Temple University Men's Basketball Team 2012 - 2013

By Amy McGinnis

With the NHL lockout, baseball in its offseason, and Andy Reid still at the helm with an offensive line that looks like garbage, it looks like it’s time for Philadelphia to throw ourselves into basketball.  Sixers are currently 4-3, sitting in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings. We’re also lucky to live in a city with NCAA Division I men’s basketball at La Salle University, University of Pennsylvania, St. Joseph’s University, Temple University, and Villanova University.  I’d like to take a look at all five; I’m a TU alum, so let’s start with the Temple Owls.

We all remember the excitement of TU embarrassing Duke last season, and Temple’s elimination from the tournament when they fell to South Florida.  Dunphy’s squad looks a little different this season, as the team lost Ramone Moore, Juan Fernandez, Michael Eric, and Aaron Brown.  The good news is that Khalif Wyatt, Rhalir Hollis-Jefferson, and Anthony Lee are still on the roster.  I’ll be looking at Hollis-Jefferson, a 6’6″ senior forward from Chester, for leadership.  He excels at defense and rebounding, and as a senior this year, I want to see him really guide this team.  Khalif Wyatt, also a senior, is a 6’4″ guard from Norristown who was fourth in A10 scoring last season with 17.1 points per game.  Wyatt cannot, and shouldn’t be expected to carry this team, though.  Fortunately, the Owls have some young talent to try to complement the veterans on the team.  In the 2011-12 season, then-freshman Anthony Lee earned 17 starts.  He actually redshirted the 2010-11 season due to a back injury, and last season, the forward’s numbers weren’t impressive (5.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 1.1 bpg).  Lee has three full seasons ahead of him, and has the potential to become a big scoring threat.

Coach Dunphy will need to get the backcourt to shoot the ball more – the Owls will have a tough season otherwise.  Guards Will Cummings (a sophomore) and Dalton Pepper (a junior) could stand to dial it up a few notches.  With the way things currently look on this team, I’d say there’s about zero room for error if they want to have any sort of chance at the tournament in March.

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Tags: Amy McGinnis, College Basketball, fran dunphy, temple university, TSP