Kennesaw State basketball keeps rolling along under new coach Antoine Pettway

“I’d hope so,” senior guard Terrell Burden said when asked if his team should be the ASUN favorites. “If not, that’s fine with us. But we’re on the way. That’s all people need to know. We’re on the way.”

KSU’s 85.5 points per game rank second in the conference behind only preseason favorite Eastern Kentucky (which nonetheless hasn’t looked so formidable during a 4-4 start). The Owls have a flair for the dramatic, competing in down-to-the-wire games that they hope will benefit them as the season progresses.

Three of KSU’s seven wins were by four points or fewer (“It’s teaching us more ways to win,” Burden said). They also suffered a one-point loss to East Carolina. If someone attends a KSU game, they’ll probably get your money’s worth in entertainment value.

“It just helps in the belief,” Pettway said. “It’s amazing, when it gets tough and it’s time to make winning plays, I can look in these dudes’ eyes. I can look at Demond Robinson, Terrell, Quincy (Ademokoya), Jamel (King), and they give me that (look back) and they have confidence in me as well.

“I remember the (UNC) Asheville game. We went into overtime and I said, ‘Watch this. We’re going to handle it. We got it.’ I looked at the guys and I said, ‘We’re winning this damn game.’ And they’re telling me, ‘Coach, we got you.’ These dudes are champions, man. They believe and they’re winners. Everything they do, it’s about winning. I love it. I can’t stress that enough. That locker room I’ve got in there, I love coaching these dudes.”

Pettway, a long-time assistant at his alma mater of Alabama, brought his version of Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats’ offense to Kennesaw. The players quickly bought into the up-tempo system. Last season, KSU had only two players average more than 12 points per game. Early this season, four individuals are doing so.

“We have a lot of versatility and a lot of depth,” Burden said. “We bought into coach Pettway and what he wants to do. Everybody enjoys playing fast. I tell the guys all the time, especially if we get a stop, just run with me and I promise I’ll find you. When they do that, everybody enjoys it and everybody has fun.”

KSU basketball wasn’t always like this. Before 2022-23, it hadn’t had a winning season since moving to Division I in 2005. From 2018 through 2022, it managed just 25 wins. Even when Abdur-Rahim arrived, the Owls had a one-win season and went 2-29 in the conference over his first two years.

These days, KSU is the standard. Abdur-Rahim was clearly a rising star, but the Owls have seemingly done an excellent job replacing him. Players have raved about Pettway going back to the preseason. A former player himself, Pettway naturally connects with his athletes. That was key in securing an instant buy-in from the veterans who’d spent years in a different system.

KSU is ticketed for Conference USA next season. The program continues ascending, and it appears Pettway is well-equipped to oversee the rise.

“As long as you let (the players) know you care about them – there are a lot of ways to skin a cat,” Pettway said. “They (previously) won one way, we’re going to try to win our way. I just showed them our style of play and how it could benefit them. More importantly, I just showed them I had their best interests at heart. This is a players’ program. I want this to be about Terrell Burden, Demond Robinson, Quincy, Simeon (Cottle).

“Once you let guys know you have their back and care about them, it’s easy for them to buy into what you’re doing.”

The Owls face Presbyterian on Saturday in Clinton, South Carolina. Their first conference game is Jan. 6 against Queens at the KSU Convocation Center.