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Young, talented Temple MBB hungry to prove what it can do

11/02/2021, 3:30pm EDT
By Steven Shoemaker

Steven Shoemaker (@steven_shoe)

(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2021-22 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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Aaron McKie (above) is entering his third year on the sidelines at his alma mater, Temple. (Photo couresty Temple Athletics)

With a new season comes new expectations for Aaron McKie and the Temple Owls. Heading into his third year as head coach, McKie is ready to put the challenges of a 5-11 season behind him.

The issues faced last season will still serve as an important lesson, of course. After taking over for the legendary Fran Dunphy, McKie finished his first season with a 14-17 (6-12 AAC) record. The Owls played only 16 games in the COVID-shortened season, missing out on six other scheduled games due to cancellations.

Now more settled into the role and with a (hopefully) normal season on the horizon, McKie is molding his team for more than the upcoming season.

“We are establishing the culture that I want to establish,” McKie said. “We have some freshmen and sophomores that we are counting on and they got a lot of heavy lifting they have to do. We are establishing a culture. We have to continue to create our identity, and that’s going out and defending at a high-level and being efficient on the offensive end. Those guys are buying into it, it’s just a matter of getting out there and playing some real games right now.”

McKie isn’t kidding about the freshmen and sophomores--there are only four juniors and seniors on the 15-man roster. Having such a young team isn’t as intimidating as it may sound, though. For McKie, it means more opportunity to build the program’s culture.

The uncertainty surrounding all aspects of last season meant limited chances to develop the team on and off the court. Getting a firm grasp on a team’s true ability and chemistry is difficult when everything is tumultuous.

And that’s what this season is for. McKie has seen many of his players take big steps forward during the offseason. Sophomore guard Khalif Battle sees the hard work paying off, too.

“We are just going to compete as hard as we can,” Battle said. “We’re not trying to have a season like last year, we’re not going to have a season like last year. All the work we put in is going to show.”

Last season stung for everyone involved with the team, but particularly for Battle. The Owls’ COVID-shortened season ended with a heartbreaking two-point loss to USF in the first round of the AAC Tournament due to a costly turnover from Battle.

“You have a lot of ups and downs, that was just one of my downs,” Battle said. “At the end of the day if you asked me if I would take the last shot again, there would be no question in my mind. I know the work I put in, the guys on the team know how much work I put in, the coaching staff does.”

Given the youth of the team, offseason preparation was even more important than usual. The previous offseason was far from normal because of the COVID-related uncertainty in the previous offseason. There wasn’t the usual preparation and team bonding. McKie had to make adjustments on the fly, needed to deal with last minute cancellations and was not always able to have his players in the same places at the same time.

“Last year was start-stop, stop-start. We couldn’t have all the guys in the gym because of the COVID activity and the things we were faced with last season,” McKie said. “So (this season) we get to teach more, we get to be patient and take our time with these guys.”

With such a young roster, having a normal offseason was important to allow the players to be around one another and get used to being a team, whether it was for practice, in the weight room, pick-up games, or just putting in extra one-on-one work with teammates.


Khalif Battle (above) was Temple's leading scorer last year at 15.0 ppg. (Photo courtesy Temple athletics)

“We are a lot more comfortable with each other,” Battle said. “Last year we didn’t really have the summer to workout with each other or get better, it was always a stop and start. This year a lot of the guys dedicated themselves to not having a year like we did last year. We were really disappointed with the results and we know we have a lot more to give.”

The Owls return their top four scorers from a year ago and will be heavily relying on their young backcourt. Battle led the team in ppg (15.0), rpg (6.4) and 3-point attempts (73) last season. He spent much of the offseason working in the gym with his older brother, former Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.

Second-leading scorer Damian Dunn, a 6-5 redshirt freshman, saw an increased role last season after sitting out 2019-20 with a foot injury. Dunn started in 12 of 13 games, averaging 27.8 minutes, 4.2 rebounds and 13.5 points, good for 10th in the conference.

In his second season, 6-5 guard Jeremiah Williams rounds out Temple’s key backcourt trio. He started all 16 games last season, becoming the first true freshman guard to start a season opener since Alani More II did so in 2016-17.

Williams had a strong first season, leading the Owls in assists with 4.1, good for fifth in the conference. He also led the team in steals (1.2) and minutes (32.6) and tied with Jake Forrester for third on the team in scoring, with 9.3 points.

Giving further depth to the guard positions are Hysier Miller and Jahlil White. Miller, a 6-1 guard out of Neumann Goretti, was praised by Battle for adapting to the college game quicker than he thought he would. A 6-7 wing guard, White missed the entirety of last season due to a meniscus injury he suffered in practice.

“We’ve got some guys that haven’t played in a Temple uniform yet,” said McKie. “I’m anticipating those guys being ready when they get the call and I’m excited just to see how it can play out for us. We are certainly more athletic, I think we got a little bigger, and given the way our conference is structured, there’s an older, more mature, experienced conference.”

Notable losses from last year’s team are the fifth through seventh leading scorers: 6-7 forwards J.P. Moorman II (7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 26.8 mpg) and De’Vondre Perry (7.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 24.4 mpg) and 6-2 guard Brendan Barry (6.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 27.5 mpg).

Westtown grad Jake Forrester (above) is entering his third year as a starter in the Temple frontcourt. (Photo courtesy Temple athletics)

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With the loss of two strong rebounders, the experience in the frontcourt will be crucial. One of just three juniors on the roster, Forrester has the most D-I experience among his teammates. The 6-9 forward started all 16 games last season, tied for third in points (9.3), tied for first in rebounding (6.3), and led the Owls in offensive (29) and defensive (73) rebounds.

The team will get a big boost down low with junior Sage Tolbert III returning from a knee injury. A 6-8 forward who had a solid first two seasons at Southeast Missouri State, Tolbert averaged 9.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg as a sophomore before transferring last season.

Nick Jourdain, a 6-8 forward heading into his second season with the Owls, started in three of 13 games last season, averaging 10.3 minutes. Redshirt sophomore 6-9 forward Arashma Parks is also in the frontcourt mix after playing in eight games last season, averaging 6.3 minutes. 

New to the Owls’ frontcourt are Zach Hicks and Emmanuel Okpomo. Hicks, who can shoot the long ball and bang down low, earned Second Team All-State honors last season after averaging 20 points and 7.6 rebounds for Camden Catholic (N.J.). A 6-10 center, Okpomo spent last season at Wake Forest, where he tied for the team lead in blocked shots with 11, despite averaging just 9.6 minutes in 14 games.

McKie believes his team can compete with any team in the country as long as they can make their presence known down low.

“Adding those guys to the roster, it gives us more length and versatility and that’s what I want to look like,” McKie said. “To be able to play at any pace, to be able to play against and with any team in the country. Jahlil being 6-7 and long, Sage being 6-8 and long and athletic. Zach Hicks you throw in there, he’s 6-8 and he’s long. When you look at our team now we’re a little bit longer and we’re a little bit more athletic. Hopefully we can display that.”

One of the keys to a successful season for any team in basketball is to establish home court advantage. The Owls start off the season with two non-conference home games. After a trip to the Charleston Classic, they’ll return to the Liacouras Center for three consecutive games. With the focus on building a strong, competitive culture, getting off on the right foot to start the season in front of their home crowd was an important factor for McKie.

“If you want to be a good team you need to take care of home court,” McKie said. “You want to be good, you want to use the crowd’s energy, and everything else to your advantage when you’re playing at home. Most teams that are really good and play deep into the postseason are teams that are good at home, so that’s what we want to establish.”

Temple has a lot to prove this year and is looking to get back on track with the season starting in about less than two weeks. Their 10 non-conference games see them going up against some big names in Villanova and USC, as well as familiar City 6 foes and other semi-nearby schools Delaware, Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore.

The changes to the AAC are looming on the horizon, but, for now, The Owls will have their hands full with the usual conference matchups again this season. Key matchups include Houston (Jan. 1, March 3), who made it to the Final Four last year; Wichita State (Jan. 19), the top team in the AAC last season; and Memphis (Feb. 24), another top team in the conference.

“We got a loaded schedule against some really good teams and well coached teams,” said McKie. “When it comes to competition we worry more about what we’re doing. If we’re taking care of what we’re doing I think we will be ok.”


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