The Town Crier

[PointGuard]

Horizon League Championship
By Steve Porter

They say life is unpredictable. And they’re right! In a game that no one could have predicted, #10 seed Cleveland State (10-20) met #5 seed Detroit (12-17) for the Horizon League championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Detroit used the enthusiasm of their many local fans to cruise to a 39-23 halftime advantage. They returned to the court with a win seeming to be a foregone conclusion. But Cleveland State hadn’t read the script. Led by the shooting of SG Lloyd Sanders and the rebounding of C Jeremy Hackett, the Vikings began chipping away at the Titans lead. With Detroit unable to stop the barrage of points being scored by Cleveland State, the Titans’ fans grew quiet. With 4:12 to go, Cleveland State’s Robbie Daniels sank a 3 from the corner to put the Vikings on top for the first time in the game at 68-67. Two minutes later Cleveland State led by 5. But the momentum swung yet again. Detroit knocked down two successive 3’s to regain the lead by a single point. The final minute saw 4 lead changes with Detroit’s Brian Bryant tipping in a rebound with 4 seconds to go that gave Detroit a thrilling 80-79 win and the championship. Detroit fans streamed onto the floor following their team's win. C William Rogers scored 23 and yanked down 15 rebounds for Detroit while his teammate, Brian Bryant also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Cleveland State’s SG Lloyd Sanders led all scorers with 30 points.

[PointGuard]

Youngstown State Penguins Player Stats for the 2017-2018 Season:

[PointGuard]

A Burst From Durst
By Steve Porter

I was able to interview Coach Kendrick “KD” Durst in his office while we were watching some NCAA Tournament games.

SP: Your second season was a little tough, what do you think went right and what went wrong?

KD: It was a disappointing season. After going 6-3 in pre-conference games and having a 6 game win streak that included our first game in league play, it seemed like we were on our way to a solid season. But then we went into a 3 game tailspin that sort of foretold how we would play in league play. And our 7-11 league record that placed us near the bottom of the Horizon League standings was a big letdown for the team, coaches, and our fans.

I think our biggest problem was that we failed defensively in so many games. We’d have the occasional great game defensively but weren’t able to do that consistently. Offensively our 3-point shooting sucked early in the year. It never got as good as needed, but did improve as the season went along.

But I was pleased with how our players matured and developed as the season progressed. Jamal Grady made his presence known as a freshman last season, but he was much improved this year and became a leader on the team. And our two freshmen, Aaron Tice and Kent Jones made huge advances during the last half of this season. Those 3 players should be the core of a very strong interior next season for us.

SP: Were you concerned about the fan complaints and unrest that occurred during the latter half of this season?

KD: Not at all. They had every right to do that. I’m glad they want us to be a lot better. Those kind of expectations not only make me strive to do better, but also do the same for my assistant coaches, and our players.

SP: So what do you see for next season, Coach?

KD: We were a very young team this season. We’re only losing one player to graduation so we should be stronger next year. I think we’re a ways from being contenders in the Horizon League but we’ll move up in the standings next season.

SP: What’s your assessment of next year’s team at each position?

KD: I think our play at PG will be a lot better. We have both Tim Lostetter and Levall Hart coming back plus transfer Linehan Murphy will be able to play next season. Both Tim and Levall got some good experience this season and Linehan got a lot of experience as a freshman at Boston University before coming to us. I think all 3 of them will be fighting to be the starter. We’ll just have to see how that works out, but all 3 of them will contribute.

At SG, it is tough to be losing Josh Jones. But Lonnie Holt showed flashes of excellence. B.J. Dennis, who was a redshirt freshman this season, will be contending. And then we have recruited William Swan. So again, at this point I have no idea which of those 3 will step up to take the lead. I’m hoping to get a little more production at SG though.

With Chad Delzell, Rick Martin, and William Worley all returning at SF, that should make that one of our strong positions next season. Chad is a great rebounder and likely will contribute more offensively, and Rick had some games where he showed great offensive skills. William got more play time near the end of this season and that should help him fit nicely into next season’s picture for us.

As I was mentioning earlier, I think we will be strong inside next year.

At PF we have both Aaron Tice and Rich Bramwell returning. Both of those players put some good numbers on the board this season and with the added experience and maturity, they’ll be a dynamic duo for us next season.

Jamal Grady is our most talented player. With him at C we are solid. But then Kent Jones just came on so strongly during the late stages of this season. So that added depth makes the C position a real strength for us this coming season.

We also have two walk-on players who will be juniors next season. Charlie Paben didn’t get too much time on the court for us at PF this season, but he definitely has some abilities that make him a good fill in at that position. Kevin Anderson played a little more than Charlie this season and did well for us in the limited spots he was in games. So he gives us even greater depth at C.

SP: Next year you’ll have 4 seniors so you’ll have a lot of scholarships to fill. Do you see that as an opportunity or a challenge?

KD: Its both of course, but more opportunity than challenge. I’m hoping we can pull in some very good new guys next year who will be ready to step in and give us a boost a year-and-a-half from now.

SP: Steve Simmons, your 1st assistant coach, has been handling the recruiting duties for you. Do you see that continuing?

KD: Yes, Steve has a few more years on his contract. I’m happy with his efforts and his knowledge and skills in recruiting. He’s finally going to have a chance to get out there and find us a GROUP of future players. Steve, along with A.D. Strong who’s handled our player development and been our primary bench assistant, and Kirk Smith, who does our scouting, will all be back. That continuity is important to me.

SP: Who do you think will be NCAA Champ this year?

KD: All I know is that it won’t be us. Dammit!

[PointGuard]

Horizon League Teams’ Post-Season Tourney Results:

CIT Tournament:

Wisconsin-Green Bay, #3 seed in the South Region
Milwaukee, #5 seed in the West Region

Round 1:
Wisconsin-Green Bay-76, Nevada-68
Milwaukee-63, South-Alabama-49

Round 2:
Western Kentucky-81, Wisconsin-Green Bay-56
Milwaukee-75, St. Joseph’s-63

Round 3:
Milwaukee-86, Holy Cross-68

Round 4 (Semi-Finals):
Milwaukee-69, NC-Wilmington-58

Round 5 (Championship):
Louisville-80, Milwaukee-53

NIT Tournament:

UIC, #7 seed in Midwest Region

Round 1: Miami (OH)-77, UIC-59

NCAA Tournament:

Detroit, play-in game for #16 in the West
Detroit-73, Campbell-71

Round 1:
Oregon-85, Detroit-73

[PointGuard]

Horizon League Awards Announced
By Steve Porter

The Horizon League announced their annual awards. Youngstown State’s Jamal Grady was named to the Horizon League 2nd Team All-Conference Team. Grady, the Penguin’s 6-11 center from Pomeroy, Ohio, averaged 13.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg, and 0.9 bpg during his sophomore season. Coach KD Durst said, “Jamal is very deserving of this honor. He has been a key player on our team during both of his seasons here. Not only is he an excellent player who buoys our team, but he also is a good student-athlete who possesses a 3.4 GPA majoring in Finance. He also worked hard to help develop Kent Jones, the freshman who backs him up, thus improving our depth.”

[Wayne23]

The Conference spokesman, Lefty Wright, announced at the press conference, "KD Durst is most emphatically NOT Coach of the Year!"

[PointGuard]

The Conference spokesman, Lefty Wright, announced at the press conference, "KD Durst is most emphatically NOT Coach of the Year!"

Following the end of the season, at a big surprise birthday party arranged for Coach Kendrick "KD" Durst, the beautiful and sexy starlet Ryte Rong in a dress with so much cleavage that it probably should be illegal is brought up to the dais and says, "I don't really know what that Looney Wright was talking about. Coach Durst is so ruggedly handsome that I'd like him to by MY Coach of the Year."

Then while looking longingly at Coach Durst, Ryte breathlessly and slowly sings: "Happy birthday to yooouuu, happy birthday to yooouuuu, happy birthday Coach Kennnndriccckkkk, happy birthday to yoouuuuuuuu". She finishes by directly looking at Coach Durst with a long and smoldering smile, a slow batting of her lashes, and an almost imperceptible tracing by the tip of her tongue around her luscious red lips.

[Wayne23]

Ammana... ammana... ammana... muh.. muh... muh...

[PointGuard]

May 2018 Note

Rumor has it that B.J. Dennis, a talented player recruited from Pickerington, Ohio but who was redshirted as a freshman last season, intended to transfer. Apparently Dennis feuded frequently with teammate Rich Braswell last season. So much so that he poisoned his relationship with not only Braswell but the rest of the team. This caused him to seriously consider transferring. But Coach KD Durst, who is reported to have maintained a solid relationship with Dennis, convinced him that he was needed by the Penguins and has a good chance of being the team’s starting SG this season and talked him out of transferring. –Steve Porter

[PointGuard]

Penguins Ready to Recruit
By Steve Porter

As the 2018-2019 recruiting season gets underway Steve Simmons, YSU’s 1st Assistant Coach, said they need to fill four scholarships. According to Simmons their goal is to pick up two strong perimeter players who preferably have some height and a big man to provide depth at PF and C. For the 4th scholarship they hope to land the best player available regardless of position. Simmons said, “We’d like to get a couple good outside shooters but also need to focus on finding players who can play some solid defense. We simply didn’t get the job done defensively last season, and Coach Durst is adamant that he wants to change that in the upcoming season.”

Simmons indicated the team already has identified some recruits who have interest in the Penguins’ program. “We’ll be following up with them and doing further evaluation as we expand our search to a much wider group of recruits, putting many on our watch list and then narrowing our focus as we assess their talent level and interest. This year we’ll continue to focus on the state of Ohio and the Midwest region. We don’t yet have the name or budget to effectively recruit nationwide,” explained Simmons.