Posts Tagged ‘Ashen Ward’

It’s the kind of game that gets circled on every YSU magnetic refrigerator schedule handed out at the first home game. It’s the recruiting tool that potential players consider when making their choices. But most importantly, it is a game to gauge the ability of a team that thinks that they might just have enough to compete on a grander level.

YSU had tied the game at 42, but faltered down the stretch as Pitt came away with a 72-56 victory.  Free throws, shot selection, and defensive breakdowns were the difference over the last twelve minutes of the game, which the Panthers outscored the Penguins 30-14.

YSU jumped out to a 10-5 lead on a pair of DeAndre Mays threes, but Pitt used the shot clock to perfection, nailing a couple of their own threes with one second left to have an 18-13 lead at the 12:36 mark of the first half.

With 7:37 left in the first half, Pitt was using its arsenal of good guards to attck the hoop, knock down shots, and complete three-point chances. Brad Wanamaker (pictured above) and Travon Woodall completed drives to the hoop and each knocked down a free throw to post a 26-19 lead for the Panthers.

The Penguins used a 13-4 run to pull to 30-28, but Pitt would score the last four points of the half to hold a 34-28 halftime lead.

Vance Cooksey hit one of two free throws at the 12:26 mark of the second half to pull YSU into a 42-42 tie at a silenced Petersen Events Center. YSU, to this point, was playing terrific half court zone defense and outhustling the Panthers to many loose balls.

The hot shooting of Ashton Gibbs and Gary McGhee pushed the Pitt lead to 56-47 with 7:31 left in the game. Gibbs connected on a pair of threes and McGhee hit a pair of free throws and had a basket in the paint.

Pitt pushed their lead to 64-49 with 4:55 left in the game. Everything that YSU was doing right earlier could not be found over a five minute-or-so stretch. The offense was throwing up wild shots and the defense was not as aggressive as they were in the first half.

Pitt coasted the rest of the way to win the contest 72-56 to push their record to 119-10 all-time at the Petersen Events Center.

Coach Jerry Slocum was happy with his team’s effort in the first half but disappointed in the final result. “We missed some easy shots, did not shoot our free throws well and had some breakdowns on defense, and that was the difference in the game. Defensively, we played well for about 32 minutes. This is a great program with great tradition and you have to play a whole game to win.”

For the Penguins (3-3), Kelvin Bright finished with 20 points on 9-13 shooting from the field. Mays had 16 and was the only Penguin perfect from the charity stripe going 4-4.

Pitt was paced by Gibbs and Wanamaker who tallied 14 points each. Pitt (5-1) also got 10 rebounds each from McGhee and Nasir Robinson.

Andy Timko was an area basketball standout while playing his high school ball at McDonald.  Timko ventured over to Westminster for a year but transferred home to Youngstown State.  He goes from being the manager last year to an active member of the roster this season.  Don’t get it wrong, this is no Rudy tale, Timko can play.  He has declared his major to be History.  If studying history means anything to the Mahoning Valley, it may repeat itself in the next few years.  Timko is content with his clearly defined role and all of the hard work is making his fellow Penguin cagers better.  I met with Andy the day before Thanksgiving, and just four days before his 21st birthday to discuss basketball, Coach Slocum, and following a family member (Bruce Timko) who was one of the best to ever wear a Penguin uniform.

Paneech:  Coming out of McDonald, you chose to go to Westminster.  Who else recruited you, and how did you end up a Titan?

Timko:  There was alot of smaller schools like Geneva and Walsh recruiting me.  I went on a visit to Westminster and I really liked the small campus.  They seemed really excited with the chance to have me and that was what made the decision for me.  The first time I was ever on campus, I was with my mother and she asked me if I wanted to swing by and see it.  There was a game going on and the head coach recognized me as soon as we walked in, and that was really the first time I had ever been there.

Paneech:  As a Freshman, you were voted Newcomer of The Year, the future looked bright there so what triggered you to leave Westminster?

Timko:  It was really a financial thing.  Division-III schools really can’t give you much help.  Westminster is a small and private school and tuition was around $30,000 a year.  They can get you a little help for your grades, but after that it was still astronomical. 

Paneech:  How did you end up at YSU?

Timko:  The price of tuition and just being from here, I knew this is where I wanted to be. 

Paneech:  Last year you redshirted and served as team manager.  How did that arrangement come about?

Timko:  I went up and talked to the coaches in the Summer before the season started and explained my situation coming back.  I told them that I understood that nothing was going to be handed to me.  They told me that the best thing they could do for me would be for me to help out the team in practice and they would be able to help me financially.  I would then be given a chance to play the following year.  I just kept working on my game and things worked out for me.

Paneech:  Now that you are a member of the active roster, what is your role with this team?

Timko:  This year what I am doing alot of is scout team stuff.  I learn the other teams plays and run them against our guys.  I’m trying to help out any way I can.  Personally, I am working as hard as I can at practice every day to get better and trying to help us win games by making our guys better.

Paneech:  What is it like playing for Coach Slocum?

Timko:  It’s a good experience.  He is definitely the most knowledgeable basketball coach that I have ever been around.  He has so much passion for the game and a higher understanding that sometimes it takes awhile to comprehend.  You have got to respect someone with all of his accomplishments and it is a real privelage to learn from him.

Paneech:  How big is it for this YSU team to go to Pittsburgh and have a good showing?

Timko:  It’s real big.  It’s always fun to go up against the major schools.  It is also a great test for us before we get into conference play.  We are looking forward to the experience and how we stack up against those guys.

Paneech:  Talk to me about how hard it is to balance practice, school, and a personal life.

Timko:  Your first couple of years in college it is rough.  You go to practices and think it is easy until you get your first couple of tests back, and you are like, wow, I need to study more.  After you get into the flow it isn’t too bad. 

Paneech:  You turn 21 on Sunday.  Are you going to have any time to enjoy your birthday or is the day going to be spent watching film, practicing, and studying for finals?

Timko:  I’m sure we will have practice and it will not be an off day.  I’ll squeeze something in for my birthday, hopefully I can go out to eat or something.

Paneech:  Being the only truly local roster player, I hear alot of cheers for you when you get into a game.  Is that a distraction or does it make you nervous to know that you have friends and family there?

Timko:  Not initially.  I get it more after the game when people are coming up to me telling me that you should have done this or you should have done that, or telling me “Good job, Andy.”  It’s all fun and I really feel privelaged to be a part of the team.  There are guys around here that come out of high school wanting to walk on.  I really appreciate the opportunity I have been given and I am not taking anything for granted.  I am using all of that local support for motivation to keep working harder and hopefully to keep helping the team.

Paneech:  Talk to me about your uncle, Bruce Timko, and his history here.

Timko:  I have seen one grainy film of him playing here.  I have been hearing he was good my whole life.  Just because of him, we have been coming to YSU games for a long time.  I know he is still good too.  He was a high school basketball coach a couple of years ago.  On his off days and after practice he would work with me a little bit and would whip my butt playing one-on-one.  I’ve got two coaches at every family function, my uncle on one side, and my father (Andy) on the other side.  Their passion for the game has rubbed off on me.  They both have alot to say, and sometimes you don’t want to sit there and listen to it, but ultimately what they say helps me.  He’s on the wall behind you, so they know what they are talking about.  (Andy was referring to a painting of Bruce Timko on the wall of the Coaches Court area in Beeghly Center where the interview was conducted.)

Paneech:  How far can this team really go?  Ashen Ward told me last week that you guys might be upset in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Timko:  (laughs) If we get to the tournament, and I believe there is a chance we will, I would like to think we could win it.  It would be fun.

One Word Answers

Favorite TV Show:  Ghost Lab.

Best Area Pizza:  Brier Hill.

Best Class You Have Taken At YSU:  Abnormal Psychology.

Worst Habit:  Oversleeping, Sometimes I hit snooze one too many times.

Biggest Phobia:  Ghosts.  I will watch a season of Ghost Lab and then I can’t sleep for a week.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Best Current NBA Player:  Kobe Bryant.

Favorite Flavor of Chicken Wings:  Teriyaki.

Favorite Color:  Black.

One Word To Describe Coach Slocum:  Passionate.

Jerry Slocum may have had mixed emotions as Youngstown State hosted Geneva Tuesday night. Slocum coached at Geneva, where he posted a 202-81 record.  In the end, Slocum added another win to his career record, this one at Youngstown State as the Penguins rolled 88-47.

Geneva showed some fight early in the game and only trailed 11-9 at the 10:56 mark. A pair of DeAndre Mays (pictured) threes quickly pushed that slim lead to 19-11 less than two minutes later.

The Penguins increased the lead to 15 points with just under three minutes remaining in the opening half. A couple of Zack Rebillot baskets and some sloppy Geneva half-court offense seemed to ignite the Penguins. At the half, the Golden Tornadoes found themselves trailing YSU by the score of 39-23.

Mays had the hot hand for YSU in the first half pouring in 13 points, including 3 three-pointers. Geneva was paced by their leading scorer Rich Colick who had nine points at the break.

The second half was not much different than the first. The Penguins were playing a solid half-court game against undersized Geneva. The Golden Tornadoes did get a few threes from Mineral Ridge Grad  TJ Bevilacqua to shave the YSU lead to 17 at one point.

With just under eight minutes left in the game, YSU held a 66-40 lead. The Penguins capitalized on a few fastbreak opportunities to pull away and the defense was solid with Geneva getting very limited looks at the hoop and almost no second chances on offense. Five minutes later, the lead was stretched to 39 points and the margin of victory for YSU would end up 41, as the Penguins were victorious, 88-47.

YSU (3-2), which shot just over 50% from the field in this one,  got 18 from Mays and eleven from both Ashen Ward and Vance Cooksey.  Ward also hauled in seven rebounds.

Geneva (1-2) was lead by Bevilacqua who scored 17 points and went 3-5 from 3-point range.

Coach Slocum was pleased with the effort.  “It was good for us to just let it go and just play.  When you are open, you have to knock down the shots, and tonight we did.  We have a monumental task in front of us and we just have to keep our focus game-to-game.”

YSU plays against an Elite Eight team Saturday when they travel to Pittsburgh to do battle with the Panthers.  The game tips off at noon and can be heard on AM-570 with Robb Schmidt calling the action.

Coming out of Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s (VASJ), Ashen Ward was the guy who got the ball to win a game near the end, he was Mr. Clutch, and he came through.  Now a Sophomore Penguin, Ward is comfortable with his role, confident in his team, and likes being a student at Youngstown State.  I recently caught up with Ward to discuss the state of YSU Basketball, Coach Slocum, and where this team is headed.

Paneech:  Talk about your high school days at VASJ in Cleveland where you were the team captain.

Ward:  My high school experience was all about tradition.  I started out a Freshman taking in what the people above me were doing and learning.  As I was getting older, I was trying to keep the success going at our school.  It was all about family and tradition.  I didn’t want the program to fall when the guys above me left, I wanted to keep that tradition going.

Paneech:  So how weird is it going from high school, where you are ‘the man’, to going to a college team where you have to again prove yourself for minutes?

Ward:  I love proving myself.  As a Freshman in high school to the time you get older, proving yourself makes it all the more better, knowing that you really deserve it.  That’s all I am doing now, just working hard, and I know that me working hard is making our team better.  I love it here, I am getting to know this area a little better.  When you are all brothers on a team, it helps, just like a family.

Paneech:  What is it like playing for Coach Slocum?

Ward:  He is really hands-on, he is really knowledgeable and is always teaching.  When he tells you something, he wants to see it progress and use it in a game.  He will do whatever he has to do, simulate drills, do drills with us, and wants to be a part of it, and that helps us.

Paneech:  You have now played 4 games, two were against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in Xavier and Kent State.  Do these games give confidence to the team?

Ward:  We had confidence before the first game, we had confidence after our loss at Xavier, and we are a confident team that needs to bring that to the floor.  Those games against Xavier and Kent will help us because we were competitive.  When we play other teams we will go in thinking we are the better team.  When you go against a powerhouse like Xavier, it feels good to come back and be the powerhouse against Hiram.  We bring it every night and compete no matter who we are playing.

Paneech:  Against Kent State, Coach Slocum was not happy with free throw shooting and called missed free throws additional turnovers.  Will you be shooting extra free throws at practice?

Ward:  Well, we will, but we take it upon ourselves as a team to be good free throw shooters.  I know it didn’t show against Kent, but we spend alot of time in practice and on our own getting better at the line, and we need to just bring that to the game. 

Paneech:  Describe a practice day from the time you wake up until you go to sleep.

Ward:  I wake up and have an eight-o’clock class.  Then we have practice from 9 until coach feels it should be over, usually about 12 or 12:30.  My next class is at 2 and I have a night class at 5.  I usually go to the gym after that class and get some shots up with some of the guys.  After that, I will head home, do some homework, and go to sleep knowing I am going to do it all over again.

Paneech:  What does it mean to the team when alot of people show up for a game?

Ward:  It means alot to us.  To know that people are behind us like the Kent game means alot.  When you put so much work and effort, it feels good to know that you have people behind you.  It gets everybody going, even if you are not on the floor, you feel it. 

Paneech:  Who wins the NCAA Tournament this year?

Ward:  (laughs)  Youngstown State!

Paneech:  Good answer.  Say YSU gets upset in the Final Four, who do you see winning?

Ward:  I like Kansas.  They get good play out of the guards and have a strong big man.  They have got a good all-around game.

Paneech:  Where does YSU finish in the Horizon League this year?

Ward:  I feel like last year we proved ourselves to be a strong team in the conference.  I don’t really see anyone in this league that we can’t beat.  This team has alot of heart.  What we lack in talent and execution sometimes, we make up with heart. 

Paneech:  How does it feel looking up and seeing football players, track and field champions, and golfers watching you guys play a home game?

Ward:  I have seen that grow alot over my first year here.  I went to the football games and volleyball games, and it is good to see everyone returning it. 

Paneech:  Coach Slocum said everything on this team is symmetric and two-fold, meaning the team depth should not be an issue.  Who is your twin, the guy you replace?

Ward:  Kelvin Bright is my boy.  He goes out and does his thing and if he needs a blow I step in and do my job, we are like a tandem out there.  I guard him at practice and we live together so I see his face all of the time. 

One Word Answers

Favorite Flavor Of Ice Cream:  Strawberry.

Biggest Phobia:  Failure.

Worst Habit:  Humming, I hum alot.

Nicest Thing About Youngstown:  The teachers here really care.

Favorite TV Show:  Law & Order.

The Toy You Cherished Most As A Child:  My Power Rangers.  You could stick them all together and use five of them together and they would make this big monster, I loved it.

Favorite Color:  Black.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Favorite NBA Player:  LeBron James.

Sport You Watch When Basketball Isn’t On?  Football.

Favorite Flavor Of Chicken Wings:  Hot.

Jerry Slocum has been coaching basketball at Youngstown State University for five seasons.  His program has made many leaps forward in that span of time.  A new state-of-the-art weight room, a clubhouse atmosphere in the locker room, and putting his recruits on the court with a little experience will all be telltale signs of YSU basketball’s forward progress.  Slocum is just a cool guy.  I cannot say enough good things about him or the way he processes information.  The guy is a genius of this sport and I think that YSU will make it to the big dance in March under his guidance very soon.  YSU fans take notice, we are lucky to have him here and the fruit of his hard work will become visible this season.

Paneech:  In your five seasons, you can finally put your stamp on this team as they are all your recruits playing with some experience.

Slocum:  I don’t think there is any shortcut to look at that.  Experience is what it is.  What comes first, the chicken or the egg?  Are you good without any experience?  I think you have to go through a process to get it.  Once you have that experience process in place, you start building towards winning.  Last year we had seven new guys, I thought it would come quicker than it did, but by February, we had a pretty good basketball team.  That kind of excitement has led into the Spring and the Summer.  Now we are into early Fall, and we are pretty excited about where we are.  You are what you experience, and I think that the experience we have gained will show this season.

Paneech:  Only losing two players from last year and having all this experience back you have to really be excited with the returning talent, the cupboard is stocked for the future too.

Slocum:  We have a tandem with three of the five with Dallas Blocker, Dan Boudler, and Eddie D’Haiti that I think will really play out and be a positive factor for this team this year.  When this class goes, everyone is going to look and say you lost all of these seniors.  We are going to have Ashen Ward return at the two-guard spot.  You are gonna have both three-men back.  You are going to have Damian Eargle back at the four, and Eddie [D’Haiti] coming back as a five.  We have alredy gotten verbal commitments from some kids, so in my mind, we have got the classes where we want them, we have got the kids coming up that are learning from the older guys and there is just a good attitude and symmetry that the group has taken.

Paneech:  Who is the team to beat in the Horizon League this season?  Did you take offense to being picked 7th in the preseason poll?

Slocum: I think there are two teams that are a cut above with Butler and Wright State.  Then there are four or five teams in the next tier, and I would put us in that group, anywhere between three and seven.  I maybe took a little bit of offense to being picked seventh.  Our league doesn’t respect us.  It’s like I say to our guys – respect is earned.  In the last two years we have finished fourth and sixth.  Did I think we would maybe be in that fourth spot?  Yeah, I thought so.  I think we finish third or fourth.  Being picked seventh shows that the league doesn’t have alot of respect for us and the pressure comes back on us to prove it.

Paneech:  Who are your go-to guys with five seconds left in a game, who takes the shot?

Slocum:  I think there are two guys that are pressure shooters and pressure players for us.  I think a bunch of guys can make the shots.  The two guys who can create a shot, follow their shot, and then maybe pitch it to a shot are DeAndre Mays and Vytas Sulskis.  Both of those guys are guys who can find a way to pick us back up with a big shot. 

Paneech:  When it happens, and it will someday, how big of a shot in the arm will it be for this program to appear in the March Madness brackets?

Slocum:  Obviously, it’s a dream that we all have.  To me, it wasn’t as much of a dream as it was a reality to achieve.  I think we are headed in the right direction.  Everybody talks about how you only have to win three games at the end of the year to get in, and I believe that to be true also, but, in the same breath, you have to be able to get to the end and have the confidence.  The way we finished last year should carry over into this year.

Paneech:  Is your group healthy?

Slocum:  Right now, we are healthy.  Every Fall, we do a little bit of a different approach to get our guys ready.  I’m not a big guy on coming in at 100%  top shape.  I think progressively, we get there.  Across the country, some guys get pushed too hard before their bodies are ready to take that kind of a pounding.  Right now we are healthy, and I am cautiously optimistic about our health.

Paneech:  Have you gotten comfortable with Youngstown as your home yet?

Slocum:  We love the valley and Youngstown.  My wife is a nurse at a local hospital.  This is home.  We enjoy the area, we enjoy Mill Creek Park, we enjoy all of the different things that are unique to Youngstown.

Paneech:  I am a fan, yet there are detractors.  Do you care about criticism or is it just accepted as part of the job?

Slocum:  It is what it is.  If you let those people govern you or disturb your thought process, then you don’t focus on your job and doing it the right way.  We knew when we got here that it would be a great challenge for us.  We knew that the recruiting hadn’t been what it should’ve been relevant to the Horizon League.  We had to learn Youngstown and how to recruit for YSU and the challenges of recruiting in a state with the MAC.  I don’t lose any sleep from all of the people that say things behind my back, or to my face about this criticism or that criticism.  I know that right now, the infrastructure of our program is higher than it has ever been and I know that our talent level is better.

Paneech:  How fun is it to play schools like Xavier, Kent, and Pitt?

Slocum:  I think it is fun for our guys.  In the time since I have been here, we have really changed our profile relevant to our schedule.  When you play schools like Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Pitt, Xavier, and Kent, it gives our guys the chance to play the best teams in the country.  It also gives you a measuring stick to get ready for your conference play.  We will contnue to do that while I am here.  I think it is a great recruiting tool and it allows our guys to dream a little bit.

Paneech:  Talk to me about riding a motorcycle and the trips you take.

Slocum:  I ride a Honda.  My wife doesn’t have a motorcycle, she just rides with me.  It really started in my youth.  I had motorcycles until I was 23 or 24 when we had our first child.  I went away from them for about 25 years.  Now that the kids are gone, I have picked it back up in the last ten years.  It gives us a chance to go and travel and we love being on the road.  We rode to the very top of Nova Scotia.  Next year, we are planning to go to South Dakota.

Paneech:  If you were asked to coach the Olympic Basketball Team, who would be your starting five?

Slocum:  Obviously, your top two guys would be LeBron and Kobe.  Kobe is probably the hardest working guy in the game.  My big guy would have to be Howard because he is so agile.  Bosh and Garnett would be there too.  The point guard spot would probably be Chris Paul. 

One Word Answers

Best All-Time Coach At Any Level:  Dean Smith.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream:  (long pause)  Black Raspberry.

Mountaineer or Cedar Point?   Cedar Point.

Restaurant In Youngstown That You Have To Get To:  MVR Club.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Best Boxer At Any Weight Class:  Kelly Pavlik.

Favorite Group Of All-Time:  The Who.

A Short Description Of This Year’s Team:  Mentally Tougher.

Least Favorite Chore To Do At Home:  Clean Up The Dog’s Poop.

Can The Cavs Win This Year?  Yes.

Favorite Fruit:  Peaches

Best Movie Ever Made:  Patton.