The University of Toledo men's basketball team will count on the leadership of key upperclassmen this season and hope they mesh well with a talented group of incoming freshmen.
At Toledo's first official practice of the season Tuesday, there was an optimistic feel about the upcoming season.
“I'm just excited to get back out here with the guys,” Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “With the new rules, we have a lot more access with the players in the summer, so we already have a lot of things in place. Our guys are advanced more so than most teams. Now we have to get the new guys up to speed. That's what we're doing now. We're shortening practice for the veteran guys and keeping the new guys here longer, getting them more reps to get them up to speed.”
Kowalczyk is looking to four upperclassmen — seniors Luke Knapke and Willie Jackson and juniors Marreon Jackson and Spencer Littleson — to guide the team.
Marreon Jackson is the leading returning scorer at 11.7 points per game, while Willie Jackson led the team last year with 8.9 rebounds per game.
The four players have been named captains this season.
“I'm really excited about our leadership,” Kowalczyk said. “This is the best leadership we've had. We have four captains. Willie Jackson really deserves to be a captain. Luke Knapke has done a great job of being a quiet, unspoken leader, but is now being more vocal. Then we have two phenomenal leaders in our junior class with Marreon Jackson and Spencer Littleson.”
The Rockets will look for contributions from their four incoming freshmen — Mattia Acunzo, Luke Maranka, Donavan Moore, and Aaron Etherington — as well as redshirt freshmen Keshaun Saunders and T.J. Smith.
“It was a lot of learning this summer,” Knapke said. “We have a lot of new guys, but they are catching on, and we're getting better every day. We're going to need them to step up. We don't have as much depth outside of our upperclassmen. We'll need them to step up in big ways with rebounding and hustle plays and everything.”
Acunzo has been battling a foot injury this offseason, but Kowalczyk said he hopes to have him back without restrictions around Nov. 1.
“He'll be ready, but it's just a matter of whether he's in basketball shape, because he really hasn't played in six or eight weeks,” Kowalczyk said.
Kowalczyk will look to Saunders and junior Dylan Alderson to step up and complement the four captains in the lineup.
“I think it's about staying healthy,” Kowalczyk said. “We have four guys who have played significant minutes in big games. I think a big key for us is the five and six slots with Dylan Alderson and Keshaun Saunders. They are guys that are really talented and ready to perform. Now we just need consistency with those two. We'll figure the rest out after that with who is healthy and who is playing well.”
Toledo hopes to build an identity as a team willing to do all the little things to win.
“This year our identity is we just want to be known as dogs — scrappy, just getting loose balls, and doing everything it takes,” Marreon Jackson said.
Said Knapke: “I think what we want our identity to be is toughness. We want to play together and share the ball and play unselfish basketball.”
First Published September 24, 2019, 8:25 p.m.
