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Incoming UMKC freshman Latreze Mushatt will contribute early while incoming junior transfer (Evansville University) Jay Cousinard must sit until 2009-10 season.

Brown puts his stamp on Kangaroo basketball

By: Dan Stroud

Posted: 6/2/08

Finishing the recruiting season in a flurry, UMKC head basketball coach Matt Brown announced the signings of Evansville University junior transfer Jay Couisnard and Michigan prep star Latreze Mushatt.

Mushatt seems to be a steal for Brown and the Kangaroos. The 6'5" forward averaged 22 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists per game at Saginaw Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Mich.

After being recruited by the likes of Indiana University and Georgia Tech University, Mushatt chose UMKC. Brown stayed in the hunt for the player longer after rumors had surfaced that the young multi-talented athlete would accept a football scholarship instead, and got his man.

"We're really excited to welcome [Mushatt] to the Kangaroo basketball program," Brown said. "He is a young man that will bring us a different element with his athleticism and strength."

Couisnard, whose brother P.J. Couisnard starred at Wichita State University, brings his 6'6" frame to Kansas City. He must sit out the 2008-09 season before regaining his eligibility.

The two late signees were added to a class that already included 6'4" point guard Trey McKinney-Jones, 6'7" forward Daniel Brady, 6'6" forward Femi Akinpetide, 6'4" guard Dustin Dibble, and two players who signed in the fall and practiced with the team in the spring, 6'1" guard Bakari Lewis and 5'11" Fred Ford.

Change can be both exciting and at the same time a bit scary. In the fall, the UMKC men's basketball team will bring both emotions to the campus.

The squad will return just four players from Brown's inaugural class.

Only senior guard Dane Brumagin, sophomore guard Reggie Hamilton and sophomore forwards James Humphrey and Spencer Johnson will return for season two.

Forward Brian Gettinger, who graduated in May and decided to forgo his last year of eligibility in lieu of higher education, is history. Senior center Alex Pledger, the seven-foot-tall New Zealander who never developed the game he and many faithful Roo fans had hoped for, has transferred back east to finish his career at a lower level.

Redshirt senior guard Akeem Hemingway hopes to ply his trade overseas in the European professional ranks. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, sophomore guard Nathan Balch, a walk-on with last year's team who played significant minutes for a battered and bruised Kangaroo squad, was unable to procure a scholarship and decided to transfer as well.

Add those names to the departures due to graduation of guard Tim Blackwell, as well as forwards Brent Stephens and Jeriamiah Hartsock, and the math can look bleak indeed.

Brumagin is now the last link to the Rich Zvosec Era. The senior guard was the obvious star of last year's squad and should bring his scoring threat to the table again next season.

One other loss, this one in the coaching ranks, has stung the Roos still further. Kareem Richardson, the assistant coach and mentor for both Brumagin and Hamilton last season, accepted a position of similar stature at Drake University, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. It will be a return for Richardson to his basketball roots. He played and coached at Evansille University, another Valley school.

"I would like to thank Kareem for all of his hard work this past season," Brown said in a press release. "He is a terrific coach, and I wish nothing but the best for [Richardson] and his family."

Whether Brown wins or loses in the years ahead is yet to be determined. But win or lose, the athleticism added to the mix for the upcoming season will bear his brand.

Everything that happens moving forward rests on him … and it's likely that's just the way he wants it.

dstroud@unews.com