YSU looks to return to fast-paced identity
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YOUNGSTOWN -- At its best over the past five or six years, the Youngstown State men's basketball team was one of the top offensive teams in the country.
The Penguins were an up-tempo team that was efficient scoring and aggressive in how it attacked opposing teams, but for one reason or another, YSU got away from that identity the last couple years.
With the roster they've put together during the offseason, the Penguins want to get back to playing that fast-paced, up-tempo style this upcoming season.
"I think we'll play faster. I think our team is built to play faster," YSU head coach Ethan Faulkner said. "We played fast at times last year, but didn't think that was necessarily our M.O. offensively. It's going to be a very important piece of the puzzle for us as to how we do in transition and really dictate the tempo of the game."
In order to push the tempo and play at the pace they want, the Penguins needed to get faster and more athletic, especially at point guard.
Duquesne transfer point guard Dom Aekins is the key to unlocking that for YSU. Plus, fellow guards Kaelen Destin and Jayden Tyler also have similar skillsets that will allow the Penguins to get up and down the court.
"That's one thing that we really wanted to emphasize in recruiting, particularly from the guard spot," Faulkner said. "Get guys that can really make the game easier for other people, that can dictate our tempo in transition and that can be really good in the ball screen. I think we are significantly faster at the point guard spot. Dom is as athletically gifted a point guard as we've had since Dwayne [Cohill]. When I say that, I mean with his speed, his quickness and his athletic ability in terms of running and jumping."
The last couple years, defensive rebounding was one of the Penguins' biggest weaknesses. They gave up too many offensive rebounds, and that often led to second-chance scoring opportunities for opponents and minimized the number of offensive possessions for YSU.
Obviously in order for the Penguins to get out in transition and push the ball up the floor, that starts with cleaning things up on the defensive glass.
Faulkner hopes the presence of 6-foot-11 center Kelvin Amoako and 6-foot-8 forward Japhet Moupadele in the low post can help address those issues.
"I really like what we've added in the front court in terms of size and physicality," Faulkner said. "It's a little bit different than the fives that we've played - in terms of the skilled perimeter fives - that we've played in the past, the Vlad [Salaridzes], the Nico [Galettes], guys like that. JP and Kelvin are both very physical. They've got great size, and they both can score the ball around the rim.
"So those guys I think will certainly help us offensively to be able to throw the ball inside more, and then defensively really help us in terms of defending the rim and defensive rebounding."
YSU has some versatility in the options it has on the wings at shooting guard and small forward with Jaiden Haynes, Linus Holmstrom, Jamar Livingston, Jermaine Coleman and Jeff Nwankwo.
But finding a way to play the way the Penguins want, while being efficient offensively, will go a long way to determining the team's success.
"[We're] built to play in a more free-flowing offense, where we're playing out of a bunch of ball screens and giving our ball-screen decision makers room to play to go with our shooting on the perimeter," Faulkner said. "And it's nice to have a couple guys we can throw the ball around the rim to and feel like we can get baskets around the rim in the post."