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2020 Basketball season recaps
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Slinkin Street Flash Offline
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2020 Basketball season recaps
The season ended abruptly, stopped at 20-12, with a few more wins possible. With the way NCAA basketball is set up, most years every team but one ends their season with a loss. This is the first year in a long time where we ended the season with a win

For me, I was very optimistic early when we were 13-3, then the season went south, with games missed with the flu, suspensions, and injuries and a 7-9 run to end it.

Booman Williams had a good year, ending up 2nd team All-MAC, and on the All-Conference Defense team. Danny Pippen ends up All-MAC Honorable Mention.

Next season, we lose a lot - Williams, Williamson, Whittington, Peterson, and Simons graduate. Anthony Roberts and Pippen should be a strong base to next year's team. Giovanni Santiago shows promise at PG, Tervell Beck will be in the rotation. James Jordan and Gabe O'Neal are coming in as JUCOs, VonCameron Davis is a solid recruit at SF. Bainbridge and Bennett should progress as sophomores; we didn't see much of Anyeuri Castillo this year; and Jeremiah Hernandez will be a redshirt freshman.

I'd like to see a addition at guard for next year. We have one scholarship open at this time. We'll probably lose a couple of transfers this April, like what happens every year.
03-12-2020 08:18 PM
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cleveland Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-12-2020 08:18 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  The season ended abruptly, stopped at 20-12, with a few more wins possible. With the way NCAA basketball is set up, most years every team but one ends their season with a loss. This is the first year in a long time where we ended the season with a win

For me, I was very optimistic early when we were 13-3, then the season went south, with games missed with the flu, suspensions, and injuries and a 7-9 run to end it.

Booman Williams had a good year, ending up 2nd team All-MAC, and on the All-Conference Defense team. Danny Pippen ends up All-MAC Honorable Mention.

Next season, we lose a lot - Williams, Williamson, Whittington, Peterson, and Simons graduate. Anthony Roberts and Pippen should be a strong base to next year's team. Giovanni Santiago shows promise at PG, Tervell Beck will be in the rotation. James Jordan and Gabe O'Neal are coming in as JUCOs, VonCameron Davis is a solid recruit at SF. Bainbridge and Bennett should progress as sophomores; we didn't see much of Anyeuri Castillo this year; and Jeremiah Hernandez will be a redshirt freshman.

I'd like to see a addition at guard for next year. We have one scholarship open at this time. We'll probably lose a couple of transfers this April, like what happens every year.

Looking back: ... I think staff learned a bit of a lesson trying to meld six (counting Pippen) seniors together who had not played much together, if at all. Particulary with no strong on-court leader and a staff that was also 2-years or less together. When things looked good, they looked great. When things looked bad, they looked awful.

The three games that cost Kent from having a typical season were losses to Miami/WMU/NIU-home. Win those three games and the season/team looks a lot better on many levels. In my mind ALL THREE of those are supposed to be 'program' wins, effectively won because players/seniors recognize Kent just doesn't lose those games. Period. Seniors win those games, not coaches. A 23-9 season probably gets Booman on All-MAC first team and Pippen 2/3rd team and possibly on All-MAC defensive team. Not to mention a MAC Tournament bye.

Considering the current college bb landscape, the key formula is to have a soph/jr heavy roster with hopefully 1-2-3 'program' seniors who have come through the system. For all his shortcomings, I have to think MP was a huge plus everywhere except on the court.

Looking ahead: ... If there are no transfers (Pippen/Roberts) Kent's foundation for next season is solid, particularly because they have come through the system, and will have the ball in their hands much more than they would as transfers. The key from there in my mind is to recruit/develop a solid PG and bring in another post player.
(This post was last modified: 03-13-2020 10:51 AM by cleveland.)
03-13-2020 10:47 AM
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KSUforever Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
What a year. I really hope we can see a cohesive team next year. During some games I would look and see CJ and Mitch on the floor at the same time and just cringe. I know they do "the little things" etc. But good grief they have to be two of the worst shooters in KSU history. Addition by subtraction with those two.
03-13-2020 11:11 AM
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dannyb73 Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-13-2020 10:47 AM)cleveland Wrote:  
(03-12-2020 08:18 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  The season ended abruptly, stopped at 20-12, with a few more wins possible. With the way NCAA basketball is set up, most years every team but one ends their season with a loss. This is the first year in a long time where we ended the season with a win

For me, I was very optimistic early when we were 13-3, then the season went south, with games missed with the flu, suspensions, and injuries and a 7-9 run to end it.

Booman Williams had a good year, ending up 2nd team All-MAC, and on the All-Conference Defense team. Danny Pippen ends up All-MAC Honorable Mention.

Next season, we lose a lot - Williams, Williamson, Whittington, Peterson, and Simons graduate. Anthony Roberts and Pippen should be a strong base to next year's team. Giovanni Santiago shows promise at PG, Tervell Beck will be in the rotation. James Jordan and Gabe O'Neal are coming in as JUCOs, VonCameron Davis is a solid recruit at SF. Bainbridge and Bennett should progress as sophomores; we didn't see much of Anyeuri Castillo this year; and Jeremiah Hernandez will be a redshirt freshman.

I'd like to see a addition at guard for next year. We have one scholarship open at this time. We'll probably lose a couple of transfers this April, like what happens every year.

Looking back: ... I think staff learned a bit of a lesson trying to meld six (counting Pippen) seniors together who had not played much together, if at all. Particulary with no strong on-court leader and a staff that was also 2-years or less together. When things looked good, they looked great. When things looked bad, they looked awful.

The three games that cost Kent from having a typical season were losses to Miami/WMU/NIU-home. Win those three games and the season/team looks a lot better on many levels. In my mind ALL THREE of those are supposed to be 'program' wins, effectively won because players/seniors recognize Kent just doesn't lose those games. Period. Seniors win those games, not coaches. A 23-9 season probably gets Booman on All-MAC first team and Pippen 2/3rd team and possibly on All-MAC defensive team. Not to mention a MAC Tournament bye.

Considering the current college bb landscape, the key formula is to have a soph/jr heavy roster with hopefully 1-2-3 'program' seniors who have come through the system. For all his shortcomings, I have to think MP was a huge plus everywhere except on the court.

Looking ahead: ... If there are no transfers (Pippen/Roberts) Kent's foundation for next season is solid, particularly because they have come through the system, and will have the ball in their hands much more than they would as transfers. The key from there in my mind is to recruit/develop a solid PG and bring in another post player.

A couple of thoughts based on your post: First, the bye this year meant nothing. One less game for the kids to play in. Second, MP had shortcomings, but to say he was a plus everywhere but on the court is ridiculous. His only shortcoming on the court was his ability to put the ball in the basket. He took what seemed like hundreds of charges this year, steadied the team when they needed a calming presence and was full of hustle. My son plays 7th grade AAU basketball and when his shot isn't falling or the leading scorer on the team can't make anything, the coach always tells them to help their team in other ways. That was MP every time he stepped on the court.
03-13-2020 12:25 PM
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GFlash68 Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
I do not like to read about MP being a liability. I agree with Danny about the value of MP. There is always a place on a team for a player like him. For one thing, he never let up, and I can not say that about some other players.
03-13-2020 01:52 PM
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cleveland Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-13-2020 01:52 PM)GFlash68 Wrote:  I do not like to read about MP being a liability. I agree with Danny about the value of MP. There is always a place on a team for a player like him. For one thing, he never let up, and I can not say that about some other players.

Bad writing on my part ... MP was a plus everywhere, including on the court. MP had his shortcomings in the box scores. My bad ...

Still say biggest plays in MAC Tournament win over Akron was by MP.

1) Loose ball rebound in the corner where he's trapped, but flipped pass fullcourt to Hall for uncontested dunk.

2) 3-pointer for the cushion needed to close out the victory.

Again ... bad writing on my part. Not what I really meant at all.
03-13-2020 03:12 PM
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dannyb73 Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-13-2020 03:12 PM)cleveland Wrote:  
(03-13-2020 01:52 PM)GFlash68 Wrote:  I do not like to read about MP being a liability. I agree with Danny about the value of MP. There is always a place on a team for a player like him. For one thing, he never let up, and I can not say that about some other players.

Bad writing on my part ... MP was a plus everywhere, including on the court. MP had his shortcomings in the box scores. My bad ...

Still say biggest plays in MAC Tournament win over Akron was by MP.

1) Loose ball rebound in the corner where he's trapped, but flipped pass fullcourt to Hall for uncontested dunk.

2) 3-pointer for the cushion needed to close out the victory.

Again ... bad writing on my part. Not what I really meant at all.

No worries. Sometimes things come across weird when we type and when we read them. All good.
03-13-2020 04:29 PM
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anti-zip Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-13-2020 11:11 AM)KSUforever Wrote:  What a year. I really hope we can see a cohesive team next year. During some games I would look and see CJ and Mitch on the floor at the same time and just cringe. I know they do "the little things" etc. But good grief they have to be two of the worst shooters in KSU history. Addition by subtraction with those two.

MP and CJ may not be putting up big numbers but they both played valuable roles most nights. You may not have liked seeing them on the floor together but there is a reason they were out there so much together. The team's performance went up when they were out there together.

I guess I'll share my source on this. I wrote a program with a colleague a couple years ago that calculates team stats per lineup. The three most commonly used perimeter combinations during MAC play where CJ and MP were in there together put up the following plus/minuses per 100 possession. +12.2, +19.82, +22.22. To put that in perspective our starting perimeter lineup put up a -1.09 per 100 possession. So basically what I'm getting at is you should've been cringing when they took one of those two out and we will miss them.
(This post was last modified: 03-13-2020 07:34 PM by anti-zip.)
03-13-2020 07:25 PM
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anti-zip Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
According to Verbal Commits Castillo is transferring. Not surprising at all. So I believe that puts us at 2 available scholarships available right now. Not sure if they would consider putting either of the walk-ons on scholarship.
03-16-2020 05:47 PM
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Muskrat Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
Well, the one walk-on, Nalls, was a "preferred" walk-on so it would be unethical not to give him one, assuming he wants to stay. I don't know what the deal was with Castillo. I guess he is just another on a long list of guys that come and go in a year or two without leaving any mark at all. That's not just true for Kent State. It's college basketball in this era.
03-16-2020 10:17 PM
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cleveland Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-16-2020 10:17 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  Well, the one walk-on, Nalls, was a "preferred" walk-on so it would be unethical not to give him one, assuming he wants to stay. I don't know what the deal was with Castillo. I guess he is just another on a long list of guys that come and go in a year or two without leaving any mark at all. That's not just true for Kent State. It's college basketball in this era.

THIS IS A REAL PUZZLE FOR ME, ALSO .... nothing about Castillo's bio, his JC stat line, his measurements for the position, Nothing, indicated he would be anything worse than a role player or top 6/7 guy.

Don't know if it was a language barrier??? ... or perhaps not knowing the plays ... but for a short-handed team, in particular, even with whatever shortcomings he had, it seemed he was worth 5-10 minutes a game.

Oh well ... cei la vie.
(This post was last modified: 03-17-2020 09:12 AM by cleveland.)
03-17-2020 09:10 AM
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Albert Flasher Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-17-2020 09:10 AM)cleveland Wrote:  
(03-16-2020 10:17 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  Well, the one walk-on, Nalls, was a "preferred" walk-on so it would be unethical not to give him one, assuming he wants to stay. I don't know what the deal was with Castillo. I guess he is just another on a long list of guys that come and go in a year or two without leaving any mark at all. That's not just true for Kent State. It's college basketball in this era.

THIS IS A REAL PUZZLE FOR ME, ALSO .... nothing about Castillo's bio, his JC stat line, his measurements for the position, Nothing, indicated he would be anything worse than a role player or top 6/7 guy.

Don't know if it was a language barrier??? ... or perhaps not knowing the plays ... but for a short-handed team, in particular, even with whatever shortcomings he had, it seemed he was worth 5-10 minutes a game.

Oh well ... cei la vie.

Add me to the list as well. I recall Castillo's JC coach stated the Flashes were getting a really good player.

Not receiving any significant playing time during the non-conference schedule was puzzling.

It was obvious that Castillo had an extremely short leash with the head coach. I recall one game where Castillo entered the game & the other team (don't recall who) inbounded the ball underneath their own basket. And Castillo's man scored. He was immediately yanked.

Castillo appeared to be positive on the bench. His body language seemed good & he actively participated.

Would not surprise me if Castillo is more productive at a different school.

Reminds me somewhat of Alonzo Walker (transferred to Portland State). I remember Walker showed potential during the Texas game, but didn't seem to fit in during conference play.
03-17-2020 10:34 AM
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Older and Older Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-16-2020 05:47 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  According to Verbal Commits Castillo is transferring. Not surprising at all. So I believe that puts us at 2 available scholarships available right now. Not sure if they would consider putting either of the walk-ons on scholarship.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Pippen, Roberts, Santiago also leave .No info to support that just a gut feeling from a very observant season ticket holder
(This post was last modified: 03-17-2020 05:40 PM by Older and Older.)
03-17-2020 05:39 PM
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Older and Older Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-13-2020 10:47 AM)cleveland Wrote:  
(03-12-2020 08:18 PM)Slinkin Street Flash Wrote:  The season ended abruptly, stopped at 20-12, with a few more wins possible. With the way NCAA basketball is set up, most years every team but one ends their season with a loss. This is the first year in a long time where we ended the season with a win

For me, I was very optimistic early when we were 13-3, then the season went south, with games missed with the flu, suspensions, and injuries and a 7-9 run to end it.

Booman Williams had a good year, ending up 2nd team All-MAC, and on the All-Conference Defense team. Danny Pippen ends up All-MAC Honorable Mention.

Next season, we lose a lot - Williams, Williamson, Whittington, Peterson, and Simons graduate. Anthony Roberts and Pippen should be a strong base to next year's team. Giovanni Santiago shows promise at PG, Tervell Beck will be in the rotation. James Jordan and Gabe O'Neal are coming in as JUCOs, VonCameron Davis is a solid recruit at SF. Bainbridge and Bennett should progress as sophomores; we didn't see much of Anyeuri Castillo this year; and Jeremiah Hernandez will be a redshirt freshman.

I'd like to see a addition at guard for next year. We have one scholarship open at this time. We'll probably lose a couple of transfers this April, like what happens every year.

Looking back: ... I think staff learned a bit of a lesson trying to meld six (counting Pippen) seniors together who had not played much together, if at all. Particulary with no strong on-court leader and a staff that was also 2-years or less together. When things looked good, they looked great. When things looked bad, they looked awful.

The three games that cost Kent from having a typical season were losses to Miami/WMU/NIU-home. Win those three games and the season/team looks a lot better on many levels. In my mind ALL THREE of those are supposed to be 'program' wins, effectively won because players/seniors recognize Kent just doesn't lose those games. Period. Seniors win those games, not coaches. A 23-9 season probably gets Booman on All-MAC first team and Pippen 2/3rd team and possibly on All-MAC defensive team. Not to mention a MAC Tournament bye.

Considering the current college bb landscape, the key formula is to have a soph/jr heavy roster with hopefully 1-2-3 'program' seniors who have come through the system. For all his shortcomings, I have to think MP was a huge plus everywhere except on the court.

Looking ahead: ... If there are no transfers (Pippen/Roberts) Kent's foundation for next season is solid, particularly because they have come through the system, and will have the ball in their hands much more than they would as transfers. The key from there in my mind is to recruit/develop a solid PG and bring in another post player.

Totally agree, excellent points. Miami/WMU/NIU-Home, are games Kent doesn’t lose . Fact that we lost for whatever the reasons defined this season. We are no longer able to live off our well earned reputation. Other MAC schools are no longer in awe of Kent.
Finally, our home court advantage in our dinky run-down HS gym no longer
Gets us anything. Loss of fans continues to be alarming . This 30
Yr+ season ticket holder may be at the end of the road. JN and his
associates DO NOT value fans , as a matter of fact they encourage us to leave. Program now no better than middle of the pack in the MAC . Totally support our coaches and players. Not sure Admin does
03-17-2020 05:56 PM
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Muskrat Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
We all talk, and with some justification, about players being too quick to transfer. But the other side of the coin is coaches that don't give enough players enough chance to develop in pre-conference season. I think all coaches feel the need to get as many wins as possible, but I have been around coaches at all levels most of my life and far too many, in my opinion, don't give enough minutes in actual game situations to develop and earn some meaningful minutes.
03-17-2020 09:12 PM
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cleveland Offline
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-17-2020 09:12 PM)Muskrat Wrote:  We all talk, and with some justification, about players being too quick to transfer. But the other side of the coin is coaches that don't give enough players enough chance to develop in pre-conference season. I think all coaches feel the need to get as many wins as possible, but I have been around coaches at all levels most of my life and far too many, in my opinion, don't give enough minutes in actual game situations to develop and earn some meaningful minutes.

Intellectually ... I agree. But pragmatically, I can't see a coach winning the fire/extension argument with his AD saying he would have won 2/3 more games if he had not 'developed' a pair of freshmen for 20 minutes early in the season.

Sad to say, but the bottom line is still winning, ... and for coaches winning usually means they keep their jobs.
03-17-2020 09:19 PM
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
That's my point, Cleveland. Coaches feel the financial imperative to win as many games as possible in the short run.
03-18-2020 08:49 AM
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
(03-17-2020 05:39 PM)Older and Older Wrote:  
(03-16-2020 05:47 PM)anti-zip Wrote:  According to Verbal Commits Castillo is transferring. Not surprising at all. So I believe that puts us at 2 available scholarships available right now. Not sure if they would consider putting either of the walk-ons on scholarship.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Pippen, Roberts, Santiago also leave .No info to support that just a gut feeling from a very observant season ticket holder

I agree with the first 2. I'd be surprised if both pippen and Roberts both return. Danny may think the grad transfer route is greener and Roberts like most of the guys that played probably wants to be the man. What we don't see is you never know who is whispering in these guys ears (AAU coaches, family, friends) telling how great they are and how they're mis-used etc.
03-18-2020 09:02 AM
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
I think Danny leaves and it would be a huge loss. But I think the Sendy placates him by allowing the coast to coast jack up a three with no discipline.

HOW ABOUT VONCAMERON DAVIS WITH THE POY FOR D1!! Might be Mr Basketball also. That should help get over the two small forwards we are losing.
03-18-2020 09:18 AM
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RE: 2020 Basketball season recaps
I seriously doubt that DP is going anywhere. I heard knee surgery after this season, and who wants to take a chance on a player with two bad knees. At best he would be another DeLaRosa.
03-18-2020 10:06 AM
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