It took a while, but the Kangaroos finally found the right mesh at the end of the season.

Now, the key is making that formula last for coach Matt Brown's second season with the team. And thanks to a gift-wrapped recruiting class that all produced well in their first years, Missouri-Kansas City will be off to a nice start despite losing three starters.

Attempting to fill the shoes of former coach Rich Zvosec, Brown came in as a former assistant at West Virginia.

One of Brown's major goals to fix was the team's defense, with Missouri-Kansas City finishing second to last in that category two years ago, giving up 74.9 points per game.

However, not much changed, as the Kangaroos landed in that same spot with almost the identical number (74.7).

UMKC's offense didn't fare much better, ranking seventh overall at 68.8 points per game. Some of that was likely due to the players getting used to both each other and their new coach.

However, things started to get better in February, as the Kangaroos closed out the regular season with wins in three of their last five games.

And in the Summit League tournament, UMKC took second-seeded IUPUI to the wire before finally falling by four points.

The team also found a few possible future stars along the way, led by freshman point guard Reggie Hamilton. He started 21-of-31 games during the season, and topped the team in assists while becoming the team's No. 3 scorer at 11.7 points per game.

Forward Kenny Simms, a transfer from Florida International, led the team in blocked shots and was tied for the squad's top rebounder.

Then there's guard Dane Brumagin, who made the leap from role player to team leader over the last two seasons. The junior's 17.1 points per game led the team and ranked fifth in the Summit League.

Brumagin is a likely candidate for the preseason All-Summit team next year, and has really matured into one of the league's top scorers and three-point shooters.

The better-experienced backcourt of Brumagin and Hamilton alone should make UMKC a threat to improve on its 11-21 record next season.

The victory total was one less than the Kangaroos had two years ago, when Zvosec was fired, so that should give some incentive for Brown. The coach will likely be better as well now that he has a full season with his new players under his belt.

Whether he has enough to bring UMKC back into being a contender for the Summit League title remains to be seen.

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