Kean Men’s Basketball Red Hot Start

By Kervin Coleman | Published December 19, 2022

The goal of athletic competition is to win at any cost. The Kean men’s basketball Cougars have been doing that. Every team’s goal is to go undefeated throughout their season and so far the Cougars are almost a third of the way through to achieving that goal. 

The Cougars were ranked fifth in the NJAC preseason poll but are currently a blistering 8-0 (3-0 in NJAC play) and now ranked first in the conference. This hot start can be attributed to Head Coach David Turco finding his footing in his third season, the veteran returning seniors as well as upperclassmen that are new to the team from the transfer portal making an immediate impact. 

“Turco is very calm and strategic, he’s always looking for ways to improve and focuses on preparation of our opponents and shooting,” senior Letrell West spoke of the coaching style of Coach Turco. 

The Cougars have already accomplished winning some gold early on in the season by winning the LaFrance Hospitality Tournament Title. Senior and accounting major Griffin Barker was named MVP of the tournament. Barker plays center and has been a main catalyst for the Cougars success so far this season. 

Barker is a transfer student-athlete from Seattle, Washington. The previous school he went to was Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California. Barker is a 6-6, 225 lb. center swiss army knife that can score at all three levels.

“The biggest difference between being at Kean in comparison to my last school is the environment around campus,” Barker said. “It’s a good feeling when you have faculty, administration, and the student body supporting you on and off the court.” 

Barker so far this season has five double-doubles as well as averaging one with 20 points per game which is second in the NJAC and also leads the conference with 10 rebounds per game respectively. He’s also been tabbed NJAC Player of the Week twice already to begin the year as well as being named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week after a dominant 20-point and 22-rebound game versus William Paterson in the NJAC opener. 

“My biggest approach when it comes to the game is to control what I can control,” Barker said. “The biggest key for us to stay successful is for the team to buy into what Coach Turco is teaching us”.

Jailen Jamison, senior guard, and business management major stated that so far Barker is the hardest-working player on the team. 

“Griff is definitely the hardest worker on the team for sure, the guy’s a machine,” Jamison said.

Barker’s efforts have shined bright early on, but others don’t go unnoticed. Letrell West, senior forward, has been making his presence felt as he’s improved upon his statistical performance, increasing his averages across the board into career highs.

“Mentally I’ve definitely improved this year and I’m in a much better place, it’s allowed me to be better and continue to get better,” West said. 

Currently, the all-NJAC second teamer is putting up a stat line of 18.6 points per game, good for fourth in the NJAC but it’s his shooting splits that are caused to be marveled at. 

West is a wing with high-volume shot attempts and has been dialed in with his shooting efficiency, his splits are 46% from the field and 38% from the three-point line; both are career highs as well as maintains a respectable 83% at the free throw line. 

West’s best performance to date is a 27-point performance versus Penn State Harrisburg, where he drained four three-pointers along with dishing out nine assists. 

“All the guys who don’t play a ton of minutes are all key contributors to our success, running scout teams and competing with us every day helps us improve,” West said.

Basketball is a team effort, even past the starting five; the entire rotation has to contribute and that’s exactly what the Cougars have been displaying during this undefeated start. 

Jamison has been a steady contributor to the Cougars from the day he stepped foot into the locker room. 

A reliable guard that brings a scoring spark whether starting or coming off the bench. 

“There’s an emotional feeling this year,” Jamison reflected on it being his final campaign. “Every game means something and there’s no next time, so that’s been keeping me on my toes.” 

Jamison has been a spark plug in his new role as the team sixth man. Currently, he averages 11 points per game along with 3 assists and 4 rebounds per game. 

Turco looks to Jamison to control the pace of the game for the second unit but also runs him with the starter plenty for his experience factor. 

“The group we have this year is very unselfish and buys into our coaches’ game plan. We’ve learned to put the team before ourselves and trust one another,” Jamison said.

Other roundabout contributors are seniors JD Daniels and Corey Thelisme as well as juniors D.J. Alicea and Heem Burno, with all of the other players that help fill out the roster. The Cougars have been climbing and expect to continue roaring towards climbing higher for the rest of their season. 

“This team has much better chemistry, together as one unit. Not knocking any previous teammates but we have made improvements to the roster that has also been key to our success,” West said.

 West, Barker, Jamison, and the rest of the Cougars all have common goals of finishing strong; #1 in the NJAC, win the NJAC, be ranked within the Top 25 nationally, and competing in the NCAA Tournament.

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