Towson Tigers
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #123
Conference Rank: #2 CAA
During Coach Pat Skerry’s first season with Towson back in 2011-2012, the Tigers went 1-31. Since then, this has been a pretty solid and consistent program. They have finished second or third in the CAA five times since that point and only went below .500 on two occasions. That is pretty impressive. But despite all of the positive play, Towson has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1991 and they haven’t won a conference title since 1994 when they were in the Big South and preparing for a move to the America East Conference. This season appears to be more of the same, a good Towson team, but a team that may fall short of their ultimate goal.
2019-20 Record: 19-13, 12-6
Coach: Pat Skerry
Coach Record: 143-150 at Towson, 167-175 overall
Key Departed Players:
Brian Fobbs, Guard, 16.3 ppg
Allen Betrand, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Nakye Sanders, Forward, 9.2 ppg
Dennis Tunstall, Forward, 4.4 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Jason Gibson, Sophomore, Guard, 8.4 ppg
Juwan Gray, Senior, Forward, 7.0 ppg
Nicolas Timberlake, Sophomore, Guard, 6.1 ppg
Jakigh Dottin, Junior, Guard, 4.0 ppg
Solomon Uyaeelunmo, Sophomore, Forward, 4.0 ppg
Charles Thompson, Sophomore, Forward, 3.2 ppg
Key New Players:
Cam Allen, Senior, Guard, Grad Transfer from CSU Bakersfield
Chris Biekeu, Freshman, Forward
Makhtar Gueye, Senior, Forward, Transfer from UAB
Darrick Jones Jr, Freshman, Guard
Demetrius Mims, Sophomore, Guard. Transfer from Long Beach State
Victor Uyaelunmo, Junior, Center, Transfer from USC
Curtis Holland III, Junior, Guard, Transfer from High Point, not eligible
Projection:
Four starters are gone, but there is plenty of returning young talent ready to pick up the slack. Jason Gibson had to battle through a lot of talent in front of him as a freshman last season. He did just that and averaged 8.4 points and 2.1 assists while earning 20 starts. With more shots to go around, Gibson could start to take over a bulk of the scoring. Fellow sophomore guard Nicolas Timberlake can knock down some shots too and was the conference’s Sixth Man of the Year last season. Junior Jakigh Dottin led the team with 2.2 assists last season despite limited minutes. The frontcourt will look to Juwan Gray, the lone returning senior on the roster. The 6-8, Dover, Delaware native was quite productive in his 22.2 minutes per game, averaging 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds off the bench. Sophomores Charles Thompson and Solomon Uyaeelunmo, who played in just two games before season-ending knee surgery, should again be solid options in the frontcourt. The six returning players are pretty good, but Towson needs an influx of talent to reach towards the top of the CAA. They got it with four transfers. Cam Allen, coming from CSU Bakersfield, is a shifty point guard who can shoot the ball. Demetrius Mims spent one year at Long Beach State and will provide some backcourt depth. The frontcourt adds Makhtar Gueye for UAB and Victor Uyaelunmo from USC. Gueye averaged 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Blazers and is an experienced 6-10 forward who should step right into a major role. Uyaelunmo is a seven-footer who earned a couple starts during his two years with the Trojans. Suddenly this is a big frontcourt that can potentially dominate the CAA…at least on the defensive end. It will take a little more offense though to end that long NCAA Tournament drought.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.6 (196th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.4 (92, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.3 (193, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.0 (69, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.6 (243, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.4 (117, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.1 (15, 3)
Rebound Margin: 5.5 (33, 1)
Assists Per Game: 11.4 (298, 9)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.9 (64, 4)
