Quote:KSU ready to christen new venue tonight

Saturday, November 26, 2005 3:06 AM EST

By David Friedlander
Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer

KENNESAW - The Kennesaw State men's basketball team went through a wide range of emotions during its first road trip as a Division I team.

The enthusiasm of getting a win over Lamar and playing two more competitive games against champion Denver and host Alaska-Fairbanks may have been tempered a bit by Wednesday night's 87-42 loss at No. 21 George Washington.

However, as the Owls prepare to christen the KSU Convocation Center for its first regular season game there tonight at 7 against Clark-Atlanta, they are still pretty upbeat looking at the overall 1-3 start.

"Somebody once said, 'When you go through a bad experience, you're supposed to forget the hurts of the past, but remember the lessons for the future,'" KSU coach Tony Ingle said of Wednesday's loss. "We're still trying to find who we are, but I'm optimistic our guys will come in with energy and identity. I'm anxious to see how they'll respond."

Exactly how the Owls will respond may depend on just how well they recovered from a bit a jet lag from their first road trip that lasted nearly a week and had stops in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Washington, D.C.

As far as the "identity" Ingle mentioned, it is slowly beginning to emerge.

Three of the Owls' few veterans have developed into dependable starters - led by junior guard Golden Ingle (15.8 ppg, 4.8 apg), fellow junior Brent Ragsdale (11.8 ppg) and sophomore Ronell Wooten (12.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg).

What Ingle wants to see tonight is a few of the younger players to step up and assert themselves more.

"The veterans have to be dependable," Ingle said. "We could change the starting lineup a bit (tonight) to see some things.

"Our main problem now is we've got four freshman inside players, and three of them have never played inside before. And when you're playing against teams with NBA prospects inside (like George Washington and Denver), it's a lot to ask of those kids. Be we've got to remember, it's not a sprint we're involved in. It's a marathon."

At least one of KSU's freshman posts may be beginning to emerge from the pack in the former of Ryan Nelson.

The 6-foot-7, 175-pound freshman from Rochester Hills, Mich., was primarily a wing player in high school, but has held his own against bigger, stronger and more experienced post opponents so far, averaging 5.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, the latter of which ties him with Wooten for the team lead.

And Ryan says that he and the rest of the KSU low-post players will benefit from their early tests.

"One of the good things about playing some of these big teams is we've gotten used to playing the big people right away," Nelson said. "It could make the rest of the season easier. It's just the small things that have helped me (adapt) - my footwork and positioning, and strength training has definitely helped, too."

Just how much those little things are helping Nelson and the Owls will be put to the test against a Clark-Atlanta team that is 0-2, but Derrick Allen, who was the Panthers' leading scorer last season, and leads them again so far at 18 points per game, plus Jaquas Dobbs (10.5 ppg), Kobby Acquah (6 ppg, 6 rpg, 2 bpg) and Kelvin Potts (8 ppg, 5 apg).

dfriedlander@mdjonline.com