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Who can’t remember when Damas posted his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Towson’s home opener against Oregon State as the President of the United States was courtside taking it all in. Or how about when Tiger fans came over from the NCAA FCS playoff game to watch him score 25 points against George Mason in the first CAA game of the season. Or remember when Damas drilled a career-high six three-point field goals at home against CAA regular season champs Drexel? It was truly a remarkable start to the career of this young 6-foot-7 forward out of Bay Shore, N.Y.
Although Damas had a great deal of individual triumph, he can only look back and see the struggle of the team and use that for motivation going into next season. Although the youthful team struggled at times as they were forced to gel right away, Damas realizes that he also learned a lot from his first year donning the black and gold.
“I learned a lot about myself, especially discovering that I had it in me to keep going and to be a leader for my teammates,” said Damas. “When someone was down on themselves, I always tried to be there for them. On the court, Coach (Pat) Skerry gave me the confidence to go out there and score. I learned how important it was to always be in attack mode and I have to continue that going into next season.”
Even though Damas was tied for the team lead in scoring and ranked second on the squad in rebounding, he still realizes that he must improve his all-around game for this team to get better going forward. There won’t be much going to the beach or mall this offseason. This will be a work summer for him.
“I have to be better defensively,” explained Damas. “I don’t want to be an under-the-radar defender, I have to be pushing to become and all-league type of defender. This is a big summer, not just for me, but for the whole team. Everyone knows what happened last year, but every guy is coming in willing to work hard and with an open mind.”
With a national-recognized recruiting class coming in and three BIG EAST transfers eligible to play this coming season, Damas is excited for what could be in store for the future. He has lofty goals for both himself and the team.
“I have extremely high expectations all the way around,” said Damas. “I want to perform like an all-CAA guy. And with the talent and coaching that we have, I hope we can be right up there with some of the best teams in the conference. We’re excited to get back at it and we know we’re a team on the rise.”
-TowsonTigers.com-
