Kent State Tips-Off 2010-11 Season At The World Vision Classic In Cleveland
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Notes in .PDF
The Game
Kent State (0-0; 0-0) officially begins the 2010-11 season this weekend as the team travels to Cleveland for the World Vision Classic. Hosted by Cleveland State University at the Wolsetin Center, the Golden Flashes will tip off the year against Iona on Friday before facing Bryant on Saturday and the host Vikings on Sunday.
For the third time in the past five years Kent State enters the season as the defending Mid-American Conference Champions. The team is replacing 62 percent of its offense from a squad that advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament a year ago.
Leading the two returning starters are junior forward Justin Greene and fifth-year senior guard Rodriquez Sherman. A 6-8 post player, Greene was named to numerous preseason All-MAC teams after leading the team in points (13.6), rebounds (6.9) and blocked shots (30). Sherman on the other hand in a 6-3 dynamic guard known for his defensive pressure. Last season he averaged a career best 10.6 points while handing out 102 assists.  The veteran duo aims to stabilize a line-up that features a combination of eight newcomers and one redshirt.
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Next Up For Kent State
Kent State returns to the M.A.C. Center on Tuesday to host Robert Morris as part of ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. KSU plays at 8:00 a.m. in a game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Quick Flashes
•   This is the 95th season of Kent State basketball. Â
•   This marks the second straight season and the third time in the past five years Kent State is beginning the season with three-games in three days.
•   The Golden Flashes are 53-41 all-time in season openers having won two straight.
•   Kent State warmed up for the season with an 81-44 win over Rochester (Mich.) in an exhibition game last Friday. Sophomore Randal Holt led four players in double figures with 15 points. Justin Greene added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
•   The Golden Flashes' 13-man roster has only 8.5 years of experience at the Division I level.
•   The last time KSU returned less than 38% of the team's statistical production was 1996-1997.
Iona Series Notes
•   Kent State is 2-0 all-time vs Iona having last met at Syracuse, N.Y. in 1994.
•   The Golden Flashes have not faced a team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since winning at Loyola (Md.) in November of 1998. Â
•   The Gaels return eight letter winners and all five starters from a team that went 21-10 last season. Â
Bryant Series Notes
•   This is the first ever meeting between the two schools.
•   The Bulldogs are coached by Tim O'Shea, who is now in his third season at the helm after spend the previous seven years as head coach of Ohio University. Â
•   Kent State posted a 12-5 record against O'Shea while he was the head coach at Ohio. Â
•   Bryant is beginning only its third season at the Division I level.
•   The Bulldogs posted a 1-29 record last season.   Â
Cleveland State Series Notes
•   Kent State has won seven of the nine last meetings and leads the all-time series 25-20.
•   Cleveland State won the last meeting by a count of 67-41 in December of 2008. Â
•   The two teams had met eight years in a row before breaking the string last season.
•   The series first began in the 1933 season. Â
•   This marks the fifth meeting between Gary Waters and is former team. Kent State is 1-3 against Waters (1-2 at Cleveland State) since he left the program after the 2000-01 season.
•   Waters compiled a a 92-60 record in five year at Kent State (1996-2001). He led the team to a pair of NCAA tournaments and a NIT bid.    Â
On the Job Training
The Golden Flashes will be learning on the job this season as the team's active roster features just one senior, six juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen. Combined the group totals only eight full years of experience at the Division I level.
•   The 8.5 years of total experience by the active KSU roster ranks the team 15 in the nation amongst the most inexperienced teams entering the 2010-11 season.
•   Included in the group of newcomers is 6-11 junior center Justin Manns. Manns, who transferred to Kent State from Owens C.C. [Ohio], will get his first taste of Division I basketball after red-shirting in his first year with the program last season. Due to a four-inch growth spurt after his junior year in high school, the Winston-Salem, N.C. native did not begin playing organized basketball until he was a senior. Counting his two seasons of junior college, this year marks just the fourth year of competitive basketball for Manns. Â
•    The Golden Flashes are returning two starters but will have to replace 62 percent of their offensive production from last season.
•   Rodriquez Sherman and Justin Greene account for 87 percent of the returning 38 percent. Â
