Kent State University
Drexel
Men's Basketball Opens 2012-13 Season vs Drexel Friday Night
11/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Notes in .PDF format
The Game
Kent State (0-0) begins its 97th season of basketball by hosting Drexel (0-0) in the 2012-13 season opener on Friday night. One of the most successful programs in the country for the past decade and a half, the Golden Flashes are returning just one starter form last season's team that posted a 21-12 overall record and reached the postseason for the 13th time in the last 14 years.
Senior Randal Holt represents the lone returning starter from last year. The 6'1" guard is on pace to finish his Kent State career as one of the most prolific shooters in school history. A Honorable Mention All-MAC selection a year ago, he averaged 12.7 points per game and hit 73 three-pointers while connecting on 39% from beyond the arc.
Looking to help fill the void of the four senior starters from 2011-12 lost is 6'8" forward Chris Evans. Evans excelled as the Golden Flashes sixth-man a year ago averaging 9.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21 minutes of action in his first season at Kent State. He quickly became a household name among the Kent State faithful and led the team with 44 dunks.
The Golden Flashes warmed up for the season with a 77-71 exhibition win over Rochester (Mich.) on Sunday. Evans led the way in the win with 24 points on 7-11 shooting from the field and the foul line. Sophomore Kris Brewer added 18 points off the bench in the win.
Drexel returns four starters from a team that went 29-7 and reached the NIT quarterfinals last year. The Dragons are coached by Bruiser Flint now in his 11th season. Frantz Massenat, a 6'4" guard led the team in scoring last year with 13.7 points per game.
"Drexel returns four starters from what was a 29-win team last season," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "I think they are a Sweet-16 caliber team. They are very physically tough with some hard-nosed kids.
"I'm really looking forward to getting started on Friday," said Senderoff. "The start of a new year is exciting for everyone. And it's a great way to start with a quality opponent like Drexel at home."
TV / Radio
640 AM / Golden Flashes iHeartRadio (Ty Linder)
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes continue a five-game home stand to start the year at 12pm on Tuesday against Temple. The game is part of ESPN's fifth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon in which the network is broadcasting 25 straight hours of college basketball.
"Temple is coached by one of the best in the country in Fran Dunphy. He was the coach at Penn when I was an assistant at Yale. (The Owls) graduated a number of guys, but things are no different at Temple. They are an NCAA Tournament team. Coach Dunphy doesn't have the fanfare of coaches like Mike Krzyzewski or Tom Izzo, but in the coaching fraternity he is widely known as one of the best in the business."
"To get the chance to play a team like Temple on national television is a good opportunity to get some national exposure from our program."
Quick Flashes
• The game is a return game from the 2011 ESPN BracketBusters meeting
• Kent State is returning only 34% of its minutes played from 2011-12. The Golden Flashes are the second least experienced team in the MAC
• The Golden Flashes' line-up features seven newcomers in the regular-season rotation
• Kent State has won its last four season openers and its last six home openers
• Kent State is 55-41 all-time in season openers
• Randal Holt enters the year needing 97 points to reach 1,000. He is also has 158 career three-pointers and is only 52 three-pointers shy of equaling the Kent State school record
• Chris Evans was named one of the nation's Top 10 Dunkers to Watch in 2012-2013 by CollegeBasketballTalk on NBCSports.com
Kent State - Drexel Series Notes
• The only other meeting between the two schools came in an ESPN BracketBuster contest at Drexel in Feb. of 2011. The Dragons won the game 73-66.
