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10/30/2007 - MEN'S BASKETBALL
12 Days of A-Sun Basketball: Kennesaw State
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Courtesy KSUOwls.com
12 Days of A-Sun Basketball makes its first of two Georgia stops with a trip up the road to Kennesaw for a look at the Owls. The Owls. in just their their second year of Division I play finished .500 in league play for the second consecutive season.
The Owls feature one of the top returning duos in the league in Shuan Stegall and Ronell Wooten. The two both ranked in the top 10 in scoring, joining Mercer as the only two teams in the league to feature a pair of top-10 scorers. Stegall and Wooten also combined for over 13 rebounds per game. No set of A-Sun teammates averaged more in 2006-07.
Following the 2006-07 season, head coach Tony Ingle was rewarded with a contract extension, the first multi-year extension offered in the history of Kennesaw State.
2007-08 Kennesaw State Owls |
SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Kennesaw State Media Relations)
In 2007-08 expectations will be high once again for the Kennesaw State men’s basketball team. In the past two seasons’ the Owls have posted back-to-back .500 seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference and this season they return two of the most dynamic players in the league in Shuan Stegall and Ronell Wooten. In addition, the Owls have a head coach who is one of the smartest, tireless and determined minds in college basketball. The combination will make for an upcoming campaign filled with excitement and the pursuit of the Owls lofty goals a successful one.
Coming Back
Last season, the Owls finished with 13 victories, but they could have easily been a 20-win team as four losses came in overtime and four more coming in games decided by five points of less. This year the Black and Gold return the conference’s sixth and seventh leading scorers and the league’s number two rebounder.
Kennesaw State returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last season’s team, which finished .500 in the A-Sun. Wooten, an all-conference selection and the league’s sixth-leading scorer returns as does the conference’s leader in double-doubles and the seventh best scorer in Stegall.
Wooten, a senior forward who started in 29 games, is one of the most dynamic and athletic players in the A-Sun. The native of Statesboro, Ga. became the Owls first-ever player to receive all-conference honors when he was selected to the second-team last season. Wooten led Kennesaw State in scoring (14.7 ppg) and three-pointers last season and became the ninth member of the Owls 1,000-Point Club.
Stegall, who is one of the most versatile players in the league, can play all five positions and possesses the skills to be a presence both in the frontcourt and the backcourt. Last season, Stegall appeared in all 31 games for the Owls and finished second on the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game while also leading the team with 8.3 rebounds per night.
Forward Jon-Michael Nickerson made huge strides for the Owls last season and cracked the starting lineup in the second half of the season. The 6-foot-6-inch sophomore, a former minor league pitcher in the Florida Marlins organization, has a strong, tenacious work ethic and it resulted in him cracking the starting five in the 13th game of last season.
Jonathan Whipple enjoyed a solid freshman season, averaging nearly three points and 2.5 rebounds a night. The 6-foot-8-inch forward broke into the starting lineup eight times last year and was third on the Owls with 14 blocked shots.
Keonte Keith was the only rookie to play in all 31 games for the Owls last season. Averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in just over 15 minutes per game, Keith is one of the strongest front court players in the Owls lineup. His 46.8 field gal percentage was second on the Owls and his 115 rebounds were good for third on the team last year.
Zach Berry returns in the backcourt and the redshirt sophomore is going to be looked upon to try and fill the void left by three-year starter Golden Ingle. Berry has been in the Ingle mentoring system for the past two seasons and last season, after redshirting in 2005-06, he appeared in 27 games and had 36 assists for a 1.8 turnover-to-assist ratio.
Alex Cornett returns to sure up the frontcourt as one of the Owls two legitimate centers this season. The 6-foot-10-inch center played sparingly in his freshman season, appearing in 18 games for the Black and Gold and averaged 0.4 points and 0.7 rebounds per game.
“We feel comfortable with some returning players that have been our system,” said Ingle. “We look forward to seeing what kind of contributions they will make for this year’s team.”
New to the Scene
Ingle welcomes a bevy on new faces to his roster this season as nine newbies will be welcomed to the Owls system. Four redshirts will vie for action this year as will a trio of transfers and a pair of true freshman.
Guard J.D. Pollock will battle for playing time at guard this season. The versatile transfer from Berry College was a redshirt last season and was helped in practice by Golden Ingle. Pollock started in each game of his rookie season at Berry and can be effective as both a shooting guard and at point.
Ryan Daugherty sat out last season after transferring to Kennesaw State from North Florida. The 6-foot-3-guard and Marietta, Ga. native earned a lot of minutes for the Ospreys in his freshman season, playing in 22 games and averaged 9.3 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Reggie King will be back on the court after redshiriting last season after transferring from Avila University. The 6-foot-4-inch guard is a solid, slashing scorer who has a strong enough body to grab rebounds and create problems in the paint. Jeff Croft, a native of Cartersville, Ga. native who transferred to Kennesaw State from Shorter College, will be a solid local talent for the Owls.
John Allison is Kennesaw State's first seven-foot player and the anticipation surrounding him will be satisfied this year as he makes his debut for Ingle and the Owls. The native of Edinburgh, Scotland is still adjusting to the American style of basketball, but has made strides since arriving here over a year ago. He will give Ingle the solid inside body that he has been looking for during the past two years.
Nick Mattone comes to Kennesaw State with a solid basketball resume. He played his first collegiate season at East Carolina and then transferred to Manatee Community College where he was an all-conference selection. A talented point guard coming out of high school, Mattone was a two-time Street & Smith All-American and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee after averaging 16 points and six assists for St. Andrew’s High School in Barrington, R.I.
Jay Mitchell, a 6-foot-9-inch junior forward, comes to the Owls from Texas Tech where he played a season under Bobby Knight. He shot 60 percent from the field for the Red Raiders. Played for Gulf Coast Community College after high school where he averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Kelvin McConnell joins the Owls after a stellar prep career at Whitfield Academy. The 6-foot freshman guard was a two-time all-state honoree. He was a First-Team selection in his junior year and a Second-Team mention in his senior season. He was a four-time Cobb County Player of the Month selection and also led his team to three state championship game appearances.
Tanner Jacobs comes to Kennesaw State to help Coach Ingle sure up the frontcourt. The highly touted 6-foot-7-inch rookie enjoyed a strong high school career in which he led Trinity High School (where he was a former teammate of the Owls Zac Berry) to a 21-8 record while averaging 17 points and 14 rebounds last season.
Jacobs also earned a bevy of honors including being named a Second Team All-Kentucky selection by the Louisville Courier-Journal. In addition, he was an Honorable Mention selection by the Lexington-Ledger Herald and was selected to represent his home state in the Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Boy’s Basketball Classic.
“Some of our newcomers must step up to the plate and give us some serious and productive minutes in order for our team to be successful,” added Ingle.
Keeping the Pressure On
Since head coach Tony Ingle became the Owls head coach he has stressed defense and tenacity. The Owls have always been near the top of team defense and steals and last season was no different as the Owls were ranked tied for second in the league with East Tennessee State in steals and led the A-Sun in assist-to-turnover ratio. Also, last season, with one of the smallest teams in the country, the Owls finished tied for sixth in the NCAA in steals.
“Last season was an unbelievable accomplishment,” commented Ingle on the national ranking in steals. “It would be nice if we could be anywhere remotely close this season.”
Inglewood Up to Something Good
The Kennesaw State basketball tradition belongs to Tony Ingle. Since arriving at Kennesaw State for the 2000-01 season he has done nothing less than win a NCAA Division II National Championship, lead the Owls to three consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments, win two regular season conference titles, a tournament title, a region crown and four consecutive 20-win seasons.
He has coached an All-American in Terrence Hill, in just two seasons at the Division I level he has coached an all-conference player (Ronell Wooten) and an Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year.
His teams have never finished lower than .500 in the league and he led the Owls to double-digit wins in their first two Division I seasons. In addition, Ingle helped lead the Owls to a two-week showing in the mid-major polls.
The 2007-08 Schedule
This year’s installment of Kennesaw State basketball will once again see the Owls play another tough schedule. With the Owls playing such big names as Wichita State, Kansas State, Georgia, George Washington and Western Kentucky in past seasons, this year’s slate is no easier for Ingle and his squad.
The Owls will open up the season against powerful Western Kentucky and then travel to face the Auburn Tigers in what many say is the Tigers strongest squad in years. In addition, the Owls will travel to Las Vegas for the second consecutive season as they battle national-powerhouse UNLV and the Minnesota Golden Gophers with their new head coach, Tubby Smith.
Kennesaw State will make a television appearance against Mercer on CSS-TV in the season finale and for the first time in the program’s history, each home game and conference game will be available on a pay-for-view basis via A-Sun.TV.
“We have constantly made positive strides with our basketball program in regards to more public appearances not only locally, but throughout the nation,” mentioned Ingle.”
The Atlantic Sun Conference
The Owls will once again be in the thick of things in the race for the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season and a bid to the National Invitational Tournament. In their first two seasons in the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Owls have not been the newbie walkover many assume that a first or second year program would be.
In each of their first two years in the conference the Owls have contended for the top spot in the league well into February and the Black and Gold have never finished below .500 in the conference. In a competitive conference, which has seen six different regular season champions in the last six years, the Owls have always made the conference have more interesting and is a team opponents should not overlook.
Once again the league’s favorites include tournament champions Belmont and last year’s conference regular season champions, East Tennessee State. Lipscomb, who won 11 games last season and Jacksonville, will also compete with the Owls for the top spot in the A-Sun.
“Everyone knows from a competition stand point we are placed in a most difficult situation because of the grace period the NCAA has placed upon us,” said Ingle. “It is our responsibility as coaches and players to do the best we can in a competitive league.”
What We Strive For
“Simply put, we strive to improve our team and program in such a way that our faculty, fans, boosters and administration can be proud of on and off the court. By striving for perfection should help us do that.”
12 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 22 - Belmont
Oct. 23 - Campbell
Oct. 24 - ETSU
Oct. 25 - Florida Gulf Coast
Oct. 26 - Gardner-Webb
Oct. 29 - Jacksonville
Oct. 30 - Kennesaw State
Oct. 31 - Lipscomb
Nov. 1 - Mercer
Nov. 2 - UNF
Nov. 5 - USC Upstate
Nov. 6 - Stetson
