It’s a big weekend for Kent State athletics with football returning to Mid-American Conference play at Northern Illinois, a Wagon Wheel point on the line with volleyball hosting Akron on Friday night, men’s and women’s basketball officially starting practice, and much, much more.
I spent some time with both men’s basketball coach Rob Senderoff and women’s basketball coach Danielle O’Banion over the last couple of days, and both are excited about the options the new additions to their rosters will create in 2014-15.
Length inside is the big difference for Senderoff’s team. If you read his blog, you’ll know that the addition of some serious wingspans in the 7-for-4 Blake Vedder, 6-7 Jimmy Hall, 6-10 Marvin Jones will offer a whole new dimension to how Kent State’s defense. With more players capable of defending the rim than last season, Senderoff is eager to extend his perimeter defense. That means more defensive pressure on the perimeter and, as Senderoff wrote in the blog, some new ways to limit threes by opponents.
The Flashes lost quite a bit last year defensively inside due to NCAA rule changes regarding what constitutes a charge. Darren Goodson played the bulk of the minutes at the four in the last two seasons. He wasn’t a shot blocker by any means, but as a junior he was Kent State’s best at drawing charges. Those same heady plays turned into blocking calls in his senior year. Now the Flashes will have a very different look defensively at the four.
O’Banion is also excited about a large group of newcomers who can change the way the women’s team plays. Since her arrival in April of 2012, O’Banion has wanted to play an up-tempo style. She has the players who are capable of running that style, and more. This current group gives her many more options.
While there are lots of new faces on the perimeter, two familiar faces in the post could provide an even bigger impact than they did last year. According to O’Banion, 6-4 senior CiCi Shannon and 6-1 senior Montia Johnson have both made significant improvements in their footwork. Both are more confident catching the ball on the block. They have more ways to find their own shots and are more confident beating the double team with their own movement as well as finding open shots for the teammates on the perimeter.
Men’s basketball begins practice on Saturday. Women’s basketball holds its first practice on Sunday. I’ll be in Illinois with the football team, but I’ll be looking forward to coming back and sitting in on basketball practices when I get back.
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