BY QUIN WELCH, SPORTS EDITOR
In my last column, I wrote about why you should temper your expectations for the 2015-16 edition of the Bellarmine men’s basketball team.
If you didn’t read it (if you did, thanks, you rock!), my main point was that Knights Nation shouldn’t expect this team to win a championship after losing arguably its two best players from last year’s squad, Chris Whitehead and Jake Thelen.
But if fans want to talk about a championship, which is against my advice, they should at least do so knowledgably. If Bellarmine is going to bring home its first national title since 2011, the Knights will need two players to rise to the occasion: Yasin Kolo and Al Davis.
Neither Kolo nor Davis played for Bellarmine last year. Kolo was redshirting after transferring from Hartford and Davis was playing his final year at North Iowa Area Community College. Although neither player has much experience as a Bellarmine Knight, both will be counted on to produce for their team this season.
Why is that, you ask? It’s because both players need to fill unique roles for Bellarmine to be successful.
Outside of fellow starting guard Michael Parrish, Bellarmine doesn’t really have any floor generals who can be counted on to lead the offense.
Through two games, Davis is averaging 9.5 points and three assists per game.
Davis doesn’t need to play like Whitehead, but he needs to produce similar numbers. Whitehead averaged 15 points and 5.3 rebounds a year ago. Davis probably won’t need to score 15 points a game – (Josh Derksen, Rusty Troutman and Kolo have all shown they can fill it up) – he will certainly need to distribute the ball at a similar rate to Whitehead.
Coach Scott Davenport said Davis is learning and that be can be quite good.
“It’s just adjusting. He’s new, he’s been in this system a month,” Davenport said. “Special player. I’m telling you.”
Kolo, the 6-foot-10 inch, 240-pound center/forward, has been huge for Bellarmine in the Knights’ first six games. The Hartford transfer is averaging 14 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Kolo was especially huge in the Knights’ game against Northwood, scoring 22 points and bringing down 15 rebounds.
Although Bellarmine will count on Kolo to bang in the paint and put the ball in the basket, his most valuable contribution to the Knights will be his rebounding.
Bellarmine, while blessed with skilled post players like George Suggs and Adam Eberhard, isn’t overflowing with big bodies.
Suggs, although 6 foot 10, is only 215 pounds. Eberhard is 6 foot 8 and 185 pounds. Kolo’s size will make a difference to the Knights if he can continue to use it to its fullest potential.
Junior forward Troutman said the key to consistent success from Kolo is his aggression.
“He’s a big teddy bear,” Troutman said. “But when he gets mad and really asserts himself, he’s a hell of a player.”
For Bellarmine to win a national championship, they’re going to need both their teddy bear and their former JUCO point guard to be consistent producers this season.