Kennesaw State Basketball

Kennesaw State has punched its ticket to the men's NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

With a 67-66 win over Liberty in the Atlantic Sun tournament championship game, the Owls have clinched an automatic bid to go dancing during March Madness this year.

Senior guard Terrell Burden, who had a team-high 19 points for Kennesaw State, made one of two free throws with one second left on the clock to give the Owls the one-point win. Three other starters scored in double figures, and the team shot 40 percent (6-of-15) from beyond the arc while holding Liberty to 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range.

Winning the conference title completes a massive turnaround for Kennesaw State under head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. He was hired in 2019, and the team went 1-28 in his first season at the helm. Undeterred, he led the team to improvements in each of the next two years before the culmination of his efforts was realized this year.

Kennesaw State is 26-8 and went 15-3 in conference play this season, its first winning season in program history. Abdur-Rahim was named ASUN Coach of the Year.

The Owls have an experienced roster with all upperclassmen outside of just three freshman and one sophomore. Junior guard Chris Youngblood leads the team with 14.6 points per game, followed by Burden's 13.3 points per game.

Kennesaw State will have an entire week to celebrate before finding out its placement in the tournament bracket on Selection Sunday on March 12.

Were college great Kenny Anderson and former Georgia Tech guard Jon Babul set to be a part of Kennesaw State Basketball?  According to Bobby Cremins' former assistant Kevin Cantwell, this Tech trio was set to take over the KSU program. He had even began unofficially recruiting the area.  

According to an article by USA Today, Cantwell was offered the KSU job in February of 2011 by his next-door neighbor and close family friend Daniel Papp, who is the president of Kennesaw State.

Cantwell is claiming that the offer took place in Dr. Papp's living room on February 16, 2011. It was later withdrawn unexpectedly during a conversation in April at their mutual property line as Cantwell was doing yard work.  

The 14-year former Tech assistant coach is now suing the Board of Regents over the reneged job offer.

He said he had already begun gathering a staff of former Georgia Tech stars, including Kenny Anderson and Jon Babul.     

The specific damages of the suit have not been outlined, but Cantwell claims he was offered $340,000 in salary for himself and assistants, and he claims that he had even begun recruiting the area prior to being officially hired, which, if true, would be an NCAA violation.

 "I kept Dan informed of what I was doing on behalf of Kennesaw State, and not once did he tell me to slow down," Cantwell said about his pre-employment recruiting period.  

Cantwell also told reporters that he "didn't want to do this to the school or [Coach] Lewis, but I had no choice. This put my wife and I in a serious financial bind." 

A statement on the incident has yet to be released by Kennesaw State University or by Dr. Papp.   

First-year head coach Lewis Preston has had a really tough season at Kennesaw State.  Under his command the Owls are now 3-22, and are currently on a 13-game skid with in-state rival Mercer up next on the schedule.  

Coach Preston doesn't lack big-time coaching experience.  He has been an assistant at Coastal Carolina, Notre Dame, Florida and most recently Penn State, and played his college ball at VMI, so he's not a stranger to big-time basketball.  

The Owls remain winless in the competitive Atlantic Sun Conference, and the teams around them only seem to be getting better.  Preston's KSU squad needs to finish strong to salvage the season in what has been an ugly rebuilding campaign so far.  

Kennesaw State has six games left, with four of those on their home court, and they need to win at least half of those games to finish their current disaster on a higher note.

The A-Sun Tournament will not be an option for the Owls this season as they have already been eliminated for inclusion in the event in Macon. 

The Owls will take on Mercer at the KSU Convocation Center on Friday night (Feb. 10) at 7p.m. in what has become an outstanding in-state rivalry.  A large crowd is expected, and a win would go a long way for the Kennesaw program going forward.  

Notes:

Lewis Preston was hired after the 2010 season to replace the popular Tony Ingle.  He became only the fourth head coach in KSU history and the first hire since the Owls moved into Division One.