Men's basketball raising school spirit

By Tim Keltner

Published: Monday, February 7, 2005

The UMKC Kangaroos men's basketball team made it 11 in a row last Thursday as they defeated the Oakland University (OU) Golden Grizzlies in a hard-fought road game. Carlton Aaron scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the team traveled to Oakland Michigan, where the Roos had never won under Head Coach Rich Zvosec. Though their streak is over, having lost to Chicago State University last Saturday, Kangaroo fever is still on the rise.

The University News was on hand Thursday night with about 175 fans at the watch party held at Lew's Grill & Bar at 75th and Wornall. The 5 p.m. tip-off did not dissuade students, and the crowd grew quickly as the game went on with fans stopping by on their way home from work. At one point the crowd was cheering on each basket in a display of school spirit that made Lew's owner Bob Lewellen smile with pride. The game itself was closer than the final score indicated, but in the end Carlton Aaron, Michael English and company were just too strong for the Grizzlies.

Glynnis Zieman, a student in the School of Medicine, commented on the number of fans showing up at home games, at Municipal Auditorium, compared to the numbers at the beginning of the season. She estimated the crowd to be under 1,000 then and thinks there are over 3,000 showing up now. "Unless teams are winning, there is no interest." said Zieman. Judging by the current numbers, the interest is growing steadily, a goal the Department of Athletics has been working toward for some time. Zieman's friend Jeff Marsh, an Arts and Sciences major, is optimistic about the future of the Roos. "The team keeps getting stronger," he said.

Thursday night's 11th straight conference win, marking the longest winning streak in UMKC history, continued to fuel speculation that UMKC is "the" team to beat in the upcoming Mid-Continent Tournament, a speculation that Coach Zvosec did not dispel during his weekly radio show Tuesday night on Sports Radio 810 WHB.

A first-place win in the Mid-Con tournament would mean an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and a crack at "March Madness" that this University has never known, something that has not been lost on the growing number of UMKC fans both at the University and in Kansas City in general. A caller to the Coaches show expressed his dream that the Roos not only make the tournament but also make a Gonzaga type run in their bracket.

With the road trip behind them, the Roos hope to enjoy a large dose of home cooking as five of their next nine games are at Municipal. The Roos are currently 10 and 1 in conference and 11 and 8 overall.

tkeltner@unews.com