College basketball practices still won’t get under way for another month, but it’s never too early to start talking some hoop. Today, we kick off our CAA team-by-team previews with the Towson Tigers.

2010-11 Recap: Last season was a complete and utter disaster for the Tigers, and that’s putting it kindly. With a roster that underwent constant turnover due to injuries and transfers, Towson was undermanned and finished with a 4-26 mark, including an 0-18 finish in the CAA. Surprisingly enough the Tigers got off to a respectable 4-7 start to the season, with wins over Coppin State, Western Michigan, UMBC, and La Salle. Once the calendar flipped to January, however, the Tigers were tamed and dropped their final 19 games, with seven losses by 10 points or more. Though the squad was stuck in the CAA basement all season, Towson did give the fifth-seeded Drexel Dragons a scare in the first round of the CAA Tournament, entering halftime tied 28-28 and trailing by only two points with 3:15 remaining. The close call was not enough though as Towson fell 75-69, bringing an end to an ignominious campaign.

Against Northeastern: The Tigers only met Northeastern once last season, a Feb. 9 showdown in Boston. The Huskies emerged with an 82-78 victory behind 21 points from senior captain Chaisson Allen, but head coach Bill Coen considered his team fortunate to escape. Towson had little trouble finding its shooting stroke inside Matthews Arena, shooting a hot 55.6-percent from three-point range in building a 40-34 lead at the break. Settling for jump shots in the first half, NU’s offense looked stagnant as the hosts went 2-for-11 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. In the second half the Huskies regrouped and attacked the basket, with Allen leading the way. The aggressive approach paid off as teammates Ryan Pierson (17 points), Jon Lee (16 points) and Joel Smith (13 points) all reached double-figures in the win. Isaiah Philmore led all scorers with 25 points in a losing effort for the visitors.

Key Losses:

• Isaiah Philmore: Easily the team’s best player last season, the sophomore finished eighth in the conference in scoring at 15.3 points-per-game and was 10th in the league in rebounding with 7.0 boards-per-game. A difficult matchup for opposing teams, Philmore posed a nightmare for coaches who couldn’t figure out whether to put a big man on him due to his size (6-foot-7) or a smaller player due to his quickness and respectable outside shooting ability (35.3-percent from three-point distance). The CAA’s closest version of Blake Griffin, Philmore finished last season as one of the top players in the league, reaching double-figures in his final 10 games and averaging 22.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in his final six contests. Philmore transferred to Xavier during the offseason and will be eligible to play for the Muskateers during the 2012-13 season.
• Braxton Dupree: A transfer from the University of Maryland, Dupree put up solid numbers in his one season for the Tigers, averaging 12 points while playing in 29 of the team’s 30 games. His low post presence and physical style made him one of the CAA’s top rebounders, finishing fourth in the league with 7.9 rebounds-per-game. A late-season injury limited the big man’s efficiency as he failed to reach double digits in nine of his final 10 games.
• Josh Brown: The team’s senior point guard, Brown was one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the league last season, connecting on 42.7-percent of his long distance efforts, the fourth-highest average in the CAA. Brown averaged 10.6 points-per-game last season and saved his best for last in back-to-back contests against Drexel. In his home finale, Brown dropped 21 points on the Dragons, and followed that up with 18 against DU in the CAA Tournament.
• Pat Kennedy: The coach of Towson since 2004 handed in his resignation days after last season ended. Though his seven seasons as head man of the Tigers failed to produce a winning season, Kennedy exits with 472 career coaching wins.

Key Returns:

• RaShawn Polk: The 6-foot-2 Polk averaged 11.6 points-per-game during his junior campaign and will be expected to add more on offense during his senior season. A second-team All-CAA Academic selection, Polk battled through a preseason concussion and a midseason illness to produce solid numbers for his team. His best effort last season came in Towson’s 89-74 win over Coppin State in the second game of the season, in which the guard torched the Eagles for 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long distance.
• Erique Gumbs: A sizable player at 6-foot-9, Gumbs returned to action last season after a knee injury forced him to take a medical redshirt after his fifth game in 2009. Gumbs looked tentative and unsure of himself at times last season, contributing an average of 3.6 points-per-game last season and reaching double digits only twice. Though he is only a redshirt sophomore, Gumbs will be leaned on to contribute early and often this season considering how little experience there is on the Tigers’ roster.
• Robert Nwankwo: A complicated credits transfer issue (think of it as Towson’s version of the NU shuffle) meant Nwankwo was ineligible to play last season, so the big man took a redshirt. Back on the roster again this season, the 6-foot-8 senior forward is sorely needed by his team. The former walk-on earned a starting job in 2009-10 and posted solid averages of 9.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks-per-game. His effort on defense was huge as he led the CAA in blocked shots and finished 11th in the country in the category en route to an All-Defensive team nod. A major question mark will be how Nwankwo looks in his return to the court. By the time Towson’s season begins, Nwankwo won’t have appeared in an official game in 20 months.

What to Expect: New head coach Pat Skerry takes over for Kennedy and brings with him an entirely new coaching staff. In addition the school broke ground on a new facility — Tiger Arena — which will open in 2013, while also making improvements to the floor of the current arena. The makeover is a welcome sign at Towson, where last season’s debacle had players and fans alike wondering if the program could be repaired. Expect Skerry to make a positive impact on his team by injecting new hope and enthusiasm into the atmosphere surrounding his club. That being said, the Tigers still remain thin on experience, with only two seniors and six freshmen on the roster. Losing Philmore was a huge blow to the team as well, as his athleticism would have given Towson a starting point and something to build off. An 0-18 repeat isn’t going to happen, but don’t expect the win total to jump too far either. Expect the Tigers to be competitive all season but still finish in the bottom third as the rebuilding project take shape.

Patrick McHugh Basketball, The Dog Pound CAA, Fall Preview, Towson