43
Fans get a look at YSU men’s team
Penguins conduct
open practice at
Beeghly Center
By Brian Dzenis
YOUNGSTOWN
Jerrod Calhoun gave a little bit of a teaser Saturday afternoon. Some fans who showed up early for Youngstown State’s football game against North Dakota State wondered over to Beeghly Center to see what the new-look men’s basketball team was all about.
“It’s always good when you get your players this early in the year in front of some people,” the first-year head coach said. “Hopefully the people that came out will go back and talk about it and bring their friends on opening night.”
About 100 to 150 fans were on hand as the team did drills to showcase its high-paced offense against its press.
Toward the end of practice, the 20-player roster was split in half for scrimmages. It was called after the black team went up 31-4 on the red. Calhoun reorganized the rosters and things were a little more balanced, with red winning 18-16. The common denominator in both wins? Sophomore guard Jeremiah Ferguson and junior transfer Tyree Robinson. Ferguson, a Chicago native, is expected make a leap.
“Here’s a guy who goes from playing a few minutes a game to probably being our starting point guard,” Calhoun said. “It’s a lot to ask of a young man, but I feel like his leadership and communication has been really good.”
The staff under former Penguins coach Jerry Slocum began looking at Ferguson when he was a junior at Marist, but a firm offer didn’t materialize until he graduated and then spent a prep year at The Peddie School in Hightstown N.J. before coming to Youngstown. He averaged four minutes a game in his freshman season with the Penguins.
“I’m going to be a floor general, play defense first and foremost. I’m going to get [Cameron Morse and Braun Hartfield] shots and score a little bit myself,” Ferguson said. “Whatever I have to do to win, it’s what I’m going to do.”
A few things to know about Ferguson: he’s really sharp academically to go with his athletic talents, graduating Marist with a 4.77 GPA. He also comes from a strong sporting family. His brother josh played running back at Illinois and had a cup of coffee in the NFL. His uncle Phil coached Olympic hurdler and bobsledder Lolo Jones early in her career.
“My uncle worked with Lolo Jones when her family was homeless at one point. [Phil’s family] kind of took them in when she was in high school,” Ferguson said. “He noticed that after practice they would kind of hang around and that they were living in a van, he housed them and helped them out.
“It makes me feel blessed to have lived in a two-parent household and to have learned from that experience.”
Robinson joins the Penguins after spending two seasons at Odessa (Texas) Junior College. He’s listed as a forward on the roster, but he seemed to be everywhere. The 6-foot-5 Robinson was hitting threes and threw down multiple dunks in the two scrimmages, scoring just as much as YSU mainstays like Morse and Hartfield.
“Tyree Robinson, he plays with a lot of energy and he is as good as any big in the Horizon League,” Calhoun said. “He’s athletic and he’s going to be a fan favorite. He should get a few blocks a game. He should get 10 rebounds and 10 points a game. Those two guys are difference makers.”
Senior guard Francisco Santiago was at half-speed for most of the practice as he was nursing a left knee injury. The Penguins start their season on Nov. 11 against Kent State at Akron’s JAR Arena.