McKie, Rose look back on shortened season

Temple was part of history in the final days of the college basketball season, but not for the reason every team hopes for in March.

With dreams of an improbable run in the American Athletic Conference tournament, the Owls saw their season come to an abrupt end as a result of a growing global pandemic, which forced cancellations of conference tournaments across the NCAA.

“It was just painful,” senior captain Quinton Rose said Tuesday, “knowing that, like, my career was ending due to something I couldn’t control.”

Hours before Temple was set to tip-off against SMU in the first round of its conference tournament on March 12, the American announced it would be canceling the entirety of the tournament in response to an outbreak of COVID-19 across the country.

The last time the program was forced to cancel games was just over a hundred years ago when the Spanish Flu forced the 1918-1919 varsity team out of a full season.

Head coach Aaron McKie recalled the team had been sharing a meal after returning from shootaround that morning when he received a phone call with the announcement.

Looking to their head coach for sage advice, McKie turned back to his team and simply said, “I don’t have any answers.”

“This is unchartered territory for America,” McKie said, “but I said I agree with what’s going on because for me, safety was first.”

Temple was set to enter the conference tournament with a 14-17 overall record and the No. 10 seed in the conference. It finished the season on a five-game losing skid, including losses to ECU and USF.

McKie added that growing and learning with the guys on the team was his biggest takeaway while reflecting on the season. He had to remove his ego to be able to teach his team about basketball and about life.

“We had our good share of highs, and we had our good share of lows,” McKie said. “The one thing that I’ve really learned is just patience. When you give out information or you give out details you want kids to be receptive and be able to pick it up right away. It just doesn’t happen like that.”

LOOKING BACK

Just like the rest of the world, life in quarantine has helped put things into perspective for the first-year head coach.

McKie recognized their biggest struggles were consistency and an inability to string together strong possessions or complete games. When things got bad, they didn’t get better.

And it happened across the board.

“The way I looked at the season, it was like if we were defending well, offensively, we weren’t making shots,” McKie said. “If we were taking care of the ball, we weren’t making free throws. We just couldn’t put an overall good game together.”

After getting off to a 9-3 start, the Owls plateaued. Once conference play started, they were seemingly unable to overcome their biggest hitch - an inability to score.

It was going to take a miracle to prolong their season, but March would have been perfect timing for a Cinderella story.

“We only had one shot to make the NCAA tournament,” Rose said, “and that was to win four games in four days. We were very aware of that. We had a plan but we didn’t get a chance to show it.”

“The record doesn’t show it but from a growth standpoint,” he added, “but I think we all took that next step.”

WHAT'S NEXT?

McKie’s next challenges include navigating a summer of recruitment, scheduling team meetings, and preparing for year two at the helm. His biggest obstacle has been the uncertainty of the pandemic distancing him from his team and his staff.

An inability to travel and visit recruits hasn’t stopped McKie from doing his job, touching base with players over the phone each day.

“You don’t get a chance to get out there and see the kids,” McKie said, “but we’re all dealing with the same thing. You got to make the most of it. There’s no need for me to sit up here and kick and scream and complain about it. We all have to do it and we just have to make the most of it.”

With junior forward Justyn Hamilton entering his name in the transfer portal and guards Tai Strickland and Damian Dunn coming back after missing the entirety of last season, McKie should have plenty to work with.

Neither returner has had much of a chance to showcase what they can bring to the table.

Strickland was forced to sit out because the NCAA did not clear his transfer waiver from Wisconsin. Dunn, coming off a foot injury he sustained in the preseason, played just 18 minutes, scoring one point in a 70-44 road loss to Tulsa back in early January. Temple will pursue a medical redshirt for Dunn and hope to have the talented wing guard back as a redshirt freshman.

“Both those guys are really talented,” Rose said. “Damian Dunn, he’s really good. He knows how to use his size. And Tai Strickland, he’s really shifty and can get anywhere on the floor. The most impressive thing about those guys is their work ethic.”

As of now, Temple will have at least three new faces on campus in the recruiting class of 2020. Quincy Ademokoya and Jahlil White, both high school seniors, signed their national letters of intent back in November. And 6-foot-8 forward Nick Jourdain, who saw his recruitment pick up after taking a prep year this season at Covenant College Prep, verbally committed to the Owls last week.

Rose pointed to junior forward De’Vondre Perry as someone who could take on a leadership role next season, potentially filling the third spot as team captain.

“He was a real vocal guy on the team this year,” Rose said, “and I would consider him a leader this past season. So I think next year, he’ll definitely be one.”

Phone calls, Zoom calls, Skype calls, and every other form of virtual communication will be the new norm within the Temple program for the foreseeable future. Even during a global pandemic, there’s still work to be done and decisions to make toward their ultimate goal.

“Collectively, it’s going to be a big summer for everybody,” McKie said, “but I’m looking forward to seeing everybody take that next step in growing and developing as players.”