Kent State has been relegated to the bottom of the barrel for it seems like forever. The Golden Flashes are a program of not too many highs and a variance of lows.  Picked to finish 10th this year there is some transition going on as well as new coach Jim Christian takes over the reins.  Heath realizes he has some solid players up front but with only a few back court players even on the roster not to mention competent he has recruited heavily on the perimeter.  He has some big boys coming in as well but for now the emphasis will be getting some kids who can run the court, handle the ball and shoot and defend the three.  That is modern basketball.  But of course you still need to guard the rim (somewhat) and grab some boards. 

As for the returning post players… Juniors Burrell McGhee and Trent Grooms are the mainstays for the Golden Flashes and will continue to be at least for two more years. Well, that is, unless the GF’s find a basketball savant hiding out as a football player in the near future?  They had solid seasons for Coach Waters though ironically these two six seven guys are about as opposite ends of the basketball spectrum as two guys sharing the same height can be.  McGhee is a proven scorer who turned out to be a solid go to guy in the clutch.  He can score in the paint but can also take it out to the perimeter with a smooth jumper.   This kid from Warren Ohio has led the Flashes in scoring both years he has been here and should do it again as he is the most complete offensive player on the team.  If he could handle the ball a little better and was a little tougher on the boards he might actually have a shot at going next level.  For now, he is the main man in Kent! 

Grooms is the opposite.  He is THE banger underneath who does his fair share of the dirty work against much bigger men.  Grooms has to guard most of the other team’s center but at about 195, as tough as he is, he had some issues.  The plan from Heath is to move Grooms to his natural four and McGhee to his natural three which Waters has been attempting to do as well.  There are a couple of candidates who got some minutes last year but will be battling at least one seven footer for playing time this season.  Junior Bradley Robinson is another six seven guy who can board (I mean he can really board) but has no offensive game. At 215 and from Akron he is tough as they come but his numbers dropped precipitously from a breakout first year where he led the team in rebounds (yes, even over Grooms) to last year when he split time.  The guy he split time with last year is the favorite to start this year.  Junior Jim Zoet give the Flashes one thing they are sorely lacking.  Size! Zoet is a true seven footer (7’1 240 to be exact) who may be a project but boy can he eat up some space. Like Robinson, he is not an offensive juggernaut but will throw down an enthusiastic dunk now and then and can block shots.  This Canadian kid (Port Perry) is new to the game so there is much hope that his first two years here were developmental and he finally ‘gets it’ this year. If not some new kid will man the center even if Heath has to get someone off the football team as he is committed to putting McGhee and Grooms together as his version of the bookend forwards.  As the saying goes, if it works in Wichita… it will work anywhere. 

Seniors Dan Potopsky, Doug Sims and Doug Grayson are all in the mix to get minutes on the front line but none are of the center variety.  Limited but willing, Potopsky really sets the tone with his rugged style but he was nowhere near the size to compete at this level.  As tough as he is there is not much need for 6’3 power forwards in D-1 and though he was the team’s leading scorer just a few years back Potopsky, a huge star at Independence, is now relegated to the relief duty.  Sims at 6’7 210 has much the size if not the pedigree than Potopsky does.  He is still a bit raw but has improved every year and will play this year.  Tough on the boards this kid born in Elba Alabama and raised in Springfield has a way to go to beat out Grooms but he is solid depth up front.  Grayson is the same for McGhee as Sims is for Grooms.  The 6’5 210 pound kid from Lorain is a tremendous athlete who is the best high jumper on the track team.  Grayson has shown amazing potential and had some huge games (ask Dean Smith and Lenny Rosenbluth about his game last year where he 18-19 shooting and 5-5 from the line and left to a standing ovation in a losing effort at Carmichael). Still, the ‘Dipper’ is inconsistent and nowhere near the outside shooter that McGhee is.  Like Sims though he will play.  Often!  There are several other upperclassmen on the preseason roster who are going to be in an open battle just to make the team but have had productive careers for the Golden Flashes even if it is in limited roles.  Seniors Oliver Wallace, Pete Baltic, Harvey Hunt, LeRoy Thompson, Tom Lagodich and junior Roger Evans (plus a few transfers) are all vying for any minutes they can get.  Evans has the best chance as he is the biggest at 6’7 and is a solid defender.  He has played at the center here but is a bit small for that though he was the most productive of the trio competing there last year.  Wallace is a stud and played with Jerry Lucas in high school on some dominant Middletown teams but is only 6’3 185.  Another tremendous athlete Wallace could still play some in relief of McGhee but is more inside than out.  Hunt goes 6’5 and is a terrific defender on the post but is too small in the new MAC.  Lagodich, 6’6 215 from Canton, has a real shot as he can play both forwards spot and is built, both physically and mentally, to be a superb bench player.  Thompson (6’3 from Sharon Pennsylvania) and Baltic (6’4 188 from Akron) saw the writing on the wall and are wings now.  They both played quite a bit last year but will almost assuredly get replaced by Heath recruits as neither is exactly the Big O handling the ball or Cazzie Russell shooting it. 

One of the issues the Golden Flash have is finding some ‘real’ wings to guard other athletic players in the MAC and beyond.  McGhee was the first choice here but was this was not his forte but you got to have this guy in your lineup and the three is by far his best fit.  Heath would like to use three guard sets but he does not have the roster for that.  Yet!  Sophomore Anthony Grier showed some real signs of being the kind of vanguard player a team can build it’s program around.  Grier is a dynamic point guard who can fill it up on some nights and can’t throw it in a swimming pool on others but has already taken control of running the team.  His teammates trust him to get them the ball in the right place and he has the kind of personality (and game) others look up to.  At only 6’0 Grier is athletic and can defend but needs to be more consistent.  He is the only sure starter coming back in the back court as we stated before the cupboard is pretty bare on the perimeter for the Flashes.  Seniors Percy Grenfell backed up the great Vito Kubilus at the two last year and looks to make a play for the starting role this year.  Kubilus is getting a shot with the pros in his hometown of New York and was a huge part of this team’s success (or lack thereof) the last 4 years.  Vito is a 6’1 two guard who does everything well on both ends and will be hard to replace but this leaves plenty of openings for guys moving up from the JV and the large number of huge recruits.  Speaking of JV sophomores Eric Glenn and Reggie look to move on up after solid first years in Kent.  Glenn is a 6’3 185 pound wing from Akron who played on good teams in high school (Akron is a hotbed for basketball talent) and did not get recruited by many teams.  He was terrific on both ends and he plays bigger than his height but can still handle the ball.  Glenn’s defense stood out as he has a terrific skill set and is superb helping out on the boards and does not take bad shots.  He should stick.  Adams comes from Cleveland and is a 6’0 175 pound point guard.  He will not beat out Grier but the ‘Spider Monkey’ can run a team and is a good defensive player.  The backcourt will be open for challengers to this rather small subset and Heath will give the kids he brought in every opportunity to play early. 

The Kent State Golden Flashes are not expected to beat anyone this year.  They are pricked to finish 10th by preseason prognosticators and to be honest that might be generous.  There is no history in Kent of being a competitive program since they joined the MAC but there is new hope with a new coach and some solid core players.  Stan Heath has brought in a bunch of kids to try to change this culture and perhaps make this campus more famous for something other than a horrific act done due to a stupid war many scores ago.  If he does indeed shock the MaC and make the Golden Flashed a contender then maybe this wonderful University can finally put away some of their demons from their past!