Rise of the Roos: Kansas City Aims for Big Results Behind Veteran-Laden Core
11/19/2024 2:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kansas City returns all five starters from a team that finished second in the Summit in 2023-24
In the 2023-24 college basketball season, second-year Kansas City Head Coach Marvin Menzies led the Roos to a 10-6 record in Summit League play, good for second-best in the final regular season conference standings. Despite an enormously successful season, the Roos are looking to improve as out-of-conference play continues in the 2024-25 season.
With the goal of heading into conference play with a .500 or better record, the Roos are on track thanks to a 3-2 start with back-to-back 85-plus point home wins over Kansas Christian and Calvary, making Kansas City the first Division I basketball program to ever accomplish that feat.
"We need to focus on getting better every game. It starts with these non-conference games. Last year we didn't have as good of a non-conference record as we wanted to so going into this year we're looking to improve on that," Kansas City Senior Jamar Brown said.
Last season was still a year of remarkable improvement for Kansas City Men's Basketball, as the Roos went from a seven-win Summit League performance in Menzies' first year to a 10-win conference finish in his second season. Year three for the Roos holds the lofty preseason expectations of being picked to win the conference as the regular season Summit League favorite.
"One of our goals is to win the conference and to continue to build for March," Brown said. "We have the number one preseason spot so needless to say we do have that target on our back."
High expectations are nothing new for the Roos leader at the helm Menzies. During his time at New Mexico State, Menzies has amassed eight total conference championships from 2007-16, three of which came in the regular season and five in the WAC tournament, leading to five NCAA bids for the Aggies.
"My job is to make sure those expectations are not impacting the guys. I have to manage them differently in terms of the information I'm giving them as well as observations that I make about how they're responding," Menzies said.
Kansas City has its entire core returning for the expectation-filled 2024-25 campaign. The Roos return all five starters from a season ago, including 2023-24 First Team All-League selection Jamar Brown and reigning Freshman of the Year Jayson Petty.
"Continuity is key. There's an old saying in college basketball, 'If you want to get old stay old,'" Menzies said.
"We're one of eight teams to return all five starters in the country and we're proud to hang our hat on that. It's just a testament that we're doing things here the right way," Menzies said.
The Roos will have a rotation jam-packed with veterans. KC has 10 total upperclassmen on the roster with five juniors, three seniors and two graduates. Year-by-year improvement can not only be seen from the program as a whole, but from the players on the roster who have continued to develop behind a stellar coaching staff.
"I think the coaching staff is a big reason why so many of us are back. They want what's best for us on and off the court," Brown said. "They've done a great job of recruiting new guys into the program who fit our play style."
"When you're a year smarter when it comes to understanding the system and having stronger relationships with the coaches and teammates, those are huge positives towards building a championship caliber team," Menzies said.
Kansas City's veteran core will look to combine another double-digit win season in conference play, with an above .500 non-conference record to propel the Roos to a run into the Big Dance come March.
