We are still a few weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Colgate F Keegan Records, who talked about making the NCAA tourney last March and his expectations for this season.
You were born/raised in Rhode Island: what made you choose Colgate? I visited a couple of different schools but came to Colgate right after they had played Tennessee in the 2019 NCAA tourney. I found that it would be a great fit and loved everything that it had to offer both on/off the court.
You play for Coach Matt Langel: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? There are many reasons he has been so successful. Every year is a little different but he works with what his players have to offer. He is able to let us flow: there is not just 1 specific offensive/defensive set.
You are 6’10”/250 pounds: how much of an advantage is your size in the Patriot League? I think that it is definitely a big advantage but we are lucky to have 2 on our team with myself/6’11” Jeff Woodward. We battle every day in practice, which helps us a lot during games. We see a lot of big guys in non-conference play but not as much during conference play.
You played in 33 games as a freshman and were named to the conference All-Rookie Team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I only played about 12 MPG because we had so many older/talented players so I just learned from them and came off the bench. We had a lot of great shooters so it made my job of finishing around the rim very easy and set me up to succeed. The coaches taught me the offense and found a way to put me in the right spots at the right time.
As a sophomore you finished the conference tourney 14-1 with only a 2-PT loss to Army: how close did you come to going undefeated? We lost to them during the 1st week of the year while playing back-to-back games after beating them by 44 PTS the day before so we got a little relaxed for the rematch. That COVID year was a new year but our mindset changed after the loss and we gave it everything we had every time. That loss taught us a lot.
You led the league with 64.1 FG% that year and also became the 1st Colgate player since 2009 to lead the league in BPG: what is the secret to being a great shooter/shot-blocker? When I get the ball in the post and have 4 shooters around me who can shoot 40% from behind the arc it gives me a chance to operate without being double-teamed. Blocking shots is about staying 1 step ahead of the offense.
In the 2022 NCAA tourney you scored 7 PTS in a 7-PT loss to Wisconsin: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this year? We have played 2 close games in March Madness during my time here. I learned that if our opponent tries to speed us up then we just need to play Colgate basketball and do what we do best by finding our open shooters. It was a crazy game last year so we just need to stay calm. We deserve to be there so we just need to go out and play.
You are 1 of 6 seniors on the roster: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success? I think it will be very crucial. We have a couple of new guys coming in so we are just teaching them about how to become 1 team. The upperclassmen have been through hundreds of games/practices and our transfers have been around the sport a long time. We all have 1 goal: we do not just want to get to March Madness but want to pull off an upset once we get there.
Your non-conference schedule includes games at Auburn/Syracuse: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? This will be my 2nd time playing Auburn and my 3rd time playing Syracuse. I assume Auburn will be ranked in the top-25 but they are both talented teams. We just have to stick to Colgate basketball even if it is a crazy environment in a packed stadium. Syracuse is only a 40-mile drive away but we just have to trust the game plan. Those 2 games stick out to us too so we will be fired up for both of them.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? We have really high standards. 1 of our goals is to win the regular season/tourney titles and do the best we can in conference play. After the regular season ends we need to reset our minds for the postseason and hopefully we will be a #1 seed. We will definitely not take winning the title game for granted…but it would be great to beat a high-major team whether they are a 2/3/4 seed in the NCAA tourney and then keep moving forward.
