2008-09 Season Outlook by Coach Shilts

"Five players return from last season's 21-9 team.  Two of them, Brendan Birchmeier 6'4 and Nick Watts 6'4 logged significant playing time and have been selected as Co-captains for this year's squad.  Being asked to play the point guard position often last season may pay off this year as Brendan has improved his ball handling and dribbling skills significantly.  The move to off guard will not be a difficult one for him.  Nick was our most solid defender last season, and after a summer of hard work, has greatly improved his ability to get to the glass with the  ball.  I look for him to shoot many more free throws this season than he did last year.  Both Brendan and Nick will be key players for the new Cougar family.  

Gone are All Conference performers, Shawn Carter (Northwest Missouri State), Michael Tilmon, Jr. (Davenport University), and Nick Neal (WMU), as well as Ryan Chambers (Purdue North Central), Jovon Mosley (Northwood University), and Andrew Glascodine (Iowa Wesleyan?).  As a brief aside, these six former Cougar players join Kevin Ludwig and Dirail Flenorl (Spring Arbor University), Kyle Laker (Goshen University), and Dominick Melton and Mike Zuiderveen, both of whom are playing professionally overseas to make this the most productive year (11)  for former players to be playing vital roles on other college and professional teams in my 29 year tenure as head coach at KVCC.  I am most proud of each of them!

Point guard, Derek Turtle 5'11, from Marcellus High School, has recovered from a painful knee injury that kept him from any action last year.  Derek has shown promise as a solid leader and should see lots of action this time around.  Diminutive point guard Marcus Ludy 5'7, from Frederick Douglass High School in Detroit, should provide leadership and excitement with his passing and dribbling skills, especially in transition.  Other promising point guards are Nathan LaBlance 5'11 from Charlevoix and Alfonzo Lewis 6'0 from Dearborn Heights Robichaud.  

Sharing time with Birchmeier at the off guard position should be Nick Carter, 6'2 brother of Shawn, and also from Detroit Community  High School.  Nick plays an entirely different game than Shawn did, but he has shown that he can provide scoring punch and defensive quickness to the Cougar cause from the perimeter.  Sophomore Tommie Carter, 6'1 off guard from Detroit Northwestern has improved his game significantly from last season and will compete for playing time as well.  Provided he can overcome some early academic challenges, First Team All Stater, freshman Marquis Brewer (6'2), another  explosive scoring guard, could also add offensive punch to the Cougar attack.  Tyler Ranfeld, 6'2 lefty, has also made the team and brings a solid work ethic and excellent team attitude from his local home school experience to the Cougar program.

At the swing spots, Ryan Sisson 6'3, another sophomore, brings a unique blend of athleticism and flexibility to the team.  Ryan played 10+ minutes a game last season, and has developed the capacity to play inside and out.  He has improved his dribbling skills in the off season, making him able to play outside, and he has also improved his rebounding skills, making him valuable inside as well.  Ryan could be one of the quiet keys to the success of this year's Cougar squad.  His variety of skills will give him an opportunity to contribute from many positions.  Also challenging for playing time is 6'7 rookie, Jarell Brown from Flint Beecher High School.  Jarell is a lanky perimeter player that can move up and down the floor quickly.  He has a nice shot and can go to the hole effectively.  As he learns the college game, he can only get better and better.  Strength and defensive understanding will be keys to what could well be a fine year for Jarell.  I'm anxious to see how much progress he can make in one year.

Another pleasant addition is transfer Lee Slenk, 6'7 post man from Holland Christian High School by way of Trinity Christian College in Chicago.  Like Ranfeld, Lee attended KVCC last year but did not try out for the team.  Lee has only one season of eligibility at a community college, but his early play has earned him lots of action.  He must continue to develop his low post moves to compliment his nifty jumper to realize his full potential.  Exchange student Jonathon Pettit, 6'5 center-forward from Scotland brings a solid fundamental background from Dan Hoff's fine program at Mattawan High School.  Jonny is aggressive inside and has a nice touch from the perimeter.  His early progress makes it likely that he will log significant playing time this season.  Rounding out our inside players is our tallest post player, freshman Stephen Gould from Kalamazoo Christian High School.  At 6'8 Stephen was the leading scorer on a balance Comet squad that captured still another MHSAA State Championship in Class C action last season.  Possessing good hands and deft timing, Steve has the tools to become a key player for us.  He must learn to be more assertive inside, and he must improve his ability to guard smaller, quicker post players who will attack him from the perimeter.  If he will combine his good team attitude with a fierce desire to succeed, he should develop into one of our top post players.  Adding depth to our inside game is 6'5, 240  freshman, Tarik Clark, from Grand Rapids Central High School.  Tarik has shown some early promise, and when he completes the adjustment to the rigors of the classroom should be able to help out this season.  Red-shirting is still a possibility for Tarik.

Rounding out the new Cougars is post candidate Leon Gale.  At 6'7, 280, Leon has the strength to score important baskets inside for us.  He has not shown the mobility to play successfully at this time, but he has shown the desire to improve his game.  With time and lots of hard work, Leon may still be able to play college ball successfully.  Red-shirting is a possibility for Leon also.  Ken Scott is our 'elder-statesman', graduating from Coldwater High School in 2000.  He has spent five years training for the United States Marine Corps.  He brings a tremendous desire to play college basketball with him and has worked all summer to make the most of his chance.  Getting playing time is still in doubt, but if he does not do so, it will not be because he hasn't given a full effort.

This new group has had training for the Kalamazoo Public Library's Ready to Read program, and will be visiting the new Prairie View Elementary School in Oshtemo on a regular basis to read to kindergarten students.  In previous years, this program has proved to be beneficial to both the children and our players.  We look forward to this service experience again.

This group of players has, I believe, the ability to put together a fine season.  Our early schedule is the toughest we have played since the 1992-93 season.  We play Schoolcraft, St. Clair, Alpena, Lakeland (OH), and Toledo Owens (twice) in our first 12 games so we will find out early how good we are.  This quality competition can only help us prepare for the rigors of Western Conference league action, which starts in early January.

I like the promise of this squad.  Right now we are not extremely quick and we do not really have a go-to player, but overall, because the classroom effort has been solid, and the desire to learn as a group has been present, I think we can have a pretty good season.  Each time we have scrimmaged, I have felt that we returned to practice with better focus and determination to improve.  I see three keys to success this season: 1) the pace of development of our freshmen, 2) the leadership of our sophomores,  and 3) our commitment to blocking out, shot selection, and taking care of the ball.  If we can fan the flame of the passion for excellence that I have occasionally seen, I believe we can become a very good team.  I'm counting on a high level of commitment from a large number of players!" 

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