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Kansas City Roos men's basketball

Kansas City Roos
2024–25 Kansas City Roos men's basketball team
UniversityUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City
First season1969
Head coachMarvin Menzies (3rd season)
ConferenceSummit League
LocationKansas City, Missouri
ArenaSwinney Recreation Center
(capacity: 1,600)
NicknameRoos
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away


The Kansas City Roos men's basketball team represents the University of Missouri–Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri. Starting off in NAIA, the Roos moved to the NCAA Division 1 level in 1987 as an independent. They played in the Summit League from 1994-2013 until they moved to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They returned to the Summit League in 2020 after seven seasons in the WAC. The team has never played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Roos are led by head coach Marvin Menzies.

The team formerly played at the historical Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, which has hosted the most NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball Final Fours. They have played at Swinney Recreation Center on campus in 2013-14 and 2019-present.

The team made its first Division I postseason appearance in the 2017 College Basketball Invitational. They defeated Green Bay 92-82 at home in the first round then lost to Wyoming 72-61 on the road in the quarterfinals. They made the NAIA Tournament in 1977, losing to Grand Valley State in the first round 94-88. They have won two early-season tournament championships, the 1991 River City Classic and 2011 Chicago Invitational Upper Division. They were the Runner-Up of the 2019 Islands of Bahamas Showcase and 2022 Gulf Coast Showcase.

The Roos’ conference rivals include Oral Roberts, Omaha and South Dakota State. Other local and historical rivals include Chicago State, Southeast Missouri State and Missouri. They have won the last two meetings against Missouri in 2014 and 2021.

History

NAIA Era (1969-86)

The Roos were a formidable NAIA program as they had 10 winning seasons and four 20-win seasons in an 18-year stretch. They had rivalries with local Kansas City teams such as Rockhurst and William Jewell. In 1984-85, they finished a program best 27-9 (.750). In 1977, they finished 21-7 (.750) with an NAIA Tournament Appearance. Darrell Corwin coached the Roos from 1973-80 and is the all-time winningest coach in program history at 118-78 (.602).

Lee Hunt Era (1987-96)

The Roos made the move to NCAA Division 1 in 1987 as an Independent with head coach Lee Hunt leading the way. They enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons from 1991-1993. In the 1991-92 season, they finished a program NCAA D1 best 21-7 (.750). Lee Hunt is the winningest coach in D1 program history with a 113-135 record (.456).

Bob Sundvold/Dean Demopoulos Era (1996-2001)

Following the departure of Lee Hunt, the Roos had some down years under Bob Sundvold. Sundvold’s best season was his last in 1999-2000 with a 16-13 record and a 2nd place finish in the conference. In Dean Demopoulos’s lone season in 2000-01, the Roos went 14-16 and 9-7 in conference play.

Rich Zvosec Era (2001-07)

Zvosec made an early impression as the Roos head coach going 18-11 in his first season in 2001-02. In 2004-05, the Roos went 16-12, 12-4 conference and a 2nd place finish. The Roos had three winning seasons and a .500 season under Zvosec with an overall record of 84-91 (.480). The most notable player of this era is Michael Watson, the program’s all-time leading scorer. His jersey number 33 is retired by the Roos.

Matt Brown Era (2007-13)

In Matt Brown’s six seasons as head coach, the Roos had only one winning season and an overall record of just 64-122 (.344). Brown’s lone winning season season came in 2010-11 when the Roos finished 16-14 and 9-9 in conference play. They won the 2011 Chicago Invitational Upper Divisional Championship.

Kareem Richardson Era (2013-19)

In 2013, the Roos signed Richardson as he was coming off a national title as an assistant coach at Louisville behind Rick Pitino. Richardson got busy on bringing in local talent, including eventual 2015 WAC Player of Year Martez Harrison. In 2014-15 the Roos finished 14-19 but 8-6 in the WAC, good for 2nd place. In 2016-17, the Roos finished 18-17, 8-6 WAC and made their first ever NCAA Division 1 postseason appearance. They defeated Green Bay 92-82 in the CBI 1st round and lost to Wyoming 72-61 in the CBI Quarterfinals.

Billy Donlon Era (2019-22)

Billy Donlon was hired by the Roos in 2019 after success as head coach at Wright State and Big Ten assistant coaching experience. In his first season, the Roos went 16-14, 8-7 WAC and 4th in the WAC and were the Islands of Bahamas Showcase Runner-Up. In 2021-22, the Roos finished 19-12, 12-6 Summit League and a 3rd place finish for their best record since the 2001-02 season.

Marvin Menzies Era (2022-present)

The Roos hired Marvin Menzies in 2022, their former conference foe in the WAC. They struggled in his first season going 11-21 and 7-11 Summit League, but were the Gulf Coast Showcase Runner-Up. They bounced back in 2023-24 finishing 16-16, 10-6 Summit League and a 2nd place conference finish. The Roos were picked as preseason conference champions in 2024-25 for the first time and were ranked #22 in the College Insider Mid Major Top 25.

Athletic brand names

  • Kansas City Kangaroos (1954–1963) — At the time, UMKC was known as the University of Kansas City (short form KCU).
  • UMKC Kangaroos (1963–2019) — KCU joined the University of Missouri system in 1963, adopting its institutional name at that time.
  • Kansas City Roos (2019–present)

Season–by–season results

NAIA

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Bill Ross (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) (1969–1973)
1969–70 Bill Ross 11–13 — —
1970–71 Bill Ross 14–16 — —
1971–72 Bill Ross 19–8 — —
1972–73 Bill Ross 15–11 — —
Darrell Corwin (NAIA) (1973–1980)
1973–74 Darrell Corwin 15–12 — —
1974–75 Darrell Corwin 21–7 — —
1975–76 Darrell Corwin 16–10 — —
1976–77 Darrell Corwin 21–9 — — NAIA First Round
1977–78 Darrell Corwin 15–15 — —
1978–79 Darrell Corwin 17–11 — —
1979–80 Darrell Corwin 13–14 — —
Darrell Corwin: 118–78 (.602) –
Byron Lehman (NAIA) (1980–1983)
1980–81 Byron Lehman 7–16 — —
1981–82 Byron Lehman 11–13 — —
1982–83 Byron Lehman 10–16 — —
Byron Lehman: 28–45 (.384) –
Bruce Carrier (NAIA) (1983–1985)
1983–84 Bruce Carrier 23–13 — —
1984–85 Bruce Carrier 27–9 — —
Bruce Carrier: 50–22 (.694) –
Bill Ross (NAIA) (1985–1986)
1985–86 Bill Ross 19–15 — —
Bill Ross: 78–63 (.553) –
Total: 274–208 (.568)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA

Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
(NCAA Division I Independents) (1987–1994)
1987–88 Lee Hunt 9–18 — —
1988–89 Lee Hunt 9–18 — —
1989–90 Lee Hunt 13–15 — —
1990–91 Lee Hunt 15–14 — —
1991–92 Lee Hunt 21–7 — —
1992–93 Lee Hunt 15–12 — —
1993–94 Lee Hunt 12–17 — —
Lee Hunt (Mid-Continent Conference) (1994–1996)
1994–95 Lee Hunt 7–19 7—11 7th
1995–96 Lee Hunt 12–15 10—8 T—3rd
Lee Hunt: 113–135 (.456) 17–19 (.472)
Bob Sundvold (Mid-Continent Conference) (1996–2000)
1996–97 Bob Sundvold 10–17 7—9 6th
1997–98 Bob Sundvold 9–18 7—9 6th
1998–99 Bob Sundvold 8–22 3—11 T—7th
1999–00 Bob Sundvold 16–13 10—6 T—2nd
Bob Sundvold: 43–70 (.381) 27–35 (.435)
Dean Demopoulos (Mid-Continent Conference) (2000–2001)
2000–01 Dean Demopoulos 14–16 9—7 4th
Dean Demopoulos: 14–16 (.467) 9–7 (.563)
Rich Zvosec (Mid-Continent Conference) (2001–2007)
2001–02 Rich Zvosec 18–11 7—7 5th
2002–03 Rich Zvosec 9–20 7—7 5th
2003–04 Rich Zvosec 15–14 9—7 T–5th
2004–05 Rich Zvosec 16–12 12—4 2nd
2005–06 Rich Zvosec 14–14 11—5 3rd
2006–07 Rich Zvosec 12–20 6—8 T–5th
Rich Zvosec: 84–91 (.480) 52–38 (.578)
Matt Brown (Summit League) (2007–2013)
2007–08 Matt Brown 9–21 4—12 8th
2008–09 Matt Brown 5–24 1—15 10th
2009–10 Matt Brown 12–18 6—12 T–7th
2010–11 Matt Brown 16–14 9—9 6th
2011–12 Matt Brown 10–21 4—14 10th
2012–13 Matt Brown 8–23 5—11 T–7th
Matt Brown: 60–122 (.330) 29–73 (.284)
Kareem Richardson (Western Athletic Conference) (2013–2019)
2013–14 Kareem Richardson 10–20 7—9 T–5th
2014–15 Kareem Richardson 14–19 8—6 T–2nd
2015–16 Kareem Richardson 12–19 4—10 T–6th
2016–17 Kareem Richardson 18–17 8—6 4th CBI Quarterfinals
2017–18 Kareem Richardson 10–22 5—9 T–6th
2018–19 Kareem Richardson 11–21 6—10 6th
Kareem Richardson: 75–118 (.389) 38–50 (.432)
Billy Donlon (Western Athletic Conference) (2019–2020)
2019–20 Billy Donlon 16–14 8—7 4th
Billy Donlon (Summit League) (2020–2022)
2020–21 Billy Donlon 11–13 7—7 T–5th
2021–22 Billy Donlon 19–12 12—6 T–3rd
Billy Donlon: 46–39 (.541) 27–20 (.574)
Marvin Menzies (Summit League) (2022–present)
2022–23 Marvin Menzies 11–21 7—11 T–6th
Marvin Menzies: 11–21 (.344) 7–11 (.389)
Total: 435–591 (.424)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Postseason

CBI

The Roos (then nicknamed Kangaroos) appeared in one College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Their record is 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2017 First Round
Quarterfinals		 Green Bay
Wyoming		 W 92–82
L 61–72

NAIA Tournament results

The Kangaroos appeared in one NAIA Tournament. Their record is 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
1977 First Round Grand Valley State L 88–94

Former Kangaroos in the NBA

Former Kangaroos in international leagues

References

  1. ^ Kansas City Athletics Visual Identity Guide (PDF). July 1, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.


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