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CLEVELAND — Earl Timberlake has shared the court with this sort of competition before.
He starred at famed DeMatha Catholic High School and on the Nike grassroots circuit for Team Durant — the personal organization of current NBA star Kevin Durant — before one-year college stints at Miami and Memphis. Former teammates Jalen Duren, now of the Detroit Pistons, and Lester Quiñones, of the New Orleans Pelicans, have already made their professional debuts. Emoni Bates, who shared a backcourt with Timberlake while reaching the NCAA Tournament with the Tigers in 2021-22, is in his second season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Michigan State, for all its achievements and pedigree, won’t intimidate Timberlake. One of Bryant’s leaders hopes to spread that confidence through the locker room ahead of a scheduled 10 p.m. West Region tip on Friday night at Rocket Arena.
“That’s the beauty of playing AAU basketball,” Timberlake said. “We’ve seen everybody. Everybody who’s at big schools, we’ve seen them.”
The Spartans will be just the third KenPom.com top-100 opponent for the Bulldogs in 2024-25 and the first since Dec. 30. Bryant followed a road loss at St. John’s `that month with another at Grand Canyon, a 112-66 pasting that included 23 turnovers. Timberlake and his teammates turned the page from there, winning 17 of their last 19 to earn a second March Madness bid in four years.
“You have to go possession by possession,” Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “You can’t get yourself caught up in the larger picture. It has to be that specific possession and what we have to do offensively, defensively.
“You have to be disciplined with that. We’ll break it down and talk about trying to win four-minute games.”
Rafael Pinzon (St. John’s) and Jakai Robinson (Miami) also moved away from traditional power programs to find new homes with the Bulldogs, and the results have been a collective success. Bryant set a program record for wins in a season and dominated a second league this decade. Its first trip to this grand stage came in the Northeast Conference. The last three months have offered a more difficult test.
“We’re all playing for something,” Timberlake said. “This is kind of like everybody’s second chance coming here to Bryant. We’re going to make the most of it.”
The Bulldogs (23-11) feature a handful of clear strengths. They’re a top-20 team nationally in terms of adjusted tempo, average height per minutes played, fewest opposing assists per field goals made and a pair of blocked shot percentage categories. Bryant is a top-45 team nationally in terms of experience, with Timberlake and five other scholarship players listed as seniors or older.
“We’ll talk about two or three things — this is what we have to do,” Martelli said. “We have to get back in transition. We have to keep them off the glass. Offensively, we have to get the ball moving and get our bodies moving.
“It’s not that simple, because you have to go do it. But it is that simple because that’s the game.”
Michigan State (27-6) won the Big Ten regular-season crown by three games before falling to Wisconsin in the semifinals of the league tournament. Tom Izzo is a Hall of Famer and national champion, finishing his third decade of coaching in East Lansing. The Spartans feature a top-30 national offensive unit and a top-5 defense that allows barely 90 points per 100 adjusted possessions.
Jase Richardson is one of the young stars for Michigan State — his father, Jason, was a standout on Izzo’s title team in 2000. Jaden Akins, Tre Holloman, Jeremy Fears, Jaxon Kohler and electric dunker Coen Carr will all pose unique challenges.
The Bulldogs will lean on past victories over Florida Atlantic and Syracuse while hoping they can become the eighth No. 15 seed to drop a No. 2 seed — the last, coincidentally enough, was Middle Tennessee stunning the Spartans in 2016.
“It’s the same approach,” Timberlake said. “We always feel like the underdogs. I feel like now we’re finally getting our respect.”
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bryant early game advance
Continue reading...
He starred at famed DeMatha Catholic High School and on the Nike grassroots circuit for Team Durant — the personal organization of current NBA star Kevin Durant — before one-year college stints at Miami and Memphis. Former teammates Jalen Duren, now of the Detroit Pistons, and Lester Quiñones, of the New Orleans Pelicans, have already made their professional debuts. Emoni Bates, who shared a backcourt with Timberlake while reaching the NCAA Tournament with the Tigers in 2021-22, is in his second season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Michigan State, for all its achievements and pedigree, won’t intimidate Timberlake. One of Bryant’s leaders hopes to spread that confidence through the locker room ahead of a scheduled 10 p.m. West Region tip on Friday night at Rocket Arena.
“That’s the beauty of playing AAU basketball,” Timberlake said. “We’ve seen everybody. Everybody who’s at big schools, we’ve seen them.”
The Spartans will be just the third KenPom.com top-100 opponent for the Bulldogs in 2024-25 and the first since Dec. 30. Bryant followed a road loss at St. John’s `that month with another at Grand Canyon, a 112-66 pasting that included 23 turnovers. Timberlake and his teammates turned the page from there, winning 17 of their last 19 to earn a second March Madness bid in four years.
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“You have to go possession by possession,” Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “You can’t get yourself caught up in the larger picture. It has to be that specific possession and what we have to do offensively, defensively.
“You have to be disciplined with that. We’ll break it down and talk about trying to win four-minute games.”
Rafael Pinzon (St. John’s) and Jakai Robinson (Miami) also moved away from traditional power programs to find new homes with the Bulldogs, and the results have been a collective success. Bryant set a program record for wins in a season and dominated a second league this decade. Its first trip to this grand stage came in the Northeast Conference. The last three months have offered a more difficult test.
“We’re all playing for something,” Timberlake said. “This is kind of like everybody’s second chance coming here to Bryant. We’re going to make the most of it.”
The Bulldogs (23-11) feature a handful of clear strengths. They’re a top-20 team nationally in terms of adjusted tempo, average height per minutes played, fewest opposing assists per field goals made and a pair of blocked shot percentage categories. Bryant is a top-45 team nationally in terms of experience, with Timberlake and five other scholarship players listed as seniors or older.
“We’ll talk about two or three things — this is what we have to do,” Martelli said. “We have to get back in transition. We have to keep them off the glass. Offensively, we have to get the ball moving and get our bodies moving.
“It’s not that simple, because you have to go do it. But it is that simple because that’s the game.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Michigan State (27-6) won the Big Ten regular-season crown by three games before falling to Wisconsin in the semifinals of the league tournament. Tom Izzo is a Hall of Famer and national champion, finishing his third decade of coaching in East Lansing. The Spartans feature a top-30 national offensive unit and a top-5 defense that allows barely 90 points per 100 adjusted possessions.
Jase Richardson is one of the young stars for Michigan State — his father, Jason, was a standout on Izzo’s title team in 2000. Jaden Akins, Tre Holloman, Jeremy Fears, Jaxon Kohler and electric dunker Coen Carr will all pose unique challenges.
The Bulldogs will lean on past victories over Florida Atlantic and Syracuse while hoping they can become the eighth No. 15 seed to drop a No. 2 seed — the last, coincidentally enough, was Middle Tennessee stunning the Spartans in 2016.
“It’s the same approach,” Timberlake said. “We always feel like the underdogs. I feel like now we’re finally getting our respect.”
[email protected]
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bryant early game advance
Continue reading...
