KENT — The Kent State men’s basketball team has learned a lot about itself while getting off to a 4-1 start this season.
The Golden Flashes have had close wins and easy wins — 18- and 45-point victories have proven they can be effective on both ends of the floor — but a four-point win and an uncharacteristically close three-point escape against Niagara University have proven the value of roster depth.
“We have to do a better job if we expect to beat good teams,” Flashes coach Rob Senderoff said after a 79-56 loss at No. 5 Auburn, “whether it’s good defensive teams the caliber of Auburn or good defensive teams in our conference.”
A 68-52 victory at Cleveland State on Saturday set up the Flashes for three games in the “Western Slam” at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. They will play Towson, the University of California, Irvine and Kennesaw State in back-to-back-to-back games starting Thursday.
Kent State coach Rob Senderoff encourages his team against Auburn on Nov. 13 in Auburn, Alabama.
Kent State is off to a strong start after an offseason of transfer portal sagas and moving on from key players. It’s not difficult to notice the transfer portal has played an increasingly large role in NCAA basketball in recent years.
Before the season started, Kent State was caught up in it — in a bad way. Two of the team’s top talents were set to transfer after the 2023 season, but forward VonCameron Davis and guard Jalen Sullinger eventually returned to Kent State after initially entering the portal.
Sullinger actually had committed to Furman University, but later decommitted to rejoin the Flashes.
Still, even though the Flashes returned their two best returning players, they hit the transfer portal hard as buyers, bringing in elite players before the 2024 season.
Although the team’s headliners, Davis and Sullinger, are recognizable, homegrown talents, the team is striving and succeeding with transfer players as well.
Who are Kent State’s best transfer players and what are they doing this season?
Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) shoots over Kent State guard Morgan Safford (8) on Nov. 13 in Auburn, Alabama.
Perhaps the most impactful transfer player for Kent State has been guard Morgan Safford. Last season, he transferred to KSU from MAC foe Miami, but did not play a minute because of transfer rules. So he’s getting his first taste of Kent State basketball this season, and he is making the most of it.
Safford has started all five games this season at small forward, and is averaging 11 points, five rebounds and 0.8 assists.
He also played a large role in the Flashes’ two close wins this season.
Kent State’s Morgan Safford (8) defends Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (10) on Nov. 13 in Auburn, Alabama.
In a 70-66 win at Louisiana in the season opener, Safford had 15 points and nine rebounds while playing 30 minutes. Then, in the 76-73 squeaker over Niagara, he had a season-high 17 points, including eight free throws, and seven rebounds.
Safford has played the second-most minutes on the team while being third in field goals and second in 3-pointers and second in average points and rebounds.
Kent State point guard Cian Medley (11) dribbles the ball as Auburn’s Johni Broome (4) defends on Nov. 13 in Auburn, Alabama.
Cian Medley has started all five games at point guard for the Flashes as a transfer from Saint Louis, averaging 6.2 points, 3.2 assists and 1.4 rebounds. He had a big game against Louisiana in the season opener with 11 points, a rebound and two assists.
Medley leads the team in assists while playing the third-most minutes.
“Cian is a true point guard and really a natural leader, and these guys have really responded to how he has played that position,” Senderoff said after a 98-53 win over Miami-Hamilton in Kent State’s home opener on Nov. 8.
Auburn’s Denver Jones (2) drives past Kent State’s Cian Medley (11) on Nov. 13 in Auburn, Alabama.
Guard Marquis Barnett, who transferred to Kent State before the season from Presbyterian, started alongside Safford and Medley at shooting guard in the first three games but has come off the bench in the last two. He’s averaging six points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Flashes after scoring 16.4 points per game last year for Presbyterian.
Barnett is tied for third on the team in total rebounds and leads the Flashes with six steals. His best game came in the big win over Miami-Hamilton when he scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting with two rebounds and four assists.
The final transfer making a big splash on the team is forward Anthony Morales, who previously played at Boston University. Coming off the bench, Morales is on a hot streak while doing more in less time.
“They’re both really good players, and both are guys adjusting to how we play here,” Senderoff said of Barnett and Morales after Saturday’s win. “With different systems and different styles, it isn’t always easy when you’re making that adjustment, and both have contributed and will continue to contribute throughout the year.”
Kent State’s Anthony Morales (22) is defended by Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell (44) on Nov. 13 in Auburn, Alabama.
For the first three games of the season, Morales played 54 minutes and had seven points. In the two most recent games, he has 21 points in 32 minutes. Plus, he’s shooting at a ridiculous rate — 52.4 percent overall and 50 percent from deep on 12 attempts.
Morales produced almost identical stat lines the last two games, with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting (2 of 4 on 3-pointers) against Niagara and 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting (3 of 4 from deep) against Cleveland State. He added four rebounds and an assist against the Vikings.
Overall, those four transfer players are contributing 28.8 points per game, which has helped lift the Golden Flashes to the best nonconference record of any Mid-American Conference team.
“We all like playing with each other, and for a lot of us it’s our last year and we haven’t won a ring,” Safford said after the Niagara game. “We want to go out the right way, so we have a common goal.”
John Hilber is an Akron Beacon Journal correspondent. You can contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State basketball transfer players putting up big numbers
