Temple players sit on the bench during Friday night’s festivities. (Chase Senior/Philahoops)
Hundreds of fans made their way out to McGonigle Hall to support the Temple Owls on Friday night in their first public appearance of the 2012-13 season during their annual Cherry and White Night.
Sports radio 94 WIP’s Marc Farzetta, a Temple grad,hosted the event, rallying the crowd from the get-go and there wasn’t a face in the crowd that wasn’t sporting a smile.
The Temple band could be heard loud and clear, providing fans with a feeling of a regular season game at the Liacouras Center. The Diamond Dance and Cheerleading teams did their part as well, breaking down the dance moves, making the atmosphere truly electric.
There is much to be excited about this upcoming season. The team has its usual veteran faces returning in Khalif Wyatt, Scootie Randall and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, but there is also a bundle of youth and new faces who are looking to continue the rich tradition of college basketball on North Broad Street.
Will Cummings, who spent a lot of time on the pine behind Juan Fernandez last season, flashed the quickness and agility that made him a top-notch recruit during a brief scrimmage. Cummings brings a whole other dynamic to the point guard position when it comes to athleticism, something that Temple has yet to see in prior years.
“Will is like ultra fast,” said Owls star Khalif Wyatt, “the fastest point guard I’ve ever played with.”
Wyatt, who was named to the preseason Atlantic 10 first team, is coming off a season in which he averaged just over 17 points per game. But aside from being the teams number one go-to threat on offense, Wyatt is preparing for a more important role as the team’s leader.
“Now I’m the older guy so now they’re looking at me and stuff, so it’s kind of cool to take it all in and lead the best I can,” Wyatt said.
Fans also got to see some of the youngsters whose careers are set to blossom. Devontae Watson threw down multiple impressive dunks, and Daniel Dingle showed us he is due to earn some burn on the hardwood.
Granted, this was a brief scrimmage with virtually no defense being played, but you can clearly see that this Temple team has potential to do some damage.
Chase Senior
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