Tag: KCKCC basketball

KCKCC’s Harbert earns All-America honorable mention

Cassidy Harbert (KCKCC photo)

by Alan Hoskins

While one of the biggest thieves in the Jayhawk Conference, Kansas City Kansas Community College freshman Cassidy Harbert’s passion for giving rather than receiving has earned her honorable mention on the 2014 Community College All-America Team chosen by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Harbert is one of just three players from the Jayhawk Conference earning WBCA honors.

She was joined on the honorable mention list by sophomore guards Timeka O’Neal and Sameia Kendall, who led Johnson County to a 30-2 record and No. 2 national ranking.

No Jayhawk player was named to the 10-member All-America team.

A 5-6 point guard from Wichita Northwest, Harbert led the Jayhawk Conference in assists this past season with 6.32 a game and was third in steals with 3.42 per contest.

Her 197 assists are the most ever by a Lady Blue Devil freshman and second only to the 207 recorded by All-American Aneta Kausaite in 1995-1996.

In addition, Harbert was third in scoring with a 9.7-point average, the Blue Devils’ leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.446), second in rebounding (6.9) and third among the leaders in overall field goal percentage (.432).

Harbert’s season was highlighted by one triple double – 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists – against Westminster and she just missed triple doubles by one assist in one game and two assists or two rebounds in two others among her eight double doubles.

“Very, very deserving,” said KCKCC coach Valerie Stambersky. “She did everything for us, led fast breaks, got the ball up the floor, rebounded and scored. A player who played with an edge, something that’s hard to coach. Either you have it or you don’t and she did.”

The All-America selection was particularly gratifying to the KCKCC coaching staff after Jayhawk Conference coaches ignored Harbert on the all-conference team.

She did receive honorable mention on the All-Region VI team.

“Statistics don’t lie but apparently they were ignored in the conference voting,” Stambersky said.

The Blue Devils finished No. 20 in the NJCAA Division II rankings with a 24-8 record with six of the eight losses coming to teams ranked in the Top 5 nationally. The 24 wins are the most since the 1996-1997 season.

Newton eyes ‘worst to first’ KCKCC cage scenario for 2014-2015

by Alan Hoskins

From worst to first? “I don’t think that’s unrealistic depending on how recruiting finishes up,” said Kansas City Kansas Community College first year men’s basketball coach Kelley Newton.

“I think the future is bright. I love the foundation we’ve laid, the direction the program is going and see us just getting better and better and better,” Newton said.

While a 7-25 overall record and winless Jayhawk Division II season was not what Newton had envisioned when he was named head coach July 8, 2013, the record belies the improvement made by the Blue Devils by season’s end.

Although down to just seven healthy players the last 11 games due to injuries and suspensions for team policy violations, the Blue Devils took four of the last five regular season games right to the wire – losing two by one point and two by two points – before avenging two earlier losses with a 69-57 upset win at Johnson County in the first round of the Region VI playoffs.

The big finish came without a sophomore on the squad – or a player taller than 6-foot, 4 inches. Lucas Smith, a 6-3 forward from Omaha, led the regular season in both scoring (11.0) and rebounding (7.4) although 6-4 Marcus Allen, a Sumner Academy grad who joined the team at the semester break, had the best average of 12.4 points in 15 games along with 5.3 rebounds.

Clay Young, a 6-4 forward from Lansing, was second in scoring (10.0) and rebounding (5.6) while 5-8 point guard Anthony Ridley of Hogan Prep led in assists (4.4) while averaging 8.9 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Stephen Leimbach of St. James Academy led in 3-point goals with 70 while averaging 8.4 points; guard Nate Collins of Pembroke Hill was second in assists with 2.7 and averaged 3.8 points; and Collin Adney of Oklahoma City averaged 4.2 points.

“Throughout the course of the season, I think we grew up and when you grow up you get better,” Kelley said. “I think Clay Young really matured and became a better player and Anthony Ridley became a better basketball player just to name a couple.”

But the Blue Devils were without their one returning starter from a year ago, guard Antonio Winn who suffered a season-ending leg injury in the second game of the season, and lost a 21.8-point guard in Brandon Ward to academics at the semester break.

The Blue Devils also played a gargantuan road schedule with 12 of their first 15 games on the road against top notch opponents.

“We never make excuses,” Newton said. “I never allow a team to make excuses. You start making excuses, you’ve already lost or are looking for a way out. That’s a topic for someone else. As a team, they’re told that no matter what hand they are dealt, to never give up and through the course of the season they put us in position to win basketball games.”

The Blue Devils played six two-game classics, five on the road. That won’t happen this coming season as some former opponents return to the schedule.

Labette has joined Johnson County, Fort Scott, Highland, Hesston, Brown Mackie and KCKCC in a seven-team Division II conference while the Blue Devils will resume Jayhawk Conference play with Division I teams Cowley, Neosho County and Allen County at home and Independence and Coffeyville on the road.

“We played hard this year but we need to get better in a lot of different areas and we can through recruiting,” Newton said. “One of my goals is to get the school and community behind us and pack the Field House every night. I want this program to be known nationally, not just conference-wide.”