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YSU men’s team ready for Horizon games
Milwaukee and Green Bay will visit
youngstown
With the non-conference slate of games complete, the Youngstown State men’s basketball team is moving onto Horizon League play — “meaningful basketball” as head coach Jerry Slocum puts it.
“Over the past five years it’s been a one-bid league so conference play is absolutely crucial,” Slocum said Wednesday.
These meaningful games begin with a home slate of Milwaukee today and Green Bay on Saturday.
Slocum said he was particularly happy his team gets to open up league play with more home games than not, something YSU fans haven’t seen in awhile in league play. Four of the Penguins’ six Horizon League games are at home this year.
“We get a chance to play some home games,” Slocum said. “It’s something we haven’t been able to do the last 10 years.
“You’re able to push harder in practice on the 27th since we’ve got a day to recover and we won’t be on a flight or a four, five, six hour bus trip someplace.”
The Penguins (6-7) are fresh off their Christmas break and with no travel delays, players were able to practice with a full roster and a lot harder than in years previous.
“This is the first time I think in about seven years we got everyone back on time,” Slocum said. “There were no ice storms in Chicago to delay flights. We got everyone back on [Monday] and had a good practice.”
Slocum said the team came back from break very productive practicing well, and junior guard Cameron Morse, while still not 100 percent, healed up a bit over the break.
“We came back very focused,” Slocum said. “We’ve had as good two or three days of practice as we’ve had all year long. Some of that has to do with us being healthy. Cam is probably 80-85 percent and Rahim [Williams] is 100 percent. This is really the first time we’ve been healthy since Akron.”
The Penguins closed out the non-conference slate of games with a 77-40 drubbing at Ohio State on Dec. 20. YSU fell behind 42-14 at halftime.
“We haven’t talked about it,” Slocum said. “We haven’t brought it up. We’re a much better offensive basketball team than what we showed.”
Milwaukee is a different team than in years past. The Panthers (4-9) have lost four straight and are averaging a measly 60 points per game during that stretch. But while most conference foes are familiar, the Panthers are not. UWM has a new coaching staff led by LaVall Jordan, who replaced Rob Jeter who was fired after last season.
“I spent time over the 21st, 22nd and the 23rd looking at film, getting calls, trying to get a sense of who they are,” Slocum said. “It’s a lot of work trying to get guys accustomed to what they’re going to see and their style of play.”
Slocum said his team has seen a wide-variety of styles this year which should work to their advantage, especially since he’s not sure how new coaching staffs at Milwaukee and Wright State will vary from their predecessors.
“We saw fast, slow, teams that pounded it inside and teams who were really good on the perimeter,” Slocum said. “But nothing replaces working hard. And in this league if you’re bringing a “C” effort you’re going to get beat.
“Our margin of error is such that we’ve got to play at a “B” or “B+” effort every single night to be successful.”