Chris Youngblood, Kennesaw State have ‘big-time opportunity’
KENNESAW, Ga. (BVM) – Kennesaw State men’s basketball made history by winning its first ever ASUN Conference tournament title, which guaranteed the Owls their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Kennesaw State is dancing but junior guard Chris Youngblood will wait to celebrate when the season is over.
“Personally, it hasn’t even sunk in yet because we’re still in season, I’m getting ready for March Madness,” Youngblood said. “We got to go get some games in this tournament because we’re more than capable. I probably won’t be able to enjoy it or let it sink in until after we get done playing. It is crazy though.”
Youngblood said he allowed himself the day to celebrate the 67-66 win over Liberty in the championship game but then it was right back to work. It’s just how the 6-foot-4 guard from Sharpsburg, Georgia is wired.
“It’s like a gift and curse because it makes me who I am but I couldn’t even enjoy it how I want to yet knowing we still have games left and a big time opportunity,” Youngblood said.
Youngblood is well aware of the magnitude of what he and his teammates have just accomplished. The whole city of Kennesaw is buzzing about the Owls making their first trip to March Madness. It’s hard for Youngblood and his teammates to go anywhere right now without being noticed. They’re celebrities.
“Just being around Kennesaw period man, you go out to eat, you go to the grocery store somebody is going to recognize you,” Youngblood said. “It’s pretty cool.”
It’s an excitement that has been building basically from the start of the season. After a 13-18 2022 campaign, the Owls and their fans knew that this year had the potential to be special.
“We could’ve easily been a 20–win team last year,” Youngblood said.
Kennesaw State lost eight games by six points or less last year, including a triple overtime loss to Eastern Kentucky. In their last game of the regular season against Liberty, the Owls led by four with a 1:32 left in the game before losing by seven in overtime.
“I feel like we had to go through that to be where we’re at now because we had a lot of close games this year…We learned how to finish games,” Youngblood said.
It’s how Kennesaw State punched its ticket to the tournament. In the ASUN championship with the game tied and one second left, Terrell Burden hit the game-winning free throw. The shot guaranteed the Owls a championship and it solidified Burden as the game’s MVP. Burden, along with Youngblood and Brandon Stroud, who had a triple-double in the championship, also made the ASUN all-tournament team.
“I feel like we could have had four to five or six people make the all-tournament team,” Youngblood said. “That’s what makes us so dangerous because we’re so well balanced. I know me and Terrell, we might get all the attention, but man we would not be winning all these games without being as balanced as we are throughout the season. That’s what won us the tournament.”
Youngblood leads the team in scoring this season with 14.7 points per game. Burden and Demond Robinson are also averaging double digits in scoring with Stroud right behind them with 9.4 points per game. Each has had a game or two where they were able to take over and everyone on the team has stepped up in key moments. Kennesaw State is a deep team and nine guys played meaningful minutes in the championship.
The depth becomes even more dangerous because players like Youngblood know the importance of it. He knows the team is far better off with multiple guys reaching 10-plus points in a game than one guy going for 20-plus points. He is a willing passer who hopes that opponents key on him because it means one of his teammates is open.
“What makes me dangerous is my team around me,” Youngblood said.
“You get about four or five players scoring 15 points, that’s pretty dangerous for us.”
It’s a product of a great culture and a close-knit team. Youngblood along with most of his teammates have been building to this moment for years. Head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim brought them in to turn this program around and they’ve done that.
Youngblood takes a lot of pride in it. He’s well aware that Coach Amir can talk about culture all he wants, but it’s up to the players to bring it to fruition. They have to live it everyday and hold each other accountable. Without that buy in from the players, the Owls wouldn’t be heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. Youngblood bought into it before he even stepped onto campus and he knew the Owls would reach March Madness.
“It’s what I expected,” Youngblood said about the team’s success this season. “It might sound arrogant but it’s what I expected when I committed to Kennesaw because if I would have thought anything different, I would have been doing my coaching staff and my team a disservice. I’d be letting them down if I didn’t think we could get to this point.”
That strong, unwavering belief comes from the way Youngblood takes on the game of basketball. Ask anyone around him, there is a level of seriousness that is at the heart of everything he does on the court. He has fun and enjoys his time out on the court, but he has a job to do out on the court and that comes first. That seriousness is something he learned from his favorite player, Kobe Bryant.
“He’s the reason I started playing basketball, he’s my dads favorite player,” Youngblood said about Bryant. “I can’t even put into words what Kobe meant to me. If you ask any of my teammates, coaches, I’m a big Kobe guy. Really when it comes to the approach I have to the game. There’s a sense of seriousness that I have about the game.”
It’s why he only allowed himself the day of championship to celebrate. Like his role model said in 2009, “The job’s not finished.” Youngblood and the Owls’ season isn’t over. They aren’t content with a tournament appearance, now they want more.
