Cam Holden – The Young Veteran

Long Island University Sharks started the game strong jumping out to an early 12-2 lead. It was short lived, as Towson roared back and eventually controlled much of the way.

The Sharks (yes, that is their new mascot or name or what have you) have a trio of seniors with a lot of experience. Ty Flowers, is a 6’9 smooth scorer and came into the game as the leading scorer averaging 15 ppg. I was very interested in watching him with his size and shooting ability. Lets just say it wasn’t his best night. He was just 2-14 from the field and finished with nine points and four assists. He took a lot of tough shots and honestly missed a lot of open jumpers he probably normally makes. Just wasn’t the night for him.

Eral Penn and Isaac Kante played solid games though. Penn is a very athletic forward that kind’ve plays out of position. He plays the 4, but he’s not a pure big. He can score some in the paint, but is most effective as a rim runner or crashing the offensive glass. His outside shot is still developing. Penn was very active and flashed potential on both ends of the floor. He finished with 14 points, five rebounds and one block. Kante is a massive man. He’s listed at 6’8 240. He looked more like 270. He was surprisingly agile for his size. As you would expect he is a load to deal with on the block and literally could move the defender with ease. Kante also showed an ability to drive into his own post up from the perimeter. I was surprised by that. He even made a three…. That is still a work in progress. Kante finished with 17 points and six rebounds.

I would be remiss not to mention Alex Rivera as well. Listed at 6’1 (he looked more like 5’11) he had a massive tip slam, multiple huge three’s and led the team with eleven boards. And I love that he wasn’t afraid to let anyone in the gym know either….

The Tigers trio of bigs played well also. Cam Holden, who is like a wing/forward, scored at will and made an impact on defense also. He plays with confidence and his lack of athleticism is made up for by his strength. He did have four turnovers, but he more than made up for that. Holden loves posting up. It can be a smaller defender or a bigger one. He doesn’t care. He will find a way to score or create a pass to a teammate. Holden finished with 21 points, six rebounds, three steals and was 2-2 from three.

Charles Thompson had a nice game also. Thompson is very long. He’s a quick leaper and his hands have improved from years past. Thompson had 13 points and five rebounds. Chase Paar made an impact as well. He makes little mistakes on defense and offense at times, but he provided a nice spark off the bench with eight points and four rebounds.

Nicolas Timberlake was also a big part of this game. He sky’d for rebound after rebound. He is an explosive athlete. Timberlake also had a nice dunk in the first half as well. He had nine points and eleven rebounds.

Up next for me is Mount St. Mary’s @ Loyola MD

Coming into this game I had no idea what to expect. Hampton was 2-0, but there was a catch. It was against Mid-Atlantic Christian University (yes, that is a real school) and Regent University. Towson on the other hand, blew out Albany and had a respectable loss to Monmouth.

Hampton hung in there for the first ten minutes or so, until Towson went on a run and controlled the game the rest of the way. Hampton has some individual talent spread through their roster, but the cohesion doesn’t seem to be there. Maybe it will happen at some point….. I wouldn’t take that bet. Towson dominated the boards 47-28 and scored inside basically at will. The final was 78-54, in favor of Towson.

Hampton had three guys I wanted to watch specifically. Johquin “Pinky” Wiley, Najee Garvin and Mario “Rio” Haskett Jr.

Wiley who spent four years at Delaware State (God bless him) is a steady point guard. He sets the offense well. He’s unselfish. Plays the game a way a point guard should. He will shoot if open, but not often. Hampton needs to leave him on the floor all game. When he’s not, its ugly isolation, 1v1 stuff. Wiley played okay. He finished with five points, three rebounds and one assist. His presence on the floor alone is what his team needs.

Rio Haskett Jr. struggled to make much of an impact. He struggled to get into whatever possible flow of offense there was. His shot was a little off and thats his best skill. Rio finished with five points and two assists.

Najee Garvin is the Pirates best player. He has a pro body, but is more of a finesse player at 6’8 210. While he did have 18 points and four rebounds, he also had four fouls and four turnovers. Garvin has quickness in the post and an ability to drive the lane. He had a quick spin and reverse finish in the post in the second half that was smooth. He is still developing shooting range, but he would be more suited for a fast paced offense. Maybe Hampton will pick up the pace this year. It looked to me that would be there best chance, with a real lack of overall size.

Garvin shooting a three. This was an airball FYI.

Towson impressed me. They don’t have a lot of big men depth. Charles Thompson and Cam Holden basically had there way when they posted up. Holden is an interesting player. Listed at 6’5 200, he plays bigger and tougher than that. He’s an undersized 4. Holden isn’t going to shoot much from mid range or from the outside. His game is backing down defenders, using fakes and his adept scoring ability close to the basket. He had a good showing with eleven points, twelve rebounds and four assists.

Terry Nolan Jr. had a massive dunk in the second half. He plays with pace, sometimes too much. Nolan is still inconsistent as a shooter, but very dangerous when slashing to the basket. His length gave Hampton issues on offense as well. Nolan had eleven points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Jason Gibson looks like Coach Pat Skerry’s favorite player. The crowd loves him and its hard not to. He’s all over the court. Running off screens, diving on the floor and even driving the lane against defenders with five inches on him. He’s a spark plug that Towson hasn’t had in a while before he got there. Gibson led the team with 13 points, three assists, three steals and was 8-8 from the foul line.

Nicolas Timberlake and Charles Thompson also had eleven points a piece.

Towson had five players with eleven points or more.

Up next for me is George Mason @ Maryland on Wednesday.

Tag: Cam Holden

Game 9 of 37 – Behind Holden’s 21 points, the Tigers cruise by the Sharks 72-63

Game 4 of 37 Hampton @ Towson