As a freshman walk-on, Timmy Rose was never supposed to play a role for the Binghamton men’s basketball team this year.
It appeared as if the plan for Rose during preseason was to have the guard gain experience in mop-up minutes during non-conference games and in blowouts, and maybe spelling the starters here or there when they were tired. Most of the time, in close games, he probably wouldn’t appear at all.
“This was the only Division I place that I could have gone,” Rose said. “I wasn’t expected to play that much.”
But, an injury struck the Bearcats’ roster early in the season. First, junior guard Yosef Yacob suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during preseason practice, leaving the Bearcats thin in the backcourt — with only four healthy scholarship guards — and opening an opportunity for Rose to see a few more minutes throughout the opening weeks of the season. Rose played in 14 total minutes in BU’s first five games, mostly at the end of halves or when other guards were in foul trouble.
“I just tried to work harder,” Rose said about his thought process following Yacob’s injury. “If they need me, my minutes will come if I work hard, and that’s what I just tried to do. Just help my team however I could.”
Then, seven games into 2015-16, the Bearcats’ already thin backcourt got even thinner. Sophomore guard Romello Walker, who started 31 games as a freshman, suffered a similar injury to Yacob in Binghamton’s loss at Michigan State, ending his season. Binghamton was left with just two healthy ball-handlers on its roster — junior Marlon Beck and freshman Everson Davis — both of whom were starters, forcing Rose into an unexpected role for the remainder of the season.
“[My coaches] just said ‘just go out and have fun; play your game and try to help us any way you can,’” Rose said about the advice he was given when he started seeing more game action. “That’s what I try to do.”
Injuries forced Rose into immediate action and he has thrived in his new role for the Bearcats. The freshman has played double-digit minutes in 15 consecutive games for BU and has been a steadying presence for a Binghamton team that has struggled with turnovers all season long.
“[Rose] gives you a floor general,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said following Binghamton’s victory over Maine. “I just think Timmy now has added a dimension where he throws the right passes and he knows how to run the show.”
As his minutes have increased, so too has Rose’s play for BU. Rose scored 14 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out four assists in the Bearcats’ first game against Maine on January 30. He distributed a season-high five assists in 19 minutes of action against Vermont three weeks later and then, on February 20, scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in a then career-high 30 minutes to lead Binghamton to a victory over UMass Lowell.
“To see him play with that type of confidence and go out there and play like that, it lifts our entire team really,” Beck said about Rose following the UMass Lowell victory. “If he can come out there and play with that type of confidence, it just makes us a better team.”
In BU’s regular-season finale on Saturday, a victory over Maine, Rose earned his first career start. He played 34 minutes, scored nine points and led the Bearcats with a game-high four assists as Binghamton secured the fifth seed in the upcoming America East Tournament.
“It’s a great feeling,” Rose said about his unexpected success. “Coming in here and not expecting to play that much and working hard and finally being able to go out and help your team.”