Kellogg Community College’s basketball teams are starting their regular seasons in November with new players, a new coach and a new court.
The women’s team’s first game is 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Delta College in University Center. Head coach Dic Doumanian said it’s a brand new team with one returner, but they’re already proving to be talented on the court.
“We’ve got a number of kids that can shoot it,” Doumanian said. “We’ve got a number of kids that can get to the basket with the ball. Overall, we’re pretty athletic so we should be able to play some really good defense and run the court well.”
Destiny Kincaide of Chicago is the team’s returning player and was named Honorable Mention for the Michigan Community College Athletic Association All-Conference team last year.
Kincaide averaged 12.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game that season.
“She did a great job for us on the court and also as a leader,” Doumanian said. “She’s stepped up her leadership this year and is doing a really great job.”
The teams Doumanian said will be challenges to defeat this year include Lake Michigan College on Jan. 5 and Muskegon Community College on Jan. 12. Muskegon won the MCCAA state championship last year.
KCC men’s basketball team begins the season with a home game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, in the Miller Physical Education Building on KCC’s campus at 450 North Ave., Battle Creek, against Milwaukee Area Technical College.
New head coach Gary Sprague said returning player Victor Sheffey of Flint should have an outstanding year, as will sophomore Omar Tabb, Jr., of Kalamazoo.
“We’ve got a lot of really, really good players,” Sprague said. “We’re fast, we’re playing really good defense, good shooters, good ball handlers. We’ll play up-tempo.”
For both teams, the newly built Miller Building is injecting some excitement and a renewed sense of competition into the season. The $10 million construction project, approved by voters in a 2012 millage, began construction in 2017 and officially opened to the public in August.
The 39,000-square-foot building includes a gym that is larger than the previous one. The first home game in the gym on Nov. 9, which will also feature the women’s team playing at 5:30 p.m., includes a special event honoring longtime Battle Creek businessman, former Battle Creek mayor and former college basketball referee Al Bobrofsky.
Bobrofsky was a referee at the very first basketball game played in the previous Miller Building in 1956.
Sprague said the men’s team is excited about breaking in a new court.
“They’re looking forward to that,” Sprague said. “Some of them actually talked about starting a good, positive tradition.”
Doumanian said the new building is also impacting his team and his own role as coach.
“Every day I walk in there, I still smile,” he said.
For more information about KCC’s women’s basketball team, including photos, a team roster and complete schedule, visit www.kellogg.edu/womens-basketball. For more information about the men’s basketball team, visit www.kellogg.edu/mens-basketball.
For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.