TXST MBB
Bobcats lean on experience for bounce back season
Texas State will look to have a bounce back year this season after a 17-18 record last year despite making the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals.
Head Terrence Johnson enters his fourth season as Head Coach of the Bobcats who return a few starters from last year’s team and added several new players from the transfer portal.
“I’m excited about this group,” Johnson said. “We lost three of our top scorers last year to the transfer portal. It gives us an opportunity to see who can rise to the occasion. We have done a pretty good job so far of keeping our guys in a good head space and getting them excited about the season. Just trying to get them to focus on what’s important and things that they can control.
The Bobcats will also see the return of seniors Drue Drinnon and Tyrell Morgan who both missed the 2023-2024 season due to injuries.
For Johnson, seeing the long-time seniors having a chance to finish out the season in a Bobcat uniform instead of watching from the sidelines unable to play is a great feeling.
“I’m excited for Tyrell Morgan and Drue Drinnon getting a chance to leave on a note in which they can walk out of here instead of being rolled out,” Johnson said. “I want those guys to walk out of here with their heads up and be proud of their opportunities they have taken advantage of here.”
Following the loss of Jordan Mason, Brandon Love and Davion Sykes to the transfer portal, the Bobcats picked up several new players including former Nevada forward Tylan Pope and guard Mark Drone from Southwest Mississippi Community College.
Johnson is excited to see not only how the new players will look to contribute but also how they can push the team forward.
“As far as newcomers, I’m interested to see how Tylan Pope adjusts,” Johnson said. “He is a big strong physical presence that’s had an opportunity to be impactful at Tulane as well as Nevada. Him getting here and putting him in a role where he has an opportunity to be impactful here as well.
“I’m also excited about Mark Drone. He is a type of guard we hadn’t had in awhile. He is explosive, can score from all three levels and has a high basketball IQ.”
With 12 players classified as seniors and juniors, the Bobcats will lean on their experience during the early part of the season to help offset the many teammates who have never played together.
“We have a group of six seniors and five juniors, so it’s a bit of an older group,” Johnson said. “But they are playing together for the first time. There is going to be some level of an adjustment period, but I think once we settle in, we have a chance to be a pretty good and competitive team in a gauntlet of a conference that’s well coached with so many talented players.”
With the fluidity of the transfer portal in recent years, learning how to work the portal has been key for Johnson.
“You can’t focus on guys quote unquote leaving you,” Johnson said. “We don’t own people. … If somebody doesn’t want to be here, you don’t want to keep them. There are enough good players and you have to trust your ability to make an average player a good player and make a good player a great player.
“We trust that those guys didn’t walk in as good as the players that were when they left. It’s the reason why they became attractive. … It’s about adjusting, humbling yourself and understanding that these young men have a right to do things they are allowed to do.”
Texas State begins the season Monday Nov. 4 against the Eastern Michigan Eagles as part of the MAC-Sun Belt challenge.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
