Depth driving competitive practices for BGSU men's basketball

BOWLING GREEN — The intensity at the Stroh Center as Bowling Green State University men’s basketball has opened practice for the 2024-25 season has been at a significant level already.

Having a roster filled with players that have competed in hundreds of college basketball games certainly makes a difference.

A deep and talented squad is fueling a highly competitive nature under second-year BGSU coach Todd Simon, who calls the Falcons’ energy and enthusiasm “off the charts.” The Falcons have been pedal to the medal in nearly every aspect, whether in drills, 5-on-5, or game situations.

“We have a lot of experience, but we have a lot of new guys, a lot of talent that’s getting on the floor. We have some guys that were banged up that are kind of new to being healthy, so it makes for real competitive practices,” said Simon, whose team opened practice Sept. 23. “And we compete almost every drill, so their ability to compete on every possession right now is very high.

“I think the depth is certainly going to lead to a little more intensity.”

Although BGSU went through a noteworthy amount of roster turnover for the second straight year — only five of the 15 players returned from last year’s team — the Falcons have a remarkable amount of experience. The 12 players who have stepped foot in a college game have combined to appear in 663 contests in their careers, whether it was at the NCAA Division I or Division II levels, or junior college.

“A whole group of new guys looking to come together and make a special memory that lasts the rest of our lives, so everybody wants to come in and work and we just want to win,” said BGSU senior forward Sam Towns, who is entering his third season with the Falcons after transferring from Ohio. “So it’s fun to come around a group of guys that want to practice. They want to come in and work. It makes stuff like three-hour practices easy.”

Towns, as well as senior guards Trey Thomas and DaJion Humphrey, are the most experienced players for the Falcons. Thomas has appeared in 118 college games (90 at Vanderbilt and 28 at BGSU last season), Humphrey 91 (32 at BGSU last year), and Towns 88 (46 at BGSU last two years).

The players Simon brought in, especially from the transfer portal, aren’t short on talent and experience, either.

Players like former Central Michigan guard Derrick Butler (31 of 81 games with Chippewas last season), forward Marcus Johnson (46 of 74 games with Division II Wheeling last two years), and junior college All-American guard Javontae Campbell (51 games last two seasons at Northern Oklahoma) will be among those looking to step in right away for BGSU. Power conference transfers Youssef Khayat (Michigan) and Braelon Green (Arizona State), former Utah forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte, and junior college transfer forwards Preston Squire and Mohamed Maxamud have experience, as well.

“We spent a lot of time over the summer together, really meshing well,” Thomas said.

BGSU is coming off a successful start to the Simon era in which the Falcons finished 20-14 overall and reached the Mid-American Conference tournament semifinals. BGSU tallied 20 wins for just the 10th time in the program’s MAC era and were one of 10 teams in the country to go from 20 losses in the 2022-23 season to 20 wins in 2023-24.

With the regular season a little over a month away – BGSU travels to Southern Mississippi for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Nov. 4 – and although the league schedule is still a few months out, the Falcons are enthusiastic about the possibilities of this year’s team.

“There’s a lot going on in the MAC with the transfers and what not,” Towns said, “but I definitely feel like we’ve got the best shot, by far.”