Three seniors put the Fort Lewis College men’s basketball team on their backs during a disappointing season that saw the Skyhawks’ streak of appearances in the Division II top-25 rankings snapped along with its streak of NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament appearances end at three.

It was the fourth season under head coach Bob Pietrack, who became the fastest coach in the history of NCAA men’s basketball to 50 home wins last season. But the Skyhawks lost star forward Riley Farris to injury, and two scholarship guards left the program either before or early in the season. FLC fought hard but limped to a 12-16 overall finish and 7-15 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to miss the eight-team RMAC tournament for the first time since 2000-01 season.

FLC had to say goodbye to star talents in Marquel Beasley and Alex Semadeni, who a year earlier helped lead FLC to the RMAC regular-season championship, while Semadeni had also been part of regional tournament wins in 2016 and 2017 as well as the RMAC regular season and tournament championships in 2015-16.

The Skyhawks also lost senior transfer Otas Iyekekpolor to graduation, and he is now playing professionally in Canada. On top of graduating three seniors, FLC said goodbye to point guard A.J. Sparks, guard Kireed Johnson and forward Keven Biggs, all junior college transfers who joined FLC before the 2018-19 season but were unable to perform up to FLC’s championship aspirations.

Those departures opened the door for Pietrack and associate head coach Daniel Steffensen to hit the road hard in recruiting and bring in new players they believe will help FLC recapture its form to contend for an RMAC title and in the regional tournament.

“Our staff is ecstatic about our recruiting class,” Pietrack said. “I thought we addressed all of our needs and got a little bit of everything, which is a really good thing. Along with the players we signed, we also get back our leading scorer in Riley Farris, which is like signing an all-region player, and he’s just a junior again this year.

“All of the guys we signed are great guys, great people. Our program has concrete, established standards, and we’re very excited to get back to those. The guys that left the program didn’t meet our standards on and off the court. We’ll be a lot better.”

Here’s a closer look at this year’s signing class:

Kot committed verbally to FLC early and turned down offers from Division I Abilene Christian in his home state of Texas as well as plenty of other Division II schools. The 6-foot-1 point guard will play as a freshman and could potentially see time in the starting lineup. He has drawn comparisons to FLC’s all-time leading scorer DeAndre Lansdowne, who has been an inspiration to Kot while playing at the highest level professionally in Germany.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to get here,” Kot said. “I came to Fort Lewis because I know they can help me become good enough to go to the next level after college. I know I’m good enough to play anywhere, I just needed a good opportunity with coaches who believe I could come play and help the team. Not many people get to do this, and I worked hard to get this scholarship and get the opportunity to play.”

Kot averaged a team-high 25.3 points per game as he led Palo Duro to a district title and the Class 5A regional semifinals. He was named the District 3-5A MVP.

“Akuel Kot is an exceptional young guard that has the potential to have a very memorable career here at Fort Lewis,” Pietrack said. “He comes to us from Palo Duro High School coached by Texas coaching legend Jeff Evans. Akuel was the Texas Panhandle 5A player of the year after an absolutely dominating senior season. He is the ultimate two-way player, and to say we are excited to have him with us would be a huge understatement.

“Our program foundation has always been built with great four-year players. Akuel is a gigantic building block for not only our future but also our present. We look for Akuel to be a difference maker from Day 1 on campus.”

A product of St. George, Utah, Hokanson signed with FLC after two years of junior college. He helped lead the Snow College Badgers to a 26-7 overall record, a Region 18 tournament championship and an appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament. He was named a second-team junior college All-American and is now the first junior college All-American to sign with FLC.

Pietrack compared Hokanson to Will Morse and said having a savvy point guard is imperative for the team and something the Skyhawks haven’t had since Morse graduated in 2017.

“Logan is a classic, ready-to-play point guard with a very high basketball IQ,” Pietrack said. “When we saw him play at Snow College, we just loved the way he played. He has great ball skills, a beautiful shot and understands how to run a successful college basketball team. His career at Snow College speaks for itself. He was named conference player of the year in the Scenic West Athletic Conference and second team Division I Junior College All-American. We are eager for our fans to watch Logan. He is a fun player. We anticipate him having an excellent two years in a Skyhawk uniform.”

At only 5-foot-10, Hokanson knows he doesn’t look the part of an elite college basketball player, but his game speaks for itself. Last season, he averaged 11.1 points and 3.4 assists per game. He had a season-high 34 points on Dec. 15 against Impact Academy.

“I have too much fun playing basketball. It’s all I think about; all I do is eat, sleep and dream about basketball,” he said. “I don’t pass the eye test. People are going to overlook me because of my size and what I look like, but I’m ready to come win games and fight for championships every year.”

A 6-foot-6 guard, Garrick transferred after a season at Nicholls State, a Division I program in Louisiana. He saw steady playing time and averaged 8.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He made 72 3-pointers and shot 41% from the field.

As a sophomore at Central Arizona College, he was named first team all-conference. His 101 made 3-pointers were a record, and he averaged 16.2 points per game.

The Legend High School alum of Parker was excited to get back to Colorado for his final season of NCAA eligibility. He won two Colorado high school dunk contests and scored more than 1,000 career points. He was first-team All-State all four years in high school.

“Most of my friends from high school and middle school play in this conference. I’m excited about being in the RMAC, the best D-II conference in my opinion and the prettiest, too,” Garrick said. “I can catch and shoot. I can shoot from deep and mid-range, and I’m actually a passer, as well. I’m excited to play with two good bigs in (Brenden Boatwright and Farris). My time at Nicholls, I didn’t have those good bigs, and I’m looking forward to playing with those guys.”

Pietrack knows recruiting a senior transfer can be tricky but has immense belief in Garrick’s all-around ability.

“Garrick is going to be big time,” Pietrack said. “Danny is a proven college player that will add valuable collegiate playing experience to our roster. ... He is an elite shooter, has a real feel for the game and will fill an immediate need for our ball club. Being from Colorado, we believe Danny will feel right at home here in Durango and have a monster senior season.”

Miguel played at one of the top junior colleges in the country at Casper College. The 6-foot-3 guard then went and played for the under-21 national team in Angola and will return to college basketball this season at Fort Lewis College with two years of eligibility remaining.

“I saw that the coaching staff knows what they’re doing,” Miguel said. “Then I saw the people committing here like Akuel, Junior (Garbrah), Danny Garrick, and I know Danny from Casper. That made me commit here.”

During his sophomore season at Casper, Miguel started 17 of 31 games played and averaged 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He can be an elite defender, Pietrack said.

“Levy is a beautiful athlete who has the ability to affect the game on both ends of the floor,” Pietrack said. “He comes to Fort Lewis with a bunch of basketball experience. ... Levy is a very versatile player and will be able to play multiple positions for us while being able to guard the other team’s best outside player. We are thankful to have Levy and think he will fit into our program very well.”

A former ESPN four-star high school recruit out of California, Berwick is a 6-foot-4 guard who has battled injuries during his career. With one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, Pietrack hopes the Skyhawks can help Berwick get back on track.

“Robbie is a good basketball player that has been really slowed down by injuries in his career,” Pietrack said. “Robbie is healthy now, and we are hoping a fresh start at a new place can reboot his career.”

As a freshman during the 2014-15 season, Berwick averaged 2.4 points and one rebound per game for Florida State. He sat out his entire sophomore year with injury and sat out the following season at Colorado State because of NCAA transfer rules. He played in 35 career games for the Rams.

The ThunderWolves’ loss was the Skyhawks’ gain. When RMAC foe CSU-Pueblo released Seng under new head coach Matt Hammer, FLC rekindled a relationship with Seng, who Pietrack had recruited out of ThunderRide High School in Highlands Ranch.

Seng, a 6-foot-4 guard, started 21 of 28 games at CSU-Pueblo as a sophomore and averaged 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He also averaged six points a game as a freshman. He accepted a walk-on spot with the Skyhawks.

“When he became available earlier this summer, we felt he would be a great addition to our team,” Pietrack said. “He’s proven to be a productive RMAC player and fully understands the rigors of the RMAC schedule. Corey is another versatile, multiple-positional player that will add depth to our roster. We see Corey very similar to former player Alex Semadeni, a winning player that every team benefits from having.”

Originally from Australia, Garbrah was part of a loaded prep team in Arizona that has sent players to Arizona State, Arizona, Florida State, Georgetown, LSU, New Mexico State, UNLV and Xavier.

“A very strong guard, Garbrah is a player that we really coveted during the recruiting process,” Pietrack said. “This past season, he helped lead Bella Vista Prep to the prep school national championship. Junior is an ultra-competitive player that takes pride in his ability to guard the other team’s best guard. Junior is going to be a staple in our program for years to come.”

A 6-foot-6 wing player out of England, Ptak averaged 16 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game at Noel Baker School. He shot 50.4% from the field and 30% from 3-point range.

“We were looking for a young wing to add to our program and found Luke,” Pietrack said. “Luke is athletic, can handle the ball and has the ability to knock down shots. Like any young player, he will need time to mature, but his skill set is exactly what we wanted. Luke is an extremely mature young man, very well-liked on his campus visit by our players, and we look forward to watching Luke grow into a very good RMAC player.”

At 6-foot-4, Stapleton was a big in-state signing out of high school for the Skyhawks.

“Jackson was one of the best shooters in the state last two seasons,” Pietrack said. “We love having Colorado Kids on our roster and are thankful to have Jackson with us.”

Last season, Stapleton averaged 11.9 points per game following up 14.6 per game as a junior. Legacy, based in Broomfield, went 8-15 overall last season after going 14-10 during the 2017-18 season.

FLC will open the regular season Nov. 8 in Albuquerque against Western New Mexico and will face Eastern New Mexico the next day. Both games are scheduled to be held at Dreamstyle Arena, better known as “The Pit” – the home floor of the University of New Mexico.

The Skyhawks will showcase their new team at home for the first time Nov. 15 against Northern New Mexico and will open RMAC play at home Dec. 6 against New Mexico Highlands, last year’s RMAC tournament champion.

jlivingston@durangoherald.com