2010–11 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team
# 2010–11 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2010–11 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the college basketball season of 2010–11. The team was coached by Geno Ford and played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. On March 4, 2011, the team clinched their second-consecutive outright MAC regular season championship by defeating the Akron Zips 79–68 in Kent. It was the first back-to-back regular season titles in the MAC since Miami accomplished the feat in 1991 and 1992 and first back-to-back outright titles since Ball State in 1989 and 1990.

## Before the season

### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :

| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kenny Knight PF | Cincinnati | Aiken High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jan 18, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Eric Gaines SG | Englewood, Illinois | Hillcrest High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 3, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Mark Henniger PF | Massillon, Ohio | Jackson High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 13, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Darius Leonard PF | Raleigh, North Carolina | Kestrel Heights School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Carlton Guyton SG | Chicago | Mineral Area College | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| DeAndre Nealy PF | Detroit | Mott Community College | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Nov 11, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 ||||||
| Michael Porrini SG | Massillon, Ohio | Gulf Coast Community College | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Feb 2, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kent State Commit List for 2010". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011. "Scout.com: Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011. "Kent State Basketball Recruiting 2010". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011. "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011. ||||||

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | College | Graduating year |
| - | - | - | - |
| Geno Ford | Head coach | Ohio University | 1997 |
| Rob Senderoff | Associate Head Coach | University of Albany | 1995 |
| Bobby Steinburg | Assistant coach | Middle Tennessee State University | 1997 |
| Jordan Mincy | Assistant coach | Kent State University | 2009 |
| Jaden Uken | Director of Operations | University of Nebraska–Lincoln | 2003 |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | $Opponent^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 5* 7:00 pm | Rochester (MI) | W 81–44 Stats | | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1,150) Kent, Ohio |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 12* 5:00 pm | vs. Iona World Vision Classic | W 73–72 Stats | 1–0 | Wolstein Center (1,450) Cleveland, Ohio |
| November 13* 3:30 pm | vs. Bryant World Vision Classic | W 90–49 Stats | 2–0 | Wolstein Center (NA) Cleveland, Ohio |
| November 14* 6:00 pm | at Cleveland State World Vision Classic | L 66–69 Stats | 2–1 | Wolstein Center (2,805) Cleveland, Ohio |
| November 16* 8:00 am, ESPN | Robert Morris ESPN Tip-Off Marathon | W 62–59 Stats | 3–1 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (1,496) Kent, Ohio |
| November 19* 7:00 pm | Furman | W 78–74 Stats $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,423) Kent, Ohio |
| November 23* 5:00 pm | vs. Urbana World Vision Classic | W 94–71 Stats | 5–1 | Wolstein Center (188) Cleveland, Ohio |
| December 4* 2:00 pm | Lehigh | W 80–75 Stats | 6–1 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,421) Kent, Ohio |
| December 2* 7:00 pm | Louisiana–Monroe | W 69–53 Stats | 7–1 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,351) Kent, Ohio |
| December 5* 7:00 pm | at UAB | L 59–75 Stats | 7–2 | Bartow Arena (3,151) Birmingham, Alabama |
| December 9* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | at No. 24 Florida | L 52–65 Stats | 7–3 | O'Connell Center (7,522) Gainesville, Florida |
| December 12* 6:30 pm, ESPNU | at South Florida | W 56–51 Stats | 8–3 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,183) Kent, Ohio |
| December 21* 7:00 pm | Youngstown State | W 71–58 Stats | 9–3 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,450) Kent, Ohio |
| December 28* 7:00 pm | at Morehead State | L 59–76 Stats | 9–4 | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,328) Morehead, Kentucky |
| December 31* 2:00 pm | James Madison | L 51–60 Stats | 9–5 | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (2,862) Kent, Ohio |
| January 8 7:00 pm, STO | at Akron | L 62–65 Stats | 9–6 (0–1) | James A. Rhodes Arena (5,019) Akron, Ohio |
| January 11 7:00 pm | Bowling Green | W 80–63 Stats | 10–6 (1–1) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (2,543) Kent, Ohio |
| January 15 7:00 pm | at Ohio | W 69–66 Stats | 11–6 (2–1) | Convocation Center (8,022) Athens, Ohio |
| January 19 7:30 pm, STO | at Buffalo | L 54–79 Stats | 11–7 (2–2) | Alumni Arena (2,112) Buffalo, New York |
| January 23 2:00 pm, STO | Miami (OH) | W 78–57 Stats | 12–7 (3–2) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (4,135) Kent, Ohio |
| January 27 7:05 pm | at Ball State | W 66–53 Stats | 13–7 (4–2) | John E. Worthen Arena (3,310) Muncie, Indiana |
| January 30 2:05 pm, STO | Toledo | W 72–55 Stats | 14–7 (5–2) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (2,842) Kent, Ohio |
| February 5 7:30 pm, ESPNU | Central Michigan | W 66–53 Stats | 15–7 (6–2) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,921) Kent, Ohio |
| February 9 7:00 pm | Eastern Michigan | W 80–70 Stats | 16–7 (7–2) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (2,756) Kent, Ohio |
| February 12 3:00 pm | at Northern Illinois | W 84–77 Stats | 17–7 (8–2) | Convocation Center (2,169) DeKalb, Illinois |
| February 16 7:00 pm | at Miami (OH) | L 80–86 Stats $^{OT}$ | 17–8 (8–3) | Millett Hall (2,173) Oxford, Ohio |
| February 18* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | at Drexel ESPN BracketBusters | L 66–73 Stats | 17–9 | Daskalakis Athletic Center (2,534) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| February 21 7:00 pm | at Western Michigan | W 74–72 Stats | 18–9 (9–3) | University Arena (2,363) Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| February 24 7:00 pm, STO | Buffalo | W 72–69 Stats | 19–9 (10–3) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (3,127) Kent, Ohio |
| February 26 7:00 pm | Ohio | L 87–88 Stats $^{OT}$ | 19–10 (10–4) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (5,125) Kent, Ohio |
| March 1 7:00 pm, STO | at Bowling Green | W 63–57 Stats | 20–10 (11–4) | Anderson Arena (1,751) Bowling Green, Ohio |
| March 4 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | Akron | W 79–68 Stats | 21–10 (12–4) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (6,327) Kent, Ohio |
| Mid-American Conference tournament ||||||
| March 10 7:00 pm, STO | vs. Buffalo Quarterfinals | W 73–62 Stats | 22–10 | Quicken Loans Arena (NA) Cleveland, Ohio |
| March 11 9:30 pm, STO | vs. Ball State Semifinals | W 79–68 Stats | 23–10 | Quicken Loans Arena (6,174) Cleveland, Ohio |
| March 12 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Akron Championship Game | L 65–66 Stats $^{OT}$ | 23–11 | Quicken Loans Arena (8,926) Cleveland, Ohio |
| 2011 NIT ||||||
| March 15* 11:00 pm, ESPN2 | at Saint Mary's First Round | W 71–70 Stats | 24–11 | McKeon Pavilion (2,443) Moraga, California |
| March 20* 12:30 pm, ESPNU | at Fairfield Second Round | W 72–68 Stats | 25–11 | Webster Bank Arena (3,954) Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| March 22* 9:00 pm, ESPN | at Colorado Quarterfinals | L 74–81 Stats | 25–12 | Coors Events Center (9,065) Boulder, Colorado |
| *Non-Conference Game. $^#Rankings$ from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time Zone. ||||||

## After the season

### Comments

Following their overtime loss to Akron in the MAC tournament championship game, the team was seeded 7th in the 2011 National Invitation Tournament, which they automatically qualified for by winning the MAC regular season championship. They played in Moraga, California at 2nd-seeded St. Mary's, and defeated the Gaels 71–70. Kent State next traveled across the country to face 6th-seeded Fairfield, and defeated the Stags in Bridgeport, Connecticut 72–68. The win advanced Kent State to the NIT quarterfinals for the first time since 2000. In the quarterfinals, they played top-seeded Colorado, and lost to the Buffaloes 81–74 in Boulder, Colorado to finish the season with an overall record of 25–12.

On March 27, Bradley University announced they had hired Geno Ford to become their next head coach.

### Awards

On March 7, 2011, head coach Geno Ford was named the Coach of the Year in the Mid-American Conference while Junior forward Justin Greene was named the conference Player of the Year. It was Ford's second consecutive Coach of the Year award and marks the eighth time a KSU coach has won the award (Jim McDonald, 1990; Gary Waters, 1999 and 2000; Stan Heath, 2002; and Jim Christian, 2006 and 2008). Ford also became the fourth coach in MAC history to win back-to-back Coach of the Year awards and won the award by one vote over Miami's Charlie Coles. Greene was the first KSU player since Al Fisher in 2008 to be named Player of the Year and the third Kent State player overall to win the award, joining DeAndre Haynes in 2006. Greene won the award by three votes over Julian Muvunga of Miami and D. J. Cooper of Ohio.

On March 8, Kent State players Michael Porrini and Carlton Guyton were honored by the Mid-American Conference as Porrini was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year and Guyton was named MAC Sixth Man of the Year. Porrini was the fourth Kent State player to earn the award and marked the fifth Defensive Player of the Year award for Kent State (Demertic Shaw; 2001 and 2002; John Edwards, 2004; and Haminn Quaintance, 2008). Guyton was the third KSU player to win the Sixth Man award, after Anthony Simpson in 2010 and Kevin Warzynski in 2006.

