Small-town Kozinski helps younger players in senior season
In the small town of Edwardsburg, Michigan, Josh Kozinski was a star.
Edwardsburg, which has a population of just 1,259 people, saw Kozinski grow up as a tri-athlete, playing basketball, golf and tennis during his high school years. As a senior, he was named First-Team All-State for basketball.
Kozinski only had one scholarship offer – Central Michigan University. He took it as an opportunity.
Now, he is recognized in Mount Pleasant to over 20,000 Central Michigan University students.
“I didn’t know I would be a leader, it just kind of came,” Kozinski said. “I try to be vocal on the court and that helped me push being a leader of this team. It’s helped me grow.”
Some players in college basketball enjoy scoring the ball, dishing out passes and pulling down rebounds to help their draft stock. Kozinski likes reassuring his teammates to help the Chippewas find the win column.
“I enjoy encouraging guys,” Kozinski said. “I think the best way to get to guys is to encourage them. If David (DiLeo) misses a shot, I tell him to keep shooting. If (Shawn) Roundtree has a turnover, I tell him to stay aggressive. As a leader, I feel like encouraging guys is a way to keep everyone locked in.”
Prior to the start of Kozinski’s senior season, CMU head coach Keno Davis did not vocalize his leadership role to the team.
Instead, Davis observed as Kozinski took over.
“I think he grew into the leadership role,” Davis said. “Coming in, there were some guys that had been in the program for a while. With (Braylon) Rayson and (Marcus) Keene having left last year, it gave him an opportunity to have the guys rally around him. I never announced who the leader was, but it was just the guys rallying around him.”
Kozinski is focusing on developing freshman guard Matt Beachler, who features some of the same qualities as Kozinski. Both players can shoot, push the ball and drive to the bucket.
Being the captain of a team comes with multiple responsibilities, but no rules. Kozinski does not have to do anything, but instead chooses to on his own, which makes him such a special leader.
“I always like to throw out a couple of text messages,” Kozinski said. “I like to keep guys together, especially if people are hanging their heads. If we are down by 10 points with eight minutes left, even if I’m not playing, I need to stay locked in and keep the guys together.”
Due to a season-ending injury in the 2013-14 season, Kozinski received a medical redshirt. Since sitting out all but nine games four years ago, the senior guard has never missed a game. As a matter of fact, he started all 32 games in 2016-17 and has not missed a start this season.
“The experience he’s had in his fifth year, he’s seen it all,” Davis said. “He’s seen the rebuilding process, he’s seen the championships, and he’s seen when things haven’t gone well. After last season, we talked about him taking on a leadership role. He really embraced it.”
From Missouri State to Mineral Area College to Central Michigan, junior point guard Shawn Roundtree was uneasy about playing for his third team in his collegiate career. Kozinski was someone who helped calm Roundtree’s nerves and get him acquainted to life at CMU.
Roundtree and Kozinski spent time together in class, on campus and on the basketball court, which helped form an immediate bond.
“Josh and I have become really close, and it’s nice because we are both vocal leaders on this team,” Roundtree said. “We gelled right away. This is Josh’s last go around, so he’s relying on everyone to get it together and stay together.”
As for the future, Davis has a leader in mind. Like with Kozinski, he will sit back, wait and watch the situation develop.
“I do (have an idea),” Davis said. “However, I think it’s important for a coach to let that develop as well because the guy who might think is your leader actually might not be, and other guys you aren’t expecting to be leaders could naturally step in there. Better than to force it is to let it come.”
