Summer Q&A with Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk

Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk has been named MAC Coach of the Year in two of the last three seasons.

Photo by: Katie Manger

8/3/2023 2:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Rockets' mentor has been named MAC Coach of Year two of last three seasons

The Toledo men's basketball program has produced an unprecedented three-year run in the Mid-American Conference by becoming the first current program to ever win three consecutive outright league titles. Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk was named MAC Coach of the Year for the second time in the last three years this past season. He sat down to provide his thoughts on the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.

Can you talk about the summer workouts you have had preparing for the 2023-24 season?

KOWALCZYK: We are allowed eight weeks for summer workouts, and we typically haven't used them all in the past. This year, we used seven weeks with four of those being all team-related. It's good having these workouts because it gives you a chance to evaluate our new guys and see how good they are. When you're recruiting, you have an idea of a player's talent level but it's good to see how they compete in our gym against our returning players.

The workouts are also good to see where our strengths and weaknesses are. I see a team that does not lack talent. There's no question about that. We do lack some experience. We have a strange mix with just juniors and freshmen. I think that's just part of the portal era, but our juniors are experienced. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of games and helped us win a lot of big games. Our transfer Ben Wight also played a lot of college basketball at William & Mary.

This team has the potential to be the one with our best chemistry. Part of it is because the way our classes are set up. We have done a lot of team activities with players and staff involved like going to a Snoop Dogg concert and going to the lake. Things like that are important and add value.

How will the roles of returning starters Dante Maddox Jr. and Ra'Heim Moss as well as Tyler Cochran change this season?

Kowalczyk: We obviously need Dante, Ra'Heim, and Tyler each to take a step forward. With Tyler, it's nothing more than making sure he gets back healthy. We have full confidence that he will be. Dante had a tremendous offseason. He wasn't on the all-conference team last year but certainly could have been with the season he had. That is going to be a goal for him. He needs to take the next step with his game. We all know he has unbelievable athleticism, great basketball instincts and DNA. Now he's got to take care of the mental aspect.

We're looking for Ra'Heim to be a better leader and a more vocal leader. He also needs to take the next step as a scorer because he's capable. He needs to take good shots and do it in the flow of the offense. I'm really excited for him because he's a guy that I think is one of the best defensive players in our league and we're going to need him to have an all-conference type year.

What impact will having an all-conference level player like Tyler Cochran back after he missed most of last year due to injury?

Kowalczyk: Tyler is the definition of a position-less basketball player. He does so many different things and can make a big impact for us. He has elite hands defensively, is a really good rebounder, plays downhill and competes. We thought last year he was going to be one of our best players and he ended up playing only nine games.

You also have two returnees in the frontcourt with Andre Lorentsson and Javan Simmons. What improvements have they made during the off-season?

Kowalczyk: Dre clearly has all the abilities to be a good player. He's much more athletic and a better defensive player than he showed last year. He just needs more confidence in his defensive ability and to play with more fire and an edge. He's a very good shooter with great size and length. We Just need him to be more aggressive and assertive. Part of his adjustment is growing up in a different culture that is different than college basketball.

As far as Javan, I really felt like I probably made a mistake redshirting Javan. It wasn't a mistake for his future but for last year's team. When I look back at it, he would have played significant minutes by Christmas. He progressed a lot improving his skills and lost some weight. I'm looking forward to seeing him get on the court.

One veteran newcomer is Ben Wight, who transferred to Toledo after starting the last two years at William & Mary. What type of player is he and what can fans expect from him?

Kowalczyk: He's one of the most consistent guys I've been around. You know what you're getting from him every day. That's what I loved about Seth Millner. You knew every day what you're getting, I think Ben will be the same thing. He brings us maturity and a defensive mindset. He's also an elite offensive rebounder which is something we haven't had in a long time and is certainly adding value. He's a guy that's played in a really good league and averaged double figures and we expect the same here.

Can you talk about your impressions of each of your freshman now that they've been on campus for a month?

Kowalczyk: They are the most talented group we've had. We need to get our freshmen up to speed quickly because several are going to play a lot of minutes. I would say that right now Sonny Wilson is our starting point guard. He is very talented, tough, a winner, and competes. I think Rocket fans are going to really appreciate him and love him. Bryce Ford is a lefty combo guard right now. We're trying not to overwhelm him right now and we're going to have him learn just the two position until he gets more comfortable. He can really shoot it and play off the dribble. He also has the ability to be a good defender in the future. Sam Lewis is talented and can shoot it as well. He plays downhill and is a north and south guy. He possesses really good length defensively and just has to learn to play with more emotion and talk a little more. I knew Xavier Thomas was a really good player when we recruited him. but to be honest with you he is better than I anticipated. He really knows how to play. He's a position-less basketball player we've had a lot of success with. He can shoot it and play off the dribble. He just knows how to play and has that Detroit-mindset. Grgur Brcic is going to be very good for us. He's athletic and has good hands. He gets position in the post and can rebound it on both ends. Once he gets comfortable, I think he's just going to get better and better.