Kevin Kuwik era begins with Army men's basketball without all-star guard Rucker, two others

Six months of waiting came to an end for Kevin Kuwik as he led Army in the first men’s basketball practice on his watch.

Kuwik, 49, was hired in March to replace Jimmy Allen, 52, after seven seasons and a 98-112 record (Allen is now the associate head coach at New Hampshire).

“I think every coach thinks their first practice goes great, honestly. There was awesome energy,’’ Kuwik said following two 90-minute, split-group sessions at Christl Arena on Monday, the first of five consecutive days of full practice. Teams can practice on 30 of 42 days leading into the season.

Kuwik said the focus throughout preseason has been and will continue to be on toughness, defense and rebounding. Per NCAA rules, Kuwik has been able to work limited time per week with his returning players since April and over the summer, as well as the newcomers since their arrival.

“I think we had a big focus on just getting better individually from April till now,’’ he said. “I do think every guy has made a jump as a player and I think the energy level is awesome again.

“I keep telling them, if it says ‘Army’ on your chest, there’s got to be some toughness there,’’ he added. “Those are the three things that I'm kind of feeling as I walk off the court today, and hopefully six weeks from now we're feeling the same thing.’’

Opener: Coach Kevin Kuwik, Army men's basketball to open Nov. 6 vs. Marist at Christl Arena

Army will debut on November 6 when Marist visits West Point.

Notably absent from the roster is all-star guard Jalen Rucker, who has left the team. Also gone are guard Coleton Benson (who transferred to Texas State in March) and Patriot League rookie of the year and forward Ethan Roberts (who transferred to Drake in April), two very promising freshmen from last season.

“That’s one of those personnel situations that I really can't get into,’’ Kuwik told the Times Herald-Record about Rucker’s departure. Rucker had entered the transfer portal last May, though he was already committed to the service academy with the start of his junior year. Benson hit the portal in March, shortly after West Point fired Allen. Roberts also entered the portal five days after Army’s last game and landed a month later.

The absences will leave a notable hole in production. Rucker scored 1,290 points over three seasons, averaging 9.6 points as a freshman, 17.1 as a sophomore and 16.6 as a junior, when he added 135 rebounds, 118 assists, 27 steals and shot 46 percent. Roberts averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and shot 48 percent. Benson averaged 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists over 33 games last season.

What Kuwik does have in return are seven seniors, nine juniors, four sophomores and five freshmen: Ryan Curry, Kendall Hailey and Josh Scovens from the prep school and Dylan Blair and Tate Laczkowski as direct admits – Kuwik said he wouldn’t be surprised if any of them make immediate contributions. Blair, Curry and Hailey are combo guards, Scovens is a wing-forward and Laczkowski a forward-center.

“College basketball, more than ever, is a man’s game, with all these grad transfer and COVID years (added),’’ Kuwik said. “I think these guys (are) all good players, they're good kids. They work their butts off. It's more a matter of when (they contribute), not if, I feel.’’

Charlie Peterson and Kwabena Davis were named captains for the upcoming season. Peterson averaged eight points and 5.2 rebounds, ranking No. 5 in the league with 2.18 offensive boards per game. Davis returns from an injured junior season - he averaged 2.5 points as a sophomore.

"They have earned the respect of their teammates and the staff with their everyday approach on and off the court,'' Kuwik said. "They embody what our program aspires to be - Tough, Together and Detailed.''

Improving the offense has been the focus since Kuwik took over. “If you can’t score – especially since we lost a lot of firepower – I don’t care how hard you play, you’ve got a very limited ceiling,’’ he said. From here on out, though, defense will become more of an every-day emphasis, he said.

For Kuwik, it’s been a 25-year journey to the lead seat, following assistant assignments at Christian Brothers, Saint Michael’s, Ohio, Dayton, Davidson and last season at Butler.

Kuwik retained Nick Thorsen as an assistant and added Andrew Chrabascz (from Rhode Island), Dr. Carson Cunningham (Incarnate Word), Jarren Dyson (Lafayette) and Darius Stokes (Richmond) to his staff.

Kuwik likes the team chemistry that has formed well and believes there is a “blank slate” when it comes to playing time.

“I want all these guys to feel they’ve got a shot,’’ Kuwik said. “We don't have a ton of returning minutes and scoring and that sort of thing. I want to give every one of these guys a chance to show what they can do. And hopefully – whether they become starters, subs (or) scout team guys – they still feel like they had a great chance and they appreciate that.’

kmcmillan@th-record.com

X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Men's basketball: New head coach Kevin Kuwik begins practice at Army