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Staff file photo \/ Neel Madhavan
\nYoungstown State redshirt junior guard Andrew King (right) is defended by sixth-year forward Vlad Salaridze (left) and redshirt senior guard Jason Nelson during a team scrimmage on July 16 at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.<\/p>\n
YOUNGSTOWN \u2014 The buzz is palpable in the atrium and halls of the Beeghly Center at Youngstown State.<\/p>\n
Not only are improvements being added to the infrastructure of the building, but head coach Ethan Faulkner is high on his rebuilt team, as the Penguins began official practices this week ahead of the team\u2019s 2025-26 season, which begins on Nov. 3 at Pitt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had tons of success over the last several years, and I\u2019m really excited about where we\u2019re at as a program and really excited and optimistic about the new group that we have,\u201d Faulkner said. \u201cI think we\u2019re going to play a fun style, and I think we\u2019re going to have a chance to compete at the top of our league again. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis league is what it is, right? We know there\u2019s a lot of good teams, a lot of good players and a lot of good coaches. So we\u2019re going to have to continue to make progress in terms of our development and the chemistry of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like most teams in college basketball these days, YSU underwent plenty of roster turnover after the end of last season. <\/p>\n
The Penguins returned four players from last year\u2019s squad, including Jason Nelson, Cris Carroll, Imanuel Zorgvol and Shaheed Solebo, while adding 11 new players with eight transfers and three freshmen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have a very deep team. One through 15, we have guys that are able to impact winning,\u201d said Vlad Salaridze, a sixth-year forward who is one of those transfer additions. \u201cIf I was a coach, the best problem to have is to not know who to play. We just have a bunch of really talented players, and we\u2019re in the process of putting it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most experienced of those newcomers are Salaridze, sixth-year forward Tyler Robinett, sixth-year guard Cam Polak and senior Bryson Dawkins, each of whom are expected to be key contributors this season for the Penguins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have high hopes and we work to (achieve) that,\u201d Salaridze said. \u201cBut at the same time, I think we\u2019re an old team. \u2026 I think we\u2019re a gritty team. I think we play hard. I think we\u2019re going to be in better shape than everyone else. I think we\u2019re going to be more experienced than everyone else, and we\u2019re just going to be that team that\u2019s going to close out games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Throughout the summer, YSU worked to build chemistry between its returners and newcomers. Now during practices over the next month, the Penguins are trying to fine tune things on both ends of the floor. <\/p>\n
On one end of the court, Faulkner wants YSU to continue to build off the defensive identity that it established in his first year as head coach last season. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always a team that\u2019s going to base our identity on the defensive end of the floor. We saw that last year, and we\u2019ve got great versatility on that side of the floor,\u201d Faulkner said. \u201cWe weren\u2019t very big from the guard position last year. I think if you come see our group physically, we look different from the guard position, which I\u2019m really encouraged by. I think that gives us a chance to be even better on the defensive end of the floor as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Offensively, Faulkner aims to try to get back to where the Penguins were during former coach Jerrod Calhoun\u2019s final few seasons. <\/p>\n
YSU struggled shooting the ball at times last year, and it was sometimes difficult to overcome, even as the defense kept the Penguins in games. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re going to get back to playing a brand of basketball that our fans are more used to seeing in terms of our tempo, in terms of having versatility from a lot of different positions and really being able to play out of the ball screen,\u201d Faulkner said. \u201cThose things are going to look maybe a little bit different at times than last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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