Kanaskie in position to leave a legacy.
When Middle Tennessee senior guard Kevin Kanaskie entered the Blue Raider basketball program in 2005, few if any would have guessed he would be on the doorstep of some major milestones three years later.

Thats exactly where the senior from State College (Penn.) is today though, with a chance to solidify his place as one of the programs best players in history while also playing a key role in the programs quest to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Kanaskie will begin his senior season with 365 career assists, good for fourth on the schools all time list and just 99 assists away from taking the top spot in Blue Raider history which is currently held by Gerald Harris.

With 873 career points through three seasons, Kanaskie also has an excellent chance to finish his career in the top 20 on the all time scoring list.

Defensively, if he repeats last years performance hell have a chance to finish in the top five of Middle Tennessees all time steals list.

Kanaskie has improved his game every year and has grown into one of the most consistent and steady performers of the Kermit Davis era.

It will all add up to little in Kanaskies mind though if this season doesnt end with the Blue Raiders hoisting some hardware.

I think Ive made good progress (in my career), Kanaskie said. But obviously we havent won (a championship). Thats why I came here is to win. It has kind of been disappointing but I dont care about the past. I just want to win our conference and hopefully we will be able to do that. I like (the makeup of this years team). We have some work to do. I think the new guys fit in pretty well and we have some experienced guys that have been here for four years I really like our team.

Kanaskie worked last season to develop more as a vocal leader but that role may be even more important this year with the Blue Raiders welcoming in some new contributors that could provide the missing pieces to a championship run.

Kanaskie says the early returns look good from the new arrivals and that he and his fellow seniors have enjoyed being a guide for them early in their college careers.

We have worked with (the young players and new arrivals) a lot. They have been doing a nice job asking questions and they are very positive about things. I think everyone is getting on the same page. They all have (caught my eye). Eric (Allen) and Montarrio (Haddock) came in a little overweight but they have really worked hard. Eric is a really good shooter and Montarrio is really working hard and fitting into the system.

Kanaskies role in his final year may not require him to be one of the teams top scoring threats. With Desmond Yates, Demetrius Green, Eric Allen, Nigel Johnson, and other teammates more than capable of scoring the basketball, Kanaskie should be able to pick his spots to make a major impact in the scoring column.

But he certainly has that ability, particularly from behind the three point line, where he made a team leading 61 long range bombs last year.

He says the extra few inches that have been added to the line for this season have not affected him so far in practice. If it stays that way in games, he can also make a major dent into the school record books three point shooting chapter.

He is 57 treys away from breaking the career record currently held by Robert Taylor, which stands at 222.

But dont expect Kanaskie to get caught up in any of his own personal accolades.

Hes focused on an upcoming season that presents the Blue Raiders some exciting opportunities as well as his own leadership role on the team, which he is using to preach that the team has to be true to the cliche of taking it one game at a time.

Thats especially true with the team scheduled to play a couple of early games that will generate plenty of hype, most notably Tennessee on November 21st at Murphy Center.

Its pretty good to have Tennessee coming in here, obviously because they are a BCS school. But every game is important. If we lose the first two then the third one is really not that important anymore. We have to treat every game like its a big game.

Treat every game like its a big game.

Thats exactly what Kanaskie has done his entire career and Blue Raider fans will get to enjoy him for one more season.

Posted on October 10th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: College basketball news