TOWSON, Md. — The Towson Tigers men's basketball team gathered for media day with ambitious goals for the upcoming season, including their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991.
Head coach Pat Skerry knows the sting of defeat all too well and hopes to use those experiences as motivation.
"As a coach, I remember the tough losses a lot more than the good wins," Skerry said.
Towson Tigers basketball team looking to end NCAA Tournament drought
The Tigers will face significant early-season tests with challenging non-conference matchups. Two road games stand out: one against the second-ranked Houston Cougars and another against the 19th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.
"We try to challenge ourselves and then there's quite a few national televised opportunities in those games too, and I think that's important for our program as well," Skerry said.
The team plans to lean heavily on two of the conference's top players. Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Tejada has focused on improving his body during the offseason and plans to adjust his shot selection.
"I'm just going off like my instincts and what like I'm used to doing, but feel like it's been good to like get out of my comfort zone a little bit more and work on things and do things that I'm not used to normally doing," Tejada said.
Point guard Dylan Williamson could make program history this season, needing just 95 three-pointers to become Towson's all-time leader in that category.
"I wish I wasn't told so I could just play my game, but now that I know, I'm gonna go for it for sure," Williamson said. "That would mean everything to me because when I first got here, I really couldn't shoot it as well as I do now. So just all the work and the reps that I put in is paying off."
The talent hasn't gone unnoticed by professional scouts.
"We've had six or eight NBA teams already come in for workouts to see some of these guys. So I'm hoping they can continue to get better," Skerry said.
The Tigers' ultimate goal is winning both the CAA regular season and postseason tournaments to secure their first NCAA Tournament berth in more than three decades.
"You gotta take every opportunity that comes your way because it really don't matter what happened during the regular season or whatever is, those three games in March, you know, and it could all be over just like that if you don't seize every opportunity that comes your way," Williamson said.
Towson opens the season November 3 against Loyola at CFG Bank Arena.
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