Temple Owls look to bounce back and reach NCAA Tournament
The Temple Owls come in to the 2017-18 season with some high-level recruits, and will try to back them on a tournament run.
The Temple Owls come in with one of their better recruiting classes in recent years. Landing four-star recruits Justyn Hamilton, J.P. Moorman, and Nate Pierre-Louis should make the Owls feel confident about the future of their program. And it also should bolster their run as soon as this year.
Their fourth recruit, De’Vondre Perry, grades just below the other three. Temple will see redshirt sophomores like Trey Lowe and Argentinian guard Ayan Nunez De Carvalho return to the court. But where Temple will make their run will come behind the play of their focal points from last season.
Obi Enechionyia got off to a hot start last season, but struggle to adjust to more attention from opposing defenses. He managed to finish the season averaging 13.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Coming into his senior season, Enechionyia will be the deciding factor in the Temple Owls’ success. Josh Brown, who was granted a medical redshirt year, will try to remind the nation how skilled he is after recovering from an achilles tendon injury.
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With key perimeter player Daniel Dingle graduating after last season, Levan Shawn Alston will have to continue his progress. “Shizz” Alston led the team in scoring last season, and he’ll have to take the same scoring load. Sophomores Alani Moore and Quinton Rose saw major minutes in their debut seasons, and they will have to bolster the bench depth.
Where the Temple Owls will find stability is the center position. Ernest Aflakpui will return for his junior season as the team’s starting center. Aflakpui saw minimal minutes off the bench last season, but stands as the most experienced center. Sophomore Damion Moore will look to knock him off the starting role.
The hype surrounding the Owls should be high. With experienced players returning to lead the pack and youthful recruits making an immediate impact, Temple should be on track to sit near the top of the conference. And, hopefully, this will see Fran Dunphy‘s team making it back to the tournament.
Next: Enechionyia's return helps both parties
The Temple Owls will ride the coattails of Obi Enechionyia and Shizz Alston. Confidence will play a factor this season, and the confidence in these two scorers should be sky high. The Temple Owls will open the season against Old Dominion University on Thursday, November 16th.