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YSU draws national spotlight with ESPNU
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PRIME TIME: YSU’s Sirlester Martin (5) dribbles past a defender during a game at the Beeghly Center. Martin and the Penguins will host the Milwaukee Panthers Friday at 7 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU.
By Jon Moffett
Coach Jerry Slocum hopes the team will play with a chip on its shoulder.
YOUNGSTOWN — Jerry Slocum, the men’s head basketball coach, said he hopes his team doesn’t become camera shy as it heads into its first nationally televised game of the season.
The Penguins (7-10) will host the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Beeghly Center Friday in a Horizon League matchup that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Slocum hopes his team’s performance is comparable to last year’s thrilling 64-60 victory over conference-rival Cleveland State.
“We’re excited,” Slocum said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. “Obviously last year, we had a great experience and were able to showcase Youngstown, YSU and the fan support. It was a great night and hopefully we can play another really good game against a very quality opponent.”
The national attention comes at a critical time for YSU.
The Penguins finished a two-game losing streak on the road and are heading into a three-game homestand, beginning with Milwaukee.
The Panthers (11-8) are coming off a three-game home series, winning two.
“They might be playing the best in the league,” Slocum said of Milwaukee. “They beat Green Bay at home, Wright State at home and this is a team that is playing very confident and they are a very good basketball team.”
The Panthers are led by a pair of seniors who sit atop many statistical categories in the Horizon League.
Ricky Franklin averages 14.4 points per game, eighth-best in the conference, and four assists per game, which is fourth.
Teammate James Eayers is ninth in the Horizon League with 6.6 rebounds per game. He also is ranked sixth in the conference with 4.7 defensive rebounds per contest.
Slocum said he is familiar with the players and said it will be a tough matchup. Frankin, he said, is one of the best players in the Horizon League.
“Both are good basketball players,” he said. “Franklin is probably having one of the best years of anybody in our league in terms of guard play. He dominates the ball, plays every minute of almost every game, he doesn’t really come out and is a workhorse who really has the game to back it up.”
Eayers offers another tall task for the Penguins — literally. The 6-foot-7 forward plays more like a smaller guard, Slocum said.
“He’s a big guy who shoots threes and would rather be outside the arc than inside,” Slocum said. “And when he’s inside, he’s big and wide and hard to guard down there. And then all of a sudden he’s picking and popping and taking jump shots.”
Slocum said both players are having solid years and are playing consistently.
The Penguins will look for senior DeAndre Mays to lead. Mays leads the team with 13.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game and was named Horizon League Player of the Week last week.
jmoffett@vindy.com
GAME TIME
YSU vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Who: YSU men’s basketball team vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Beeghly Center
TV/radio: ESPNU; WKBN-AM 570
Also: YSU women’s basketball team at Cleveland State
When: Friday, 5 p.m.