The Beaver men's basketball team is set to start their 2023-24 campaign on Thursday, November 2 in the Beaver Dome against North Idaho College at 7:00 PM. The team has been busy with practices and playing in jamborees throughout October. Pratt traveled to Wichita, KS for the All-American Jamboree on Sunday, October 1st. Next, they traveled down to Fort Worth, TX to play in the Juco Jamboree on October 6. On Saturday, October 14 the team traveled to the Coffeyville Jamboree and finished the month of October in Colorado at the Juco Advocate Jamboree.
"We hit the ground running when the guys got here, and they have worked hard from day one. September was a good month for us, and we made a lot of ground and came together as a unit, said Head Men's Basketball Coach Kenny Eddy. "In October we played eleven or twelve games in four weekends and looking back it was a little bit too much, but at the same time they got to play against other teams. We played against a lot of good teams and were on the road a lot and lots of time in the van which helps us build as a unit."
Pratt brings back a core group of sophomores including Caleb Smith, Davonte 'Bubba' Russ, Sage Koelsch, TJ Nunnery, Enrique Lankford, and Allen Martinez. Both Bubba and Enrique Lankford played quality minutes last season for the Beavers while TJ, Allen, and Sage got minutes throughout the season as well. Enrique averaged 2.8 points a game in 23 appearances last season. The sophomore class brings both experience on and off the court for the team.
"Off the court they are finally starting to figure out how to act around campus and manage their class schedules and they provide good leadership for our freshman to learn the dos and don'ts," said Coach Eddy. "Bubba played some good minutes for us last year and he is going to be leaned on a lot more this year. Caleb Smith would have played for us a lot last year but had a season-ending injury early in the year, but he is ready to play and has experience of playing at a high level. Enrique is finally healthy after his season ending injury his freshman season that carried over to last season. Sage, Allen, and TJ are invaluable to our team and bring energy and toughness they do their job every day."
The team brought in three transfer student athletes including Kayvontay Williams, Deon McLaughlin, and Zion Cruz. All three will bring experience and leadership to the squad. There are seven true freshmen on the roster including two from Kansas, a group of three from New York and one from New Mexico. The freshman to watch this fall will be Joseph Opareke who stands 6'8 and came to Pratt from Owerri, Nigeria.
"We brought in six or seven new guys of which three are transfers that bring age and knowledge," said Coach Eddy. "Kayvontay Williams comes in from Albany Tech and will be a good point guard for us and leading us with the ball in his hands. Another guy we brought in is Deon McLaughlin from Trinidad State. He does things the right way and is a leader on the team. The other older guy we brought in was Zion Cruz from DePaul University. Zion will be out until the second semester, and we are excited when we can get the ball in his hand. Finally, we brought in three freshmen from New York."
After opening their season against North Idaho College, the Beavers will travel to Tyler, TX to face Tyler Junior College and Kilgore College the weekend of November 11. The team will then host Sterling College (JV) on November 16 before KJCCC play at Coffeyville on November 18. The only other non-conference opponent Pratt will play is at South Plains on January 3.
"One thing that we tell kids is that you are going to come here and play one of the toughest schedules in the country. There are no nights off and we only get six non-conference games, and I did not want to fill them with JV and prep teams," said Coach Eddy. "I want our guys to play good competition so when they get ready to leave here coaches know that the stats are real, and they are playing a good schedule. We want to have a top ten strength of schedule in the country."
Last season, the North Idaho College team finished 28-1 overall and 16-0 in conference play. Their only loss came against Bellevue College in the NWAC men's basketball sweet sixteen. The Cardinals have seven sophomores on the roster including transfers from College of Southern Idaho, Idaho State University, and the San Francisco City College.
"This is their first season back to the NJCAA, so they are going to be in a really good, stacked conference and region out there," said Coach Eddy. "They are good, and they are a program. When they were last in the NJCAA they were a powerhouse and will be back there before too long. Our guys got to show up ready and be disciplined, handle the ball well, and do all the little things right."
