by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College came oh so close in 2017 but came away without the proverbial cigar in Jayhawk Conference men’s basketball.
With a 7-1 conference start, the Blue Devils put themselves in position to win their first Division II Jayhawk and Region VI championships but faltered late and finished in a second place tie at 8-4.
“The season switched gears after a really tough first semester (2-12),” KCKCC coach Kelley Newton said. “We hit a stretch of winning seven of our first eight games in the conference which was very rewarding and a chance to control our own destiny, which is one of the things you want to position yourself every season.”
However, conference champion Highland completed a sweep of the Blue Devils with a 63-56 win at KCKCC and after a key 59-47 win at Fort Scott, KCKCC fell on the road at Labette 69-52 and then dropped a 79-71 decision to Johnson County that dropped the Blue Devils into a tie for second with JCCC and out of a first-round playoff bye. The season-ending loss capsulized the Blue Devil season, a desperation last-second 3-pointer that officials ruled good (video showed otherwise) gave Fort Scott its only lead 60-59 in first round playoff action.
“The Highland loss at home was very deflating and then the loss at Labette,” Newton said. “Those were the games we wish we could have back. Both games were big as far as seeding implications as to first and third and we let those slip away.
“Our biggest issues were rebounding and scoring droughts,” he said. “We did not do a good job of rebounding and that had nothing to do with size and everything to do with desire and wanting to. And we struggled scoring the ball at key times. We only averaged 68 points. We needed to be at 78. Had we, we would have won several more games.”
Graduation will take all five starters, all of whom played roles in KCKCC winning last year’s Region VI tournament and earning the Blue Devils their first national tournament berth. Three Blue Devils earned All-Jayhawk Conference honors, 6-9 center Jon Murray and guards Kellen Turner (6-0) and Mike Lee Jr. (6-2) who will be lost along with 6-9 center Donald Metoyer and 6-2 guard Garrick McCuller II.
Murray led the Jayhawk in rebounding by a wide margin, averaging 9.2; finished second in scoring at 14.3; and had 15 double-doubles in earning first team honors. Turner led in scoring with a 16.5-point average, which was No. 2 in the conference and first team worthy. He was also second in 3-point field goal accuracy in the league (.450) and second on the team in assists.
Normally a team that finishes 11-20 overall, turnovers are a major problem. Not the Blue Devils who led the Jayhawk in fewest turnovers, 11.9 per game. That was because of Lee, who led in assists with 5.6 and an outstanding 3.0 ratio of assists to turnovers. Third in scoring at 12.2 per game, he also was second in rebounding with 4.7 a game.
“We did not turn the ball over a lot and that’s a tribute to Mike Lee,” Newton said. “We have been very fortunate in my four years to have Ray Ridley for two years and now Mike for two years, two guys who could really take care of the ball and get everyone involved.
“Kellen (Turner) had a great year, outstanding. Our leader in every sense, he embraced being double and triple teamed and faced guarded and shot the ball at a pretty good clip, especially from 3-point where his percentage has to be one of the best in program history.
“Jon Murray had a great two years, improving in every category, averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds this year after 12 and 7 as a freshman,” he said. “He grew both as a player and a person and gained a lot of confidence.”
A Washington graduate, Metoyer averaged 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds while McCuller averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 assists.
“As a coach, you like to see improvement from year to year and Donald and Garrick both did that and put themselves in position to be recruited,” he said.
“I take my hat off to this sophomore class. They are a part of history, finishing 22-13 and earning KCKCC’s first national tournament berth last year. We owe a great deal to what they accomplished, a piece of history that can never be diminished. It’s going to be tough to see them go. I wish them nothing but the best,” he said.