TSU – A Different Look

Coach Penny Collins Likes Their Start

(St. Louis, MO) – Tennessee State is off to a solid start and they are only going to get better. They have a very different look. Coach Brian ‘Penny’ Collins has put the right pieces together and his team is playing with great determination. During the offseason Collins was able put together a recruiting class that more reflected his preferred style of play.

TSU (6-4) is a bigger and more athletic team than last year’s squad. The Tigers lead the Ohio Valley Conference in shooting percentage and defensive shooting percentage. Collins says part of his recruiting strategy was to find players that would be efficient offensively and contest every shot defensively.

 

 

Team First Approach

Collins’ starting lineup has stayed in tact through the team’s first ten games and the Tigers are exhibiting an unselfish style of play. Five players average between 7.8 and 11.3 points per game. A different five players have been the leading scorer in a game. Their back up point guard leads the team in assists.

The second-year head coach says his players have bought in to a team first approach.

 

 

Transfers Bring a Different Look

Co-leading scorers Wesley Harris and Carlos Marshall are veteran transfers that have bought in to Collins’ rebuilding program. Harris is a 6’9 West Virginia transfer was a part of the Mountaineers’ 2018 Sweet Sixteen team. Injuries and some form of conflict with the coaching staff caused Harris to leave WVU.

Collins says Harris needed a change of scenery and has been a great TSU leader. Harris’ scoring (11.3) and rebounding (5.3) averages lead the team and he leads the squad in minutes played (29.2). Having played big games in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament, Harris isn’t easily rattled.

 

 

Harris was a four-time high school state champion, an elite level junior college player and was a legitimate contributor on a Sweet Sixteen team. This graduate transfer is a true difference maker and gives the Tigers a different look.

Marshall was a junior college teammate of senior point guard Michael Littlejohn (Southwest Tennessee Community College). The 6’6 guard is a high-light reel waiting to happen. He is an explosive athlete and is tied with Harris scoring 11.3 points per game. He’s topped the 20-point mark twice this season and has led or shared scoring honors during five of the Tigers’ ten games.

Collins says Marshall was recruited by some ‘power conference’ teams, but wanted to be part of making TSU history.

 

 

Harris and Marshall are part of emphasis on size in Nashville. Seven Tigers involved in Collins’ main rotation measure 6’6 or better. At OVC levels the Tigers are huge. This is a different look.

Outstanding Guard Play

Littlejohn and and Emmanuel Egbuta are the only two significant players to return from Collins’ first season in Nashville. After his outstanding junior college career, Littlejohn fit right in to the Tigers’ aggressive, up-tempo attack. He started six late season games and has built on that experience this season.

He’s averaging 10.2 points per game and leads the team with 26 three-pointers. Collins says his senior point guard is one of the team captains.

Sharing that point guard spot is freshman Mark Freeman. The Memphis native has enormous potential and Collins gushes when he talks about his team’s assist leader (4.3 per game). Freeman doesn’t start, but he also leads the team in steals and has made eight of 18 from deep.

Collins loves the play from his point guards.

 

 

The Program is Growing

When Collins was hired he boldly declared his goal of making Gentry Center a loud and rocking place. He proclaimed his desire for his home floor to be a difficult place for opponents to perform. After averaging 965 fans per game last season, the Tiger attendance figures have exploded. The Tigers are 4-0 at home and are averaging 4,202 fans per game. Gentry Center has a different look.

Collins says the growth of the program is a team effort that has required hard work.

 

 

Collins is energetic, enthusiastic and optimistic. He is passionate about preparing his players for their personal futures AND about creating a TSU aura. He loves his Tennessee roots. Collins is encouraged by his program’s upward trajectory.

 

 

OVC Play is The Acid Test

Collins knows his team will be judged by how they perform during Ohio Valley Conference play. He predicts the OVC will be wide open and have a different look this season.

 

 

Only Belmont (7-3), TSU, Eastern Illinois (5-4) and Murray State (5-4) are over .500.

Two road games remain. The Tigers travel to Fordham (Sunday) and Indiana State before playing NAIA member Blue Mountain on December 21. They open the OVC season with home games against Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois Edwardsville. While playing four of their first six league games at home, the Tigers have a chance to build momentum into the more difficult part of their schedule.

Collins is excited about his team’s different look.

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