Prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, FullertonTitans.com sat down with head coach Dedrique Taylor to preview the Titans roster. We will be rolling out the players by position leading up to the fans first opportunity to watch this year's squad at the Blue/Orange Scrimmage on Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. at Titan Gym. Today's story focuses on the forwards/wings.
The 2016-17 Cal State Fullerton Titans will feature many new faces, including an entirely new lineup at the wing. The Titans will have four new players fighting for minutes at the "3" position as well as the power forward slot. As was with the centers, the forwards will feature a lot of size as well as versatility that will give head coach Dedrique Taylor a number of options and combinations to play with in the frontcourt and help with spacing the floor for the team's cornucopia of guards to penetrate and kick out when the lane closes up.
"Walking through the airports now, instead of people asking us if we're a rugby team or a soccer team, you can now visually see that we are a basketball team which gives you a level of excitement," said Taylor about the amount of size and length this year's squad possesses.
It should also help competing with the rest of the teams in the conference that have been able to use their size as an advantage to climb to the upper echelon of the conference.
"When you move past the regular season and you start thinking about our conference opponents, you automatically have to focus your eyes on UC Irvine and you have to be able to contend with them and what they do at the rim and in the paint with their front court guys," Taylor said. "And so we're not quite as tall as them but from an athletic standpoint, and the size that we do have, we can contend with them in and around the rim. So we're excited about that part of it."
Davon Clare | Fr. | F | 6-5 | Killeen, Texas | Harker Heights HS
A freshman out of Texas, Clare comes to Cal State Fullerton after a solid career at Harker Heights High School. He was named the District 12 6A Most Valuable Player and also was named to the All Region II-6A team as Harker Heights finished second in 12-6A with a 10-2 district record and 26-7 overall mark. Clare helped Harker Heights advance to the area round of the 2015-16 UIL Boys State Basketball Championships.
Taylor will use Clare's versatility to the team's advantage and give the opposing defenses fits with matchup problems.
"He's the guy that gives us a dual or multi-talented guy who can play two or three spots for us because of his skillset," Taylor said. "He's a facilitator; he can handle it well enough to be out on the perimeter and he's long and athletic enough to have a presence in the paint and at the rim defensively rebounding and blocking shots."
Arkim Robertson | Jr. | F | 6-9 | St. Johns, Grenada | Western Oklahoma State College
A transfer our of Western Oklahoma State College, Robertson brings good size at 6-foot-9 to play either at power forward or center in small lineups. The coaching staff has also been impressed with the progress of his offensive game and touch around the rim.
"Since he's gotten here, he's presented to be a lot further along offensively than we thought," Taylor said. "He can finish around the rim he has his own set of post moves that he can get off. But the thing he brings to our table is length and athleticism in that position. He gives us the opportunity to run and transition and stretch the floor because he's 6'9", he's athletic, he's mobile, he's agile, he can block shots above the rim, and he can rebound shots outside of his box."
Robertson helped lead Western Oklahoma State to the Region 2 Tournament semifinals and ended the year with a 19-12 record, winning two games vs. nationally ranked top 10 opponents. As a freshman, Robertson started in 25 games for the Pioneers and averaged 8.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game to rank fourth in the region. He also ranked second in blocks and fourth in field goal percentage in Region 2. His production, versatility and upside were big reasons Robertson ended up at Cal State Fullerton.
"His size jumped up off the page for us and then his ability to move, like get up and down the floor and cover space and cover areas and quickly get to a shot and block the shot then rebound in the same possession," Taylor said. "Those things jumped off the page the first time I saw him last year."
Jackson Rowe | Fr. | F | 6-7 | Toronto, Ontario | Wasatch Academy
Perhaps the most exciting prospect on this year's squad, Rowe has the coaching staff very excited with what he can bring to the Titans in 2016-17. He showed up to Fullerton and immediately aced the staffs conditioning tests and "quickly established himself as one of the better athletes" in the program according to Taylor. Another big and physical player, Rowe actually played center in high school and could play all three spots in the frontcourt for Fullerton.
A 2016 graduate of Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Rowe led the Tigers to a 29-4 overall record and No. 14 rating in the final USA Today Super 25 Expert Rankings. He was named the Boys' Basketball Mid-Utah Radio Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 10.2 rebounds, 3.4 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game. On the offensive end, he averaged 15.5 points per game and shot 71.4 percent from the floor and was selected to play in the first annual All-Star Challenge in Utah.
Rowe has already showed great progress with his strength at this level during practices and also has a good stroke from the perimeter to provide spacing on the floor. Rowe provides the Titans with yet another versatile option to use in different situations.
"He can shoot three's, he can put on the floor a little bit," Taylor said. "He's almost like a bull in a china closet. He bullies his way to the basket and is athletic enough to finish above the rim but he's skilled enough to make plays for himself as well as his teammates."
With all the assets Rowe has on the court, the coaching staff is also impressed with his demeanor and approach to the game.
"He's super unassuming and doesn't say much about anything but when he puts on that uniform and gets out there between those lines, he becomes a different type of animal and we're super excited to embrace that from him as a freshman," Taylor said.
Jhan Paul Mejia | Jr. | F | 6-10 | Madrid, Spain | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
Mejia, a native of Madrid, Spain, will enter the 2016-17 academic year as a junior after playing two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami, Okla. At 6-foot-10, Mejia is the very definition of a "stretch-4." His touch from the outside should keep defenders honest on the perimeter while his size and mobility should be an asset on the fast break.
"He can really shoot the ball with great range," Taylor said. "My man has a feathery-soft stroke but, conversely, he is athletic enough to finish above the rim and catch lobs and make plays above the rim in ways we haven't had, particularly in that position."
Mejia played two years at Northwestern Oklahoma A&M College and averaged 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game during his sophomore season, shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent (46-of-115) from three-point range. NEO A&M advanced to the second round of the NJCAA Men's National Basketball Championship, won a Region II championship and finished the season with a record of 23-10. He totaled 10 double-figure scoring games during the season including a career-high 26 points.
"When he walks in the gym, it's imperative you know where he is because he has the ability to knock three's down at a relatively high clip," Taylor said.
All in all, Cal State Fullerton looks to have a wide range of options with its frontcourt and a bevy of size to use to clog up the lanes on defense and lots of length to pester the opposition on the perimeter. Coupled with the centers, the Titans will have eight different options for a combination of three spots in the frontcourt, with seven of those measuring 6-foot-7 or taller. It is a luxury coach Taylor relishes to have this season.
"You can't help but to get excited to realize we have some options, we have some depth in those particular areas and guys with different skillset at that so we can play the game a couple of different ways," Taylor said. "So obviously we want to establish our brand of ball which is get up and down the floor and play as fast as we can play well but in the event that we aren't able to do that, we still want to be functional execution-wise in half-court and give ourselves the chance to win our share of games."
Make sure to come back Tuesday evening as we wrap up the 2016-17 Titans with the deepest position for the Titans this year, the guards. And make sure to mark your calendars for the annual Blue-Orange Scrimmage which will be held Oct. 22 at Titan Gym at 11 a.m. Admission is free.