Temple's Dunphy looks to Cummings for leadership

NEW YORK - Fran Dunphy is not one to waste words. When he was asked what he needs from his returning top scorer, Will Cummings, the Temple basketball coach got to the point.

"Just about everything," Dunphy said. "I need to trust in him and I have already. He's got to be our best decision maker. He's got to be our toughest and staunchest defender, and he has to lead us in every way on and off the court. And he's done a very good job of that."

Cummings was named second-team all-American Athletic Conference on Wednesday during the AAC's media day. The part about being the toughest and staunchest defender seemed to resonate with him.

The Owls had posted six consecutive seasons of 21 or more wins and reached the NCAA tournament each time. But their first season in the American Athletic Conference ended disastrously. They finished 9-22 last season, losing more games than in any other season since they began playing basketball at Temple in 1894.

Cummings' scoring jumped from 5.8 points per game in his sophomore year to 16.8 last season, second on the team behind the departed Dalton Pepper. Cummings led the Owls in assists at 4.6 per game.

But Temple allowed 78.1 points per game. In the four previous seasons, the Owls never gave up more than 69.5 points per game.

Although he had elevated offensive numbers, Cummings was critical Wednesday of his defense and vowed to improve.

"I take a large share of the defensive blame for our season last year," Cummings said. "I have to be the tone setter. I'm the first line of defense, and it's my job to stop the ball.

"As for the numbers, they'll come if you are working hard," he said. "I'm not focused on stats. I just want wins."

The Owls will have a much different look this season. Along with Pepper, the Owls lost leading rebounder Anthony Lee, who transferred to Ohio State.

They hope to offset their losses with the addition of transfers - forward Jaylen Bond (Texas), guard Jesse Morgan (Massachusetts), and guard Devin Coleman (Clemson) - all from the Philadelphia area. Bond is eligible now, Coleman will be eligible on Dec. 8, and Morgan has been told by the NCAA that he will be eligible for either the first 19 games of the season or the last 21, Dunphy said.

Junior guard Quenton DeCosey joined Cummings on the all-AAC preseason second team. The Owls also expect 6-foot-8 freshman Obi Enechionyia - a consensus top-100 prospect - to contribute this season.