Coming off of a 14-19 season, the men’s basketball team has plenty of room for improvement.
Last season’s team trailed its opposition in nearly all offensive statistical categories — most decisively in three-point shooting — and returning Captains Dee Brown and Scott Thomas said they and their teammates are working this summer to improve as shooters.
The Falcons shot less than 30 percent from the three last season while their opposition shot over 35 percent.
“Our three-point field percentage was one of the lowest in the MAC … that’s really one thing a lot of us have been working on, is being able to make the shots from deep,” Thomas said.
This year’s incoming freshman class, however, should help the offense in both overall scoring and shooting from behind the arc.
Jevhon Clarke and Desmond Rorie will be joining the Falcons after going undefeated in league play their last three seasons at Canton Timken High School. Clarke averaged 15.5 points, 5.6 assists and 3 steals a game, and shot 35.6 percent from three. Rorie is a 6-foot 9-inch forward who does not look as good as Clarke on paper, but Orr said last November that he is one of the most athletic big men in the state.
Coach Orr’s son, Chauncey, is a highly touted local recruit who was named to the All-Ohio first team in division 1 last season after averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals a game for Bowling Green High School. Chauncey should also improve the Falcons three point shooting as he was 42 percent from behind the line.
Last, redshirt freshman Anthony Henderson will begin his first athletic year of eligibility this season. Henderson, too, received All-Ohio first team in Division-I acolades as a senior at Start High School after averaging 27.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is Start’s career leading scorer with 1,350 points.
Orr said he cannot yet say whether or not this year’s freshman class will see quality playing time.
“You get what you earn. I hope they all come in and are ready to play,” Orr said.
Though the freshmen players have yet to arrive on campus, current players are doing what they can to stay in shape.
NCAA rules forbid coaches to hold organized practices while players are not in school, so players have been working individually to improve their game, according to Thomas and Brown.
But summer training is not a free-for-all.
Brown said the team is allowed to work out together and have been in the gym lifting three times a week and on the track running twice a week. Also, he said that while the coaches are not allowed access to the players, they gave the team an idea of what to work on this summer at the end of last season.
With that, fans can expect improvements with the Falcons for this coming season.
The Falcons return all five starters from the end of last season, so the team chemistry should improve naturally after a year of playing together.
With the five starters, the Falcons return their top five leading scorers; the natural progression of the players and the familiarity and maturity that comes with a year of playing together could lead to improved offensive numbers.
Defensively the Falcons were not bad last season, as they had more steals, blocks and forced more turnovers than opponents. They return the top three statistical leaders in both blocks and steals.
Last, the addition of the four freshmen will provide the Falcon’s roster with good depth. Orr said that after graduating Joe Jakubowski the team needs a quality point guard to backup Jordon Crawford and Clarke may be the answer.
Both Thomas and Brown reiterated the point that the return of all starters should pay dividends this season.
Thomas expects the team’s confidence to rise and agreed that the team should play with better cohesiveness after a year of playing together.
Brown thinks collective and individual defense will improve as a result of the team’s experience.
“You have to have experience to go against some of these crafty players,” he said.
The players will continue conditioning collectively through the remainder of the summer and will be granted access to the new Stroh Center July 1. Coaches are allowed limited acces to the players when fall semester begins, but official, organized practices will not begin until Oct. 15.