Kean Men’s Basketball Preview 2023-24

By Kervin Coleman | Published November 8, 2028

The Kean Men’s basketball team has a redemption arc. Last season ended controversially for the Cougars, with an ill-fated jump shot by former small forward Letrell West as he simultaneously stepped out of bounds in the opening round of the NJAC Tournament. 

“We don’t want to go out like that this year and are using that as fuel for this year.” Junior guard Ethan Stith stated.

This shot would have given the Cougars a one-point lead with 4.4 seconds left in the game, but instead, it wound up beingthe TCNJ Lions possession for the win. The Cougars use last season’s ending as motivation to prevail this upcoming season.

“Losing that game against TCNJ is something that still bothers us,” Stith said. “We felt like we should’ve made it farther than what we did last year and we don’t want to let that happen again.”

The Cougars are led by head coach David Turco. In 2022-23, Turco guided the Cougars to their best record since 2010-11 with an 18-8 overall record. Turco will be returning for his fourth season, looking to qualify for the NJAC Tournament for the fourth time straight.

The Cougars have a bolstering amount of returners this upcoming season. Primed with experience are players such as fifth-year players such as JD Daniels, Mario Gunn, and GriffinBarker. 

“All of the returners from last year’s team know what the expectations are this season and in terms of motivation used how the season ended to push themselves over the summer to become better players.” Barker said. 

Barker is one of the more critically acclaimed players in the country. Last season he accounted for 18.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. Barker spent the entirety of last season racking up double-doubles on the court and adjusting to a new coast off the court in his first year at Kean University.

“My first season at Kean was great, I had a great time meeting new people and getting involved in the athletic community,” Barker said. “I had a great experience with the basketball team and the athletic department.”

Barker earned the accolades of All-MET First Team, All-ECAC First Team, NABC District 4 Second Team, D3Hoops Region IV Second Team, All-NJAC First Team, MBWA Divisions II/III Player of the Week, NJAC Player of the Week, D3 Hoops Team of the Week, LaFranceHospitality Tournament Team MVP. 

Barker was a key contributor to the Cougar’s success last season. His season ended abruptly due to an ankle strain and he was forced to watch from the side as his team struggled through the final stretch of the season. The Cougars started the season 13-0 but ended off the rest of the season 5-7. 

“It was tough at first not having any control on the outcome of the season, but I felt I handled it well by trying to coach guys from the sideline,” Barker said. “This gave me abetter perspective on what I needed to do for the next season in terms of communication.”

Barker’s game is inside and out and doesn’t leave many holes statistically. By the end of last season, Barker had a hand in every statistical category in the NJAC leaderboards. He wound up ranking 4th in points per game, led the league as the rebounding champion as well as field goal percentage, 25th in assists per game, 15th in blocks, and 13th in steals. Some improvements Barker planned on making this off-season were increasing my athleticism, and also expanding my jump shot. 

“My biggest expectation for the team this season is to compete and win in the NJAC championship,” Barker said. “I just want to have fun and enjoy my last year of college basketball, while also picking up some accolades and other awards.” 

Some expectations the team has this year is to keep continuing on the track and pacing they were on last season. Players stated that their ultimate goal is an NJAC title and it’s been an upward track the past two seasons to help reach that goal.

“Some individual goals I have for myself is really step it up on the defensive end this year,” Stith said. “I would like to be known as a defensive stopper.”

Stith is a junior guard, looking to fill in the roles of Jailen Jamison who they lost due to graduation. Stith played in 18 games, making one start, and averaged 2.2 points, 0.8 assists and 0.4 rebounds per game. He’ll be looking to fill in the leadership role due to his experience running the second unit lastseason off the bench. 

“I expect to step up as a vocal leader this year,” Stith said. “After having two years under my belt and going through a bunch of different experiences on the team, I can give guidance to the underclassmen and anyone new to the program.” 

The Cougars open up the season on Nov. 8th versus the Penn State Harrisburg Nittany Lions but their home opener isn’t until Nov. 21st versus William Paterson University which also serves as the NJAC opener.

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