Required reading from Scalzo re: basketball

[ItalianPenguin]

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Ranking YSU's basketball players & other thoughts


 By Joe Scalzo (Contact)





Published March 25, 2013

Last weekend's overtime loss to Canisius in the second round of the CIT ended YSU's basketball season a little earlier than expected, but the Penguins still finished with plenty of milestones. (Read about those here.)

The Penguins will lose two of their three best players to graduation but a talented core returns. Here's how I ranked YSU's players from 1-12:

1. Kendrick Perry, Jr., G
Stats/awards/records: (17.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg). First team all-conference for the second straight season. Finished second in Horizon in scoring, tied for first in steals and was sixth in assists. All-defensive team selection. Needs 12 steals to tie Bruce Alexander (1978-83) for school record in career steals with 182. Already ranks fifth in career assists and should finish in top five in career points.

Skinny: The team's best player and one of the three best players in the conference, along with Detroit guard Ray McCallum and Valparaiso forward Ryan Broekhoff. He does everything well and has elite quickness and jumping ability. Too unselfish at times. Needs to develop more of a killer instinct. Missed four games with knee injury.

2. Damian Eargle, Sr., F

Stats/awards/records: (11.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.2 bpg). Horizon League defensive player of the year. Led the conference in blocks and was third in rebounds. Holds career blocks record for both YSU and Horizon League despite only playing three years in Youngstown.

Skinny: I gave him a second-team all-conference vote. He improved his mid-range jump shot (even if it will always be as ugly as Jim Furyk's golf swing) and earned what should have been his second straight defensive player of the year trophy. He'll probably never have a right hand (at least offensively) but his graduation will leave a massive hole in YSU's lineup. For all his blocks, it was his ability to defend any position, particularly outside the paint, that set him apart. Missed two games with broken nose.

3. Blake Allen, Sr., G

Stats/records: (12.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 apg). Set YSU's single-season and career 3-point records.

Skinny: Didn't quite have the season I expected — I voted him second team all-conference in the preseason — but played well when Perry injured his knee and was outstanding in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Steady player capable of erupting when he gets hot. Not a great defender. Terrific student and leader. As head coach Jerry Slocum said on several occasions, "He's what's right about college basketball." He ended up having the career I thought former Warren Harding standout Sheldon Brogdon would have.

4. Kamren Belin, Jr., F

Stats/awards: (11.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Named to Horizon League's all-newcomer team. Also, YSU's best-dressed player.

Skinny: Gets the nod over D.J. Cole because of his size (6-7) and ability to defend bigs. A little inconsistent early in the season but really played well in the second half. Needs to develop offensively, since he's primarily a 3-point threat right now.

5. D.J. Cole, Soph., G

Stats: (6.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.4 apg).

Skinny: The last few minutes of the season didn't go the way he wanted, but Slocum called him maybe the most consistent player on the team this year. Elite speed and quickness makes up for his size (5-11). Moved into the starting lineup halfway through the season and proved he belonged there. Needs to improve his outside shot and he will.

6. Bobby Hain, Fr., F/C

Stats: (6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Skinny: Played in all but one game and started four. Possesses tremendous size (6-10) and will develop athletically over next three years. Offensively, he's a natural, with several moves around the basket and a good shooting stroke. Plays with great effort. Already a decent 3-point threat and will only improve. Defensively, he's not awful inside but he can't guard a chair outside the paint. His defense will improve but his feet probably aren't quick enough for him to ever be anything but average in that area.

7. Shawn Amiker, Soph., G/F

Stats: (5.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg)

Skinny: An absolutely mistifying season. Started 19 of 33 games and played well in the first half of the year but really struggled in Horizon League play. Has the size (6-5 with long arms) and athleticism to be very good but needs to get mentally tougher and a lot more consistent.

8. Ryan Weber, Fr., G/F

Stats: (1.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg)

Skinny: Played in 28 games, starting three. Like Hain, he'll benefit from this year's experience. Decent athlete with good basketball mind and skill level. Should be interesting to see how much better he gets this offseason and whether he can make a D.J. Cole-esque jump.

9. Josh Chojnacki, Jr., F

Stats: (0.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg)

Skinny: Played in 26 games, giving YSU a big body (6-9, 240) when Eargle and Hain needed a break or were in foul trouble.

10. Fletcher Larson, Soph., F

Stats: (1.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg)

Skinny: Didn't play much (12 games, down from 28 last year) but gave the Penguins a nice boost with six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes in a home win over Milwaukee.

11. Mike Podolsky, Jr., G

Stats: (0.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg)

Skinny: Played just 70 minutes in 16 games. I've liked his game since he was at Canfield. He would have been an impact player in Division II or III.

12. Danny Reese, Soph., G

Stats: (1.3 ppg, 0.3 rpg)

Skinny: Played just 27 minutes in six games. Like Podolsky, he's a skilled player who would benefit from playing at a lower level.

Also: Ronnye Beamon (redshirted), Larry Johnson Jr. (sophomore walk-on who sat out due to NCAA transfer rules).

---

Other thoughts:

1. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I felt YSU women's coach Bob Boldon was too good for the Penguins to keep. (You can read that here.) After their run to the WNIT second round, I'd be stunned if he's still here next season.

One of the schools I mentioned in the column was Ohio, which was no coincidence. The Bobcats will not renew Semeka Randall's contract and if I were in Athens, Boldon would be No. 1 on my radar.

2. Boldon signed a four-year deal with a school option for the fifth season, but according to his contract, he doesn't owe YSU a penalty if he leaves. (There was a penalty for the first two seasons.)

Considering Green Bay's budget, status in state (second to Wisconsin), tradition and fan following, YSU will probably never be better than second in the Horizon League to the Phoenix, so with Brandi Brown graduating, this is a good opportunity for Boldon to move on.

Add in the fact that his assistant coaches would also get a raise and I just can't see Boldon here next year.

3. I've heard/seen a few people who want Slocum fired, which is absolute lunacy.

Slocum and I weren't exactly buddies a few years ago but it's hard to argue with the program's growth the past two years. In addition to posting back-to-back winning seasons (for the first time since 1985), he's been able to bring in freshmen capable of playing in the Horizon League, instead of just relying on junior college transfers. (Although he's had pretty good success with Jucos lately, too.) He's also been a lot better with the media the past two seasons.

4. Bottom line: Unlike the other Horizon League schools, football is king at YSU.

Add in the Penguins' budget (worst in the league), tradition (worst in the league) and recruiting area (Cleveland State, Akron and Kent are king in northeast Ohio and the Vikings are going to be an absolute force in the Horizon the next few years) and YSU isn't going to do better than Slocum and would almost certainly do worse.

5. A lot of people want to blame Ron Strollo for this, but the blame goes to YSU's board of trustees, which treats the basketball programs as an afterthought.

Strollo has done a nice job with fundraising and facilities but if YSU wants to upgrade its basketball programs (and anyone who was watching Florida Gulf Coast in this weekend's NCAA tournament can tell you what athletics can do for your university), he'll need more money. And YSU just doesn't have it.

Fortunately, the Penguins will probably be able to replace their outdated Beeghly scoreboard. Unfortunately, they may have to replace their women's basketball coach, too.

[ItalianPenguin]

In other thoughts #3, he's speaking to the graduating class of Idiot U--05, Pride, and Morton valedictorians.

[ysufan0505]

In other thoughts #3, he's speaking to the graduating class of Idiot U--05, Pride, and Morton valedictorians.

Do you think I care what he, you or anybody else says??? Lol.... Moron. I'm sticking to my opinion. Slocum is a bad coach. It's proven. Until then, have fun with mediocrity because with the talent on this team, thy shoulda had at least 20 wins

[IAA Fan]

Nice article, and he did not hide any opinions. I like how much Scalzo has grown this year as well. Even if I would have went to full-court pressure in the second-half of the Canisius game ..I still like Slocum. Who knows ...maybe we were too tired?

I do not believe we lose Bolden either. A move to OU is lateral at best, in terms of prominence. Better in the $$ column though. Toledo opens up in one more year ...much better opportunity ...but much more pressure.

[Dmorton]

Never said I wanted Slocum fired.  But if you want to call me idiot for caring about YSU sports that's fine!  I simply said I felt the team could of had 5-6 more wins, and to develop a killer attitude at home.  But if Slocum keeps recruting bonfied D-1 players and we may get that and more!  Remember we play in the 13th ranked conference in the NCAA, and all the teams will be improved next year.  We wll most certainly be ranked in the lower half of the conference with what we're losing to graduation. I didn't graduate from Idiot U or any other university.  I graduated from YSU in 1984 and damn proud to be a Penguin!

[YsuPride]

ItalianPenguin, 

Those that think mediocre basketball is good enough at YSU are the true idiots.  Look dude we had a losing record against Div. 1 teams (15-16) this year, lost all 4 overtime games of which three were at home, had another losing record in the Horizon, and Slocum's usual poor performance in Feb/March showed up for the 8th straight year.  The talent we have now should have won over 20 games this year and at least 10 in the league.  I think some of us speak with the actual facts on hand.  The game against Canisus was a complete joke and totally on the coaches.  All of the fans around me that night were saying Slocum gets out coached most of the time.   How about the timeout we called the last minute of the game so Slocum can draw up a 30 foot 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go.  Now that was brilliant coaching at its best.  I guess you are calling YSU Idiot U because that Idiot U got me a masters degree.   If Slocum was the one we would have been better long time ago.

[YSUGO]

the team we have was a 500 team.  We have no true post guys and physically you can see our players are a tad thinner etc.  We have made progress, on like I said before on a dollar general budget.  Does Slocum have flaws yes...but he has turned us around to be respectable and that's a start

[Pita]

To those of you who find fault with IP's opinions on YSU BB,
You have much to learn.  I'll leave it at that.

I especially wanted to make two comments

(1). Scalzo, in my opinion is a great sports writer.  He tells it
like it is, in a graceful delivery of the facts as they are.  He
should be commended for that.

(2) Coach Slocum.  Does anyone (especially those with
the tar and feathers ready to use on him) ever STOP TO
THINK that MAYBE, just MAYBE, plays are not executed
As planned?  I'm not certain of this, but my gosh
you guys I think want NBA performance from guys who
are really here going to college to be educated.  I best leave
it there.  Coach has turned our BB program around.
Tho it has taken more years than we all wanted, we are
finally out of the cellar.  I for one thank him for a good, not great,
but good season.  Great could be next year!!!!!

AMEN

[Dmorton]

I'm not happy about losing games at home that are winnable. ( ( Canisius,. Kent, Robert Morris UIC)  But face the facts, Slocum is not going anywhere on the showstring budget we have for basketball.  Remember we are a sub-500 club because we lost too many games at home.  Losing more that 1 or 2  games at home and not taking care of business at Beeghly killed our overall record which of course is sub-500 because we played three ( what I call scrimage games during the season).  If you want to call me an idiot that's on you, but Slocum knows more about coaching than you or I will ever know in our lifetime.  Remember also for the competition we played against, our two best players were out with injuries down the stretch drive.  It is what it is.  With that said let's get ready for the spring game and football season because that is coming up rather quickly.

[GoGuins]

I'm willing to bet IP wouldn't call anybody names to their face.  He's just a cyber bully, although he might try to swing his cane at you or run you over in his motorized scooter

[IAA Fan]

Go, I think that can be said for any of us. It is easier to say what you need to say here. Most of the time that is great, and that is why I like this board.

As to coach. I think we would have had this same issue, over two coaches, or one. The bottom line is that we are finally making progress, and I am excited. The truth is, had Strollo not stuck with Slocum, we would probably not have made as much progress. There would have been the disruption of a couple of staff changes. Right now, we have a good coach, and a good replacement for when Slocum does leave. He has earned the right to retire from here ...when he wants.

[ysuindy]

I was reading a story  yesterday about Florida Gulf Coast - everyone's darling right now.

The story mentioned that their coach's salary is $157.5k per year.  Right now, everyone would agree that he's been worth every penny to them.

But stop and think about when that contract was signed before he achieved this year's success.  FGCU is in their second year being eligible for the Division I tournament.  The Atlantic Sun is the 23rd rated conference this year according to Sagarin.

The Horizon League is the 12th ranked conference (even without almighty Butler), yet a coach at FGCU who was unknown and unproven at any level as a head coach when he got the job, is making 20% - 25% more than YSU's coach.

If you fire Slocum you better be planning for a major upgrade in the basketball salary budgets similar to what was done for football.  If you aren't upgrading that salary budget to get something other than a Division II coach or low level Division I assistant, then be careful what you wish for.

[ItalianPenguin]

I'm willing to bet IP wouldn't call anybody names to their face.  He's just a cyber bully, although he might try to swing his cane at you or run you over in his motorized scooter

What did you just do, hilljack??

[Lets_Talk]

Indy, great post!!! Yes, there are no doubt coach's out there who could do better at YSU. But, not sure how many can/could do what Slocum has done with such a low budget, and being at a school where basketball is not much of a priority. And, I doubt ANY coach with proven success on the D1 level would even consider taking the job at YSU given the pay, budget and the way the school emphasizes FCS football at all costs.

Slocum get's alot out of the little he has to work with. Despite what alot of people think, this past season the team was not filled with talent. They had 3 solid players in Allen, Perry and Eargle. Belin is a nice player, but as with many JUCO transfers, he was hit and miss. YSU had little to no production from the players on their bench. And, that is because the players were just not that talented. A few have potential, like Hain and Weber. But, they were freshmen and played like freshmen. Cole and Amiker got better as the season went on. Each of them have the potential to become nice players at the PG position for YSU. Not stars, but nice players.

All things considered, I think Slocum does a very good job at YSU. If people do not agree, then just think back to the Robic era, or better yet, go on the YSU athletics site and look at the schedule and results from when Robic was HC. Then look at where the YSU program is now. If you have the time, try and find the teams RPI or Sagarin ranking under Robic, and compare that to where YSU ranks now. The end!!

[ELPENGUIN]

Coach Robic was not given the proper finances and opportunities.  I will say he was a better coach than opinionated by the Robic haters on this board.  I am glad he left and has gone on to better venues.