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LOCATION: Kansas City, MO
CONFERENCE: Mid-Continent
LAST SEASON: 8-22 (.267)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 3-11 (t-7th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 4/1
NICKNAME: Kangaroos
COLORS: Blue & Gold
HOMECOURT: Municipal Auditorium (9.827)
COACH: Bob Sundvold (South Dakota State '77)
record at school 27-57 (3 years)
career record 109-95 (7 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Steve Eck (Kansas Newman '77)
Mike Sharpe (Kansas State '90)
Gary Abner (Wichita State '99)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 12-12-10-9-8
RPI (last 5 years) 184-272-216-228-275
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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There is great promise and great peril for coaches who rely heavily on junior-college transfers to fill out their rosters. The promise is in attracting newcomers with much more polish and better-developed skills than those possessed by freshmen. Their experience is considerably deeper, and they are physically more advanced. The peril is that such players stick around for a maximum of just two seasons. Rosters turn over at a greater rate, making it more difficult for teams to adjust to new faces and forcing coaches to go back to the drawing board just about every season. Bob Sundvold, UMKC's fourth-year head coach, hopes he is about to get a vivid demonstration of the promise. Last year his Kangaroos welcomed just three newcomers, all freshmen, and things appeared ready to rise above years of mediocrity, but the team never gelled. Despite a 16.1-ppg average from All-Mid-Continent first-team selection Eddie Smith, UMKC couldn't develop any kind of rhythm in 1998-99. Besides Smith, the Kangaroos' roster was populated with underachievers, young men of some potential who watched their scoring averages nose dive. As a result, UMKC ended games on the short end of the stick 22 times last season. One of its victories came against non-Division I William Penn, which is most definitely not to be confused with the University of Pennsylvania. The post-New Year portion of the schedule was particularly gruesome, with the Kangaroos winning their first two games, then closing the season by dropping 13 of 14.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH D+
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES D
Unproven is the watchword on UMKC as it enters the season. Just one starter and two reserves return from a year ago, and while the newcomers are a more athletic lot than those who departed after last season's train wreck, they are still, well, newcomers. Robby Graves looks solid at shooting guard, but point guard could be a little messy until Terrance Chatman becomes eligible. Up front, Will Palmer returns to offer reliable support, though he's not spectacular at this point, while everyone else arrives with a ticket that reads "potential." The player who looks most poised to punch that ticket is sophomore forward Michael Jackson. If he can transfer his junior-college skills to Division I, the Kangaroos will be a team to be reckoned with. So long as everyone stays healthy and hits the books, this group should be around for a few years. Though this season may not be a repeat of last, it's probably not going to be pretty. But better days are ahead. |
This season Sundvold gets to enjoy the flip side of the JC coin. A scant three players including just one starter remain from last year's disaster, so the coach gets to start over with a fresh crop of intriguing transfers. And with no seniors and just one junior, UMKC can actually do a little long-term thinking. Even much of the coaching staff is new. Assistant Brian Ostermann left and took a head coaching job at Colby College, in Colby, Kan. Assistant Bernie Pearson was hired as the new head man at Pratt College, in Pratt, Kan. The remaining starter is a youngster, 6-2 sophomore guard Robby Graves (8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg), who put together a nifty little freshman season in finishing as the Kangaroos' third-leading scorer. Starting 22 of the 29 games in which he appeared, the dynamic and athletic Graves also had 63 assists and a team-high 40 steals from the shooting-guard spot. UMKC appears to be set here for quite a while. The point guard of the near future is 5-11 junior Terrance Chatman (Garden City, Kan., CC/Detroit, Mich.), who transferred from the University of Idaho, where he did not play basketball, and began classes at UMKC in January. He retains a year and a half of eligibility, beginning this January. Before attending Idaho, Chatman played for two seasons at Garden City Community College, in Garden City, Kan., where he twice earned all-conference honors and averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He is a former McDonald's All-America nominee. "Terrance Chatman will provide us with a true point guard next season," Sundvold said when the signing was announced last January. "He is a junior-college transfer who will give us some leadership both on and off the court." Until Chatman comes along, the Kangaroos' likely point guard is 5-11 freshman Michael Watson (Central HS/Kansas City, Mo.), a leaper who averaged 18.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a shooting role. UMKC's offense may run a little rough while he tries to make the transition to lead guard. "Michael Watson is another great athlete for us," Sundvold said. "He is a scoring guard who we project as a future point guard. He possesses great quickness and on-the-ball defensive ability." Among the other returning players is 6-4 sophomore guard Marc Stricker (4.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg), who played in only 12 games. Stricker's strength is the long-range bomb he made .433 percent of his three-point shots a season ago although he is also an adequate passer. Matt Suther (Frankfort HS/Frankfort, Kan.), a 6-4 sophomore shooting guard, is one of three players to transfer from Butler County (Kan.) Community College to UMKC. Suther played in four games a season ago, then sat out as a medical redshirt, giving him three seasons of Division I eligibility. As a Butler County freshman two years ago, Suther averaged 11.1 ppg and 2.6 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field. Rounding out the backcourt rotation is 6-5 freshman swingman Cory Jones (North Little Rock HS/North Little Rock, Ark.), an all-conference scholastic performer considered one of Arkansas's top 25 players. He averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists as a senior. UMKC insiders are salivating over the prospect of watching 6-7 sophomore forward Michael Jackson (Butler County Community College/Overland Park, Kan.) play in Kansas City. Jackson was a first-team junior-college All-American last year who averaged 20.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists. A more eye-popping number posted by the All-Jayhawk Conference pick was his .690 field-goal percentage. Jackson won't be just penciled into the Kangaroos' starting lineup, he will be written into it in indelible ink. The frontcourt's only returning player is 6-7 sophomore forward Will Palmer (6.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg), who played capably as a freshman. Palmer started seven times and appeared in 28 games, registering 35 assists and making .493 percent of his shots. Two promising recruits bring size and potential to the frontcourt. Marcus Golson, a 6-8 sophomore small forward, is the third Butler County player to sign with UMKC. He signed with Baylor out of high school, was redshirted for the 1997-98 season, and played in six minutes over three games last year. Golson then transferred to Butler County and attended classes there last spring before opting for Sundvold's program. The last time he played regularly, at Blue Valley Northwest High School, Golson averaged 19.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in being chosen MVP of the East Kansas League. Like Chatman, his eligibility at UMKC begins at the conclusion of the 1999 fall academic semester. Good to go at the outset will be 6-8 freshman forward Chris Williams (Notre Dame HS/Sherman Oaks, Calif,), who averaged 15.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.9 blocked shots as a senior. He was his team's MVP as a sophomore and junior. "Chris Williams is a great athlete who is showing improvement," Sundvold said. "We are excited in adding an athlete of his size and speed. He will need to add strength to adjust to the college game." A late addition to the roster was 6-5 freshman forward Randall Atchison (Piper HS/Fort Lauderdale, FL), who earned team MVP honors as a high school senior, averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game. "Randall Atchison is a very talented player who gives us more size and depth, Sundvold said." The fact that the UMKC roster now includes five players from the greater Kansas City area certainly shouldn't hurt attendance at home games. More importantly, Sundvold believes he has plugged some holes and set down a foundation instead of simply installing a stop-gap measure. "We are excited about this recruiting class. . . ," he said. "This group provides us with size, athletic ability and skills. It also addresses the present needs and the future of our program."
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