Connectivity key for YSU men as Penguins open practice
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YOUNGSTOWN -- If there's one thing Ethan Faulkner has learned during his first two years as head coach at Youngstown State, it's the importance of building a connection amongst the players on the team.
With almost an entirely new roster this season, it magnifies the significance of building that connectivity in a short period of time if the Penguins are going to find success once the season opener rolls around on Nov. 2.
"I think our guys have done a really good job building some relationships with each other," Faulkner said. "I think that's something that we've really emphasized. I just think in this day and age in college basketball, your connection can be your superpower, and that's something that we're really trying to make sure that we're doing a good job of building with our team this year."
In addition to its on-court workouts, YSU spent the summer fostering that connection off the floor and that process remains ongoing.
But now the urgency picks up, especially since the Penguins opened official practices on Monday in preparation for the 2026-27 season.
"Towards the beginning of summer, everybody was just getting to know each other," sophomore Jaiden Haynes said. "Nobody's really like this [tight] or super close. But as time goes on, you start going out to eat with guys. You start getting in the gym together. Me and my teammates, a couple of us went golfing, we went bowling, just doing certain activities. Some of my teammates last weekend went to a concert -- that last little bit of fun time before official practice starts.
"So we're just spending time with each other outside the court, as well as getting on the court, knowing your teammates strengths and weaknesses."
With the roster that the coaching staff has put together, Faulkner feels that the Penguins are uniquely suited to playing the faster tempo that was a hallmark for the program's success before last year.
But also, YSU aimed to address one of their biggest struggles the last two seasons -- defensive rebounding -- by adding size and physicality to their frontcourt.
"This is an important time for our team. We feel like we've got enough time where we can actually get out there and practice and make some real progress," Faulkner said. "Most of what we've done over the summer up until this point has been practices, it's just been in a much more condensed time slot. So I'm excited about our group. I'm excited about the progress we've made up until this point, but we've still got a lot of work to do as we gear up towards Nov. 2."
In addition to getting back to what they want to do on the court, the Penguins have put together a slightly different mix of players that includes experienced production, but also young players that are eager to prove themselves.
"We had a plan for what we wanted from different position groups. What I like about having some younger guys who maybe played behind some really good players at higher levels last year and they've got a chip on their shoulder to prove themselves. It's a little bit different," Faulkner said. "I'm excited about those guys and what they're doing day-in and day-out.
"It's a group that more than anything, with this many new guys and this early, I feel like we've built some real connection. That's something that obviously has to stand the test of time when we get into times of adversity. We gotta handle success well. All those things are going to challenge and test our connection as we move forward. But so far, I've been really pleased with that."