Associate head coach Aaron McKie told The Temple News last week that he plans to recruit “athletes with high motors” when he takes over the program in the 2019-20 season.
Until then, Temple will have one more season with coach Fran Dunphy at the helm.
In Dunphy’s final season, what will Temple’s roster look like? Which players won’t be on Temple’s roster after the 2018-19 season? Who are some prospects the Owls’ staff is scouting?
BACKCOURT
Temple will return one of two starters from its backcourt for the 2018-19 season.
Junior guard Shizz Alston Jr. will retain one of the starting backcourt positions. He averaged 13.3 points per game last season, which ranked second on the team behind sophomore guard Quinton Rose.
Former guard Josh Brown used his final year of eligibility last season. He started every game in the 2017-18 season after returning from an Achilles tendon injury that limited him to five games during the 2016-17 season.
Brown ranked fifth in the American Athletic Conference with an assist-to-turnover ratio of two.
The Owls currently have two players who could fill Brown’s spot.
Freshman guard Nate Pierre-Louis is one of those players. Pierre-Louis earned All-Rookie honors from The American for his performance last season.
Pierre-Louis scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting in a 75-72 loss to Memphis on Jan. 13 at the Liacouras Center. He earned the role as the first man off the bench in Dunphy’s rotation midway through the year.
Sophomore guard Alani Moore II could also start or play meaningful minutes in Brown’s absence. Moore averaged 3.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 13 minutes per game last season.
Moore quickly saw his role diminish after Brown’s return and freshmen like Pierre-Louis and forwards De’Vondre Perry and J.P. Moorman II became more integrated in Temple’s rotation. Moore only played double-digit minutes three times in the final 12 games of the season.
Redshirt-sophomore guard Ayan Nunez de Carvalho is transferring, 247 Sports reported last week. A source confirmed to The Temple News that Nunez de Carvalho is exploring his options for next season. He played in 11 games during the past two seasons.
FRONTCOURT
Former forward Obi Enechionyia is the only starter Temple will lose from its frontcourt. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season. He also shot 35 percent on 3-pointers in his senior year.
Rose and junior center Ernest Aflakpui were the Owls’ two other starters in the frontcourt. Rose, who declared for the NBA Draft in March, might not return to North Broad if he decides to sign an agent and forgo the rest of his NCAA eligibility. He averaged 14.9 points per game last year to lead the Owls in scoring.
Perry or Moorman could potentially fill Enechionyia’s role in the starting lineup this upcoming season.
The freshmen each carved out a role for themselves in their first seasons. Perry averaged three points and 1.8 rebounds per game, while Moorman averaged 3.8 points and collected 3.3 rebounds per game.
With Enechionyia gone, sophomore center Damion Moore could see more action. Moore missed seven games last season with a sprained ankle. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 26 games last year.
Freshman forward Justyn Hamilton, who played double-digit minutes in one of his 11 games last season, also could earn minutes in Dunphy’s rotation.
2018 RECRUITING CLASS
Arashma Parks, a senior forward from The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is Temple’s only incoming recruit for the 2018-19 season. With Nunez de Carvalho leaving the program, the Owls have two more scholarship spots left.
After Temple’s loss to Penn State on March 14, Dunphy said Temple would ideally like to add another guard to its roster.
Temple missed out on guard Jamarius Burton, a three-star recruit from Independence High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to Rivals.com. Last week, Burton — a former high school teammate of Hamilton — committed to conference foe Wichita State over Temple, Butler University and UMass.
POTENTIAL PROSPECTS
Sophomore guard James Scott, who is transferring from Kennesaw State University, made an official visit to Temple last week, OwlScoop.com reported.
Scott will have to sit one season due to NCAA transfer rules before he can play his final two, Rivals.com reported. He led Kennesaw State in scoring last season with an average of 17.3 points per game.
University of South Carolina freshman guard David Beatty is also transferring, Rivals.com reported last week. The former Rivals.com three-star guard from Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia averaged three points per game for the Gamecocks last season.
Temple is listed as one of the eight schools that could be his next landing spot. Beatty would have to sit one season if he transfers.
Assistant coach Chris Clark was scouting local class of 2019 prospects during the live recruiting period last week in Dallas. He watched Imhotep shooting guard Dahmir Bishop and Roman Catholic High School small forward Seth Lundy, a four-star recruit, according to Rivals.com
Bishop, a four-star recruit who is ranked as the 115th-best Class of 2019 prospect by Rivals.com, told the site last week that McKie has built a “good relationship” with him since his freshman season at Imhotep.
Unless the Owls add a transfer or sign another recruit to the 2018 class, they could have a much shorter rotation compared to last season.
Be the first to comment