Temple projected to finish seventh in AAC preseason poll
Aaron McKie doesn’t want to call his first year as the head coach for Temple men’s basketball a “rebuild” season.
At the annual American Athletic Conference basketball media day Monday at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott, the Owls were picked to place seventh in the conference's preseason coaches poll. Despite a projection to finish in the bottom half of the conference, McKie believes the Owls can compete behind preseason all-conference selections Quinton Rose and Nate Pierre-Louis.
Rose was named to the preseason first team while Pierre-Louis was a second-team selection. The two guards finished second and third on the team in scoring, assists and minutes played last season and hope to be able to replace the missing production left behind by graduated leading scorer Shizz Alston Jr.
“We have some experienced guys,” McKie said Monday morning. “We have guys that have played significant minutes for us. I'm expecting those guys to increase their roles to step up a little bit more.”
Last season, Rose averaged 16.3 points and led the team with 71 steals as a junior. But Rose shot just 27 percent from three-point range, which led him to focus on improving his jump shot this offseason, he said.
On top of improving his shot, McKie wants Rose to fill Alston Jr.’s role as the team’s senior leader.
“I simply told [Rose] in the summertime, ‘Hey, I need you to help me lead this team,’” McKie said. “It’s just that simple, on and off the court. I need him to be a present leader. And I want him to have fun and I want him to enjoy the game of basketball.”
In today’s era of basketball, successful teams don’t have just one ball-dominant point guard, McKie said.
Senior guard Alani Moore and newcomers Monty Scott (a transfer from Kennesaw State), Josh Pierre-Louis and Damian Dunn will fill out Temple’s backcourt behind Rose and Pierre-Louis. But McKie still wants someone who can be trusted to make smart decisions in the closing minutes.
“Ideally, you want all those guys to be able to dribble, pass and shoot and do those things,” McKie said, “the one that's really good and really skilled and that makes good decisions without turning the ball over. That's the guy you want to have the ball late in games.”
Junior forward J.P Moorman is the only returning Temple big man who averaged more than 20 minutes per game last season. Juniors Justyn Hamilton and De’Vondre Perry will receive bigger roles in the absence of graduated center Ernest Aflakpui.
“[Hamilton] worked really hard this summer in the weight room to put on a little bit of muscle,” McKie said. “He's a talented kid that can help us in a number of different ways on the offensive side and the defensive side. He’s got length and athleticism. ... So hopefully this season he takes a step.”
The Owls have never finished higher than fifth place in the preseason coaches poll in the American Athletic Conference’s prior six seasons. Temple finished higher than their projected spot three out of the six seasons, which includes last year’s third place finish after slotting sixth in the preseason poll.
After an offseason that included a team trip to the Bahamas and a number of “high-intensity” practices, McKie and the Owls are set to kick off the season in 22 days at the Liacouras Center against Drexel Nov. 5.
“I’m ready to play… the guys are ready to play,” McKie said.