college basketball. In addition, his three best games of the year have been against Georgetown, Temple and most recently Oregon State. In the game against Oregon State, Benimon became the first Division I player this year to score 20 points and grab 20 rebounds in the same game. Against Temple, he set a career high in points with 30, to go with his 18 rebounds.

Dixon had the experience of 94 games in the Big East before he transferred from Providence. He has been a steady influence in the center of a Tiger’s defense that is leading the CAA in defensive field goal percentage holding opponents to .384 through the 13 games. Burwell leads the team in 3-pointers with 20 on the year.

Another upper classman and the only returning starter from last year is junior Marcus Damas.  Damas hit the game winning 18-footer on Saturday with .02 left in overtime.   Coach Skerry has said more than once this year that Damas is a key part of the team.  He brings nonstop energy and effort to each game and isd is as Skerry calls him, the teams “biggest spirit player.”

The Tiges had several days off for the Christmas break between the loss to Coppin State and the game in Oregon. However, they did have a few practices in that time as well. Given the effort and determination they showed coming back from the deficit against the Beavers, it is apparent that the upper classmen must have gotten some message across to the team about the importance of a consistent effort as they prepare for conference play starting this week.

Along with the play and experience of the upperclassmen, a key to the Tigers’ continued improvement will be the play of freshman point guard Jerome Hairston. Hairston has learned on the job so to speak, as he opened the season for the Tigers as the starting point guard. The biggest area that Hairston has to improve on is taking care of the ball. Hairston currently has a .840 assis-to-turnover ratio. A ratio of at least 1.4 would be more in line with a point guard capable of being among the league leaders. Early on,  Hairston showed a tendency to shoot before looking for the pass, but has shown much improvement in that area of late. According to Head Coach Pat Skerry, Hairston had one of his best outings of the year against the Beavers, in which he scored all nine of his points in the second half and committed only one turnover while playing a career high 36 minutes. Hairston had three assists to go along with a season high five rebounds.

It would not be surprising as the season progresses if Hairston, even as a freshman, emerges as a team leader. He told me earlier in the season he doesn’t like losing and will do whatever he can to keep his team from losing. The look of determination on his face when he said that left no doubt that he meant it.

There is no telling how important that comeback from 19 points down to Oregon State. will be later in the year. The Tigers were down 44-25 with less than 16 minutes to go before getting a quick spark from Junior Rafael Guthrie, who scored six quick points to cut the deficit and begin the Tigers’ comeback. Such a victory is something the players and coaching staff can call upon if they find themselves faced with such a deficit again. Having done it on the road against a PAC-12 team that will very likely be a factor in the conference will instill nothing but confidence.

CAA play begins this week, as Towson takes on University of North Carolina Wilmington. The Seahawks have not lost a home game this year (5-0) and have one of the better players in the league in Keith Rendleman. Rendleman is tied with Benimon in the CAA for sixth in scoring at 16.2, and he is third in the conference in rebounding behind leader Jamelle Hagins of Delaware and Benimon.

Saturday the Tigers will visit pre-season conference favorite Drexel in Philadelphia. Drexel (4-7) is off to a slower start than most figured, but they won their first home game of the year against a very good Davidson team right before the Christmas break.

-photo courtsey of Towson Athletics-

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Luckily for Ernie Grunfeld, Michael Jordan took over another flailing franchise, or talks across the NBA would consider the Wizards one of the worst teams in the history of the game. Yet, Grunfeld returned to D.C. for another season of empty seats and an even emptier effort on the court. Now may be it is the beloved owner, Ted Leonsis’, fault for trying to instill the same ideals that have made the Capitals so relevant and successful in the NHL for such a long stretch.

This is the NBA, where building through the draft, as noble as it sounds, does not work for 90% of the teams and championships are won through free agency and buying superstars. And in a top 5 market, with a team that has a deep pocketed owner and the luxury of a fan base extending from Virginia to Maryland, spending money shouldn’t be a problem. But even if the youth movement was the goal for this team, Grunfeld completely threw that philosophy out the window with his ineptitude. He has done a halfway decent job selecting role players but it if weren’t for the luxury of picking in the top 3, two out of three seasons, this roster would have no one to build upon. John Wall can become a star but is hindered by the team around him. Bradley Beal was the best pick for this team, but what if the Bobcats took him instead, one pick before? Which role player would be riding the bench for the Wizards right now? The point is, Grunfeld has never had a good draft and only selected Wall and Beal because they were handed to him.

You can’t build through the draft with a GM that cannot draft talent.

Let’s start from the beginning to realize where and why the D.C. demise has come about. Gilbert Arenas really screwed things up, not just for his gun toting locker room antics, but his balky knees and massive contract he stole from Mr. Leonsis’ pockets. Arenas gave little for his contract and was soon on his way out of the Capital, once John Wall was drafted. But that also coincided with Grunfeld convincing everyone in the organization that the young core of Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Javal McGee would develop into a formidable starting roster.

To build a team around the dumbest three players is not only idiotic in itself but egotistical and irresponsible. Basically, Grunfeld fed Wizards fans hot dog water and presenting it as French Wine. Now they have all been moved, and even though the moves removed three cancers from a locker room, the return makes no sense, what so ever.

They received absolutely nothing for Nick Young to the Clippers or Blatche to the Nets; literally. But the big mistake was reprising McGee for Nene, Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza’s massive contracts, depleting the most valuable chip the team had; cap room.

Finally, and the last straw for a General Manager that makes a living of destroying a team and basketball fan base, was the move, or lack thereof, this offseason. Yahoo Sports reported that Grunfeld turned down an offer which included, No. 3 draft pick, Bradley Beal and last year’s top pick, Chris Singleton from the now Rockets star, James Harden. Now Beal could become a star but is more likely to be Alan Houston instead of Ray Allen (which many have compared him to). But we know what Singleton is (a decent defensive player off the bench) and we now know what James Harden is; a legit star that is carrying a Houston Rockets team to the playoffs. Not to mention he, along with his sweet man beard, is marketable and could rebuild an excitement at the Verizon Center. Harden is probably the third best shooting guard in the league (behind Kobe and Dwayne Wade) but was not worth two unproven Grunfeld draft picks.

Here at WNST Nestor started the initiative to “Free the Birds” from the Peter Angelos reigns. Well I’ll be the first here to say it is time to “Free the Wizards” from the ineptitude that is Ernie Grunfeld’s tenure. This story will continue with a look towards the future coming soon.

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Members of the media often break the schedules down as well, but mainly because it gives us something to write or talk about.  With that said, I am going to look at the first quarter of Towson’s men’s basketball season.   The Tigers have played ten games, just about 1/3 of its 31 game schedule.   All ten of those games in which the Tigers went 4-6 were on the road.   Towson begins will play its first home game of the season on Saturday night against North Dakota State University, more on them later.

At the ten game mark, and since they were all on the road, I thought it’d be a good time to look at five key reasons for Towson’s very good play so far.    

Jerrelle Benimon-Any talk of the Tiger’s success has to begin with Benimon.  He has shown why Georgetown recruited him almost four years ago before he decided to transfer to Towson.  He leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 17.1 and 11.3 respectfully.   More than just his stats, he has been the heart of the team both offensively and defensively.  

He has received praise from opposing coaches such as Fran Dunphy of Temple on Wednesday night, “He could be the toughest hardest working player we’ll face this year, “ Dunphy said after Benimon tallied 30 points (setting his career high for the 2nd time in three games) and pulled down 18 rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes in the Tigers loss to Temple. Dunphy commented on that as well, “He played the whole way; I was waiting for them to give him a rest.  But if I’m Pat (Skerry) I probably wouldn’t take him out either.”  When Georgetown coach John Thompson III was asked if Benimon’s knowledge of the Hoya offense could have been a factor in the Tigers playing so well against his team, Thompson responded, “He probably knows more about what we were doing than some of the guys in our locker room.  He’s a very smart player.”

On the season, Benimon has six double/doubles, which ranks in the top ten in the country.  Over the last three games, he has averaged 23.3 points and averaged over 15 rebounds per game over the last four contests.   Twice so far this season Benimon has been named Co-Player of the Week in the CAA.  After the monstrous outing at Temple, he is in good position to earn that honor again with a strong game against North Dakota State. 

STRONG REBOUNDING- Coach Skerry has said he wants his teams to do three things well, defend the ball, rebound and take care of the ball, He believes that formula gives teams the best chance for success.  Led by Benimon, the Tigers have out-rebounded their opponents by over eight rebounds a game on the season.  They have not lost the rebounding battle in a game since the season opener at the College of Charleston.   Graduate student Bilal Dixon is second on the team with 6.4 rebounds a game, and has had three games where he grabbed 10 or more boards.  Timajh-Parker Rivera a freshman has given the Tigers some quality minutes this year on the front line.   He is only averaging 15.6 minutes a game coming off the bench, but he has made the most of it by grabbing 3.4 rebounds a game in that time. 

CONSISTENT DEFENSIVE EFFORT- It is perhaps the most vital attribute that Skerry mention as the key to his coaching philosophy.  Last year’s one win team played hard on defense, they just did not have enogh talent to play well.  When asked by Liz Clarke of the Washington Post how he explains a team that wins one game the previous season, can play Georgetown close the next season.  Skerry’s answer was simply “The biggest thing is, I’ve got newer better players.”  Sticking with the Georgetown game, the Tigers held the Hoyas to 29.2% shooting from the field and won the battle on the glass 38-32.  “I think we can become a pretty good ballclub in our conference if we have that kind of commitment to defend and rebound on a nightly basis,” said Skerry in reference to his team’s performance against Georgetown.  For the season Towson ranks 63^rd in the country in field goal percent defense holding teams to a cumulative .388 percentage. 

Towson has held six of the last eight opponents to under .40% shooting from the field.  Only a couple very poor shooting performances on its end kept the Tigers from winning more than three of those eight games. 

LEADERSHIP- This one is hard to quantify, but it is one of those things you know it when you see it, or can tell if it is missing.  It sounds odd to say a team that has nine new players from last year’s roster would develop leaders quickly, but that seems to be the case with this squad.   First, take under consideration that the triumvirate of Benimon, Dixon and Mike Burwell has a combined seven years of Big Ten playing experience.  There will be no environment in which Towson plays this year where the Tigers will be intimidated.  The results at Georgetown and Temple are prime examples.   Burwell, Dixon and Benimon have played in big games, and will help their younger teammates learn and cope in such situations.

Neither Dixon nor Burwell scored in the game at Temple.  If someone were to have told me that before the game, I would have said Towson was most likely in store for a 30-point loss.  However, they didn’t force shots, played hard, and did their respective parts in keeping the offense moving.   Burwell said earlier in the season nobody on the team is concerned about who gets the most points, they only care about winning.   Despite some of his low scoring games, Skerry is impressed with how hard Burwell practices, “he’s practicing the right way, so I’m confident he will come around,” said Skerry in reference to what he sees of Burwell on a daily basis.

It is hard for a team’s returning scorer to be over shadowed.  However, one could not blame Marcus Damas if he felt that way.  Damas led the Tigers in scoring last year with 12 points a game.  Benimon has gotten much of the publicity this year and rightfully so.  However, Skerry is quick to tell you how important Damas is to this team, “Marcus is our biggest spirit player.  He gives us a complete effort every night and has a motor that doesn’t stop.”  This was never more so evident than in the loss to UMBC.  Damas missed that game as he took a nasty face first fall at the very end of the Loyola game.  He remained on the floor not moving for several minutes.  He had to be helped off the floor and into the locker room by a couple teammates.  He sat out most of the practices before the UMBC game, and just was not well enough to play.   The UMBC loss is the one loss of the season where the Tigers were out worked and out played by a team that frankly is not as talented as they are.

PROMISING FRESHMAN-While the above three transfer-students are essential to the Tigers success this year.  There are three freshmen getting regular playing time that are the core of Skerry’s first recruiting class.  They will play a big part in the future success of the program. Jerome Hairston is the starting point guard that will be giving CAA opponents fits for the next four years.  Hairston is a tenacious player on both ends of the floor, and as evidenced by two key steals in the Vermont victory is a playmaker.  He has started since the first game of the season and is learning the game on the job.  Just like any freshman, he will make mistakes and turnovers due to inexperience.  However, as the late Al McGuire said many years ago, “the best thing about freshmen…is that they become sophomores.” However, Tiger fans will not have to wait until Hairston’s sophomore year to see some dynamic plays that will break the opposing teams back.   He has already matured in not taking every open three pointer that he sees, to keeping the offense moving and being patient for a better look.

Parker-Rivera is getting about 15 minutes of playing time a game, but look for that to increase as the season moves on especially into the conference season.  He is still learning the defensive assignments, but he has a natural rebounding instinct that has allowed him to hold his own under the boards.   Parker-Rivera officially listed as a forward, has also filled in for Dixon at times this year in the five spot.  The third freshman, who may be one of the most athletic Tigers, is Barrington Alston a 6’8” forward whose leaping ability will make him a threat in the Tigers transition game as he gets more experience and playing time.   Alston was ranked as the third best high school player in the state of Delaware by ESPN.Com during his senior year. 

Before the season began as I broke the schedule down into segments, I wrote and said on the air that I could see the Tigers finishing the ten game road stretch at 5-5.  I did not anticipate them stumbling so bad and losing to UMBC, however they have recovered from that and played three good games against quality opponents.   Skerry was particularly happy with the Vermont win as he said, “This is the type of game we’ll see on the road in our conference this year, so it was a good test.” 

The next segment of games is a very small sample, which are the three remaining games before the conference season starts after the first of the year.   North Dakota State presents the first obstacle of those three.  The Bison bring a very strong 8-3 record into the Towson center. Their three loses, No. 1 ranked Indiana, a good (Wisconsin) Green-Bay team and Minnesota.  After that comes the Tiger’s third cross-town rivalry game this month when Coppin State visits the Towson Center.  Then the Tiger’s have their longest road trip (distance wise) of the season when they travel to Oregon State to wrap up the non-conference part of the season.  A 2-1 performance in those games would leave the Tigers at 6-7 when they begin CAA play in January.  Then the coaches and media will begin breaking down the remaining 18 games into segments, because, well that’s just what we do. 

(PHOTOS COURTSEY OF TOWSON ATHLETICS)

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Jerrelle Benimon led Towson with 11 points and 16 rebounds against his former team. (photo courtsey of Towson Athletics)

“I was pretty pumped up coming back to the Verizon Center,” said Benimon after the loss. “I think the Vermont game—a 68-64 win on Wednesday night—got me/us ready. I came in ready to try and play hard.” Benimon led all players with 16 rebounds and led the Tigers with 11 points. It was Benimon’s fourth double/double of the season.

Towson coach Pat Skerry realizes how important Benimon’s play is to his team’s success. “It helps having a great rebounder like Jerrelle on the floor. He obviously was a monster. He can be as good as any player we see on any given night.  This week he took major, major strides forward in playing both ends of the floor and in being a leader.”  Benimon came into the game having scored a career high 29 points in the win over Vermont.

Both teams struggled shooting the ball against aggressive defenses from each side. Towson outplayed Georgetown on defense and beat them on the boards. For the game, Towson held the Hoyas to .292 shooting from the field and outrebounded them 38-32. A key point in Georgetown holding off the Tigers in the second half was the amount of fouls called on the Tigers. Towson was whistled for 13 second half fouls to the Hoyas 6, leading to a disparity in free throw attempts, 17 for the Hoyas to 4 for the Tigers in the final stanza. “They obviously beat us at the free throw line. We’re a team that normally lives on the free throw line,” said Skerry.

This game’s final score will draw a lot of national attention due to the narrow margin of victory and the low scoring. Georgetown has struggled to score points recently, having scored only 37 in a 1 point win over Tennessee just 8 days ago at the Verizon Center. In that game, the Hoyas managed only .364 shooting from the field. The Hoyas hit only 5 of 30 shots in the first half against Towson for a unbelievable .167 percent. However, when asked  if he’s worried if the Hoyas’ poor shooting will become a trend, coach John Thompson III responded, “when we get there I’ll let you know.”

Towson has to be a team full of confidence now. In its past two games the Tigers came from behind on the road to beat an NCAA Tournament team in Vermont, and played a perennial national power even into the final minutes in a Big East home court advantage environment. “I’m proud of how hard our guys played. We just fell a little bit short down the stretch. Our guys didn’t come down to lose, so there are no moral victories,” said Skerry.

With the effort Skerry is getting from the Tigers on a consistent night-in-night out-basis, it won’t be long before he’s talking about victories against teams like Georgetown and Temple, who the Tigers face on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

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