Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
"It's just a really good vibe, a good feel" - New Faces are making an early impact for MTSU Men's Basketball
11/14/2024 11:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball
A trio of transfers - Kamari Lands, Jlynn Counter and Essam Mostafa - led the way in MTSU's 80-63 over Evansville
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's basketball coach Nick McDevitt told his team this week that they won their first road game of the season, a 79-56 romp over Abilene Christian, not on the night of the game, but in the days leading up to it. The days of practice focused on the scout, on getting better, on building chemistry within a team that's still working in new pieces three games into the 2024-25 season.
After the Blue Raiders continued their winning ways on Wednesday night against Evansville, rolling to an 80-63 win over the Purple Aces, McDevitt had the same feeling he did this week and last night that he did the week prior.
"All the guys were locked in," McDevitt said of practice this week. "Even the guys that weren't out on the floor, you'd ask something, and you'd hear guys on the side that knew what the action was that they were trying to get."
The defensive action was stout once again on Wednesday for the Blue Raiders, particularly in the second half, where MTSU held UE to just eight field goals (8-for-30 from the floor, 26.7 percent, including a 0-for-14 half beyond the arc). The hosts also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Purple Aces 47-29 on the night.
But it was the offensive end of the court, where three new transfers shined the most on Wednesday, that gave a glimpse into why McDevitt said that this year's team has a "really good vibe, a good feel" through three games. With forward Essam Mostafa getting a double-double with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, guard Jlynn Counter being a microwave scorer off the bench with 14 points (7-for-10 from the floor) and eight rebounds and Kamari Lands adding nine points and five boards off the wing, McDevitt's vision of what his veteran roster could be is starting to come into focus.
"They're all talented guys and we knew we needed to go get guys like (Lands) and J-Rocc and Essam and hopefully soon we get (Alec Oglesby) out there," McDevitt said.
Lands, who's played for both Louisville and Arizona State in his college career, came into the Blue Raider program with a reputation for long-range shooting. But at 6-8, 225, Lands also knows that if he wants to maximize his skillset, he needed to learn how to use his size to his advantage.
"They're always preaching to me, 'use your size, use your body, use your length,'" said Lands of the MTSU coaches. "I'm starting to get it, I'm starting to figure it out now."
The wing drew three fouls on Wednesday, finishing the night a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and even picked up a block on defense in the low post, a situation Lands is still learning how to defend in. But with the growth he says he's already seen on defense and rebounding, Lands also expects the final piece, finishing at the rim, to come together sooner rather than later.
"Before I came here, one of my weaknesses was always finishing at the rim," Lands said. "Just being aggressive, using my size as who I am. And that's where I feel like I've had a lot of growth here, especially with the defense and rebounding.
"I'm still working on it, definitely. Finishing around the rim, definitely. But I feel like that's been my biggest growth. That's always been the kind of knock on me was saying (I was) playing like I was 6-2."
Mostafa was the most well-known commodity coming into the year, having averaged a double-double in his most recent season as a starter at Coastal Carolina in the 2022-23 season. But even with that being expected, his craftiness around the basket and willingness to scrap for boards has been key to sustaining strong runs for MTSU or snapping the Blue Raiders out of cold spells.
"Our ability to rebound the ball was the biggest difference," McDevitt said. "Being +18 on the glass. We had some silly turnovers to start the game. Once our ball care got better, we started touching the paint a lot in the second half in the second half was when we started stretching the lead. Essam was terrific on the glass."
Finally, there's Counter, who's already halfway to the season win total of his previous team (IUPUI, now known as IU Indy) through just three games with the Blue Raiders. A combo guard that's best known for his ability to score, his play has been raised by the teammates around him, something that doesn't go unnoticed by the veteran guard.
"We have a deep team, a very unselfish team," Counter said. "It's really easy when you can go out there and play with some unselfish guys who play hard."
And with sharpshooter Alec Oglesby expected to return later in non-conference play, McDevitt's team, with both new faces and veteran returners helping rank them in the Top 50 in Division-I experience by Ken Pomeroy, is showing the maturity he knew they needed to have early on in the season.
"They've been ahead by 12 and understand that teams can come back," McDevitt said. "They've been down 7-2 and 6-0 to start games and understand that you've got to keep playing and weather the storm. You just don't want to have guys that hit the panic button."
After the Blue Raiders continued their winning ways on Wednesday night against Evansville, rolling to an 80-63 win over the Purple Aces, McDevitt had the same feeling he did this week and last night that he did the week prior.
"All the guys were locked in," McDevitt said of practice this week. "Even the guys that weren't out on the floor, you'd ask something, and you'd hear guys on the side that knew what the action was that they were trying to get."
The defensive action was stout once again on Wednesday for the Blue Raiders, particularly in the second half, where MTSU held UE to just eight field goals (8-for-30 from the floor, 26.7 percent, including a 0-for-14 half beyond the arc). The hosts also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Purple Aces 47-29 on the night.
But it was the offensive end of the court, where three new transfers shined the most on Wednesday, that gave a glimpse into why McDevitt said that this year's team has a "really good vibe, a good feel" through three games. With forward Essam Mostafa getting a double-double with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, guard Jlynn Counter being a microwave scorer off the bench with 14 points (7-for-10 from the floor) and eight rebounds and Kamari Lands adding nine points and five boards off the wing, McDevitt's vision of what his veteran roster could be is starting to come into focus.
"They're all talented guys and we knew we needed to go get guys like (Lands) and J-Rocc and Essam and hopefully soon we get (Alec Oglesby) out there," McDevitt said.
Lands, who's played for both Louisville and Arizona State in his college career, came into the Blue Raider program with a reputation for long-range shooting. But at 6-8, 225, Lands also knows that if he wants to maximize his skillset, he needed to learn how to use his size to his advantage.
"They're always preaching to me, 'use your size, use your body, use your length,'" said Lands of the MTSU coaches. "I'm starting to get it, I'm starting to figure it out now."
The wing drew three fouls on Wednesday, finishing the night a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe and even picked up a block on defense in the low post, a situation Lands is still learning how to defend in. But with the growth he says he's already seen on defense and rebounding, Lands also expects the final piece, finishing at the rim, to come together sooner rather than later.
"Before I came here, one of my weaknesses was always finishing at the rim," Lands said. "Just being aggressive, using my size as who I am. And that's where I feel like I've had a lot of growth here, especially with the defense and rebounding.
"I'm still working on it, definitely. Finishing around the rim, definitely. But I feel like that's been my biggest growth. That's always been the kind of knock on me was saying (I was) playing like I was 6-2."
Mostafa was the most well-known commodity coming into the year, having averaged a double-double in his most recent season as a starter at Coastal Carolina in the 2022-23 season. But even with that being expected, his craftiness around the basket and willingness to scrap for boards has been key to sustaining strong runs for MTSU or snapping the Blue Raiders out of cold spells.
"Our ability to rebound the ball was the biggest difference," McDevitt said. "Being +18 on the glass. We had some silly turnovers to start the game. Once our ball care got better, we started touching the paint a lot in the second half in the second half was when we started stretching the lead. Essam was terrific on the glass."
Finally, there's Counter, who's already halfway to the season win total of his previous team (IUPUI, now known as IU Indy) through just three games with the Blue Raiders. A combo guard that's best known for his ability to score, his play has been raised by the teammates around him, something that doesn't go unnoticed by the veteran guard.
"We have a deep team, a very unselfish team," Counter said. "It's really easy when you can go out there and play with some unselfish guys who play hard."
And with sharpshooter Alec Oglesby expected to return later in non-conference play, McDevitt's team, with both new faces and veteran returners helping rank them in the Top 50 in Division-I experience by Ken Pomeroy, is showing the maturity he knew they needed to have early on in the season.
"They've been ahead by 12 and understand that teams can come back," McDevitt said. "They've been down 7-2 and 6-0 to start games and understand that you've got to keep playing and weather the storm. You just don't want to have guys that hit the panic button."
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