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YSU’s steps forward noted
Slocum says young Penguins did OK in tough environment
By STEVE WILAJ
youngstown
Quite frankly, Jerry Slocum believes his Youngstown State men’s basketball team took some big steps forward on Saturday despite suffering a 31-point loss at Purdue (11-0 and the No. 9 team in the nation).
He knows what people just looking at the box score will say — “no you didn’t” — but the 11th year coach of the Penguins (4-6) continues to look at the big picture for his young roster that saw a significant remake over the summer.
“There were 14,000 screaming people on top of you,” Slocum said. “It was an unbelievable environment and excitement in that facility. You can’t measure the maturing factor that that has on your group.
“So to me, that was a real positive. ... It was a fight for right around 30 minutes, so I was happy how we competed.”
YSU jumped out to an 11-10 lead and trailed by just two at the 6:36 mark of the first half before Purdue — led by its three seven-footers — took a 41-30 halftime lead. The Boilermakers then outscored the Penguins (who were paced by Matt Donlan’s career-high 19 points) by 20 in the second half.
For as hard as YSU competed, the Penguins shot just 34 percent from the field as its starting guards, Francisco Santiago and Brett Frantz, combined to shoot 2 of 18. That aspect is one that Slocum wants to see improve as Division III Geneva (0-7) enters the Beeghly Center tonight at 7:05.
NExt, the Penguins travel to Michigan (7-2) on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Notre Dame (7-3) on Monday at 7 p.m. before beginning Horizon League play on Jan. 2.
“Obviously we need to take care of business against Geneva — play well and worry about us and really play a good basketball game,” said Slocum, who coached Geneva from 1987-96, going 203-80. “Then you got two more really tough tests and then you get into league play.
“We should be ready. Our young pups should be off the Puppy Chow.”
Sophomore center Sidney Umude, one of the young pups, scored a season-high 14 points against Purdue, while sophomore guard Cameron Morse scored 10 points off the bench.
With the fall semester over and the spring semester not starting until mid-January, the next couple weeks allows YSU to focus on nothing but basketball. In other words, it’s Slocum’s “favorite time of year” — meaning it’s a crucial stretch for his youngsters.
“With a young team like this, you’re in a constant sense of two steps forward, three steps back. Four steps forward, three steps back,” Slocum said. “All of a sudden you feel you’ve made some major steps and then, bam, the reality of it slaps me in the face.
“We’ve really put this group — fairly or unfairly — in a really tough situation with a hard first semester schedule. We play seven out of 10 to start conference on the road, so we’re gonna grow up in a hurry.
“This group’s gonna have to go from pups to being mature quickly. Now’s my time — no distractions, no classes or whatever — just basketball. There’s so many things we can accomplish and do and I think we’re getting better.”