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New-look YSU has size to go with shooting
By DAN HINER
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown State University men’s basketball team saw a mass exodus of starters and reserves after the 2014-15 season.
Following the loss of players like starting guards D.J. Cole to graduation and Marcus Keene, who transferred shortly after last season, the Penguins had to find impact players quickly.
YSU head coach Jerry Slocum said the team has addressed those holes in the roster with the most recent recruiting class, and in fact, this year’s roster could better than in recent years.
“I don’t think we’re going to have to come down in the last four minutes of a basketball game and rely on 18-, 19-foot jump shots like we have in the last four years,” Slocum said. “We’re clearly going to be able to play in the post, and then we’re going to clearly be able to play from the post out to our perimeter. Every one of our guys really passes the ball well out of our post position, and there are some that are learning to do that more, but I think we really have the ability to attack the glass a little bit better, to be longer at the defensive end.
“We’re in uncharted territories around here. There will be times on the floor where we’ll have a 7-footer, 6-foot-11, 6-foot-8 guy with our guards, both at 6-foot-2 (or) 6-foot-3 maybe in that spot — we’ve never been able to do that.”
YSU has two new members of the frontcourt this season. Slocum said center Jorden Kaufman and forward Matt Donlan are two new additions who will “play a lot” this season.
Kaufman, a junior, transferred from Oral Roberts University where he played in 33 games last season and started five. Dolan averaged 11.7 points per game and led the team with 77 3-pointers last season.
“Obviously, Jorden (Kaufman) at his size at 7-foot, I think is a unique kind of guy because he’s so good at the offensive end,” Slocum said. “He’s really good in terms of being able to shoot the ball. And through our summer tour and I think through our early season practice, I’m not sure that we have a better shooter than what Matt Dolan is. We’re really, really encouraged with those guys.”
Last season, YSU had trouble commanding the boards and defending more physical players in the low post. Kaufman said he welcomes the challenge and he’s more comfortable in against physical opponents.
“I’m more of a physical type of player. I enjoy contact, I enjoy getting hit and giving hits so I think my presence will be felt in the post,” Kaufman said.
YSU also saw the emergence of freshman Jordan Andrews in a recent tour in the Bahamas. Andrews will be asked, along with several other members of the team, to fill the holes in the team’s backcourt left by Cole and Keene.
“As a whole, the fact that we’re a freshmen, sophomore and another sophomore in the backcourt, that’s a point of concern — there’s no doubt about that,” Slocum said. “I’m going to go back to the summer tour thing again. If anything good came out of it, out of that trip, as much pressure, physicality of the game and how much people pressed us. If anything came out of that tournament positively, it’s that our backcourt is pretty good. Our two point guards really performed well down there.
“I’m not going to say that it wasn’t a learning curve, but those guys are pretty confident guys. They’re guys that I have a lot of confidence in and I think we’re going to be really good in the backcourt.”