2017–18 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team represented Kennesaw State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls were led by third-year head coach Al Skinner and played their home games at the KSU Convocation Center on the university's campus in Kennesaw, Georgia as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 10–20, 6–8 in ASUN play to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Jacksonville.

2017–18 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic Sun Conference
Record10–20 (6–8 ASUN)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Michael Cotton
  • Carlton Owens
  • Stephen Cox
Home arenaKSU Convocation Center
Seasons
2017–18 ASUN men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Florida Gulf Coast122 .8572312 .657
Lipscomb104 .7142310 .697
Jacksonville86 .5711518 .455
NJIT77 .5001416 .467
North Florida77 .5001419 .424
Kennesaw State68 .4291020 .333
Stetson410 .2861220 .375
USC Upstate212 .143725 .219
2018 ASUN Tournament winner

Previous season

The Owls finished the 2016–17 season 14–18, 7–7 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 5 seed in the ASUN tournament, they defeated USC Upstate before losing to Florida Gulf Coast in the semifinals.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Kendrick Ray0G6'2"188RS SeniorMiddletown, NYGraduated
Johannes Nielsen10F6'10"210FreshmanVirum, DenmarkLeft the team for personal reasons
Aubrey Williams14F6'7"230RS SeniorBowie, MDGraduated
Cameron Neysmith15G6'4"207SeniorNorcross, GAGraduated
Shazier Lawson22F6'6"220SophomorePerry, GATransferred to Northwest Kansas Technical College
Josh Burnett24G6'5"182SophomoreHonolulu, HIGraduate transferred to Shorter
Zach Cameron35F6'10"215FreshmanSacramento, CATransferred to Mineral Area College

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Arthur Gray15F6'7"220RS SeniorLawrenceville, GATransferred from North Greenville. Will be eligible to play immediately since Gray graduated from North Greenville. Will join the team as a preferred walk-on.
Bryson Lockley21F6'7"210RS SophomoreHouston, TXJunior college transferred from Panola College

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Tristan Jarrett
SG
Brownsville, TNHaywood High School6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg) 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.

Roster

2017–18 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F1Anthony Wilson6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)221 lb (100 kg)SoMiami Central HSMiami, FL
F2Jordan Jones6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg)RS SrSt. Francis SchoolAlpharetta, GA
G3James Scott6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg)SoSt. Benedict’s PrepUnion, NJ
G4Tyler Hooker6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)155 lb (70 kg)RS SoMoravian PrepSimpsonville, SC
F5Isaac Mbuyamba6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)232 lb (105 kg)SoParkrose HSPortland, OR
G11Kyle Clarke6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg)JrOldsmar Christian SchoolDaytona Beach, FL
G13Tristan Jarrett6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)196 lb (89 kg)FrHaywood County HSBrownsville, TN
F15Arthur Gray (W)6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)234 lb (106 kg)RS SrCollins Hill HS
North Greenville
Lawrenceville, GA
G21Nick Masterson6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)214 lb (97 kg)SrRiver Ridge HSWoodstock, GA
F24Bryson Lockley6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)203 lb (92 kg)RS SoCy Fair HS
Panola CC
Houston, TX
G31Isaiah Rose (W)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
JrNorthview HS
Frank Phillips College
Alpharetta, GA
F33Kosta Jankovic6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)203 lb (92 kg)JrRenaissance Academy (Los Angeles)Belgrade, Serbia
G35Markus Smith (W)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)188 lb (85 kg)FrBrookwood HSSnellville, GA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 5, 2017*
4:30 pm
West GeorgiaW 96–76 
KSU Convocation Center (667)
Kennesaw, GA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, FCS
at ButlerL 64–82 0–1
Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,138)
Indianapolis, IN
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm
at HofstraL 57–75 0–2
Mack Sports Complex (1,013)
Hempstead, NY
Nov 16, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
PiedmontW 77–54 1–2
KSU Convocation Center (1,056)
Kennesaw, GA
Nov 16, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Tennessee TechL 68–82 1–3
Eblen Center (1,116)
Cookeville, TN
Nov 22, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra
at Florida StateL 79–98 1–4
Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (5,284)
Tallahassee, FL
Nov 25, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Tennessee StateL 74–77 1–5
KSU Convocation Center (981)
Kennesaw, GA
Nov 28, 2017*
9:00 pm, P12N
at WashingtonL 71–85 1–6
Alaska Airlines Arena (4,858)
Seattle, WA
Nov 30, 2017*
10:30 pm
at SeattleL 54–66 1–7
Connolly Center (782)
Seattle, WA
Dec 13, 2017*
9:00 pm, FSSW+
at No. 24 Texas TechL 53–82 1–8
United Supermarkets Arena (7,026)
Lubbock, TX
Dec 16, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Bethune–CookmanW 81–74 2–8
KSU Convocation Center (708)
Kennesaw, GA
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Georgia SouthernL 69–78 2–9
KSU Convocation Center (1,356)
Kennesaw, GA
Dec 21, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
SamfordW 71–66 3–9
KSU Convocation Center (876)
Kennesaw, GA
Dec 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at MercerL 56–89 3–10
Hawkins Arena (3,513)
Macon, GA
Dec 30, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
YaleL 74–89 3–11
KSU Convocation Center (1,200)
Kennesaw, GA
Jan 2, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Carver Bible CollegeW 98–75 4–11
KSU Convocation Center (692)
Kennesaw, GA
Atlantic Sun Conference regular season
Jan 6, 2018
4:30 pm, ESPN3
LipscombL 71–86 4–12
(0–1)
KSU Convocation Center (1,075)
Kennesaw, GA
Jan 11, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at JacksonvilleL 58–65 4–13
(0–2)
Swisher Gymnasium (947)
Jacksonville, FL
Jan 13, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at North FloridaL 78–85 4–14
(0–3)
UNF Arena (1,669)
Jacksonville, FL
Jan 18, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
StetsonW 95–81 5–14
(1–3)
KSU Convocation Center (1,176)
Kennesaw, GA
Jan 20, 2018
4:30 pm, ESPN3
Florida Gulf CoastL 49–66 5–15
(1–4)
KSU Convocation Center (1,502)
Kennesaw, GA
Jan 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
NJITL 60–66 5–16
(1–5)
KSU Convocation Center (1,119)
Kennesaw, GA
Jan 27, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at USC UpstateW 81–80 6–16
(2–5)
G. B. Hodge Center (704)
Spartanburg, SC
Jan 29, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at NJITL 71–74 6–17
(2–6)
Wellness and Events Center (593)
Newark, NJ
Feb 3, 2018
4:30 pm, ESPN3
USC UpstateW 93–69 7–17
(3–6)
KSU Convocation Center (1,171)
Kennesaw, GA
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
North FloridaW 89 8–17
(4–6)
KSU Convocation Center (1,336)
Kennesaw, GA
Feb 10, 2018
4:30 pm, ESPN3
JacksonvilleW 78–54 9–17
(5–6)
KSU Convocation Center (1,391)
Kennesaw, GA
Feb 15, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Florida Gulf CoastW 97–93 10–17
(6–6)
Alico Arena (3,825)
Fort Myers, FL
Feb 17, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at StetsonL 74–86 10–18
(6–7)
Edmunds Center (632)
DeLand, FL
Feb 22, 2018
7:30 pm, ESPN3
at LipscombL 74–83 10–19
(6–8)
Allen Arena (1,150)
Nashville, TN
Atlantic Sun tournament
Feb 26, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
(6) at (3) Jacksonville
Quarterfinals
L 68–87 10–20
Swisher Gymnasium (725)
Jacksonville, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References