While the rest of campus went home for the holidays, Kansas City’s men’s basketball team stayed busy on the court.
The Roos began their season 2-0 with wins against Avila University and St. Mary (KS). However, immediately following, Kansas City entered a gauntlet of games, playing 15th-ranked Baylor, then Colorado State.
After, the Roos took off to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. The team faced off against University of North Carolina – Greensboro, Brown University and Middle Tennessee State, and the Roos lost all three matchups.
In Kansas City’s eighth game of the season, they finally picked up their first Division I win – a 30-point blowout against Southeast Missouri State. After that, though, the Roos faced their toughest opponent of the year– second-ranked Kansas – and lost.
(Tim Williams)
To end the non-conference season, the Roos went 2-2 with wins against Lindenwood and Tabor, and losses to Bowling Green and East Tennessee State.
Entering conference play, the Roos were 6-9. Since, the team has gone 2-3, with losses to St. Thomas (MN) (second in the Summit League), North Dakota State (sixth) in double overtime, and North Dakota (fourth). Kansas City beat Oral Roberts (last) and Omaha (fifth). With 11 games left on the slate, the Roos currently rank eighth out of nine teams in the Summit League.
In the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, the Roos lost to Sacramento State then beat Portland State at home.
At Lindenwood on Dec. 9 star player Anderson Kopp re-injured his wrist, according to an Instagram post by Kopp on Dec. 20. The same injury kept Kopp out for all but the first seven games of the season. There has been no official word from the team on whether or not he will return this season. RooNews will continue to update this story.
In his second season, head coach Marvin Menzies has filled the holes he aimed to.
“Gotta get shooters,” Menzies said during a post-game conference in March, referring to what’s needed this season. “Gotta add experience.”
Junior guard/forward Cameron Faas has been just that for the Roos this season. The Scottsdale Community College transfer has started all 20 games, recording 221 points, 97 rebounds, 24 assists, 11 steals, and nine blocks on the season. The 6’6 junior has been the three-point threat this season.
One would be wrong to not also mention junior guard/forward Jamar Brown. The Phoenix College transfer leads the team in points (276), total rebounds (125), and steals (18). He is tied with Faas for fourth on the team in assists (24), and he is tied for fifth on the team in blocks (7) with freshman guard Jayson Petty.
The Kansas City Roos can’t afford to look back. The team needs to remain focused on the games ahead of them. Specifically, the game against South Dakota State this evening. That game will be televised on CBS Sports Network, starting at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for home games can be found here.
