With college basketball season already upon us, the Wayne State College men’s basketball team is preparing to get their season tipped off.
Last season, the Wildcats went 16-14 overall with a 9-13 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, good for a 10th place finish. Their season ended after a first round loss to the Augustana Vikings in the NSIC tournament. Entering the 2024-25 schedule, the NSIC preseason coaches’ poll picked the Wildcats to finish 12th out of 15 teams.
The Wildcat team loses four of the top six scorers off last year’s team, including its top three scorers. The top two scorers in Trey Deveaux and Alec Millender both transferred to mid-major Division I programs in Western Illinois and Indiana University-Indianapolis respectively. David Harmon was the only other player besides Deveaux and Millender to average double-digit points per game last year, and he transferred within conference to Minnesota State-Mankato. Third leading rebounder Elijah Watson also does not return.
“We are obviously a lot more interested in what we have then what we don’t have,” head coach Jeff Kaminsky said. “We are excited about the group we put together. We have ten returning players and four guys that are in their fifth year of college basketball in this program.”
Starting with the backcourt, there are lots of notable returning players. Senior guard Jay Saunders will be starting for the fifth consecutive season and was named the player to watch by the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll. Last year’s starting point guard averaged 3.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, all of which are expected to improve this season.
“I know the team is going to need me to be aggressive and impact the game in many ways,” Saunders said. “I’m going to have to be a leader and bring the energy.”
The lone transfer brought in by Kaminsky and his staff was a Santiago Canyon College transfer in junior guard Kai Smith. Last season, Smith was named the Orange Empire Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was a First team All-Conference selection. He averaged 17.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, shooting over 50% from the field and over 75% at the free throw line.
“Kai is probably one of the best athletes I’ve ever played with,” Saunders said. “He has a unique blend of athleticism and skill that makes everybody’s jobs easier. He can make plays because of the raw talent he has.”
Another senior guard in Sean Stokes also returns and may see starting minutes this year. JJ Ferrin, a sharp-shooting sophomore, also makes his return to the Wildcats. Other role players such as Landon Classen and Ryan Blum also hope to provide good minutes of the bench.
Many freshmen will be entering this already deep backcourt group. Darshan Thomas, Nassir Binion, Eldon Turner and PJ Chambers all have received tremendous praise from their head coach and Kaminsky has said some of the freshman guards to see some big time minutes off the bench.
Diving into the forward group, the most notable and most productive returner to this group is senior Cody McCullough. He was fourth in scoring with 8.6 points per game and led the Wildcats in rebounding last season, snagging 6.5 boards per game. He was also second on the team in blocks with 13 from last season.
“Getting back healthy right now is my goal,” McCullough said. “We have a lot of guys that don’t have much experience and I want to make sure there is someone on the court they can look up to and view as a leader.”
With the aforementioned departures of Deveaux and Watson, lots of players will have to step into bigger roles from the forward group. Senior Noah Erickson is expected to see the biggest jump in playing time, and therefore his own production on the court.
Other returners such as sophomore Wade Voss, redshirt freshman Aiden Sullivan, and redshirt sophomore Evan Inselman will look to prove the depth of this forward grouping. The lone freshman forward Matt Noll is also expected to see a good chunk of minutes this season.
“We have a really diverse group this year,” McCullough said. “We’re looking for some forwards to be able to shoot the ball. We can attack a lot of different ways and have a lot of athleticism coming back on the defensive end.”
The Wildcats’ season tips off on Friday, Nov. 8, in St. Joseph, Missouri, for two games at the Missouri Western Classic. WSC takes on the Emporia State Hornet at 10 a.m. on Friday and will play the No. 20 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10.
“We are going to be a really fun group to watch,” Kaminsky said. “This group is going to compete and we have some unique pieces in terms of our athleticism. I am very excited about this team.”
