City of Basketball Love

Graham Foley (@graham2398)
--

(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2016-17 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 11. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

~~~

As Temple prepares to begin its 2016-2017 basketball season, two former roommates and self-titled “brothers” are set to lead the squad and help defend its American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Those two men are senior forwards Daniel Dingle and Mark Williams.

With classmate Josh Brown sidelined indefinitely nursing an Achilles injury, Dingle and Williams are the only currently-active seniors on Temple’s young roster, and are expected to be the team’s main leaders as they each play in their final season.

With an opening night clash against La Salle looming on Friday, both are enjoying the buildup and are ready to get started.

“Definitely it’s a good feeling,” Williams said at Temple’s media day last Thursday. “We’ve got a young group, a good group of guys. It’s just been exciting.”

The Owls have a new look this season. Marred by injuries and having lost tremendous players from last year’s team like Quenton DeCosey and Jaylen Bond to graduation, the team is full of young student-athletes in need of guidance.

Dingle and Williams are ready to step up and provide just that.

“Of course,” Williams said when asked if he enjoyed mentoring the young players. “It was done to me when I was younger so it’s only right that I do it for the young guys. It’s beautiful to see them battling every day and to see their progression.”

Williams, who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, moved to the Washington D.C. area where he attended high school and played basketball at the Montrose Christian School. Montrose -- which “de-emphasized” its basketball team in 2015 -- was a storied program that produced high-level NBA talents like Greivis Vasquez and Kevin Durant.

In his senior year of high school, Williams led his team in points per game (16), rebounds per game (11), and 3-point shooting (40 percent) as the team finished with 19-5 record. He earned second team All-Met honors that season as well.

Similarly, Dingle had great success in his high school career at St. Raymond’s High School in the Bronx, New York. In his senior year, Dingle averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists per game as he led St. Raymond’s to the CHSSA Championship. Dingle was named the 2012 CHSSA Player of the Year as well as the New York Post All-Bronx Player of the Year. He remains the third-highest scorer in his school’s history.

Dingle and Williams came to North Philadelphia with great expectations and from the beginning of their respective careers, the guys have created a close friendship. The two used to room together and now still live just across the hall from each other.

“Dan is like a brother to me,” Williams said. “All my teammates are like brothers, but as soon as I got here Dan kind of took me underneath his wing so, you know, me and him are close.”

Williams, despite being a defensive presence every year for the Owls, has been an under the radar type of player at Temple. In his freshman season, Williams played in 30 games averaging 4.2 ppg. He showed consistency in his sophomore and juniors seasons playing in 31 games each year and scoring 3.5 and 3.6 ppg respectively.

According to head coach Fran Dunphy, Williams is not focused on flashy statistics and big scoring numbers. Where he shines is as a versatile big man and a leader on the court who can make the difference for his team.

“Well his leadership in the locker room has to be terrific,” Dunphy said. “He’s our most boisterous guy defensively too, and he can make some shots. He can get on a little bit of a roll and we need that happening all the time. He has to almost assume that one game he’ll get six points, another game he can get 16 but he’ll be just as valuable either way if he makes good decisions, rebounds the ball in the right spot defensively, all those things that really good players help you get over the hump with.”

Dingle was also quick to praise Williams for his presence around the squad.

“He’s definitely our vocal leader,” said Dingle. “I’m a leader as well but I'm not the vocal guy. He’s going to get on guys for doing well and doing wrong. He’s going to have a great, great, responsibility this year. He’s going to make shots; he’s going to play defense. He’s gotten in great shape, he’s probably lost 20 pounds since last year, so it should be interesting for him this year and the opportunity has presented itself and I know he’s going to take full advantage.”

Despite coming in with lofty expectations, Dingle has been largely a role player for the Owls in his three-and-a-half years on the court. In his freshman year in 2012-2013, Dingle averaged 3.8 ppg in a limited role; in his sophomore season, Dingle improved his average to 6.7 ppg in his first 10 games before suffering a season-ending injury that granted him an extra year of eligibility. His redshirt-sophomore and junior years saw him play in every game but one for the Owls, averaging 3.6 and 4.4 ppg respectively.

Like Williams, Dingle will also use his leadership and experience to point the Temple squad that features eight underclassmen in the right direction. As a redshirt-senior, Dingle has spent more time as a Temple Owl than anyone on the team. Having been a part of so many games for the Owls, Dingle recognizes what he brings to the table for the younger guys.

“Leadership,” Dingle said. “Just leadership and guidance. Definitely because I have some experience and some leadership qualities by myself that I just have to bring them out and push guys every single day in practice.”

Dunphy has been complimentary about Dingle’s play on the court and his ability to change games for the Owls. He cited last year’s victories against UConn at home and on the road against Cincinnati as examples of games that Temple “can’t win” without the great play of Dingle.

Despite the loss of sophomore Trey Lowe for the season (car accident) and Josh Brown for an indefinite, possibly large amount of time, the Owls do have other returning players with talent and leadership abilities.

Most notably, junior forward Obi Enechionyia, who was the team’s second-leading scorer last season with 11 ppg and is the team’s leading returning scorer, is expected to have a big year. As the team looks to fill the offensive void that is left, Enechionyia will be expected to put up big numbers consistently.

“He would be predicted to be our leading scorer,” Dunphy said about Enechionyia. “He’s really worked really hard. I don't think I've had someone work on their shooting technique more than Obi. I think he’s really put in a lot of time and effort into this.”

However, it is clear that at least until Josh Brown returns, this is Dingle and Williams’ team to run. Their experience and playmaking abilities on the court paired with their outspoken leadership make them the best two players to lead and develop the Owls this season.

Seven of the ten active players for Temple are freshmen and sophomores. Freshmen like Alani Moore and Levan Alston Jr. are expected to see a lot of playing time this season and start a decent amount of games as well.

As those young guys try to develop their game after being thrust into important roles, Williams and Dingle’s guidance will be critical to Temple’s current and future success.

“They’re both going to have to find their niche,” Dunphy said. “But they’re solid, solid players and they know what they’re doing out there. They’ve been great leaders for me. In their last year of playing college basketball there’s a lot that is going to be counted on for those two guys.”