With more depth, Penn State New Kensington men's basketball happy to be back on court

Sometimes patience can be a virtue. At least that’s what Brant Mack hopes is the case.

Mack was an assistant for Penn State New Kensington’s men’s basketball program for three years before taking over the head coaching job before last season. However, the season was canceled because of covid-19.

But not playing, in his eyes, had some advantages.

“We were pretty light last year,” Mack admitted. “We only had seven guys on the roster when I took over. We had the opportunity to recruit pretty heavily and work with some of the guys to figure out what skill sets they have and what we needed.

“While I wanted to play and the guys wanted to play, and it was disappointing that we weren’t able to, it was also a good thing for the long term of the program.”

Mack had his players practice five days per week last year, but the practices weren’t normal. With social distancing enforced, they mostly just shot and lifted in the weight room.

“There wasn’t a lot of competition other than shooting drills,” Mack said.

But now, with 14 players on the roster, he believes his team is ready to compete.

Besides two junior college transfers, the new additions are all freshmen.

“We want to be deep,” Mack said. “In years past, we’ve had some skilled players and some talent, but we weren’t as deep. This year, even though we’re young, we’re pretty deep.”

A key component to that depth has been Shyheim Flanagan, a 6-foot freshman guard from Louisiana. He transferred from a JUCO in Kansas and scored 22 points off the bench in a 90-74 win over Westmoreland County Community College on Nov. 8, his first game of the season.

Flanagan was unable to play in the team’s first game, a 96-65 loss at Kent State Tuscarawas, on Nov. 6.

“He really helps with handling any pressures,” Mack said of Flanagan. “He’s a very quick kid. He can score the ball, distribute the ball and handle the press.”

Sophomore guard Aubrey Feaster (Buffalo, N.Y.) had 13 points against WCCC after scoring 18 in the opener.

“He’s extremely talented,” Mack said. “He’s been hampered by some injuries, but we’re getting him healthy and expect big things from him.”

Freshman Ta’Rasi Means, a Plum grad, seniors R.J Barney (Alexandria, Va.) and Joseph Dusabe (Fox Chapel) also add to the depth Mack wants to shine on both sides of the floor.

“When we have opportunities, we want to push for numbers and then pull it out and really execute our half-court offense,” Mack said. “On defense, we want to be strong in our man-to-man principles.”

Penn State New Kensington finished 4-21 in the 2019-20 season. Mack is optimistic about his young group and feels they can turn around the path of the program in a competitive conference, the PSUAC, as well as the USCAA, a sub-conference for smaller schools throughout the Northeast.

“Because we’re so young and we had that year off, we’re still trying to figure out what our true identity is. I think we’re getting closer and closer to that,” he said. “But when we’re playing at the top of our game, we can compete with anybody in the PSUAC and USCAA.”