The Cameron Aggies start a new season with a new head coach; what will the Black-and-Gold offense look like during the O'Connor era?
After five straight losing seasons, which saw the Cameron Aggies only compile 36 wins in that span, including an uncompetitive 7-33 record in the last two seasons to end Andrew Brown's tenure as the Aggie's bench boss. Cameron Athletic Director Jim Jackson named Kevin O'Connor as the 32nd head coach in Men's Basketball history in March of 2022 after a great stint at Murray State College.
O'Connor comes to the Aggies with a successful track record winning 25 games at Murray State College in his first season during the 2021-22 campaign at the NJCAA level. He spent time on Bruce Weber's staff, the 2005 NCAA coach of the year who made a Final Four birth that season, coaching Illinois and earning Big Ten Coach of the Year honors before doing the same in the Big 12 conference with Kansas State.
Despite his age, Kevin O'Connor has been around many successful programs, and he and the Aggies believe he is the right head coach to get the program back on track.
One of the main areas of improvement needed for the Black-and-Gold is an offensive overhaul from the clunky operation CU has seen in recent years.
Kevin O'Connor described his offense: "We Emphasize playing together all the time. Giving up good shots in favor of great shots. The more assisted Field Goals we attempt, the better." A culture shock from the isolation-heavy offense Cameron has been used to.
O'Connor continued calling it a "team first mentality," adding that the Cameron Aggies will be "fun to watch" this season. That had already rung true in Exhibition play when Cameron went down to play Division I Texas State and nailed 10 three-pointers on 25 attempts. Five Aggies had five or more points, while DeSean Munson led the way with 17.
Last Year, O'Connor's Murray State College squad ranked in the 89th percentile of half-court offense, with a lot of success found on cuts scoring ten points per game off the cut, ranking them in the 86th percentile for NJCAA.
With the passing style Kevin O'Connor described, it was evident in his team generating 24.7 spot-up shots per game last season.
That is where Colt Savage sees himself coming into play. Savage has used the word "excited" to describe how he feels about the upcoming season under O'Connor for a good reason. The UCO transfer shot 42 percent from three-point land en route to 15 points per game last year. Savage is one of just four returners from last year's Black-and-Gold squad.
Kevin O'Connor says he expects the Aggies will "fulfill our potential, come together as a team, and be the best we can be." while he understands the Lone Star Conference is an "Amazingly tough league," he believes Cameron is set to "surprise some people" with their competitive play on the floor this season.
The Aggies were picked dead last (16th) in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Men's Basketball poll. CU only earned 68 points in the poll, as Eastern New Mexico, who finished 15th, garnered 95 points. While you cannot blame the voters for overlooking a team that labored to win three games a year ago, many around the program believe this team is better than they are given credit for, with newcomers like Munson, Thai Elder, and Jaden Okon set to make an immediate impact for the Black-and-Gold.
While there is a ton of optimism around the Cameron Aggies Men's Basketball team for the first time in a long time, O'Connor added, "In order for us to reach our true potential, it will come down to how we respond to adversity. I think we have the pieces to be competitive night in and night out, but when it comes to winning time, we will need to find some guys to answer the call."
With so much turnover on the Aggies roster, it will be interesting to watch this team grow together and find the right combination for success. On top of trying to surprise some people this season, O'Connor is trying to "get our guys to play team basketball. That is really the foundation and culture we would like to set for ourselves. We will take pride in the defensive end; in basketball, some things are beyond your control, but if you commit to contesting every shot on the defensive end, usually the score will reflect that."
The Cameron Aggies will start their season on November 11th as part of a conference crossover event, playing a pair of games in Colorado with UC Colorado Springs first up and Colorado State-Pueblo the following day. You can get your first look at the new look Aggies in the Aggie Gym when the team returns to Lawton on November 19th against Rogers State.
Kevin O'Connor said the Aggies' non-conference slate is full of "quality Division II opponents" that are "extremely well coached and have great players, so we will need to play well."
That non-conference slate will prepare Cameron for the grueling Lone Star Conference gauntlet, which gets underway on November 30th in Tyler, Texas, against UT-Tyler.
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