Nine Teams, Nine Days – Over the next nine days we’ll take a look at each of the America East’s nine men’s basketball programs in a lead up to the 2023-24 season. The regular season begins on Monday, Nov. 6 with eight teams in action and the full schedule of contests can be found here.
Head Coach Jim Ferry has embraced the portal unlike any other America East coach. Last year he brought in eight newcomers and that team went 18-14, including an 8-8 mark in conference play. The team started strong but faded in February, dropping four of its final five games with the Retrievers’ season ending in the #AEHoops Quarterfinals.
This season Ferry once again utilized the portal with visions on getting back to the conference championship game for the second time in three seasons. He brought in an impressive 11 players, however, for him it wasn’t just about getting players, it was about getting the right players.
“I think my staff has done an unbelievable job of picking the right kids, like we did last year,” said Ferry. “We have such really good people. Competitors but really unselfish guys. For an experienced coach like myself, it brings back the excitement of what coaching is all about.”
The Retrievers only have one returner who played significant minutes last year in Dion Brown. The freshman appeared in 22 games a season ago, averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 19 minutes per contest. Ferry sees an increased role from Brown this season and has been impressed with how he has taken on a leadership role within the program as one of the key returners.
Chief among the newcomers who will be expected to contribute right away will be Bryce Johnson, Marcus Banks, Jr., Khydarius Smith and Max Lorca-Lloyd. Johnson played his first two seasons at Chicago St., where averaged 9.6 points, shot 38.8 percent from three and made 57 treys. Banks Jr. comes from Odessa College where he averaged 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Smith arrives at UMBC from USC Update after averaging 7.8 points per game, while Lorca-Lloyd transferred from Penn where he put up 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
This season Ferry’s squad starts out on the road against Louisville on Nov. 6, before returning home for four consecutive home games, including a matchup with local rival Loyola on Nov. 19. UBMC will face off against Maryland on Nov. 21 and host Towson on Dec. 9. The team also battles Iowa and American before beginning conference play at home against Bryant on Saturday, Jan. 6.
UMBC – Roster - Schedule
Head Coach: Jim Ferry
2022-23 Record: 18-14, 8-8 (4th)
Scoring Offense: 74.3 points per game (3rd)
Scoring Defense: 72.8 points per game (7th)
3PT Field Goals: 257 (2nd)
Returning Starters (0)
Notable Newcomers (11)
Bryce Johnson, G – transfer from Chicago St.
Marcus Banks, Jr., G – transfer from Odessa
Khydarius Smith, F - transfer from USC Upstate
Max Lorca-Lloyd, F – transfer from Penn
Fans will once again be able to watch every #AEHoops home game on The AE on ESPN with all games airing on ESPN+ or ESPN3 domestically and AmericaEast.TV internationally.
Follow the @AEHoopsNews X (Formerly Twitter) account to stay up-to-date on #AEHoops news all season long.
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