Entering last summer, as UMBC men’s basketball coach Jim Ferry prepared to welcome nine new players to the team — seven from the transfer portal and two from the high school ranks — he got to work brainstorming team-building activities.
“I did a lot of research on a lot of different things do in team bonding. I read two books. That usually takes me about eight years,” joked Ferry, now in his fifth year as the head coach in Catonsville.
But then the team began practicing, and those team-building activities went by the wayside.
“It happened so naturally that I didn’t need it and I didn’t want to force it, and I didn’t,” Ferry said. “We’d have a dinner or [players would] come to my house, but my mindset was I was going to have to do a lot of it. And then once I was around these guys for like a week I was like, ‘Wow, they’re doing it themselves.'”
Ferry’s first impression of his new-look roster proved prescient. UMBC is 14-8 overall and 7-2 in the America East, making last season (13-19, 5-11) a distant memory. The Retrievers are playing slower and better defensively than past Ferry teams, but they’re still second in the conference in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, a college hoops analytics site.
Several transfers have made big impacts. Graduate wing DJ Armstrong Jr. is averaging 13.4 points per game and 42.3 percent shooting from 3-point range. Junior guard Jah’Likai King is averaging 14.0 points and 3.8 rebounds. Junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn is averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. Sophomore forward Caden Diggs is averaging 9.8 points and 3.7 rebounds. Armstrong, King and Tanchyn come from the Division II level, while Diggs comes from Old Dominion.
Those transfers have fit in well with returners Daylon Dickerson, Josh Odunowo and Ace Valentine, among others.
“Starting off the court and flowing in on the court, I think we just all like each other in a good way, just to be able to go out and win the game,” King said. “We want to go far, but we’ve got to take everything day by day starting in practice to the games. I just feel like if we keep being consistent, that’s just going to help us out every day.”
So the secret to portal-era hoops is … everyone liking each other? Well, it certainly helps. It showed in UMBC’s 79-62 victory against Binghamton on Feb. 5 when the Retrievers pulled away early in the second half. They turned a 39-26 halftime lead into a 61-40 lead, a stretch that was punctuated by four consecutive assisted 3-pointers.
UMBC assisted on 14 of 28 field goals in the game.
“We’re really unselfish. It’s not just a saying. We live by it,” Armstrong said. “I don’t really care if I had three points tonight and [King] had 20 or whoever has whatever. We all just want to win at the end of the day. I think we established that in like July when we all came here. We’ve all got the same goal, same mindset, so it all works in.”
Ferry explained that the Retrievers only have a handful of set plays and instead rely on concepts. When Ferry’s offense is rolling, those concepts lead to quick decisions with the ball, the necessary spacing for drives to the basket and a lot of open shots from 3-point range.
UMBC is shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from 3-point range, both tops in the America East.
“To me, offense is like a rhythm. It’s almost like music,” Ferry said. “It’s easy to me if we’re flowing all on the same page — and at times we’re like that. It flows. But then you can tell sometimes when we’re off a beat, when the music’s not right, I see it getting a little choppy. That’s kind of how I see offense, to be honest.”
The Retrievers are in the midst of a six-day stretch between games; their next test comes at Maine on Feb. 12. One challenge for newcomers to UMBC is the schedule in the America East, with games typically falling on Thursday and Saturday. This break gives the Retrievers time to rest, recover and get better.
“It’s definitely way different,” said King, whose New Haven squad didn’t play two league games in three days. “I feel like I’m still getting used to playing Thursday and Saturday. That’s a lot, plus practices on top of that and staying focused on school and everything. I just feel like all of that is just coming into play.”
With just seven regular-season games left, Ferry will make sure his players are at their best come game day.
“With my experience, practice shorter — more is not better,” Ferry said. “Keep these guys fresh — fresh minds, fresh bodies, but constantly getting better and constantly learning.”
Photo Credits: Courtesy of UMBC Athletic Communications