2025-26 Triton College Men's Basketball Season Preview

In a brand-new season with an almost completely made-over roster, the Triton College men's basketball team will likely need a new way to total up the same number of points.

Head coach Brian Burns no longer has an automatic "go-to" scorer like Amar Augillard or Dayjaun Anderson for whom to call plays at key moments. The new arrivals all possess offensive talent, but none comes in as an automatic 20-points-a-game scorer.

"We'll probably have a lot of different lineups," said Burns. "As you play games, you'll figure it out. It might be scoring by committee.

 In (predecessor) John Clancy's first year, we had seven, eight guys averaging between seven and 12 points a game. Amar (NJCAA Player of the Year in 2023-24) was an elite scorer. We'll see who steps up."

Standards are high at Triton as perhaps the top urban NJCAA men's basketball program in the country with annual trips to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., almost a lock. The Trojans finished 29-6 in 2024-25, getting knocked out in the second round of the tourney on a last-second shot to Cowley Community College. Triton will enter the 2025-26 campaign as the No. 11 ranked team in the country in the preseason poll. 

The challenge of Burns and his staff is to mold chemistry as quickly as possible. Unlike many previous seasons, the coaches do not have a returning starter as a continuity factor. Last year's Trojans had forward Tolu Samuels, who earned all-Region 4 honors, as a second-year starter.

What Burns does have is impressive size in his new recruits. Detroit product Miles Mitchell is expected to be a factor in the middle at 6-foot-10. Terez Holmes and Martez Harris, both 6-foot-8, are projected to complement Mitchell in the front court, with Harris' contributions put off until mid-season due to injury. Even the guards are big: 6-foot-6 Papa Kounta and 6-foot-5 Weber State transfer Saadiq Moore are described as adept ball handlers and passers.

"We wanted to be bigger," said Burns. But the recruiting efforts did not specifically target size. Burns said he was simply fortunate to land the group of taller players.

In establishing a top defensive attitude necessary for deep tournament play, Mitchell has the potential to be a centerpiece. "He could lead the country in rebounding," Burns said. "He's an elite rebounder and elite defender. Overall, we have a chance to be elite defensively." The bonus, added the coach, is Mitchell can step out and shoot from three-point range if necessary when not battling close-in.

Moore could be the leading scorer when not running the point. "He's a more natural playmaker, but he can score," said Burns. "But I think he can have some big-scoring games." Kounta could bolster the backcourt as a "good dribbler who can shoot and pass, and is a good defender."

Rating Holmes "super talented," Burns also projects Louisville native Keashawn Jordan at 6-foot-7 as a contributor. "He has great fuel," he said.

Two backup returnees are on the roster: Matt Sullivan and Will Scott. And a pair of players, long and short, hail from Triton's own district: 6-foot-9 Nathan Nyarko from Elmwood Park and 5-foot-11 Max Johnson from Oak Park. Nyarko and Johnson will be in a kind of developmental mode with playing time dependent on their production. Another Chicago-area player with promise is guard Jehvion Starwood of far west suburban Oswego, who transferred from Wyoming.

The collegiate transfer portal theoretically should make talent acquisition easier for Triton. But the vast majority of talent is persuaded through old-fashioned recruiting, Burns said.

"Sometimes players themselves are the best recruiters," he said.
 
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)