Kellogg CC men's basketball team is one of the hottest programs in the country

BATTLE CREEK — The Bruins can argue they are one of the hottest teams in the country.

And with an undefeated record going into the new year, the Kellogg Community College men's basketball team has the wins to back that statement up.

KCC finished the first portion of its schedule at a sparkling 11-0 and went into its first game of the 2024 calendar year with aspirations to continue that undefeated record going as it hosted Alpena Community College on Saturday.

The Bruins kept the good times going with an 82-73 victory at Miller Gymnasium and still have all of their goals ahead of them.

"We have said we want to be the best team in the region," second-year KCC men's coach Steve Proefrock said. "We want to be a program of notoriety and the only way that is going to happen is if we continue the way we are going."

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Proefrock enjoyed his first full season as the head coach of the KCC program last year. KCC qualified for the Region XII District Tournament by winning seven of its last eight games of the regular season. KCC earned a home playoff game, a first for the program since the 2019-20 season, after taking second in the conference, the best finish for the program in 16 years. The Bruins reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 13 years and, at 14-11 going into the tourney, their .667 winning percentage was the best for the program in 16 years.

But the Bruins wanted to take the next step this year and it looks like they have.

"I think we are on the right course," Proefrock said. "We approach it as every day we are 0-0 and we are trying to get to 1-0 as every game is it's own seperate entity. But the guys are proud of all the wins so far in general and how we have started the season. They are excited about what we are doing."

The jump in success has come from the fact that Proefrock has had time to build the program. After starting the process late in his first year, the head coach has now had a full year of recruiting available to him and that has created a deeper team.

The Bruins have nine players averaging 7.4 points per game or more. Battle Creek Central graduate Ke'Marion Tucker leads KCC with 12.8 points per game in his freshman season. Sophomore Sam Hoskin is scoring 12.0 points per game with James Isaiah Moore also in double digits at 10.1.

In the win over Alpena on Saturday, Moore led the Bruins with 19 points and 12 rebounds with Tucker adding 16 points as Hoskin and Tyreese Gardner each chipped in with nine.

"We have depth. We didn't have depth that first year," Proefrock said. "With the full recruiting class, we are deep. Because we are deep, we can press and get after people. We can press for 40 minutes. Not many teams do that and teams aren't ready for that kind of pressure.

"A lot of times, because of our depth, at practice, we are going against guys who are as good or better than anyone we are playing."

Tucker saw this kind of success coming when he committed to play for KCC. He has been key to the hot start as he was named Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week in late December.

"Coming in, are expectation was to be where we are now," Tucker said. "We are all working hard to make a change at Kellogg and to become that team.

"We are together as a team. Our bond is great in the weight room and on the court. We are together as a team and that's been a key."

With the non-conference portion of the schedule over, KCC is now focused on making a run at a conference title.

"It feels good, being from Battle Creek, to see Kellogg having success," Tucker said. "Getting the community behind our team and getting them out to our games has been good to see."

Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick.

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Kellogg Community College men's basketball team stays undefeated