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All basketball, all the time with holiday break
Holiday break means
YSU players can focus
on getting in the gym
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
For Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Jerry Slocum, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
And not just because of Christmas.
With finals over, the only tests facing the Penguins over the next month are on the court.
“Oh, I love this time of year,” Slocum said. “I’m always envious of football, the way football gets to start the year, where they can have those guys all day, every day.
“This is now 31/2 weeks of just basketball. You can really work on your game.”
Added senior D.J. Cole, “This is a great time. The next month, it’s basically all basketball.”
After playing eight of their last 10 games on the road, the Penguins (7-5) finish out December with three home games, starting Wednesday against Kennesaw State (3-7). They’ll then play NAIA-member Wilberforce on Friday before breaking for Christmas.
They won’t play again until New Year’s Eve against Northern Kentucky.
“We’ve been consummate road warriors,” Slocum said. “It’s good to be back playing three in a row at home before conference play.
“We’re still building. I don’t think we’re where we need to be to win games in our conference.”
Home for Christmas
While some programs keep their players on campus during the holiday, Slocum said he’s had a strict home-for-Christmas policy during his 40 years as a head coach.
He’s had to turn down some lucrative offers over the years — one team even offered to let the Penguins use their charter to fly back after a Dec. 23 game — but he wants to make sure his players spend Christmas with their families.
“I want our kids to have a chance to be home with their families,” Slocum said. “I want to be with mine.”
Slocum’s generosity doesn’t extend to Boxing Day — he expects his players back for a Dec. 26 practice.
“They come back just a tad little grumpy because they know what’s waiting for them in terms of conditioning,” he said. “They say, ‘We practice on the 26th?’ Yeah, I have a little something for you.”
Cole will return to his home state of Kansas, where his mother lives “basically” across the street from his high school, he said. He also keeps in touch with his high school coach and some former classmates, so he plans to get in the gym for at least a few days to keep his skills sharp.
“That way I’m not just sitting around for six days doing nothing,” he said.
When asked if he tries to avoid any specific foods when he’s home, he laughed and said, “That’s a tough question. It’s hard to avoid food. I just might have to eat the food and run it off when I get back.”