Temple Basketball: It's Shizz Alston's time to push his team over the top

There’s been perhaps no Temple basketball senior in recent memory that has had more to play for than Shizz Alston, Jr.

Alston’s journey as an Owl started long before he stepped on campus in fall of 2015. His father, Levan, for whom Shizz has honored his senior year by wearing his number 10, played for Temple basketball under John Chaney in the mid-90’s. And while Shizz flirted with schools like Penn State and VCU, there was little chance he wasn’t following his dad’s footsteps to North Broad.

A sparkling four-star recruit from Philadelphia, Shizz is the last of his kind, the last of a long line of big-time Philly recruits that came to Philadelphia’s major public university. It’s been a convention at Temple since the earliest years of the sport of basketball for the Owls to live or die on the court with Philly kids. And for a few decades, with guys like incoming head coach Aaron McKie, Lynn Greer, the late Mik Kilgore, Khalif Wyatt, and the senior Levan Alston (Shizz’s real first name is also Levan), Temple was living large on the backs of those Philly area players.

But as the landscape of basketball recruiting began to change, and, some would argue, the ability of Temple’s staff to land the kinds of players it traditionally used to win, Philly players began going elsewhere; Villanova, Penn State, out of the state entirely. Even other Temple legacies, like Jalen Brunson, were choosing to play (and ultimately, win) elsewhere, making Shizz not only a huge potential boost on the court, but a sort of moral and cultural victory for Temple basketball.

More from Busting Brackets

But times haven’t been as kind to Temple since the fall of 2015. Shizz has only made the tournament a single time in his career, playing two minutes in an overtime loss to Iowa his freshman season. He never won the Big 5, something he’s expressed the value of a number of times throughout his career, despite needing only a win against Penn in his final City Series game to secure a title. He will leave Temple 0-4 against Villanova.

And as a senior leader, as a Temple legacy looking to make his own mark on North Broad, as the last of a long line of talented Philly players to play for the Owls, there’s a lot more on the line for Alston in his final go-around in college hoops, as he looks to lead what’s firmly his team to a tournament appearance.

Shizz has been the leader and face of this team since Josh Brown and Obi Enechyonia played their final games last March. And although Temple fans expected Quinton Rose, a preseason all-AAC selection, to lead the production effort this year, it was Shizz who came out hot and began to earn some serious Big 5 and American player of the year chatter. He scored 55 points in Temple’s second and third games of the season, 80 points during a three-game winning streak Temple pulled off to finish 2018. Perhaps more important than his often gaudy point totals are his secondary production numbers, recording 124 assists on the season through 25 games, 41 total steals. His leadership is, of course, invaluable, as is his decision-making. Even if he isn’t putting up big numbers, most of what Temple does offensively runs through #10.

But Alston hasn’t been consistently dominant this year, and it shows in Temple’s wins and losses. Their first loss of the season, one proving costly as Temple sits on the bubble (as it also resulted in a second round tournament game against Cal instead of St. John’s), against VCU, Shizz was held under double digits for one of only two times to this point in the season (the other also being a loss, away at Houston).

He shot only 31% from the floor, and 2-7 from three-point range, in a heartbreaking loss to Villanova, and didn’t earn a trip to the free throw line (where he’s virtually automatic) or record a single assist in that Houston loss. Even in some big wins, Shizz hasn’t filled the stat sheet, most notably in Temple’s most important victory of the year, at home against Houston.

"“It kind of feels like when we win, it doesn’t really matter, and when we lose, we’re out of it.” – Shizz Alston, Jr."

After Wednesday night’s victory for Temple over SMU, a 28-point, clutch performance for Alston, he said “every game is a championship game” right now for Temple. Winning is only survival; losing could mean the popping of that delicate tournament bubble. The Owls can’t afford any more bad losses, like the one they suffered in blowout fashion to Tulsa last weekend.

It’s all hands on deck, and Temple needs their top effort from everyone; their frontcourt desperately needs to secure the glass better (which they did against SMU with 20 offensive boards, but gave up 18 of their own), and the scorers need to find more consistency getting the ball through the hoop. Shizz needs to be especially turned on to ensure the offense works efficiently through Rose’s shooting slumps, Aflakpui’s inconsistency finishing inside, and the question marks of Justyn Hamilton, JP Moorman, and Alani Moore, who are all capable of being major offensive contributors or being held to only a handful of points.

Next. Big 5 Awards for 2018-19. dark

It will be a team effort down the stretch that would ultimately push Temple onto the right side of the bubble, but everyone knows, from Fran Dunphy, to Shizz’s teammates, to the media and fans, who will be leading the charge on the court and in the locker room for the Owls. Alston’s time is now to put his mark on this program, bring his team to the postseason, and, perhaps, even put a banner of his own in the Liacouras Center rafters.

Temple Basketball: It’s Shizz Alston’s time to push his team over the top

By Pan Karalis | Feb 16, 2019

There’s been perhaps no Temple basketball senior in recent memory that has had more to play for than Shizz Alston, Jr.

More from Busting Brackets