-----Kennesaw State Owls-----
A picture of Kennesaw, GA
Kennesaw State is a public university in Kennesaw Georgia, located 20 miles north of Atlanta, in a mountainous region. The mens basketball team has not been nearly as serene and pictureasque as the Georgia Mountains that suround the campus. The last winning season this team had, was in 2004 when the Owls won the Division II National Championship game, on their home court. Since then, it has been an ugly fall from grace, ammassing a 55-97 record over 5 years since joining the ranks of Division I hoops. They have yet to register a winning season, and have recorded just one season with over 10 conference wins, ammasing a 10-30 conference record over the last two seasons.
In August of 2010, The Owls were hit in the gut when one of the teams all time point leaders Shuan Stegall, who played from 2004-2008, was killed when he sacrificed his life to save his father from two gunman.
Kennesaw has seen attendence rates dip as low as 500 fans per game, and has seen its once great basketball program be obliterated into a shell of its former self. Now Coach Hansen has come to take the reighns and lead the Owls to respect in the D1 ranks.
-----The Team----
PG- Tasmin Schwartz- 5'11", 180lbs, 72 Overall, Senior
Schwartz could be a make or break for this team. Either he will be the quick, sure shot guard that Coach Hansen needs to run his uptempto offense, or Schwartz will be a turnover prone, mistake heavy player. Hansen desperatly needs Schwartz to be a solid played for his defensive style gameplan.
SG- Raoul Trammell- 6'3", 185lbs, 67 Overall, Senior
Trammell is coming back as a starter for the third year, he has averaged 9.8 PPG so far in his career, and in Hansens heavy defense/fastbreak style gameplan, Tremmell has an opprotunity to shine. He's not much from downtown, but he can hit open shots and make free throws.
SF- Gregg Bouma- 6'7", 220lbs, 61 Overall, Junior
Bouma is a huge piece to the puzzle for Kennesaw State. He needs to manage enough offense to be an effective cog in the machine, but more importantly he needs to be a mainstay on the boards and a problem for other teams inside the box.
PF- Austin Bey- 6'7", 225lbs, 55 Overall, Freshman
One of two freshman starters, Bey is going to have to make some plays. Starting mainly because of his hieght and his ability to rebound, Bey will more than likely be a huge problem on offense.
C- Trey Ballinger- 6'11", 220lbs, 52 Overall, Freshman
This guy is a twig. Tall and skinny, Ballinger is going to be used for one thing; rebounding. Not too many guys in the A-Sun conference can rival his hieght, and if he can find a way to unleash some blocks here and there, he could be a very effective player for Hansen.
______________BENCH________________
SG- Deji Smalls- 6'3", 195lbs, 66 Overall, Sophomore
Smalls is not a great shooter, but he showed in his Freshman campaign that he can score. He is gunna be a player that Hansen must focus on developing if Kennesaw is too have any future.
SG- Harvey Ewing- 6'4", 185lbs, 66 Overall, Junior
The teams designated marksman, Ewing has the most game from downtown of anybody on the roster, and this will be exposed as the season goes on. Ewing is looking at a starting spot for next season, but he needs to beat out Smalls for the spot.
SF- Kerwin O'Brian- 6'5", 210lbs, 55 Overall, Freshman
The dropoff for the bench is pretty steep. O'Brian will most likely share time as the spell SF with Ewing, but he is going to have to make an impact. Another one of the players that Hansen needs to develop, O'Brian needs to hit a growth spurt.
SF- Sheray Alpay- 6'6", 215lbs, 55 overall, Freshman
Alpay will more than likely be the backup PF and will probably get a lot of playing time, splitting court time with the other Freshman, Bey.
PF- Lanny Borges- 6'7", 215lbs, 53 overall, Freshman
See the trend? This is a super young team, and Borges is another one of those young guys who needs to step up and take advantage of his playing time. Borges will be entrusted with the 5 spot when Ballinger is off the court, and he needs to be able to haul down rebounds when asked.
C- Kason Granger- 7'1", 220lbs, 52 overall, Freshman
Granger is tall and skinny and raw and probably won't get much playing time, as his showing at midnight madness was pretty poor.
PF- Perry Sessoms- 6'9", 255lbs, 53 overall, Sophomore
Sessoms is a tall, built sophomore who might be asked to play some role playing minutes, but sadly will lose a lot of playing time to his freshman counterparts.