GETTING INSIDE
The project of reviving this program just got tougher. The Rockets were stunned over the recent departure of redshirt freshman guard Stephen Albrecht, a starter and one of the team’s leading scorers.
Albrecht, a 3-point shooting specialist who had sat out last season after two surgeries on his back, had rapidly developed into one of Toledo’s most reliable players. He averaged better than 13 points per game and played more than 33 minutes per game for the Rockets.
Albrecht had a career-high 20 points in a loss at Michigan State, hitting five 3-pointers in a gutty effort against the team that played for the national championship last spring. Albrecht had a 20-point effort the next time out, when the Rockets faced Cornell in the Legends Classic.
While addressing the stunning departure, which occurred just before the team took its brief Christmas break, Toledo head coach Gene Cross took the obligatory route and thanked Albrecht for his contributions to the program, and wished him well in his future endeavors.
Underneath all of the formality seemed to be a serious issue where one of the team’s best players had felt strongly enough about the uncomfortable climate surrounding the program that he jumped ship in mid-season. Albrecht said he had no immediate plans on where he might transfer and when, but he just wanted out.
The whole incident cast a pall over an already struggling program, and left the Rockets even more undermanned than they have been for the past two months.
NOTES, QUOTES
• The Rockets got 20 points from freshman G Jake Barnett for his ninth double-figure scoring effort of the season in a one-point loss to Indiana State.
• Toledo has improved its perimeter shooting this season, and was at 37.2 percent (70-of-188) from 3-point range at the holiday break. At the same point last season, the Rockets were hitting just 29 percent from outside the arc.
January At A Glance: The two-month grind through 16 Mid-American Conference games will be an especially difficult journey for the Rockets, who with nine freshmen on the roster field one of the youngest teams in the nation. Toledo has the third-most underclassmen scholarship players in the country with 10. The Rocket roster shows just two juniors, four sophomores and nine freshmen, so it is too much to expect this group to mature on such a fast track that they can weather that kind of ordeal and not be roughed up on a regular basis. The hope is that all the anticipated pain will eventually be followed by considerable gain.
Quote To Note: “We didn’t have much of a relationship. It wasn’t a great relationship or a bad relationship. There just wasn’t much of a relationship there between us.”—former Toledo player Stephen Albrecht, explaining his relationship with Rockets coach Gene Cross
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Season Recap: Toledo’s recent loss to Indiana State was a painful reminder of just how inexperienced this team is, and how fragile its state can be, especially in pressure situations. After trailing by 11, the Rockets clawed their way back and led by five with a minute to play. Indiana State fouled and sent the young Rockets to the line, and Toledo missed three free throws in the final minute.
The end result was a heartbreaking 55-54 loss in a game that most teams would have been able to put away. Toledo did not score in the final minute, and did not make the defensive plays to keep the Sycamores from seizing the lead. When freshman G Jake Barnett said “this one really hurts”, he was speaking from the heart. Unfortunately, it appears that the Rockets have a lot more heartbreak ahead once the MAC season begins.
Player Rotation: Usual Starters—G Malcolm Griffin, G Larry Bastfield, G Jake Barnett, F Justin Anyijong, F Larry Dressler. Key Subs—F Mohammed Lo, C Ian Salter, G Josh Freelove.
Game Review:
Toledo 73, IPFW 72
Valparaiso 81, Toledo 49
Indiana State 55, Toledo 54
Game Preview:
at Illinois-Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 29
vs. Alabama, Monday, Jan. 4
vs. Central Michigan, Saturday, Jan. 9
at Eastern Michigan, Wednesday, Jan. 13
at Ball State, Sunday, Jan. 17
In Focus: If the Rockets are to draw anything positive from the recent one-point loss to Indiana State in a game in which Toledo led by five with a minute to play, it would be about the defensive showing up until the final minute. The Rockets had their best defensive performance of the season, albeit in a losing effort. They limited the Sycamores to 38.3 percent shooting, and the 55 points Toledo allowed was the lowest total for any NCAA Division I opponent the Rockets have faced this season.
While that strong defensive showing helped Toledo work back from an 11-point second-half deficit, the Rockets lacked the resolve to maintain that presence in the waning moments of the game. It is fair to assume that any MAC game Toledo has a shot at winning will likely be a close one, and the Rockets will have to demonstrate that they can get stops in crunch time to get a positive result.
Roster Report:
• Redshirt freshman G Stephen Albrecht left the program just before the Christmas break and will transfer to a yet-to-be determined school. A 6-foot-3 native of Crown Point, Ind., Albrecht started 11 of 12 games for Toledo this season and was averaging 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
• Junior F Mouhamed Lo was in the starting lineup for the first time in the recent loss to Indiana State and he responded with 12 points and season-high 10 rebounds in 27 minutes for his first double-double.
• Freshman G Malcolm Griffin started his first game of the season in the recent loss to Indiana State and scored six points with a team-and season-high five assists.
