Previewing Towson

2009 Scouting / 2009 Game Plan / 2008 Scouting Report
2009 Schedule / 2009 Stats
2009 Roster

Towson Offense 07-08Four FactorsPercentNat'l RankeFG%46.8283Turnover Rate17.316Off Reb Rate28.4301FTM/FGA20.0307Towson Offense 08-09Four FactorsPercentNat'l RankeFG%47.2222Turnover Rate19.9117Off Reb Rate34.8123FTM/FGA22.7215











I feel like I've written the same preview 10 times this season. There are only so many different ways I can say, "man, look at all this suck-ass," and at this point it's just tiresome. Fortunately the parade of cupcakes is about finished.

Starters:

Troy Franklin (5-11, 160) -- Good assist rate, solid free throw and steal rates, so he's probably pretty quick. About 65% of his shots come from outside, which is probably for the best since he's only marginally better from two (37.8%) than he is from three (34.3%).

Brian Morris (6-6, 185) -- Not much of a factor offensively, as he's taking a paltry 13.4% of the shots. When he does attempt to contribute, he'll either dribble the ball off his knee or miss a three pointer.

Jarrel Smith (6-7, 210) -- Not an efficient scorer; doesn't rebound, get to the line, or block shots.

Junior Hairston (6-8, 205) -- Hairston is one of the Tigers to watch; he takes about 25% of the shots and leads the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game. He will shoot from outside, but he prefers to score inside the arc, where he's shooting about 47% over the last two years. For some reason, his rebounding at both ends is way down this year.

Robert Nwankwo (6-8, 220) -- Completely uninvolved at the offensive end, and with good reason--he's yet to find any sort of scoring touch, and he's terrible from the FT line. He's an excellent offensive rebounder who'll block his share of shots, but that's about it as far as positive contributions go. Nwankwo averages 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes, so don't be surprised if McCauley gets him in trouble quickly.

Bench:

Josh Thornton (6-2, 175) could end up starting, but will be a significant factor regardless. He's good for exactly one thing--threes--and he is not shy about taking them.

Calvin Lee (6-8, 215) and David Brewster (6-6, 205) are the other notable reserves. Lee is a low-post scorer struggling to find his shot, but he sports a nice OR% and takes care of the basketball. Brewster is turnover-prone and shoots too much. Both average more than 5 fouls/40.


Towson Defense 07-08Four FactorsPercentNat'l RankeFG%50.4198Turnover Rate20.5185Off Reb Rate32.3140FTA/FGA36.3165Towson Defense 08-09Four FactorsPercentNat'l RankeFG%48.4146Turnover Rate20.0221Off Reb Rate40.9333FTA/FGA32.299











Between the graduation of Jonathan Pease and the precipitous decline of Junior Hairston's numbers, the Tigers are essentially without their two best defensive rebounders from 2008, which has led to the disaster that is their defensive rebounding percentage in 2009. Hairston leads the team with a 13.5 DR%, which is just sad.

Despite a few disruptive shot-blockers, their 2FG% defense has not been good--always a positive sign for the Wolfpack.

The Pomeroy Predictor thinks NC State is 18 points better than the Tigers.