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Tiger duo looks for strong effort in Texas
3/12/2010
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
During a break in Tuesday's practice, half of the Fort Hays State University men's basketball team headed over to one sideline for water. Several players sat down on the bleachers and drank from bottles, laughing and talking amongst themselves. One player stood apart. Junior guard Dominique Jones didn't have any water. Instead, he sat by himself on the scorer's table, a somber look on his face.
"I am disappointed in myself and my team the last couple games," he said. "I am just trying to step up and elevate my game."
This season, the 5-foot-8 Jones, in his first year with the Tigers after transferring from junior college powerhouse Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, led Fort Hays with 13.3 points and four assists a contest. He became the first Tiger to earn first team all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association honors since FHSU switched conferences four years ago.
Jones' shooting, especially from 3-point range, helped FHSU start 17-1 overall, 11-0 in conference. However, Jones, along with junior guard Corbin Kuntzsch, a second team all-conference selection, has slid offensively in the last month. Their slide mirrors FHSU's struggling offense and the Tigers' 5-5 record in their last 10 games.
"By far, we haven't reached our peak yet as far as offense," Jones said.
Jones and Kuntzsch (who averages 13 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds) are vital to the Tigers' success. At times this season, Tiger coach Mark Johnson has called Jones and senior guard Willie Hassell "the key to our team," and labeled Kuntzsch, a three-year starter, "our security blanket." In many ways, Jones and Kuntzsch's play is directly related to Fort Hays' winning or losing.
On Saturday, the duo will each look for a strong effort as 14th-ranked Fort Hays (22-6), the third seed in the South Central Regional, will face No. 6-seed University of Central Oklahoma (22-6) in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Game time is noon on the campus of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Kuntzsch said "22-5 is a good year, but we want to make it a great year. We want to go down there and win all three of them and get to Massachusetts (for the Elite Eight). That's the goal, that's been the goal since the beginning of the season."
Jones, from Harlem, and Kuntzsch, a Scott City native, arrived at Fort Hays by different routes. Jones had never left New York City for school until transferring to FHSU. He has enjoyed the town and team, especially the Tigers' different style than what he's normally used to. Jones has especially been impressed by senior forward Tim Peintner, a 2008-09 all-conference selection who has played fewer minutes, scored fewer points -- and still has been a strong leader.
"I am from New York and I am from teams where everybody is trying to get their own stats and everything," Jones said. "On this team, everything is pretty balanced. Everybody supports each other no matter what. ... Tim, an all-conference player, sacrificed a lot of minutes, he could have easily came in and said no. I am going to try to average 20 a game. It's my last year, I am going to do something with it."
Jones noticed early that Fort Hays had plenty of talent; Fort Hays has had eight players lead the team in scoring in a game this season and eight Tigers play at least 19 minutes a night. It's helped FHSU average 77.3 points per game and shoot 49.5 percent from the field, best among the eight teams in the South Central Regional field.
"When I first got here, we had individual workouts and we were just playing and the first couple of days here, I saw our team and I said, 'We got a lot of talent on this team, so as long we can play together and work hard, we will be good at what we do,' " Jones said. "I saw that from Day One, it was never going to be a problem scoring the ball. It's how we mesh together."
Jones, one of the league's shortest players, shoots the ball well and can penetrate through nearly any defense. In the Tigers' 17-1 start, Jones averaged 14.1 points per game, shot 49.4 percent from the field and 51.3 percent from 3-point range, just off FHSU's school record. He had games of 28 and 29 points in that span and hit a last-second shot to defeat University of Nebraska-Omaha.
"Dom I wouldn't categorize as ultra-quick," Johnson said. "He is crafty, plays angles."
In the last 10 games, though, teams have played Jones more physical, including Emporia State University in the conference tournament last Saturday. Jones, who scored a career-high 29 points against ESU earlier in the season, was held to 10 points.
"When we played them the first time, I think we got a little soft on screens and everything," ESU senior guard Tim Niles said. "We had to think about how quick he was ... but for the most part, we couldn't be soft on him, we couldn't make him make plays."
The different looks have held Jones into 11.8 points per game, 38.8 field goal shooting and 27.6 3-point shooting in the last 10 contests. Even with the first team all-conference honor and Fort Hays' finishing second in the conference, Jones still has unfinished work left.
"Everybody has set a goal, playing in Massachusetts and playing on CBS (in the national title game), that is something that we pride ourself on," Jones said. "Just saying that you came out here, got second in the conference and first team all-MIAA, what does that prove? If we come out and give all out effort, we should come out on top of every game we play."
Kuntzsch, a three-year starter who improved his numbers every season, has often scored within Fort Hays' offense. Known for his intelligence and floor sense, Kuntzsch has done it without a pretty jump shot or great athleticism.
"Coach doesn't like my shot. He has told me that from Day One, but I think getting a lot of shots up after practice (has helped)," he said. ... There for a while, I was shooting it really well and feeling really confident in doing so."
After the 17-1 start, Kuntzsch averaged 14.1 points per game and shot 55 percent from the field, including 49 percent from 3-point range.
"Corbin does all of the intangibles; tough, smart, he plays without the ball, he does all of those things. It comes down to Corbin shooting the basketball," Fort Hays coach Mark Johnson said. "When Corbin is a good perimeter shooter, he is first team all-conference, he is a top-five guy in our conference. When he doesn't, he is not overly athletic off the bounce, making plays. He has got to get his own shot through movement and most of the time when you do that, you are going to be a jump shooter."
In the last 10 games, Kuntzsch's numbers have slipped to 11.1 points, 42.2 percent field goal shooting and 31.6 percent from 3-point range.
"When (Corbin) is making shots, he is as good as anybody in this conference," Johnson said. "He is going through a tough stretch right now, the last month of the season and hopefully him and a couple of other guys, if those guys get their shots back to where they were at the beginning of the year, there is no reason that we can't come down here and win this regional."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |