2003-2004 Men's Basketball Outlook

KENT, Ohio -- The Kent State University mens basketball teams slogan for 2002-03 was Tradition Never Graduates, but according to the Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll, the Golden Flashes were not expected to maintain that winning tradition with a rookie coach and just one returning starter. Head coach Jim Christian and the Flashes had different thoughts, though, proving their doubters wrong en route to a third-straight MAC East Division crown and fifth consecutive 20-win season.

The National Rookie of the Year, according to the Basketball Times, Christian guided Kent State to a 22-9 record, an appearance in the MAC Tournament championship game and a National Invitation Tournament berth, the Flashes fifth straight postseason bid. Kent State enters 2003-04 looking for a MAC-record sixth straight 20-win season as three starters and eight letterwinners return.

Because of the success of the program in recent years, we have placed great expectations on ourselves to be one of the teams that competes for the MAC championship year-in and year-out, said Christian, who is entering his second year at the helm of the program. Every year, though, it gets tougher to do so because the league is so strong from top to bottom.

Gone is Antonio Gates, an honorable mention All-America selection last season, who finished 28th in the nation in scoring and was the Golden Flashes Mr. Everything, placing in the top 15 in six statistical categories in the MAC. From a talent level, Antonio is impossible to replace, Christian commented. Well have to replace him by committee. Everybody is going to have to take more pride in doing the little things that will put us in position to win basketball games.

To do that, Christian will count on an experienced returning backcourt, led by senior Eric Haut, an All-MAC honorable mention pick at shooting guard, and sophomore DeAndre Haynes, a member of the MAC All-Freshman Team, at point guard. Christian also returns a solid frontline in the two-headed center of junior Nate Gerwig and senior John Edwards, who along with senior Bryan Bedford, make up one of the most talented frontcourts in the MAC.

The strength of our team this year is that we have depth, Christian explained. We didnt have depth on our roster last year and this season we are fortunate to have that luxury. We have two point guards. We have a lot of players who can step in and play both wing positions. And we have a solid frontcourt led by our two starting centers.

With three starters returning and eight letterwinners, the Golden Flashes open 2003-04 in search of their sixth consecutive national postseason tournament berth, believing they have the experience necessary to stay near the top of the MAC.

I think we have a lot more experience than we did last year, Christian said. We have guys who have played in a lot of games and we have five seniors on the roster. If were going to have continued success we will have to depend on their leadership and experience to get through the grueling MAC schedule.

Point Guard

At point guard, Christian has the luxury of a returning starter in Haynes, but unlike last year Kent State also has a backup point guard on the roster in redshirt freshman Rashard Turner, who joined the Flashes midway through last season coming to Kent State from Bridgton (Maine) Academy.

Haynes, who started 27 games as a true freshman last season, returns to the lineup. He earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team in 2002-03 after averaging 5.4 points, 4.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He ranked fourth in the MAC in assists and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio, while also tying for 13th in the conference in steals. Haynes blossomed near the end of the regular season last year and went on to average 10.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the MAC Tournament while shooting 50 percent from the floor in the three games.

Turner, who has been practicing with the team since last January, is a solid scorer who ranks second in career points at Peekskill High School in New York, with more than 2,000 points, finishing behind only Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers.

With DeAndre and Rashard running the point, we feel we can continue to develop at the position, Christian said, and with depth at point guard I believe it will keep us fresh as the season wears on.

Wings

All of our returnees at the two and the three guards are versatile and can play either position, Christian said. We dont have to pigeon-hole anyone at a particular position. One thing that is great about our basketball team is that we have interchangeable parts.

Haut, the Golden Flashes lone returning All-MAC performer, returns to shooting guard as one of the top long-range shooters in the MAC and in the nation. At one point midway through the 2002-03 season, Haut was the nations leading three-point shooter. He ended the year hitting .416 (84-for-202), second in the MAC and two shy of the school record for made three-pointers.

A three-year letterwinner, Haut moved into a starting role last season after seeing limited minutes off the bench his first two seasons. He had a breakout season last year, finishing second on the team with 14.1 points per game. Haut will be counted on to provide offense this season as the teams leading returning scorer. He posted six 20-point games a year ago and led the team in scoring in five games.

The Golden Flashes also will receive added depth at guard from senior Matt Jakeway, junior Bryan Pellgrino, redshirt freshman Armon Gates and newcomer Demetrius Johnson.

Jakeway served as a catalyst off the bench last season, averaging 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He catapulted Kent State to a 12-point halftime lead en route to a 73-67 win at Bowling Green with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

Pellegrino has seen limited action in his first two seasons, playing in 21 games and scoring 14 points.

Gates was redshirted last season due to injury, but will be counted on to add depth at shooting guard.

Johnson, from Cleveland, helped Warrensville Heights High School to one state championship and three district titles, and averaged more than 30 points per game his senior season.

Christian will look to newcomer Jason Edwin, a transfer who played two seasons at Saint Louis University, and senior Brian Howard at the other wing, but others such as Jakeway and Johnson are versatile enough to play either wing position.

Edwin averaged 7.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in two seasons at St. Louis. A decent long-range shooter, he averaged nearly 40 percent from three-point range.

Howard is an all-around athlete and a strong defender, who played in 26 games last year, averaging 1.4 points and 0.7 rebound per game.

Forward

At the forward slot, Christian will look to Bedford and sophomore Clif Brown, each of whom are versatile enough to play the wing, and freshman Scott Cutley.

The most experienced player on the roster, Bedford has played in 101 career games, every one since the start of his freshman season. Last season, he made four starts, averaging 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He also shot .514 (38-of-74) from the floor and .400 (24-of-33) from three-point range. A gritty player, Bedford has the knack for grabbing crucial rebounds, but also has the shooting touch to knock down the trey. He hit the game-winning three-pointer, his first of the year, as time expired to defeat Buffalo 69-68 Jan. 15, 2003.

Bryan is our most respected player, Christian said. Everybody admires his work ethic and hes been through the battles the last three years and his experience will help us, especially early in the year.

Brown is a lanky 6-7 with a soft shooting touch. In limited action last season, he averaged 3.2 points and 1.3 rebounds a game, shooting .658 (25-of-38) from the field. Brown had a breakout game Feb. 18, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in a win against Buffalo.

Cutley comes to Kent State from Torrance, Calif., where he led Westchester High School teams to back-to-back state titles and a Los Angeles city championship. At forward, we have the experience that Bryan brings, the offensive ability of Clif and the strong p

lay of Scott, Christian commented. We have three players who I believe will help us out.

Center

The Golden Flashes have the luxury of arguably the best center tandem in the MAC, if not the best in the nation. We have two starting centers, Chrisitan explained. At our level it is unusual to have two guys that are really interchangable. They play well together and are very unselfish. Between 6-9 Gerwig and 7-0 Edwards, Christian received 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks from his centers. The pair shot a combined .638 from the field, as Gerwig smashed the single-season school record by shooting .643 (90-of-140) from the floor. Edwards nearly eclipsed the former mark himself, connecting on .633 (93-of-147) of his attempts. Gerwig had two games where he was a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor, scoring 20 points against Cleveland State and 21 versus Akron, while Edwards was 7-of-7 for 16 points against the College of Charleston and 9-for-12 for 20 points versus Akron.

Schedule

The Golden Flashes have a competitive non-conference schedule that features a pair of postseason participants. We will be tested right out of the gate with three road games after we open the season at home, Christain said.

The Flashes open the year at Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center against Houghton College Nov. 21, before hitting the road to play IPFW, Southwest Missouri State University and Eastern Michigan University in the MAC lidlifter. Kent State then plays the University of Rhode Island Dec. 14 at home, followed by Cleveland State University Dec. 17, before playing at Boston College Dec. 20. The Flashes will also make a second straight appearance in ESPNs Bracket Buster Saturday.

Our philosophy with the non-conference schedule is to prepare ourselves for the MAC schedule.

KSU starts the MAC home schedule Jan. 3 against Ball State University and the MAC slate concludes March 6 at Ohio University. The Flashes will have a four-game homestand in February, that features games against the University at Buffalo (Feb. 11), a nationally-televised game on ESPN2 against Bowling Green State University (Feb. 14), Marshall University (Feb. 18) and the Bracket Buster (Feb. 21).

Every one of the 13 teams in the MAC can win the conference championship, Christian commented. Thats what makes our league exciting. Coming into this year, there isnt a bona fide first round pick in the MAC, which means this could be the year where the best team wins the MAC championship.

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