This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Now two years removed from the nightmarish 2-27 season, the Southern Utah men's basketball program is ready to take the next step under fourth-year coach Nick Robinson. It's only a matter of if the Thunderbirds can get there.
Picked fifth in the preseason Big Sky Conference coach's poll, but ninth in the media poll, SUU returns four seniors and five juniors from last season's 10-19 team. Six of the top seven scorers are back, including guards A.J. Hess and James McGee.
"Our goal this year is to continue to improve based on last year," Robinson said. "We want to be better than we were last year as it relates to the Big Sky Conference. We want to compete at a very high level and play at a level where we put ourselves into the top half of the league."
A year ago, the Thunderbirds were the youngest team in the conference. That won't be the case now with nine upperclassmen.
Hess was one of the Big Sky's most versatile players a year ago. The 6-foot-6 senior from Carefree, Ariz., hit a 40-foot buzzer-beater to win at Texas-San Antonio last season. He led the team in minutes played at 25.6 per game.
McGee is back as SUU's most potent deep threat while big man Casey Oliverson made 61 percent of his field-goal attempts a season ago. Toss in Trey Kennedy, who led the team in assists, and Robinson's group is seasoned.
"We come with a little bit of experience," he said. "For us to have continuity with our senior class and junior class has been important in the growth of this program."
The T-Birds open the year at No. 16 Utah, then travel to UNLV five days later and also hit the road to play Saint Mary's in mid-December.
"For us, we finished the year relatively strong from a win-loss perspective and want to be able to carry it over that chemistry, that competitive nature into our non-conference slate," Robinson said.
Twitter: @CKTribune —
SUU at a glance
» Key Additions: F Will Joyce, Jr., F Daniel Melifonwu.
» Key Losses: C Cal Hanks, F Tyler Rawson.
» Projected Starters: G Trey Kennedy [6-3], James McGee [6-2], G/F A.J. Hess [6-6], F Christian Thompson [6-7], F Casey Oliverson [6-8].
» Bottom Line: The T-Birds have experience, but can they finish near the likes of Weber State and Montana? They'll need their guard group of Kennedy, McGee and Hess to lead the way.
Season opener
P SUU at Utah
Friday, 8:30 p.m.
TV • Pac-12 Network