2015 Temple Season Wrap-Up

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

After a string of 6-straight NCAA tournament appearances, the Owls missed the Big Dance this past season for the second year in a row. Even setting the fact that both avid supporters and neutral pundits alike thought the Owls deserved one of the final at-large bids, this year should still be viewed as a success for Fran Dunphy’s squad. Temple had the largest turnaround of any team in the country in going from just 9 wins to 26, perhaps highlighted by their dominant 25-point victory over Kansas in December. Then, say what you will about the NIT in this day and age, but the Owls acquitted themselves nicely in postseason play, reaching the semifinals before a horrific shooting performance cost them victory in a close defeat to Miami.

Shooting woes were a problem for the Owls all season long, as their 38.8 field goal percentage and 30.4% mark from behind the arc were among the worst in the nation. However, you could never question the team’s heart and effort, plainly demonstrated by their play on the defensive end. The Owls went from one of the worst defensive teams in the country during their 9-win campaign, to a top-20 unit nationally. Much of that improvement was credited by Fran Dunphy to the arrival of transfer big man Jaylen Bond (AAC all-Conference Honorable Mention and all-Big 5 second team).

Not only was Bond the team’s leading rebounder at 7.9 per game, but he was excellent in all facets of defensive play: hedging out hard on the pick-and-roll with the quickness to recover to his man, the flexibility to guard multiple positions, and the bulk and strength to tussle with bigger bodies on the interior. Bond covered up for a lot of the defensive mistakes that had led to disaster just a season before.

Anchored by Bond, the frontcourt should be the strength of the team next season, also bolstered by the ever-improving Obi Enechionya. The team’s leading shot-blocker as a freshman, but also possessing the range to occasionally step out to the three-point line offensively, Enechionya projects as the best two-way big man the Owls have rostered in some time. We saw it all come together for him in Temple’s final game against the Hurricanes, when he dropped a career-high 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. With Devontae Watson around as a big body, and Mark Williams having had a couple nice games early in the season when Bond was injured, Temple appears set at the big man position moving forward.

More of a question mark comes in the backcourt, where the Owls are losing their starting unit in seniors Will Cummings (AAC all-Conference first team and all-Big 5 first team) and Jesse Morgan. After having to sit out the fall semester following his transfer from UMass, Morgan had a huge impact on the club as the team’s 3rd-leading scorer and biggest threat from behind the arc (attempting and making the most threes on the team at a respectable 35.4% clip).

However, the heart and soul of the team was 4-year guard Will Cummings, who led the team in both points and assists, and was the experienced voice of leadership the rest of the team look toward both on the court and in the locker room. When the team needed to be calmed down and regroup, Cummings did that for them, and if the Owls needed a big bucket, he stepped up for that as well. An ankle injury suffered by Cummings corresponded with the Owls’ only 3-game losing streak of the season in January, which may have ultimately cost them a spot in the NCAA tournament. The loss of both members of the backcourt will mean increased minutes for both Josh Brown and Clemson transfer Devin Coleman. Each guy played well in smaller roles this season, but neither is really a true point guard, making Cummings all the more difficult to replace. 

While the question of who will succeed Cummings as the team’s primary ball handler is a big one, it does seem to be the only one for a Owls team that should continue its upward trajectory in 2015-16. For what it’s worth, Joe Lunardi’s way-too-early 2016 bracketology predicts the Owls to return to the Big Dance next year. We discussed the depth in the frontcourt and despite losing Morgan on the wing, Temple should be solid there with Quenton DeCosey (all-Big 5 second team) returning, in addition to Brown and Coleman. Even more cause for optimism comes from what will be the new faces on North Broad next year.

Fran Dunphy did a fine job on the recruiting circuit, bringing in a atrong incoming freshman class featuring three 4-star recruits: 6’10” center Ernest Aflakpui, 6’5″ guard Trey Lowe, and 6’4″ guard Levan Alston. Alston is an ESPN top-100 prospect, the first for Fran Dunphy since Daniel Dingle in the 2012 recruiting class (no one has ever said it’s a perfectly infallible projection system for success). Although he’s a 2-guard who projects as one of the best high volume scorers in his class, Alston rates as an excellent passer as well; I’m sure he will be called upon to assume some of the responsibilities of both Cummings and Morgan next season.