After just five seconds of looking up to talk to 6-foot-11 Towson forward Jamel Flash, two things were apparent. First, my neck was going to hurt by the end of the interview. Second, and more importantly though, was that there was a genuine excitement that his hard work in the early offseason is starting to pay dividends.

What has driven Flash to put in so much work already this offseason is that he recognizes the improvements being made around the Towson men's basketball program and he wants to be a part of its upward rise. Despite playing in 31 of 32 games last year, he only averaged 5.1 minutes per game off the bench.

Although much of his season was spent watching from the sideline, he claims that he took numerous valuable lessons from last year that will make him a better player going forward.

"Throughout our struggles, we really stayed together as a team," said Flash. "Despite the losses, the ups and downs, and hard practices, the fact that we were able to stay together is something that got us through the adversity and allowed us to never let up. And then this coming year, we're finding chemistry with the new guys already. We're putting everything together in the summer so we can have a winning season."

Flash, who has already put on eight pounds of muscles this offseason, realizes that he must improve his individual game to get on the floor and help the team.

"With being 6-foot-11, I have to stay low to be effective," explained Flash. "I've been working a lot with our new strength coach, Adam Fletcher, and the goal is to get to 240 (pounds). I've been back on campus working out every day for about four weeks and I can already feel and see my body starting to change."

Flash will be joined by rising junior Marcus Damas and rising sophomore Kris Walden as the only three scholarship Towson players on the 2012-13 roster that played minutes in a Tiger uniform last year. With that said, Flash is not concerned with chemistry issues that may arise.

"We have workouts now in the summertime and that has already enabled us to build some chemistry," explained Flash. "Even on our days off, we come in and play pickup on our own to learn how to play with each other. By the time the season rolls around, the chemistry part will be taken care of for the most part."

Flash knows he has a lot of work to do to improve on his numbers from last season. Although he played in all but one game for the Tigers, he recognizes that at his height he must average more than a single rebound per game.

"I have to be a big rebounder for this team next year," said Flash. "I want to be that guy that comes off the bench and just goes after it hard on the glass. I also have to defend better. I know that at 6-11, scoring will come. Offensive put-backs and tip-ins will always be there, I'm only worried about defense and rebounding right now."

Flash grabbed three or more rebounds six times last season, including a season-high four boards at Hofstra. His hope for the future is those season-high performances become regular games as he joins BIG EAST transfers Jerrelle Benimon and Bilal Dixon down in the paint.

"We're going to have a big and experienced front line next year," explained Flash. "I just want to do my part and play big. Coach (Pat) Skerry preaches defense and rebounding and I'm taking it to heart."


-TowsonTigers.com-