Recordpub.com - Top 5 questions for 2009-10 KSU men's hoops team

Kent State’s men’s basketball team hits the court today to begin preparation for the 2009-10 campaign.

This is the most exciting time of year for many fans of KSU athletics, and it offers the perfect opportunity to dive back into this year’s series of top-five lists.

This week’s top five, with a little help from Golden Flashes head coach Geno Ford, covers the most urgent questions the team needs to address in the next 30 days leading up to the start of the regular season.

No. 1: The point guard position.

In an odd way, point guard is both the Flashes’ biggest strength and their biggest question mark.

Rod Sherman is a known quantity. As a sophomore he was a key member of the Flashes’ 2008 NCAA Tournament squad that won 28 games. But in his first two years in Kent, he played very little point guard.

Now Sherman is being asked to take over as the staring after missing all of last season while recovering from knee surgery. By nature, his inexperience at the position combined with the graduation of two high-quality point guards — 2007-08 All-Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Al Fisher and defensive stopper Jordan Mincy — has to create some questions.

The good news is Sherman has spent a year-and-a-half upgrading his game. He is a better shooter than he was two years ago. He is a better ball-handler. He is more confident finishing around the basket. He is still a lock-down defender. He is also brimming with confidence after playing point guard on the scout team and dominating some practices last season then returning with an impressive tour of Italy in the summer.

“We know Rod is going to be a very good player, but he is coming off a redshirt year and there are naturally going to be some ups and downs,” said Ford. “Our only other true point guards are a true freshman (Randal Holt) and a redshirt freshman (Cameron Joyce), so really we have no point-guard experience among the three. Will we be OK is at point guard is a fair question to ask. I think we will, but we are going to need those guys to play well.”

No. 2: Who plays inside?

Brandon Parks slimmed down and worked hard on his game during the off-season. After proving he can play in his first extended playing time last year, the 6-foot-10 senior promises to be one of the better centers in the league.

But here’s the problem, and it is actually a good problem. Justin Greene has improved dramatically and could push Parks for minutes and for his starting job. Junior-college transfer Justin Manns has also been better than advertised since arriving in Kent, and that has the Flashes coaching staff re-thinking a plan to redshirt the 6-foot-11 center for 2010-11.

Ford has been toying with the idea of an occasional front line that would feature Parks at the five with either Greene or Manns at the four. But that would take some minutes from an already-crowded power forward spot that includes Simpson, junior-college transfer Greg Avila and Frank Henry-Ala.

Simpson is the Flashes’ best defensive rebounder, and after the Flashes were outrebounded for the first time in a decade last season, they need the 6-foot-8 senior to be more consistent and earn increased playing time. Three-man Chris Singletary will also probably see some minutes at the four in crunch time.

Someone is going to need to redshirt.

No. 3: What is the personality of this year’s team?

Last year’s Flashes didn’t really have a personality.

They weren’t great defensively. They weren’t a great offensive basketball team. And while they had a few hard-nosed players like Mincy, they were not tough as a collective.

“I like what we have this year’s team in terms of athleticism, depth and size,” said Ford. “But I’m really starting to like the potential of this team to have a toughness edge. Last year’s team was not a super-tough team. The personality of this team is much better.”

“Tough” is always a good identity.

Some of this year’s toughness has to do with the return of Sherman, who was a natural leader from the moment he first walked onto campus three years ago. The Flashes missed his on-the-floor demeanor last season.

A rededication to the defensive side of the game by senior Chris Singletary is also helping. In August, Singletary said he was going to work to be an All-MAC Defensive Team selection. So far, he’s been playing like he has a chance to live up to that pledge. The newcomers on the roster have noticed how hard veterans like Sherman and Singletary are working, and it is rubbing off.

No. 4: Who is the go-to guy in crunch time?

The basketball always seemed to end up in Al Fisher’s hands at crunch time during the last two years, and he responded with a string of memorable game-winning shots.

This year’s team has several options to fill that role in the wake of Fisher’s graduation.

Sherman has a similar knack for being able to get to the basket, but his move to point guard should mean more ball movement, even in the final minute.

When the ball ended up in Fisher’s hands at the end, everyone in the gym knew he would be the one to shoot it. With Sherman, the Flashes have a point guard who can drive and finish or penetrate and kick to an open shooter. Look for Tyree Evans to be the beneficiary of some of those open looks.

Evans has also worked hard on improving his game in the offseason. He is a better ball-handler, he is better at getting off his own shot, and with a year of Division I ball under his belt, he says he is more comfortable playing within a system.

I’m looking for a big year from Evans in 2009-10.

No. 5: Did Kent State improve enough to start another 20-win streak?

Obviously, that question won’t be answered in the next 30 days, but KSU should have a better idea of where it stands heading into the new season than it did last November.

Last year, the Flashes were unsure about the eligibility of players like Simpson and Evans until almost the opening tip of game number one. They didn’t know if Parks was ready to take over at center. They didn’t know how to play defense without shot-blockers like Haminn Quaintance and Mike Scott waiting near the basket.

Because they didn’t share the ball on offense, they ended up installing an entirely new offense right before the start of conference play.

So much was unsettled. In reality, winning 19 games should be seen as a major achievement than a disappointing end to a remarkable 10-year streak.

The road to 20 should be easier this season simply because there are fewer preseason unknowns.

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David Carducci can be reached at dcarducci@recordpub.com