By David Carducci
Record-Courier staff writer
Kent State coaches from Gary Waters to Jim Christian to Geno Ford have tried to cultivate a family atmosphere within the Golden Flashes men’s basketball program.
They all hoped to create an environment that would encourage players from the program’s past to return to campus and interact with the newest generation of Flashes.
The family vibe has encouraged John Edwards and Nate Gerwig to make Kent their summer workout home.
The two former KSU centers are preparing for their upcoming pro seasons by running drills with Flashes assistant coach Rob Senderoff on the M.A.C. Center floor on almost daily basis.
They commute almost an hour from Edwards’ home on Cleveland’s west side for the chance to work with their old college coach.
“I think it’s been good for John and Nate, and it’s also been good for our current players to see guys who are making a living playing basketball working on their games,” said Senderoff. “It helps our young guys understand the more they put into it, the more they will get out of it.
“It’s also been good for me. John and Nate aren’t kids any more. I’m still coaching them, but they are also now piers. I can learn from them and their experiences.”
Edwards, who was named the Mid-American Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year after his senior season in 2004, will play for the Washington Wizards in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from July 11-19. His NBA career has included stints with the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers.
Gerwig recently signed to play for Paderborn in Germany’s top league — a well-deserved promotion after averaging 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in a near-MVP season for Chemnitz in the country’s No. 2 league.
“Coach Senderoff is a really good guy and he wants to see any player succeed,” said Gerwig, who will join his new team in Germany in early August. “It’s really nice of him to work us out. It’s nice that he wants to do it, and It’s nice because he is someone we are used to and we comfortable with.”
“It’s also good just to come back to Kent State. It really is like a family. You never know who you are going to see. The other day we were able to work out with ‘Q’ (former KSU center Haminn Quaintance). And then a couple days before that DeAndre Haynes was there. It’s always good to see old teammates like that.”
Former All-MAC swingman Jay Youngblood has also been back to Kent.
When players like Edwards, Gerwig, Quaintance, Haynes and Youngblood return to campus, they almost always end up joining in pick-up games with the current crop of Flashes.
“Our young guys play against our old guys, and that makes them better at a time when we as coaches can’t work with them,” said Senderoff. “It’s been great for a guy like (senior center) Brandon Parks to have a chance to play against an NBA center like John.
“I think all of our players enjoy seeing these guys back. For one, it says something about the basketball program. And two, it lets the kids understand the relationships we are trying to build with them. They see that those relationships don’t end when they leave Kent. The relationships will continue, and this will always be their second home whenever they want to come back.”