It was a rather simple answer to a complex question.
Fran Dunphy was asked how his team could go from allowing 78.1 points per game in 2013-14 to just 60.3 this season.
The Temple head coach didn’t even blink before giving his response.
“Jaylen Bond,” Dunphy said after the Owls’ 75-59 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night (see game recap).
Could it really boil down to one player?
According to Dunphy, when a guy does as much as Bond does on the floor, it really can be that simple.
“He’s so versatile defensively,” Dunphy said. “He can guard people on the post. When we get stuck with him on the perimeter on a point guard, we don’t have any fear. He’s just such a terrific rebounder, as well.”
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Dunphy is spot on with his assessment of the multi-dimensional Bond, who sat out all of last season after transferring from Texas. The junior forward leads the American Athletic Conference with 7.9 rebounds a game. He also ranks fourth in the AAC in steals with 35 (second on the team behind point guard Will Cummings). Plus, Bond has 16 blocks this season.
The entire Temple roster has shown much more of a commitment to defense on a nightly basis this season now that Bond is in the mix. The Owls’ D has gone from a unit with plenty of holes to now holding the second-best mark in the AAC for opponents’ field-goal percentage (38.7) and third-best opponents’ three-point percentage in the league (30.4).
Bond’s vast skill set has been a big factor for Temple’s defensive turnaround, but the big man says his No. 1 objective each game remains controlling the glass.
“That’s what my job is for my team is to get as many rebounds as I can,” Bond said. “Each and every game I look to get as many rebounds as I can.”
And while Bond hauled in only five rebounds against Cincinnati, that doesn’t mean his imprint wasn’t left all over the game.
The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Bond barked out screens, identified cutters and even gobbled up three steals. He patrolled the paint all game to help hold a formidable Bearcats offense in check.
"They have great post players, but we were trying to be as physical as we can defending the post,” Bond said. “We did a good job with that tonight.”
“He didn’t kill it on the glass tonight, but I thought his inside presence was good for us defensively,” Dunphy said. “I think he’s the key for us on defense.”
That’s not to say Bond doesn’t do his part on the other end of the floor. He scored 16 points against Cincinnati. Two of those points came late in the second half on a thunderous alley-oop that brought Owls fans to their feet and even got a “Jaylen Bond” chant from the student section echoing around the Liacouras Center.
“They told me it was going to be on SportsCenter’s Top 10,” Bond said laughing. “It was crazy. I just started laughing. We have a great student section.”