Both the YSU men’s and women’s basketball teams will be offering Summer camps in June.  The camps both feature great instruction and drills to make the attendees better all-around players.

Jerry Slocum oversees the Youngtown State 2012 Summer Boys’ Basketball Camps in June.  The Full-Court Camp is set for June 11-14 while the Half-Court Camp is slated for June 18-21.

The Full-Court Camp is for kids in grades six through 12 (as of the Fall 2012), runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and costs $140.  The Half-Court Camp, which is for kids entering second through ninth grade, runs from 8:30 a.m. to Noon and costs $95.

For more information on the camps, please call Director of Basketball Operations Jason Pacanowski at (330) 941-3004 or email at jfpacanowski@ysu.edu.

The women’s basketball staff, led by third-year head coach Bob Boldon, will host two individual camps. The Half-Day Individual Camp will go from June 25-28 and will focus on improving the all-around game. Open to players entering fourth through ninth grade, participants will work on all fundamentals with ball-handling, passing, shooting, defensive and rebounding drills. The camp will go from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all four days, and the fee is $85.

There will also be an overnight elite camp designed for players getting ready to play at the collegiate level. There will be intense workouts that focus on shooting, ball-handling, passing, post moves and defense. The camp will have competitive games as well as speed and agility drills, and it will be run very similar to a college practice. The camp will be broken into two sessions. The first session will be June 28 from 5-9 p.m., and the second will go from 9 a.m. to noon on June 29. Campers will stay overnight in campus housing, and the cost is $50.

The annual Team Shootout will be on June 2. The camp is a good chance to start the bonding process, and teams are guaranteed four games with certified high school officials. The camp will go from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is available for both varsity and junior varsity teams. The cost is $200 per team.

For more information, call Director of Operations John Cullen at (330) 986-6265 or visit the women’s basketball page at YSUsports.com.

• Youngstown State junior Damian Eargle has been named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Defensive Team, the website recently announced.  Eargle set the Horizon League single-season blocks records for all games and league-games only. Eargle finished with 116 blocks, including 65 in Horizon League play. He also owns the Horizon League career record for blocks in conference play at 122.

•  The 6-foot-7 forward led the Horizon League and ranked third in the country with 3.7 blocks per game.  Eargle recorded a block in 30 of 31 games last season, had 26 multi-block games and posted at least five blocks on 12 different occasions, including an eight-block performance against UC-Riverside on Nov. 18, 2011.  A 2012 Horizon League All-Defensive Team, selection, Eargle averaged 11.1 points per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game.

• Youngstown State men’s basketball Head Coach Jerry Slocum has announced that Kamren Belin (Atlanta, Ga./Walton), 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward, has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to continue his basketball and academic career at Youngstown State University.  ”When I visited Youngstown State it just felt right and I really clicked with the players on the court,” Belin said. “It’s a good league and I think we have a chance to do something big.”

• Besides being an outstanding basketball player, coach Jerry Slocum was impressed by Belin as a person.  ”We are very excited to have Kamren join our program,” Slocum said. “He is a quality person and a very gifted all-around basketball player.”

Several players were handed some well-deserved postseason accolades.  Among the recipients were:

• Sophomore Kendrick Perry, a All-Horizon League First-Team selection, won the Dom Rosselli Coaches Awardfor the team’s most valuable player and also earned the Assists Award. Perry led the team with 121 assists.  Perry, who was just the fifth player in league history to lead the league in scoring and steals, led the Guins with 16.8 points per game.

• Senior Ashen Ward, now a wideout for Eric Wolford, who averaged 10.0 points per game, was awarded the Tony Vivo Hustle Award and the Bill Dailey Leadership Award.

• Junior guard Blake Allen, who averaged 12.8 points per game and led the Horizon League with 91 3-pointers made, won the Free-Throw Award with a free-throw percentage of .732.

• Eargle was awarded the Leo Mogus Rebouding Award for leading the team in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game. Eargle also led the Horizon League with 121 blocks and was named to the league’s All Defensive Team.

• Sophomore Mike Podolsky, who owns a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0, was the recipient of the Four-Square Club Scholar-Athlete Award.

Congratulations to Coach Slocum and staff and players on a fantastic season!

The Youngstown State University basketball team is looking for a couple of bodies to fill the void left by the sudden departures of Cale Zuiker and Nate Perry.

The Penguins are heavily recruiting and Coach Jerry Slocum should announce one of those he is pursuing as a new Penguin as early as tomorrow.  Kamren Belin is reportedly very close to committing to Slocum’s program.  Belin will come as a junior college transfer who stands at 6′ 7″, averages around twelve points per game, and has a reputation as a shot-blocker.

Can you imagine Damian Eargle having a pal to swat shots with?

Jonathan Octeus is another name that has been heard swirling around campus.  No word on his commitment yet, but the Penguins are trying to land him and it is very possible that he may commit within the week.

Neither signing is official, but when they are and if they happen, you will get the details here.

Over the past few years, the facilities have improved, some coaching changes have been made, and school spirit is as high as it has been in about twenty years.  Ron Strollo (above) is finally getting to see the benefits of his hard work.  The athletic director at Youngstown State had come under fire three years ago.  When Jon Heacock was failing, both basketball programs were declining, and all the other sports we had to have for scholarship and conference alignment purposes, no one was sure if Strollo could survive.

Not only has he survived, he has prospered.  The whole athletic community has prospered.

Ask Eric Wolford.  Wolford was appointed to be the savior of a football program that seemed to cater to individuals instead of team.  All Wolford has done in two years is put a program in place, recruited like it is his last day on Earth, surrounded himself with good coaches, and worked on good character and life skills tirelessly for his players.  The expectation on Wolford’s 2012 Penguins is to win.  With a victory over FCS Champion North Dakota State last season, expectations on the coming season are very high.

Perhaps no coach is more misunderstood than Jerry Slocum.  Recently completing his seventh season at the helm, the reserved, but opinionated, coach proved he can win. Strollo rewarded Slocum with a contract extension, and Slocum paid back when he put the best product of his tenure on the court last season.  Slocum is in the Top-10 list for wins of active coaches and knows the game of basketball.  People are sometimes critical of his personality, but no one should ever question his ability to coach.  Strollo made the right decision in rewarding Slocum a few more years as the program continues to move forward.

Bob Boldon probably couldn’t get the pen out of his pocket soon enough to sign a contract to coach women’s basketball at YSU.  It is a nice place to start, following a departed coach who went 0-30 the year before.  Boldon has had good success in installing a three-point shooting offense and is always preaching defense, he is a good choice, another feather in Strollo’s cap.

Rich Pasquale will endure some growing pains with his 2012 YSU baseball squad. Pasquale has a very young team with only two seniors and is another tireless recruiter.  Don’t be surprised to see this team in the hunt next season as they get their bearings and learn to play together.  Coach Campbell is at that point now with the Lady Penguins softball team.  These girls can flat out play.  He has pitching, he has hitting, and he is proving very proficient at managing both.

Recently, the Penguins hosted the Horizon League Indoor Track Meet.  The WATTS proved to be a terrific venue for the event and Strollo reflected on the feedback.

“The feedback has been positive.  Obviously there are a few things, as we will go through growing pains, that need fixed.  We will address those minor issues. Fortunately, we ran college and high school meets a month and a half prior to tune up for that event.”

The weekend of the Horizon Meet, there were also basketball home games and the swimming home finale.

“There is no question we don’t mind being busy if that is what it takes.”

Strollo has surrounded himself with outstanding personnel.  This department has evolved into a prototype of how a collegiate athletic department should be run.  The marketing and sports information departments have exemplified consistency, which can be tough with subpar products.  Fortunately, the products are ‘new and improved’ and will continue to draw bigger crowds.  Keep up the good work Ron Strollo, and thanks for what you have done so far.

Youngstown State University did all they could after they sunk into a 24-point first half hole.  They cut the lead to ten early in the second half, but could get no closer, ultimately falling, 93-76 to Detroit.  Damian Eargle had 25 points to lead all scorers but the defense was not able to contain the Titans arsenal of weaponry.

“There are a lot of tears flowing in that locker room”, said YSU Coach Jerry Slocum.  ”This was a very close-knit group of guys who really clicked.  I am proud of what they accomplished this season, they worked very hard.”

Detroit came out smoking hot in the first half.  That first half saw a 50-point outburst by the Titans.  Oddly enough, the Penguins shut down Detroit’s standout guard, Ray McCallum, as he scored only two of the Titans first 25 points.  McCallum would get untracked and finished the game with 22.

The Titans held the Penguins long-bombers (Blake Allen and Ashen Ward) in check for most of the 40 minutes.  The tandem both averaged double-digits in scoring and were viable three-point options.  Detroit held the pair to a combined eight points on 3-11 shooting.  The Penguins would bring the ball across mid-court and Detroit would double the point forcing turnovers (YSU committed 15 turnovers in the game).

Detroit shot 60% with McCallum leading the way with 22.  Eli Holman had a double-double with 11 points to go with his ten boards.  Chase Simon finished with 14, and LaMarcus Lowe chipped in with 13 more.  Detroit will face Cleveland State Saturday to see who will advance to the Horizon League Championship game.

For the Penguins, Eargle’s 25 points and seven boards were team-highs.  Senior DuShawn Brooks finished with 19 and Kendrick Perry tacked on 18 points.

Congratulations to the Penguins for having a special season and getting the program headed in a positive direction.  Coach Slocum and staff have a lot to be proud of for not only the product that they put on the floor, but the quality of people they are recruiting.  This was a special bunch of guys who have bright futures.  There were some great individual performances, but team was inscribed in all of their hearts more so than any year in Slocum’s tenure.

Finishing 16-15 is a tremendous fete in a very tough Horizon League.

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team will be in action on Friday in the second round of the Horizon League Championships against Detroit at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Eastern Time/5 p.m. Central Time.

The contest will be available in Youngstown on 570 WKBN beginning with the pregame show at 5:40 p.m. MyYTV will also carry the Horizon League Network’s broadcast live at 6 p.m. The game can be found on TimeWarner Channel 997, Armstrong Channel 13 and 108, Comcast on Channel 3, Direct TV Channel 15 and Over-the-Air Channel 33.2. It is also available on the iHeart Radio App and the HLN Live App as well as being streamed live on the Horizon League’s website.

YSU is advancing to the second round for just the third time in school history. The Penguins reached the second round in 2003 at Milwaukee, Wis., and 2007 at Dayton, Ohio. The winner of the Penguins-Titans game on Friday advances to play No. 2 Cleveland State on the semifinals on Saturday.  The Titans and Penguins split the regular season tilts with the visiting team winning at the opposing team’s venue in each game.  This tiebreaker, on a neutral site, is worth a lot to a hungry Penguins team that still feels as though it has unfinished business this season.

For the second-round games on Friday, March 2, general admission tickets are $10, while groups of 10-or-more are priced at $7. Horizon League students get seats in their school’s student section free with a valid ID.

Tickets for Friday night’s contests are available by calling the YSU Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978. The other game on Friday evening features fourth-seed Milwaukee against fifth-seeded Butler.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  If the critics had their way, the Youngstown State University men’s basketball program would still be that thing after football season, Jerry Slocum would be collecting unemployment, and nobody should care.  Five Horizon League Players of The Week later, the best conference finish since joining the Horizon, and a two-year contract extension for Slocum, YSU got to host a playoff game, and they played like they belonged.  The Penguins got balance on offense in eliminating Green Bay and advancing to Valparaiso for the next round of this second season.

“We had a very good practice on Sunday after a very tough loss Saturday”, said Slocum.  ”I never saw them so locked in and told them after practice that I was very, very proud of them.  You could feel it.”

The Penguins came out smoking hot, shooting 50% in the first half.  Kendrick Perry and DuShawn Brooks had twelve points apiece in a very balanced scoring attack.  Blake Allen contributed eight more points and picked up six assists as the home team marched out to a 45-34 halftime lead.  Green Bay got 11 points from their 7’1″ center, Alec Brown.  The Penguins lead was as big as 18 with 8:35 to go in the half, but Green Bay closed the margin when the Penguins finally cooled off a bit.

In the second half, the Penguins kept the big lead and were ahead 60-46 with 11:29 left in the game.  Greg Mays hit a layup off of a rebound to keep the Phoenix afloat.  Damian Eargle (above), who always plays like a true five in the body of a four, gathered an offensive board and tipped it in to give YSU a 62-49 lead with 9:46 remaining.  With 7:36 left in the game, the Penguins were in control of the game with a 66-54 lead.

“I was definitely feeling it in the second half”, remarked Eargle.  ”We were definitely pumped up for this game and think we can go deep into this tournament.”

Eargle would score six points in a row for the ‘Guins, four off of offensive rebounds.  he then tipped an inbounds pass and had Green Bay reeling, almost singlehandedly, over a five minute stretch of the second half.  It then turned into KP Time, as Perry glided to the hoop, hung in the air to draw contact and then casually flipped the ball in for two.  Perry hit the free throw to complete the conventional three-point play that gave the Penguins a 71-54 lead with 4:54 remaining in the contest.

From the 4:24 mark on, YSU could concentrate on some clock-killing skills, holding a luxurious 17 point lead, which also ended up being the winning margin.

The Penguins (16-14, 1-0 HL Tourney) got a mammoth effort from Eargle.  The sophomore from Waren finished the game with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and an assist for good measure.  Brooks played well and tacked on 16 points.  Allen finished the game with 15 points and 7 assists.  Perry had 15 more points for the Penguins.

Green Bay finishes their season with a 15-15 record.  Brown had 20 points to lead the Phoneix.

Next up for YSU is a rematch with Detroit.  The Penguins will face the Titans in the early game of a doubleheader at Valparaiso Friday evening.  The two teams split wins in a couple of tightly contested games during the regular season.

Youngstown State sophomore Kendrick Perry (Ocoee, Fla) was named to the All-Horizon League First Team in a vote by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and selected media, the league announced on Monday.

Sophomore Damian Eargle (Youngstown, Ohio) was voted to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team by the head coaches.

Perry (above) is just the second player from Youngstown State to earn first-team accolades and the first since Quin Humphrey in 2006-07 and 2005-06. He is also the first sophomore in school history to be named first-team all-league.

The Horizon League Player of the Week for Feb. 6, Perry is just the fifth player in Horizon League history to lead the league in scoring (16.8 ppg) and steals (2.4 spg) during conference play and he led the league in all-games scoring with 16.8 points per game. He also led the league with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio and ranked second in steals (2.4), tied for third in assists (3.9) and tied for 10th with 1.8 3-pointers made per game.

Over the last nine games of the season, Perry averaged 22.8 points 2.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.9 steals per game while shooting at a 57.6 percent clip from the field. He also connected on 44.9 percent of his 3-point attempts and shot 79.7 percent from the free-throw line. Also during that span, Perry scored at least 20 points seven times, including a career-high 30 points against Milwaukee on Jan. 31.

Eargle, who was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Jan. 2, set the Horizon League all games and conference-games only single-season blocks record with 113 and 65, respectively. He also set the Horizon League career blocks record in conference play with 122.

This season, Eargle, who ranks third nationally with 3.9 blocks per game, collected at least one block in the first 28 games, posted multiple blocks in 24 of 29 games and swatted at least three blocks in 23 games.

Eargle, a 2010-11 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team selection, also averaged 10.4 points per game and ranked third in the league with 7.4 rebounds per game.

Youngstown State University had learned that they had clinched a home playoff game, but wanted to roll into that contest with momentum.  Standing in the way of the Penguins to accomplish that fete were the Detroit Titans.  The Titans brought their A game and handed the Penguins a 76-74 loss to end the regular season.

In the first half, the Penguins started fast but as the game went, seemingly so did the momentum.  The Penguins had a five point lead with 15:03 left to play in the first half.  By the time the buzzer sounded to signify the end of the opening stanza, it was Detroit that held a 36-32 lead.  The Titans got 11 points out of Ray McCallum and nine more from Chase Simon.  The Penguins got a good half out of Blake Allen who had ten first-half points.  Detroit created some matchup problems in the paint for the Penguins using an extreme size advantage in the paint.

The second half saw Detroit start strong and continue dominating the inside.  The Penguins were down ten with about ten to play, then cut it to down five with five to play.  Kendrick Perry kept penetrating in the last few minutes of the game and drawing contact.  Two Perry free throws shrunk the lead to two with a minute to play, but the Penguins would get no closer.

YSU (15-15, 10-9) got 23 from Perry and DuShawn Brooks and Allen had 13 points each.  Damian Eargle had 11 points to go with seven rebounds but failed to block a shot for YSU.

Detroit (19-13, 12-7) is a very big and physical team that could make some noise in the tournament.  The Titans got 18 from Chase, 15 from McCallum and are tough to beat, as any team would be, shooting 55% from the field.

Brooks and Ashen Ward were honored as the seniors playing in their last home game before this one tipped off.  They will have another home game anyway when they host a first round tournament game on Tuesday.

The Youngstown State University men’s basketball team will host a first-round Horizon League playoff game on Tuesday night against a yet-to-be-named opponent.  The opponent will depend on Saturday’s Horizon results.  It will mark the first time since joining the Horizon League that the Penguins are afforded the luxury of playing a postseason game at the Beeghly Center.

Tickets for the Tuesday game are already on sale and Rick Love, YSU Director of Marketing, said that the ticket office will remain open an hour after the Saturday game against Detroit.  Tickets can also be purchased at the YSU Ticket Office on Sunday between 1-5 p.m., Monday from 9-7, and Tuesday from 9-5.

Tickets will cost $12 for Reserved Chairback seating.  Youth Chairback reserved seating is $6 per ticket.  Adult General Admission is $8 and Youth General Admission is $4.  YSU Students can get a free ticket with proof of enrollment.  If more information is needed for tickets, call the ticket office at 330-941-1YSU.

Penguin Club members and YSU Season Ticket holders have until 7 p.m. Monday to renew their existing tickets for the tournament game and to purchase any additional tickets.

If YSU were to win, they would travel to Valparaiso, winners of the regular season championship, for the next two rounds.  The Horizon League Championship game will be played on Tuesday, March 6 at the home of the highest remaining seed in the tournament.

Had Detroit beaten Valpo Thursday, the Penguins Saturday game against Detroit would have been for a two-seed.