After the start to a highly anticipated Youngstown State men’s basketball season was prolonged by a power outage on campus, we finally have a chance to breathe and react to the Penguins’ first two games of the season.
Going into year one of the Ethan Faulkner era, the Guins had a lot of questions to be answered. Who will replace the likes of Ziggy Reid, DJ Burns, Brandon Rush, and the other veteran players that accounted for roughly 70 points per game? Will a roster composed primarily of transfers have a leader? Can this team eclipse the 20-win mark for the third year in a row? Now that we’re two games in, let’s break it down.
YSU stands at 1-1, after an 80-60 point win against Chicago State and an ugly 47-81 loss against #21 Ohio State. The first win of the Ethan Faulkner era was expected, as their opponent is dealing with similar growing pains in having a brand new roster. The unexpected came this past Monday, as the Guins were held to just 23.7% from the field and 13.6% from distance by an Ohio State team that will seemingly be competitive in the Big 10.
The game at CSU was fairly competitive in stretches. YSU only led 32-29 at halftime after a woeful 1-9 shooting performance from three. The Guins came right out of the gate in the second half, taking a 43-33 lead at the first media timeout after Ty Harper and EJ Farmer combined for 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half. The Cougars had another push to cut the YSU lead to just 6, but Sacred Heart Nico Galette responded with 7 straight points to keep the game at distance.
The Penguins turned around cold perimeter shooting in the first to 40% from deep in the second. They finished 43% from the field, 26.3% from three, and 71.9% from the charity stripe on 32 attempts. Galette looked dominant in isolated post-up possessions on smaller guards, leading the Guins with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Gabe Dynes was a polarizing factor in the paint, tying his career high in blocks with 7, to go along with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Juwan Maxey was a breath of fresh air off the bench, adding 14 points on 3-8 from long range. Harper and Farmer had 12 and 9, respectively. All this amounted to a resounding 20-point win, the first under Ethan Faulkner as head coach.
The winning performance Saturday gave YSU fans like myself a sense of hope going into the matchup against Ohio State. But the Buckeyes imposed their length and physicality on YSU the moment after Dynes made the first basket of the game. Not only did the length of OSU bother any flurry of Penguin offense, it helped them win a 14 point advantage in points in the paint. The Buckeyes shot lights out, shooting 55.4% from the field and 5-11 from beyond the arc. The Guins, on the other hand, are now shooting just 33% from the field and 19% from deep. The loss wasn’t pretty, but realistically isn’t the biggest matter in the world of mid-majors.
Although two games against two completely different programs is a small sample size, there have been some consistencies worth noting. To start, Gabe Dynes is not only one of the most imposing rim protectors in the nation, but he’s become a more comfortable scorer in post-up situations. He’s flashed some promising touch on hook shots, and has shown nice passing from the post out of double teams. He’s already averaging 5 blocks per game through the first two, in addition to 10 ppg.
Another noteworthy trend is the lack of three point shooting. It’s hard to point the finger at any individual players since only Juwan Maxey and Cris Carroll are shooting above 30 percent. The good news is that it would be very difficult for this percentage to get worse. It’s just disappointing to see where the attempts come from. Ej Farmer, a 26% three-point shooter in 2023, has already taken 8 threes and hasn’t connected on one. Siem Uijtendaal, who shot 38% from deep at Canisius last year, has only taken 2 attempts from long range. It’s discouraging but not surprising, as YSU needs to feel adversity in games like this to truly understand their personnel.
Lastly, Faulkner has previously said this team will compete with balanced scoring performances instead of having a guy like Dwayne Cohill that can fill it up. Though only two games in, the starting lineup needs to be more productive in scoring the ball. It’s nice to have production off the bench from Maxey and Carroll, but YSU can’t expect to win many games if Farmer and Jason Nelson are playing 20-plus minutes and only scoring a combined 7.5 ppg.
Overall, YSU has shown plenty of flashes that should encourage Penguin fans. Dynes is the real deal on both ends of the floor. Galette will be more productive if he can get more isolation possessions to pick on smaller guards. The shots from downtown will eventually fall with better shot selection.
Despite the tough loss to Ohio State, the Guins have a much more favorable power conference opponent tomorrow night, as they’ll head to Syracuse for the first time in program history. The Orange may be 2-0, but their wins against mid-majors have been tight. They beat Le Moyne 86-82 in their first game of the year, and narrowly defeated Colgate 74-72. Syracuse appears to be experiencing perimeter shooting woes as well, as they’re shooting just 26% from deep. They’ll have the size to match Dynes down low with the likes of Eddie Lampkin, a bruising center averaging 12 points and 7.5 boards. The game begins 1 PM Saturday, streaming on ACCNX.
