UMKC nears the onset of WAC play with many questions

With just one week to go before the men’s basketball team from UMKC plays its first game of the 2017-18 season against a Western Athletic Conference opponent, there are several issues that the Roos will need to correct if they are to make a run at the conference’s regular season title.

After the UMKC men’s basketball team (4-11) concludes its game at USC Upstate (4-11) on Tuesday, there will be nothing but Western Athletic Conference teams left on its 2017-18 schedule. The advent of conference play signifies an opportunity to change the narrative being written about the season thus far. Whether or not the Roos will take advantage of it is debatable.

In their last two games, UMKC has shown what it is capable of both in a negative and positive light. While both contests were played at home, they were against opponents who differed greatly in pedigree and thus the outcomes of the contests were varied as well.

On Friday, Dec. 22, the Roos hosted South Dakota State (11-5) and lost 85-60. Coming into the contest with two wins over teams from major conferences, the Jackrabbits expect to contend for the Summit League title this season. UMKC wasn’t in contention for most of the game against South Dakota State, as the Jackrabbits led by as much as 32 points.

The Roos took their home court again on Thursday against local NAIA school Avila and cruised to an 89-58 victory. The game’s defensive tone not only gives UMKC a chance to end non-conference play with back-to-back wins, but highlights what the Roos need to do consistently in order to garner more victories against WAC opponents. UMKC head coach Kareem Richardson spoke about the team’s defensive execution after the Avila game.

"“I thought it [the defensive performance] was really more of the guys executing. We went back to the basics with our defense, really drilling, with the stretch that we had going back to November we weren’t able to have a whole lot of practice time. I thought our defensive habits, some different things with our rotation really slipped. We went back to the drawing board before this game right after we got back from Christmas and started to get back to the things we had been doing earlier. I thought that really helped us.”"

The execution of the Roos’ defense will be pivotal in conference play, and whether that execution will be at a high level consistently is an important question. To see how UMKC’s fate swings on that facet of the game, a look at the last two games’ box scores is all that’s necessary.

Against South Dakota State, the Roos allowed a field-goal percentage over 50 percent and six of the eight Jackrabbits that saw the court scored in double figures. UMKC forced only 11 turnovers on the night and committed 21 personal fouls.

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Those numbers were very different against Avila. Avila shot under 39 percent from the field and had just three players reach double figures. The Roos forced 20 turnovers and reduced their fouls to 15. UMKC junior forward Aleer Leek commented on the improved defensive performance against Avila.

"“We worked with our coaches very well on their offense. We knew how to defend them, especially with their drives.”"

Leek is part of another question for the Roos going forward. Leek and junior Mo Ahmed represent the best opportunities for UMKC to have a strong front court presence, and their consistent execution will have a large effect on the Roos’ fate in WAC play.

Against South Dakota State, the pair were shutout on the scoreboard and combined for only three rebounds. In the Avila game, Ahmed and Leek had a combined line of 15 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Leek spoke to the progress of the UMKC front court.

"“We feel very confident, especially with our coaching and the game plan and stuff like that. We feel very confident that we are going to be prepared for conference play.”"

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Richardson knows that the fate of his team in the WAC will be decided by how consistently it defends well and gets contributions from many of the roster components like Ahmed and Leek. Like Roo fans, Richardson is doing what he can and hoping for the best.

"“We certainly have a long ways to go. Today was certainly a step in the right direction. I thought with everything our guys competed very well. I thought our defense got better tonight…I had been really disappointed in our defensive effort during the losing streak so I thought we took a good step. We are going to play a very good offensive team in Upstate so that will be another good test for us as we start conference play a week from Saturday.”"

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