By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
Having lost four key players from a 22-10 team that captured the Horizon League regular-season championship, any speculation on what the 2018-19 Northern Kentucky University squad might achieve is merely an educated guess.
“You never really know what you have until you go play an opponent,” NKU head coach John Brannen said during media day on Tuesday. “What I like about this year’s team is the camaraderie, the connections they’ve made with each other, the culture that we’ve built that will increase and not just maintain.
NKU head coach John Brannen speaks at the Norse’s media day at BB&T Arena on Tuesday. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
NKU must replace two starters in forward Jordan Garnett (6.7 points per game) and point guard Lavone Holland II (13.8 ppg) from its Horizon League regular-season title squad. The Norse also lost double-figure scorer Carson Williams (12.0 ppg), who transferred to Western Kentucky.
Returning, however, is senior forward Drew McDonald, who has earned numerous preseason accolades this fall. The 6-foot-8 McDonald has been chosen as the Horizon League preseason Player of the Year and is one of 20 candidates for the 2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is named in honor of former Louisiana Tech and 19-year NBA veteran Karl Malone, who is regarded as one of the best power forwards in the game.
McDonald averaged 17.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game last season and recorded 18 double-doubles, a total that ranked 11th in the nation. The Newport Central Catholic graduate has been a double-double machine in his career, racking up 34 double-doubles in 97 career games played.
The Cold Spring native enters his senior season 11th on the NKU all-time scoring list with 1,431 points, and he is fifth in Norse history with 762 rebounds.
“It’s an honor to be put up with some of the top guys in the country, but ultimately that’s a preseason award and there’s been no basketball played yet this year,” McDonald said of being chosen among the nation’s elite power forwards. “Basketball is a team sport. I didn’t come to win Player of the Year or Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year. I came to win championships and help the program. That’s where my goals lie this year.”
NKU also welcomes back defensive wizard Jalen Tate, a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard who was selected to Horizon League’s preseason second team. Tate, who averaged 5.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game, earned Horizon League All-Defensive Team accolades last season and collected All-Freshman Team honors as well. Two other key returnees are 6-foot-7 junior forward Dantez Walton (5.3 ppg) and 6-1 junior guard Tyler Sharpe (6.7 ppg, 46-for-121 from 3-point range).
Walton earned a starting position late in the season and averaged 3.4 rebounds per contest. “It helped my confidence,” Walton said the late-season starting assignments. “It was good that my teammates knew I could step up and play a huge role.”
WHAT’S THE POINT?: Brannen did not reveal who might be in the lead to replace Holland, whom he praised as the “best point guard in the Horizon League the past two years.” Among the newcomers vying for time at the point are Norfolk State transfer Zaynah Robinson and freshman Trevon Faulkner, who was named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball last season. The Mercer County graduate averaged 26.5 points and 9.2 rebounds as a senior, and he scored more than 3,000 points during his prep career.
NKU also adds redshirt freshman Paul Djoko to the backcourt this season. Djoko, a 6-foot-5 leaper from Strasbourg, France, is a solid ballhandler who knows the NKU system and could start at the point. Another freshman to watch is sharpshooter Bryant Mocaby, who was one of the top high school players in Kansas last season.
Silas Adheke, a 6-foot-10 junior college transfer, battles for position during Tuesday’s practice. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
“It’s been an adjustment for all of our new guys in terms of overall accountability, both offensively and defensively, coming into a new role and expectations not fully developed yet,” Brannen said. “I tell our guys every year that the newcomers will provide great energy and talent, but they won’t have an understanding of our system for some time, so we have to rely on our veterans while they’re still figuring it out.”
YOUTH VS. EXPERIENCE: Brannen noted what it’s like coaching a team with so many newcomers: “We have some veteran guys, and some young guys. It feels like you’re coaching two teams.”
THOMAS MORE VISITS BB&T ARENA: Thomas More and NKU will meet in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 at BB&T Arena. NKU opens the regular season on Nov. 6 by hosting Wilmington (Ohio) at BB&T Arena.
NKU WOMEN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 2018-19: NKU women’s basketball head coach Camryn Whitaker pointed out Tuesday that with 10 players who are either freshmen or sophomore on the Norse’s 13-player roster, a great deal of the offseason was centered around teaching.
“We spent a lot of time with skill development, working on fundamentals, learning our defensive principles, our offensive principles, and really just focused on the basics,” she said. “It was a fun summer because there was a lot of teaching and a lot of growing moments. I think we got a lot better this summer.”
NKU posted 9-22 overall record last season. The Norse finished 6-12 in the Horizon League, but one of the victories was a stunning 62-54 upset over nationally ranked Green Bay at BB&T Arena.
NKU women’s basketball head coach Camryn Whitaker speaks to the media on Tuesday. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
“There are going to be a lot of learning moments for us this year with our youth,” she said. “We’re going to be tested early in our non-conference season, so it’s going to be good for us. It’s going to help prepare us for our league.”
LOCAL CONNECTIONS: When asked what she liked about this season’s team, Whitaker grinned and said, “I like that we have two point guards finally. For two years, we haven’t had a true point guard. We did the best we could do, but it makes a huge difference on our team.”
The two point guards mentioned by Whitaker are local high school standouts Ally Niece from Simon Kenton and Taylor Clos from Campbell County. Niece, who is fully recovered from a knee injury that kept her out most of her senior year at Simon Kenton, scored more than 2,700 career points in high school.
Clos, the 10th Region Player of the Year last season, averaged 22.8 points and 5.0 assists per game, shooting 52.7 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from 3-point range, and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line.
NKU begins the regular season Nov. 7 with a home game against Alderson Broaddus at 7 p.m.
Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport
