Team preview: Temple
Blue Ribbon Yearbook previews the 2009-10 season, exclusively on Insider.
Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all 334 Division I teams. To order the complete 2009-10 edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
(Information in this team report is as of Oct. 1.)
COACH AND PROGRAM
Temple's back-to-back Atlantic 10 Tournament championships were made possible by two aspects of its team: a brutal non-conference schedule and Dionte Christmas.
The latter is gone, but the former remains.
The Owls' 15-game non-conference schedule is one only former coach John Chaney would love. The highlights include: Georgetown (Nov. 17), which will compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament; Siena (Nov. 21), which will begin the season ranked; Virginia Tech (Nov. 27), which will be competitive in the ACC; Penn State (Dec. 5), the reigning NIT champs; Villanova (Dec. 13), which will begin the season in the top 10; and Kansas (Jan. 2), which will compete for a national championship.
"Our non-conference schedule was ranked No. 1 nationally in early January last season," coach Fran Dunphy said. "I think we're heading in that direction again this year."
Of course, that schedule will be exponentially more difficult to navigate without Christmas, a two-time All-A-10 first-team member. Anything good that happened to the Owls last year, Christmas had a hand in it. He led the team in points (19.5), three-pointers made (107) and steals (51) and finished second in rebounds (5.5) and assists (98). But his most important trait was that when the rest of the offense wasn't working, Christmas was.
"When you're playing a good defensive team, and you're offense isn't working well, Dionte can rise up and knock down a three," Dunphy said. "That was a nice luxury to have.
"It's going to be hard to replace that weapon."
Dunphy, who coached at Penn for most of his career, is smart enough to know that replacing Christmas in the short term will not only be hard, but impossible. The sooner his players realize that, he believes, the better they'll play.
"Our offense has to be as efficient as it can be," Dunphy said. "For that to happen, we really need everybody assuming their role to the highest degree.
"If you're not a great scorer, don't try to be. Really work at defense, and make that as solid as it can be. It's those little things that we're trying to do."
PLAYERS
Assuming the role of team leaders are 6-9 junior forward Lavoy Allen (10.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.5 bpg), 6-4 senior guard Ryan Brooks (10.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and 6-4 sophomore guard Juan Fernandez (5.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.7 apg).
Allen blossomed last year, earning All-A-10 third-team and defensive team honors. He was a rebounding machine, finishing third in the A-10 in that category, and averaging 12 per game in Temple's four-game postseason run. Allen was also a defensive presence in the paint, blocking 50 shots, seventh in the A-10.
Dunphy would like to see Allen boost his point production now that Christmas is gone.
"I don't know if he can be a 20-point scorer, but I think he can be a 15," Dunphy said. "He's more unselfish sometimes than we'd like. We'd like to see him more selfish."
Allen definitely knows how to score. A year ago he led Temple with his .579 field-goal percentage (151-of-261). He also shot a solid .333 from three-point range (7-of-21).
Brooks acclimated himself well to his role as starter, after coming off the bench two years ago. Perhaps too well, according to Dunphy. Brooks led the team with a .410 three-point field-goal percentage, but settled for the long-range shot too often (59-of-144) in lieu of taking the ball to the hoop. As a result, Brook attempted only 61 free throws, too few for a player at his position.
"We need him to be just as effective from three as he has been, but he has to develop a mid-range game and find a way to get to the foul line," Dunphy said. "As a player, when your jump shot is taken away, you have to know how to get there [to the free-throw line].
"If he works on that part, I think he'll be a solid performer."
Fernandez didn't join the Owls until January, but he made an impact in his 23 games, posting the best assist-to-turnover ratio (63 assists, 35 turnovers) on a team that led the A-10 in that category (1.24).
Fernandez, who hails from Argentina, spent the summer playing internationally. At the FIBA U-19 Championship in New Zealand, he averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 assists per game to help lead Argentina to the quarterfinals. Because he played so much in the summer, Dunphy worries about fatigue.
"A big challenge for me is how much to push him in the September period," Dunphy said. "He's played so much.
"He's going to be a critical piece; he needs to lead us in terms of the point guard position."
Take an Inside look at the Atlantic-10 with Blue Ribbon's 2009-10 team reports:  Charlotte Dayton Duquesne Fordham George Washington La Salle Massachusetts Rhode Island Richmond St. Bonaventure Saint Joseph's Saint Louis Temple  Xavier |
The competition for the other two starting spots will be heated, with four players in the mix.
At guard, 6-4 red-shirt sophomore Ramone Moore (4.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg) is a likely candidate, but only if he can keep himself on the court. Moore red-shirted two years ago to concentrate on academics, but it didn't help, as he was ruled academically ineligible 13 games into last year. The experience, which included having to drive to the A-10 Tournament with his parents, was a humbling one, and Moore claims he's determined to stay out of academic trouble. Moore is a capable scorer who can put it in the basket a number of different ways, including the three-point line (.381, 8-of-21) and the free-throw line (.857, 6-of-7).
Competing with him is 6-2 sophomore guard T.J. DiLeo (1.0 ppg, 0.8 rpg), who played in five games last year.
At forward, 6-11 sophomore Michael Eric (2.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg) and 6-9 junior Craig Williams (5.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg) will go at it, with the winner receiving the starter's minutes.
The outcome of the competition will go a long way toward shaping Temple's identity, because the players' styles differ. While Eric, who hails from Nigeria, is a classic post player, Williams, from St. Croix is not. Williams attempted 95 three-pointers last year and made 38 (.400), while Eric attempted none. Eric had 12 blocks, while Williams had five.
"They're almost the antithesis of each other," Dunphy said.
Williams makes Temple more dynamic, but his health is an issue. He suffered a dislocated knee cap last April that knocked him out for the rest of the year. Eric could fill a role similar to last year's center, Sergio Olmos, which Dunphy likes.
"Mike is a pretty good shooter, but he needs to know when to take that shot," Dunphy said. "He's a guy we really need to step up. Last year, we got a lot of really good minutes from Sergio; Mike could fill that same role."
Temple's bench is not deep. The only other returning players it has are 6-3 senior guard Luis Guzman (2.1 ppg, 2.0 apg) and 6-6 sophomore forward Scootie Randall (1.2 ppg, 0.5 rpg). Guzman, a former starter, will be Fernandez' primary backup. Randall is similar to Williams in that he's a big man who can shoot.
Dunphy brought in three freshmen: 6-6 forward Rahlir Jefferson; 6-3 guard Khalif Wyatt, and 6-8 forward Carmel Bouchman, who's from Israel.
Temple didn't have to go far for Jefferson and Wyatt, who played for Chester (Pa.) High School and Norristown (Pa.) High School, respectively.
Last season Jefferson averaged 17.8 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 4.1 steals and 3.4 blocked shots. He's considered a versatile player who can guard four positions and play either forward spot. Jefferson, who helped Chester win the Class AAAA state championship in 2008, is also known as a power dunker.
Wyatt and Jefferson are already familiar with one another -- Wyatt's Norristown team played Chester in the 2008 state title game. Wyatt used the game as a personal showcase, scoring 28 points, 19 in the fourth quarter, and contributing seven steals and seven assists. If Jefferson is explosive, Wyatt is crafty. He knows how to use space well and he's an above-average shooter from distance and mid range.
Last season Wyatt averaged 20 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Bouchman averaged 8.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.2 blocks playing for Israel in the 2009 FIBA European U-18 Championships in July. His best game came against the Czech Republic when he contributed game highs in points (18) and rebounds (14).
Bouchman has good skills for a big man; he's a good passer and works hard to get his teammates involved. He'll have to get stronger to play in the paint, but for now he can do damage with his face-up game.
Dunphy doesn't rely heavily on freshmen, but in early September he acquired a player who could provide more immediate assistance. Chris Clarke is a 6-8 sophomore from Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College, where last season he averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in just more than 10 minutes a game.
Clarke originally signed at SMU. He was a highly regarded high school prospect at St. Mary's Prep in Orchard Lake, Mich., where he played with Michigan State star Kalin Lucas.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
BACKCOURT: B
BENCH/DEPTH: C+
FRONTCOURT: B
INTANGIBLES: B+
The Owls have had a way the last couple years of surprising people, winning back-to-back A-10 Tournament championships despite not being among the favorites. Of course, they had one of the best players in the conference in Christmas. That's not the case this season, and without him, Temple will have to adjust quickly, given its brutal non-conference schedule
The Owls remain talented, with Allen, Brooks and Fernandez forming their core. But they don't have much depth, nor do they have a scorer like Christmas to bail them out of tough situations. Temple might still surprise some people, but don't expect it to be with an NCAA Tournament berth.
For the most comprehensive previews available on all 334 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college basketball, the 2009-10 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
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