2016–17 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

2016–17 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record22–14 (10–8 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Eric Haut
  • Bobby Steinburg
  • Akeem Miskdeen
Home arenaMAC Center
Seasons
2016–17 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Akron 14 – 4   .778 27 – 9   .750
Ohio 11 – 7   .611 20 – 11   .645
Buffalo 11 – 7   .611 17 – 15   .531
Kent State † 10 – 8   .556 22 – 14   .611
Bowling Green 7 – 11   .389 13 – 19   .406
Miami (OH) 4 – 14   .222 11 – 21   .344
West
Ball State 11 – 7   .611 21 – 13   .618
Western Michigan 11 – 7   .611 16 – 16   .500
Toledo 9 – 9   .500 17 – 17   .500
Eastern Michigan 7 – 11   .389 16 – 17   .485
Northern Illinois 7 – 11   .389 15 – 17   .469
Central Michigan 6 – 12   .333 16 – 16   .500
† 2017 MAC tournament winner

The 2016–17 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by sixth year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. Kent State finished the regular season 22–14, 10–8 in MAC play to finish fourth in the MAC East division. As the No. 6 seed in the MAC tournament, the Flashes defeated Central Michigan, Buffalo, Ohio, and Akron to win the tournament for the first time since 2008. As a result, the Flashes received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 14 seed in the South region. In the first round, they lost to UCLA.

Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2015–16 season 19–13, 10–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Bowling Green. Despite having 19 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Xavier Pollard 1 G 6'4" 210 RS Senior Bronx, NY Graduated
Marvin Jones 3 F/C 6'10" 205 RS Junior Chicago, IL Graduate transferred to Texas Southern
Chris Ortiz 4 F 6'8" 225 Senior Brooklyn, NY Graduated
Kellon Thomas 5 G 5'11" 190 RS Junior Indianapolis, IN Graduate transferred to IUPUI
Kahliq Spicer 21 F 6'9" 230 Senior Detroit, MI Graduated
Raasean Davis 32 F 6'8" 260 Sophomore Chicago, IL Transferred to North Carolina Central

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Adonis DeLaRosa 1 C 7'0" 280 RS Sophomore Bronx, NY Junior college transferred from Williston State
Jerrelle DeBerry 3 G 6'5" 200 Junior Milwaukee, WI Junior college transferred from Indian Hills CC
Taishaun Johnson 4 G 6'0" 172 Junior Indianapolis, IN Transferred from South Alabama. Under NCAA transfer rules, Johnson will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Leo Edwards 33 F 6'8" 235 Junior Detroit, MI Junior college transferred from Santa Fe College
Kevin Zabo 55 G 6'2" 185 Junior Gatineau, QE Junior college transferred from Indian Hills CC

2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Yavari Hall
SG 		Warrensville Heights, OH Warrensville Heights High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 16, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Danny Pippen
PF 		Detroit, MI Allen Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) N/A Oct 4, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Mitch Peterson
SG 		Richfield, OH Walsh Jesuit High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) May 1, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
B.J. Dulling
SF 		Newark, OH Newark High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Oct 29, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2016–17 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jalen Avery 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Shroder HS Covington, KY
C 1 Adonis DeLa Rosa 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 261 lb (118 kg) RS So Christ the King HS
Williston State 		Bronx, NY
G/F 2 Rosel Hurley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr IMG Academy Shaker Heights, OH
G 3 Jerrelle DeBerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Quality Education Academy
Indian Hills CC 		Milwaukee, WI
G 4 Taishaun Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Pike HS
South Alabama 		Indianapolis, IN
F 5 Danny Pippen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Allen Academy Detroit, MI
G 11 Jon Fleming 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Fishers HS Fishers, IN
G 13 Mitch Peterson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Walsh Jesuit HS Richfield, OH
F 14 Alonzo Walker 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Orangeville Prep Brampton, ON
G 23 Jaylin Walker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Romulus HS Detroit, MI
G 30 Deon Edwin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Red Lion Christian Academy
Laramie County CC 		British Virgin Islands
G 32 Desmond Ridenour 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Benedictine
Duquesne 		Cleveland Heights, OH
F 33 Leo Edwards 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Romulus HS
Santa Fe College 		Detroit, MI
F 35 Jimmy Hall 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr St. Anthony HS
Hofstra 		Brooklyn, NY
G 55 Kevin Zabo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Brewster Academy
Indian Hills CC 		Gatineau, QE
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/12/2016*
5:00 PM 		vs. Cleveland State
Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer 		W 79–74 OT 1–0
 Beeghly Center 
Youngstown, OH
11/16/2016*
7:00 PM 		Mississippi Valley State W 93–63  2–0
 MAC Center (2,524)
Kent, OH
11/18/2016*
7:00 PM 		Hiram
Gulf Coast Showcase 		W 111–55  3–0
 MAC Center (2,057)
Kent, OH
11/21/2016*
5:00 PM 		vs. South Dakota
Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals 		L 77–80  3–1
 Germain Arena 
Estero, FL
11/22/2016*
1:30 PM 		vs. George Mason
Gulf Coast Showcase consolation 2nd round 		L 76–80  3–2
 Germain Arena 
Estero, FL
11/23/2016*
11:00 am 		vs. Wofford
Gulf Coast Showcase 7th place game 		W 66–59  4–2
 Germain Arena 
Estero, FL
11/27/2016*
2:00 PM 		Northeastern L 70–73  4–3
 Matthews Arena (701)
Boston, MA
12/02/2016*
7:00 PM 		Grambling State W 86–57  5–3
 MAC Center (2,010)
Kent, OH
12/07/2016*
7:00 PM 		Niagara W 100–72  6–3
 MAC Center (2,115)
Kent, OH
12/10/2016*
7:00 PM 		NJIT W 87–71  7–3
 MAC Center (2,388)
Kent, OH
12/18/2016*
4:00 PM 		Wright State L 63–68  7–4
 MAC Center (1,827)
Kent, OH
12/21/2016*
11:00 PM, ESPNU 		at Oregon State L 50–69  7–5
 Gill Coliseum (4,020)
Corvallis, OR
12/27/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPNU 		at Texas W 63–58  8–5
 Frank Erwin Center (10,658)
Austin, TX
MAC regular season
01/03/2017
7:00 PM 		Ball State W 100–90  9–5
(1–0) 		MAC Center (2,153)
Kent, OH
01/06/2017
9:00 PM, ESPNU 		at Ohio L 67–85  9–6
(1–1) 		Convocation Center (4,675)
Athens, OH
01/10/2017
7:00 PM 		Northern Illinois L 70–74 OT 9–7
(1–2) 		MAC Center (2,033)
Kent, OH
01/14/2017
2:00 PM 		at Western Michigan L 88–92  9–8
(1–3) 		University Arena (2,418)
Kalamazoo, MI
01/17/2017
7:00 PM 		Buffalo L 69–82  9–9
(1–4) 		MAC Center (2,110)
Kent, OH
01/21/2017
7:00 PM, Spectrum 		Toledo W 85–61  10–9
(2–4) 		MAC Center (6,327)
Kent, OH
01/24/2017
8:00 PM 		at Northern Illinois W 73–66  11–9
(3–4) 		Convocation Center (868)
DeKalb, IL
01/28/2017
12:00 PM, CBSSN 		Central Michigan L 98–105 OT 11–10
(3–5) 		MAC Center (3,127)
Kent, OH
01/31/2017
7:00 PM 		at Eastern Michigan W 70–64  12–10
(4–5) 		Convocation Center (1,198)
Ypsilanti, MI
02/04/2017
3:30 PM 		at Miami W 66–62  13–10
(5–5) 		Millett Hall (1,474)
Oxford, OH
02/07/2017
7:00 PM 		Bowling Green L 83–84 OT 13–11
(5–6) 		MAC Center (2,629)
Kent, OH
02/11/2017
2:00 PM, CBSSN 		at Toledo L 58–78  13–12
(5–7) 		Savage Arena (4,829)
Toledo, OH
02/14/2017
7:00 PM 		Miami W 76–72  14–12
(6–7) 		MAC Center (2,115)
Kent, OH
02/17/2017
7:00 PM, ESPNU 		at Akron W 70–67  15–12
(7–7) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Akron, OH
02/21/2017
7:00 PM 		at Buffalo W 77–69  16–12
(8–7) 		Alumni Arena (3,212)
Amherst, NY
02/25/2017
7:00 PM, Spectrum Sports 		Ohio W 70–67  17–12
(9–7) 		MAC Center (4,183)
Kent, OH
02/28/2017
7:00 PM 		at Bowling Green W 74–67  18–12
(10–7) 		Stroh Center (2,014)
Bowling Green, OH
03/03/2017
9:00 PM, ESPN2 		Akron L 56–66  18–13
(10–8) 		MAC Center (6,327)
Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 6, 2017
7:00 pm 		(6) (11) Central Michigan
First Round 		W 116–106 OT 19–13
 MAC Center (2,139)
Kent, OH
March 9, 2017
9:00 pm, Spectrum Sports/ESPN3 		(6) vs. (3) Buffalo
Quarterfinals 		W 68–65  20–13
 Quicken Loans Arena (3,352)
Cleveland, OH
March 10, 2017
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		(6) vs. (2) Ohio
Semifinals 		W 68–66  21–13
 Quicken Loans Arena (6,065)
Cleveland, OH
March 11, 2017
7:30 pm, ESPN2 		(6) vs. (1) Akron
Championship 		W 70–65  22–13
 Quicken Loans Arena (10,376)
Cleveland, OH
NCAA tournament
March 17, 2017*
9:57 pm, truTV 		(14 S) vs. (3 S) No. 8 UCLA
First Round 		L 80–97  22–14
 Golden 1 Center (16,514)
Sacramento, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South Region.
All times are in Eastern Time Source[1].

See also

References

  1. ^ "2016–17 Men's Basketball Schedule". KentStateSports.com. Kent State University. 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2017.