Skyhawks head coach Jeremy Shulman addressed the team’s inconsistency after they fell 82-81 to the Lindenwood Lions on Saturday and fell to 7-10 on the season. “We will get there,” said the first-year UT Martin head coach.
After some early struggles to begin the season for the Skyhawks, they began their OVC schedule in mid-December and currently sit at a 3-3 conference record. The biggest reason? Close losses in winnable games have plagued the Skyhawks throughout the season and have become more pronounced so far in OVC play.
Whether it is poor end of game defense or failing to make plays on the offensive side, an improvement in clutch performance would be a major step for a young Skyhawk team to take.
“We like to make things interesting,” Shulman said following a two-point win over Western Illinois.
Since their first game, a 67-65 win over Illinois State, the Skyhawks have played in eight games decided by four points or less and have a 3-5 record in those contests.
An improvement in closing out games, whether it be defensive or offensive could be the difference between a losing record and a winning record for the Skyhawks. Especially in conference play as the Skyhawks’ three OVC losses have come by a total of four points.
An obvious room for growth for a Skyhawk team that returned one player from last season (David Kamwanga) is continuing to build team chemistry. With an entirely new coaching staff and 16 new players the Skyhawks can start to turn more close games in their favor.
Good news for the Skyhawks is they have found some players they can rely on to make plays. Junior transfer guard (G) Tarence Guinyard leads the team in scoring with 16.6 ppg (points per game) and plays persistent defense on the other end.
In the front court, Senior transfer forward (F) Vladimer Salaridze has been an all-around asset for the offense. Consistently making an impact in all phases of the offense including scoring (8.9 ppg), playmaking (2.9 apg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg).
Other contributors include Josué Grullon (15.1 ppg), Matija Žužić (8.6 ppg) and Afan Trnka (8.3 ppg)
In conference, the Skyhawks have the second ranked offense (72.3 ppg) and the sixth ranked defense (66.8 ppg allowed).
The fast-paced offense that first year head coach Jeremy Shulman brought with him has served the Skyhawks well. They put up by far the most threes of any team in the OVC with 518. Next place is Tennessee Tech with 483.
Defensively, the Skyhawks still have some work to do, but their 70.8 ppg allowed still is an improvement over last season’s 73.06 ppg allowed.
Looking ahead, the Skyhawks continue the tough road of conference play until the end of the regular season. Upcoming games include matchups against #10 EIU Panthers, #2 SIUE Cougars, #9 TSU Tigers, #4 TTU Golden Eagles and #3 SEMO Redhawks.
Overall, all things point towards Shulman’s statement holding true. The Skyhawks will “get there.” It might just take more patience in a proven system with new players.
