UMBC men’s basketball finished the 2024-25 season 13-19 overall and 5-11 in America East play, good for eighth place, and lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to Bryant, 85-74.
Retrievers head coach Jim Ferry reflected on the rebounding issues his team had a season ago.
“We couldn’t rebound the ball last year defensively, offensively, and it really played out,” Ferry said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 23. “We were one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. … Averaged over 80 a game, and we lost a lot of close games because we just couldn’t rebound the basketball.”
Ferry was asked about the adjustments he made to improve his team’s rebounding following last year’s struggles. Newcomers Jose Roberto Tanchyn (6-foot-10, 235 pounds), Riley Jacobs (6-foot-9, 205 pounds), Caden Diggs (6-foot-8, 195 pounds) and Paul Greene (6-foot-6, 195 pounds) should be able to help.
“In this new era of college sports and recruiting, we focused on it, man,” Ferry said. “We are significantly bigger, we’re significantly longer, significantly more athletic, and I think it’s something that was a weakness that’s going to turn into a strength of ours this year.”
Ferry was asked how returners Josh Odunowo and Ace Valentine have grown heading into this season. Odunowo, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward, averaged 11.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last year. Valentine, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard, averaged 8.0 points and 3.2 assists per game.
Those two will be asked to step up with Marcus Banks Jr. and Bryce Johnson moving on this past offseason. Banks and Johnson combined for roughly 33 points a game last year.
“[Odunowo’s] perimeter skills are significantly better, yet he hasn’t lost his edge down low — his athleticism to rebound, to finish, to run. He’s really defending at a high level right now. I think you’ll see a little bit of a different player in Josh,” Ferry said. “Ace didn’t have a very good end of the season last year for himself, for his expectations, for our expectations, so I give that man a ton of credit because most kids in that situation would have packed up and said I’m going to go somewhere else, right?”
Ferry was also asked about how Old Dominion transfers Diggs and Devin Ceaser will impact the Retrievers. Diggs averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 35 games for the Monarchs in 2024-25, while Ceaser averaged 11.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 12 games due to injury.
“We recruited Devin out of high school. He’s a talented, explosive athlete, scorer mentality,” Ferry said. “I think he’s trying to come back from that injury and fit into the way we’re playing right now, but if he can get himself healthy and get his explosiveness back and his aggressive back, I think he’s someone that can obviously help us, especially on the offensive end.
“Caden Diggs has been fantastic. He’s a big 6-8 wing, which we normally haven’t had. We’ve always played three guards. His versatility, his ability to defend and rebound both defensively and offensively, he’s a tough matchup to guard with his size and length, so we’re excited about both of those guys.”
For more from Ferry, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox