By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Coming off the second largest turnaround in University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball history, the 2023-24 version of the Skyhawks officially took the floor for the first practice of the season this evening at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Head coach Ryan Ridder enters his third season overseeing the UT Martin men’s basketball program, which posted 19 victories and 10 Ohio Valley Conference wins in 2022-23. That marked the school’s third-most OVC wins in a single season as the Skyhawks led the league in seven statistical categories, including scoring offense (80.5 points per game), scoring margin (+5.1), rebounding (39.18 per contest), field goal percentage (.459) and field goal percentage defense (.422).
A total of six players return from last season’s squad, including starters Jordan Sears (All-OVC first team as a sophomore, 15.3 points per game) and KK Curry (8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds per outing, team-high .584 field goal percentage as a junior). Desmond Williams (68 made three-pointers), Jalen Myers (11 double-digit scoring games), Koby Jeffries (34 career starts, 153 assists in two seasons) and David Kamwanga (41 career games played in two years) also return for Ridder in 2023-24.
Six of UT Martin’s eight newcomers boast NCAA Division I playing experience. That list includes senior Issa Muhammad (9.3 points per game last season at New Mexico State) and juniors Jacob Crews (NJCAA second team All-American at Daytona State College after two seasons at North Florida), Christian Fussell (58 career games played at Middle Tennessee), Justus Jackson (29 games played at Hawai’i in 2022-23), Sebastian Mendoza (13.7 points per game at San Bernardino Valley College last year after two seasons at San Jose State) and Kenny White, Jr. (621 points over three collegiate seasons, including last season at Murray State). Junior forward Yassin Hussein (12.7 points per game at Lake Land College) and freshman guard Braylon Jackson (1,181 points over his final three seasons of high school in Georgia) complete the new additions for the Skyhawks in 2023-24.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information
