Since the season starts this weekend, I'd better get cracking on these team previews.
Last Year: 10-20 overall, 7-9 in conference. Ineligible for the conference tournament during reclassification despite finishing seventh.
Losses: Ronell Wooten and Shawn Stegall graduated. KSU also lost three role players to transfer: Tanner Jacobs to Northern Kentucky, Keonte Keith to Columbus State, and Ryan Daugherty to Life College.
Key Returners: John-Michael Nickerson in the post and Kelvin McConnell outside. Nickerson led the team in blocked shots last year and McConnell was their best 3-point shooter.
Show Me Numbers: Kennesaw was second in the league last year in 3-point ratio (number of 3's attempted / total FG attempts). That number probably needs to come down this year, since last year the Owls made less than 31% of their 3's, and the line is a foot farther back this year. Kennesaw also played the third-fastest tempo in the league last year. Kennesaw has one of only two returning rosters that made fewer than 40% of its FG's last year.
Quick Analysis: If you are a Kennesaw State fan, you probably don't want to hear the words "regression to the mean." Take three starters off last year's overachieving team, move the three-point line back one foot, and the numbers do not look good. Kennesaw does have one strong suit that doesn't show up in the box score, however -- coach Tony Ingle. The man can flat-out coach. The school believes in him, having awarded him a contract extension in the off-season. Plus, the roster has nine newcomers, a group KSU fans are hoping will form the nucleus of the school's first foray into postseason play come 2010.
Stat projection: 1.08 PEP, 77.53 PEG, 0.94 PPP, assuming last year's 72.0 tempo. All three numbers fall between 7th and 10th in the conference.
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