By Mark German
Head Coach- Pat Skerry (4th Season)
Last Season- 25-11 (13-3, CAA)
Losses- Jerrelle Benimon F, Rafriel Guthrie G, Marcus Damas F, Mike Burwell G
Newcomers- A.J. Astroth G, Alex Gavrilovic F, Byron Hawkins G, Eddie Keith F, Jordan McNeil G, Mike Morsell F, Arnaud William Adala Moto
With three seasons under Pat Skerry’s belt as Towson head coach, the Tigers are looking to replicate their successful 2013-14 season in which they finished second in the CAA. It will be a difficult task, as four starters have left, including CAA Player of the Year Jerrelle Benimon.
With major holes in the lineup, the team will look to 6-2 Junior G Four McGlynn to provide the scoring punch for this offense. He averaged 9.2 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field. McGlynn led Towson with a 40.8 percent clip from behind the arc. As for rebounding, 6-7 Junior F Timajh Parker-Rivera will have to be responsible for the cleanup duties with Benimon gone. He averaged 5.2 boards a game in 36 games last season.
The only senior on this squad is 6-10 forward Jamel Flash from West Hempstead, NY. Unfortunately for Flash, it doesn’t seem Skerry trusts his veteran presence on the court, as he only played in only 16 games for the Tigers in 2013-14.
Three men decided to transfer into Skerry’s program since the summer: A.J. Astroth (Vanderbilt), Alex Gavrilovic (Dayton), and Arnaud William Adala Moto (Wake Forest). Adala Moto averaged 6.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game last year. In addition to these three, four freshmen will be donning the Towson uniform this year. Look for 6-5, 220-pound Eddie Keith to make the biggest impact.
Bottom Line- The coaches picked Towson to drop all the way down to seventh after finishing last season in second, and its understandable why. Their four best players are gone, leaving unproven commodities and bench players to fill those glaring gaps in the starting lineup. A top-five finish for this squad should be considered a very successful season.