43
Slocum: YSU men playing better
Penguins have won
their last 3 games
By Steve Wilaj
youngstown
On Nov. 23, the Youngstown State men’s basketball team (still winless at the time) had a little extra motivation to get in the win-column other than just to avoid an 0-5 start.
See, head coach Jerry Slocum was still sitting on win No. 699 at the time. That day’s matchup with North Dakota at Florida Gulf Coast University was the Penguins’ last against a Division I team before last Wednesday’s matchup with D-III Thiel.
“No offense to Thiel, but we didn’t want Coach Slocum’s 700th win to come against a D-III team,” sophomore guard Francisco Santiago said at Monday’s news conference. “We came out with a lot of energy [against North Dakota] and, for the most part, kept that energy up the past three games.”
YSU’s 10-point win that day — in addition to marking Slocum’s 700th victory — was the first of its current three-game win streak. The Penguins (3-4) followed with wins against Thiel and Niagara to carry momentum into this week’s games against Robert Morris (Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.) and American (Friday at 7:05 p.m.) at Beeghly Center.
“I’d like to give you some major intellectual answer, but we’re just playing better,” Slocum said. “With these young guys, it’s a process and we’re not where we want to be yet. But we’re playing better, playing harder and doing a lot better job defensively.
“We’re just better basketball players. Kids like Latin Davis and ’Cisco, every day they’re getting better in front of you and that’s encouraging.”
All three wins came by 10 or more points. Even more encouraging, answers to some of Slocum’s questions are starting to emerge.
Santiago (11.1 points, 4.6 assists per game) and his freshman backup Davis (career-high 11 points at Niagara on Saturday) have played well at point guard. Junior Matt Donlan has been solid at small forward (11.1 PPG), while Cameron Morse (15.7 PPG), Jorden Kaufman (7.6 PPG, 5.9 rebounds per game) and Jordan Andrews (6.9 PPG) have contributed off the bench. All are first-year Penguins
All this while senior power forward Bobby Hain has played well as YSU’s go-to player (team-high 16.4 PPG and 7.9 RPG).
“There’s a process going on that’s enjoyable to watch,” Slocum said. “But still knowing that we have a long way to go, too. ... We’re pretty confident that we can play eight or nine guys a night and get contributions, which is a far cry from what we have been the last couple years.”
Now Slocum wants to see his group play better at home, as it has played just two contests at Beeghly Center so far — a 22-point loss to Toledo and unimpressive 14-point win vs. Thiel.
“There’s a real toughness we’ve had on the road and we talked about it after the game in Niagara,” Slocum said. “Before that game, it was a totally different atmosphere than it was two nights earlier at home. There was a real toughness in the air and guys were really focused. We have to get that at home.”
Slocum added that there are more distractions for his team while playing in Youngstown — friends, family, etc. — which need to be handled better by his players.
“We just have to bring it every night, no matter where we are, honestly,” Santiago said. “It’s just a mindset that we’re gonna come in and play our game and play as hard as we’re supposed to — home or away. We have to try to do it a lot more at home, though, since our first games we didn’t do it as well.”
Player updates
Morse, YSU’s second-leading scorer, will be back in the lineup for Wednesday’s matchup against Robert Morris (1-6). He missed the Penguins victory at Niagara due to a family issue, but rejoined the team Monday.
Meanwhile, redshirt freshman forward Bryce Nickels — who has missed all seven games with a right foot stress-fracture — still doesn’t have a clear timetable for his return.