43
PENGUINS HEATING UP/ Three-guard attack pays dividends
Photo
A-MAYS-ING: YSU senior guard DeAndre Mays was named Horizon League player of the week after leading the Penguins to two conference victories last week.
Three-guard attack pays dividends
By JOE SCALZO
Vindicator sports staff
When YSU men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum recently moved senior DeAndre Mays from point guard to shooting guard, it gave his best offensive player a little more freedom to score.
But there was an added benefit.
“It does give us a chance to bring a guy in that’s gonna be able to get us some points off the bench and [junior] Vytas [Sulskis] is able to do that,” Slocum said Tuesday.
When asked if it was difficult for Sulskis to come out shooting after coming off the bench cold, Slocum chuckled.
“Vytas has never seen a shot he doesn’t like,” Slocum said. “It’s not difficult to convince Vytas to fire them up.”
The move to a three-guard lineup paid dividends last week, as the Penguins (7-8, 2-4) won their first two Horizon League games of the season.
Sulskis tied a season-high with 17 points in a 76-67 win over UIC last Thursday, then Mays exploded for a career-high 30 points in a 71-67 win over Loyola.
Mays earned Horizon League player of the week after averaging 22.5 points per game and shooting 50 percent from the field.
“I’m proud of DeAndre, but I think it’s a team award, though,” Slocum said. “A lot of guys did a lot of positive things for him to have that success.
“I’m very happy for him. It’s deserving. He had a heck of a week, there’s no doubt about that.”
Slocum needs more of those performances from both players this week as the Penguins prepare for one of their toughest road trips of the season.
YSU will play at Valparaiso (6-11, 1-4) on Thursday, then immediately board the bus to travel to Butler, Ind., for a date with 22nd-ranked Butler (12-4, 5-0) on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a hard trip,” Slocum said. “Probably the toughest grind trip that we have in the conference in terms of the physical part of it.”
The Crusaders hold a 20-7 edge all-time against the Penguins and has won the last eight meetings. YSU has not won at Valparaiso since January 1998.
Valpo boasts two of the league’s top scorers: Brandon Wood (who leads the league at 19 points per game) and Corey Johnson (16.1 per game, fifth in the league).
YSU counters with Mays, who is averaging 13.2 points per game. Senior Sirlester Martin is averaging 12 points per game and six rebounds, while Sulskis is averaging just more than 10 points per game.
Sulskis has scored 730 career points and needs 270 more to become the 32nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
Thursday’s game will be the Penguins’ first on the road in nearly a month. YSU, which is tied with Loyola for seventh in the conference standings, is 2-5 on the road this season.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, have been terrific at the Athletics-Recreation Center, going 4-1 this season. They are averaging just more than 70 points per game.
“This is a team that, offensively, is extremely dangerous,” said Slocum. “In our league, anytime you can post 70-75 points a night, you’ve got a good chance to win.”
Butler poses an even bigger problem. The Bulldogs are unbeaten at home and have won eight of their last 10 games.
Butler averages a league-best 75.4 points per game — more than six points better than anyone else in the conference. They also have the league’s best player in sophomore Gordon Hayward, who had 17 points in a 64-62 overtime win over Detroit on Sunday.
Hayward averaged 18.5 points and eight rebounds in two league wins last week.
“He’s playing at a different level than anyone’s played in the league since I’ve been here,” said Slocum, who is 48-86 in five seasons with the Penguins. “I think he’s as good a player possibly that this league’s ever seen.
“He’s a heck of a basketball player.”
Slocum is hoping a change in travel — his team will travel to Butler immediately after Thursday’s game, rather than wait until Friday — will help his team feel fresher on Saturday.
Will it make a difference? Hard to say.
The way Butler is playing, it might not matter.
“They’re clicking on all cylinders right now,” Slocum said.
scalzo@vindy.com