Stephen F Austin University’s third-leading scorer last season, Sophomore Ty Charles (KHS Class 2014), has set sights higher in second campaign.
Bigger. Stronger. Faster. Better … {{more}}
Buzzwords matching and associated with those listed above are what any freshman transitioning to his second season of basketball deployment at the NCAA Division I level strive to have synonymous with themselves.
Ty Charles, the lone sophomore representative on the 2015-16 Stephen F. Austin men?s basketball squad, funneled a rigorous summer workout regimen into his day-to-day activities in order to embody those words and take a big next step for the Lumberjacks who are seeking a fourth-straight Southland Conference crown as well as an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in as many seasons.
A significantly more bulked-up version of the 6-foot-5 product of Kennedale, Texas, is what Lumberjack fans will bear witness to in 2015-16 after an offseason in which one of the most dynamic players in the Southland Conference packed on over 20 pounds of muscle.One of most dynamic players …
?When we recruited Ty, we felt like he had the ability to be an outstanding player,? said SFA?s third-year head coach Brad Underwood. There was an adjustment, but by the time conference play began last year Ty was ready to be not just a good college player, but a guy who was very impactful in a the outcomes of a lot of games. There were moments last year where, as a true freshman, he was one of the best if not the best player on the court.?
Statistical averages of 8.6 points and five rebounds per game while helping SFA to a mark of 29-5 a season ago may have induced some feelings of envy among a sampling of Charles? freshman compatriots around the conference, region and nation. Now, tasked with taking on a heightened role as one of the ?Jacks leading men, he aims to surpass those figures while continuing to evolve into an underclassman leader of the 16-man team.leads by example …
?One of the biggest assets for Ty is his maturity level,? Underwood stated. ?He has accepted work and the mental change of not just being a player but being a great player and that?s our expectation for him this year. He is a young man that takes great pride in winning and he also leads by example.?
When taking the floor for Southland Conference tilts in his inaugural season as a collegian, the example laid down by Charles was one of a budding conference star. Starting each and every one of the ?Jacks? 18 league engagements, he netted 10.2 points per outing on the strength of 48.4-percent shooting and got his hands on 5.9 rebounds a game ? a number surpassed by only 2014-15 SLC Player of the Year Thomas Walkup.expects SFA to reach and surpass …
The Lumberjacks? leading scorer in six games and the high rebound getter in nine, Charles wound up pacing SFA in scoring by amassing 14 points in its second-round NCAA Tournament skirmish with Utah in Portland, Oregon a season ago.
Having experienced the thrills of hoisting a conference tournament trophy and being thrust into the spotlight as one of the key cogs on one of the 68 best college basketball teams come March, Charles expects SFA to reach and surpass those heights this season.
?Our first goal as a team is to win the Southland Conference again and go to another NCAA Tournament,? Charles said. ?If we can do that, we want to progress and get to a higher level in the tournament.?Ty Charles an all-state player for a Kennedale team that in
a two year stretch went 71-4, ending with a final four finish in his senior
year in 2014. In his final season for
Kennedale, he was named to the 3A All-State Team, the Star Telegram Super Team
and was voted the MVP for District 6-3A.
