SAN FRANCISCO – With an identity comprised of active defense, ball movement, depth scoring and a team-first mentality, the 2021-22 season was undoubtedly the best in program history for Academy of Art men's basketball. In a year that featured numerous individual and team records, a season full of ups-and-downs resulted in a program-record 20 victories and the program's first ever Pacific West Conference Championship title, securing the Urban Knights' first berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. When looking back at the season, ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman knew it was important to stick to the identity the new coaching staff was trying to build. 

"The basketball season is a marathon not a sprint, and we knew that we had a lot of talented players and [that] the biggest thing was going to be getting everyone on the same page," Waterman said. "Throughout the year we dealt with a variety of issues [such as injuries, COVID-19 and more] that stunted us getting to where we wanted to be earlier in the season, but the guys persisted through the tough times. We preached to the team that if they stuck with it and continued to improve and buy in everyday, that we would make a run and that is what we did at the end of the year."

It was a hot start to the campaign for the Urban Knights, winning both of their games in the SF State Tip-Off Classic by four points. The season started with a 77-73 win over host SF State on Nov. 13 where junior guard Klay Brown hit a go-ahead jumper with under two minutes remaining to put ART U up for good, and was followed up by a 78-74 victory in overtime over Sonoma State in which the Knights iced the game with a big defensive stop moments after a go-ahead putback layup by graduate student guard Deang Deang.

Helping lead the charge was the duo of redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. and sophomore forward Latrell Williams, as the two were named to the SF State Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. For Popoola Jr., he averaged 15.5 points per game and was clutch at the free throw line against the Gators, becoming the fifth Urban Knight to be perfect at the line with at least 10 attempts in a single game by going 10-for-10. Williams chipped in an average of 12.5 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game over the first two contests, including a double-double in his first game as a Knights where he dropped 19 points with 11 rebounds. Popoola Jr. also collected a PacWest Defender of the Week honor on Nov. 15, the first PacWest weekly award of his career, capping off a week where he averaged 3.5 steals per game as well as 7.0 defensive rebounds (eight total). Also key in the 2-0 start was Deang as he chipped in 13.5 ppg while snatching his own double-double during the win over the Seawolves with 20 points and 10 boards, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. He became only the second player in program history to post a perfect shooting percentage while making at least eight buckets, joining Aaron Aikman who did so on Nov. 9, 2013.

After a three-game slide that included losses to a pair of CCAA teams that would enjoy national rankings throughout the year in Chico State on Nov. 17 and Cal State San Bernardino on Nov. 20 before a defeat at the hands of Stanislaus State on Nov. 23, the Knights put a stop to the skid with a 90-78 win over Saint Martin's on Nov. 26.

That stretch would precede what became a signature win for the program, as the Knights snatched their first ever regular season win over a NCAA DI opponent with a 79-60 victory over UC Davis on Nov. 28. From the tip the Knights showed no fear of the Aggies, seizing momentum early on in the game with their active hands-on defense and putting it away with the hot-shooting hand. ART U knocked down exactly half of their looks from the floor but hit on a season-best 61.5 percent (8-for-13) of their looks from downtown, which at the time was the highest three-point percentage in a game by a PacWest member school this season (finished third-most by season's end).

"The win over UC Davis was tremendous for our program," Waterman said. "Going to play at a DI school is extremely difficult, but our guys were not intimidated by the moment and played one of our better games of the year. As I prepared for the game, I was hoping that it would just be close down the stretch and then hopefully we could take it at the end. However, we ran away with the game which was just how our team was; we stepped up and met a challenge head on."

PacWest play would begin for the Knights on the heels of the win over UC Davis, with the Academy of Art hitting its stride and posting an all-around impressive 91-71 toppling of Dominican, the largest win over the Penguins in program history (previous: 17 points, 79-62 on Feb. 1, 2019). Academy of Art showed their defensive grit and set a pair of their season-highs that night, including 14 steals and six blocks, leading graduate student guard Joshua Bagley to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 6 thanks to a career-high four steals. Ball movement was also key as the Knights had totaled 10 assists in the first frame, which was only two off their season-high, and kept it moving in the second half to end the night with 24 assists. Not only was it their most on the season, but it was the second-most assists in a single game in program history, trailing only the 26 they had against Holy Names on Feb. 13, 2020. Nine of those 24 assists belonged to graduate student guard Denny Slay, as his team-high total tied for the fifth-most helpers in a single game in program history. 

Following that was the first ever undefeated road trip to Southern California in ART U men's basketball history, starting with a contest against Concordia on Dec. 9 where the Knights sprinted out to a double-digit lead early on and never looked back, once again knocking down over 50 percent of their attempts from the field en route to an impressive 90-77 victory. Two nights later ART U would narrowly escape the return of PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Kaden Anderson by outlasting Point Loma for a 76-74 win on Dec. 11. Though ART U and PLNU each boasted a double-digit lead during their battle, the contest would be decided in the closing moment when the last-second shot attempt from the Sea Lions bounced wide, as the defensive effort from the Knights secured a fifth consecutive victory. Strong on the glass in the victories was Williams, as he snatched a total of 15 defensive rebounds (22 total), becoming the third Urban Knight this year to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 13. 

The final PacWest game of 2021 saw the Urban Knights handily take down Chaminade in a 100-77 win effort on Dec. 19, their program-record sixth straight victory, leaving ART U as the only remaining team without a loss in conference action at that time while also moving them into sole possession of first place (also a program first). Additionally, ART U produced a four-game PacWest winning streak, the longest such streak in Urban Knights history. Starting with a 29-2 run in the first frame, the Knights would go on to set the third-highest point total on the most field goals made (43) in program history. While the shooting hand of the Knights would cool a bit in the second frame, they still finished at a season-best 55.8 percent from the floor. It was the third time the Knights hit triple digits in school history, and the first since they tied the program record with 107 points against Simon Fraser on Nov. 21, 2014. The scoring against CUH came on a season and program-best 26 assists, tying the mark that they set against Holy Names on Feb. 13, 2020. 

Matched up against their second NCAA Division I opponent of the season on Dec. 28, this time battling San Francisco neighbor USF, the Urban Knights' six-game win streak came to an end thanks to the Dons who gave ART U its first loss this season when reaching the 75-point mark. Leading all scorers was Deang with 21 points on 50 percent shooting (7-for-14) from the floor with a season-high four steals, while Slay chipped in 17 and totaled five assists for the second straight game. 

A pair of rematches against Point Loma and Concordia brought a 1-1 week, as ART U split the season's meetings with the Sea Lions on Jan. 6 but was able to sweep the Eagles for the first time in program history in a 85-71 win where Academy of Art never trailed on Jan. 8, tying the longest winning streak by either side in the all-time series with CUI (three games). Though they were only 1-1, the Knights were able to hit the 85-point mark in both contests. Showing up defensively was Brown, who recorded five steals in both games while also averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds per game toward being named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 10 and becoming the fourth Urban Knight to earn the award this season.

Tasked with playing three games in five days on the Hawaiian Islands, the Urban Knights came back with a 1-2 record thanks an 83-70 victory over Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 15, though it was sandwiched between a pair of defeats at the hands of UH Hilo on Jan. 13 and Chaminade on Jan. 17. Contributions came from all around on the trip and returning home with his second consecutive PacWest Weekly award was Brown, who was tabbed as the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 17 thanks to an average of 2.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 5.0 defensive rebounds per game.

On Jan. 22 ART U picked Fresno Pacific's pockets nine times in the second frame and a pair of Bagley three-balls cut the deficit to three, but the Knights wound up just short against the team that was allowing the fewest points per game in the PacWest, with the Sunbirds icing the contest from the free throw line in the closing seconds. Five of those steals would belong to Brown, who claimed his third consecutive PacWest Defender of the Week award on Jan. 24 with an average of 4.0 steals and 3.0 defensive rebounds when including the contest against Chaminade. He is the only ART U men's basketball student-athlete to have earned the award multiple times in a single season, and is the first Urban Knight to collect three or more PacWest weekly honors in a single year since Jase Harrison was named the Freshman of the Week four times during the 2014-15 campaign.

It was a tough week for the Urban Knights when matched up against the top two teams in the conference, as ART U took the then No. 3 team in the West Region Biola into overtime but couldn't complete the late comeback as the Eagles squeezed in a layup with eight seconds left to snatch a 71-69 victory on Jan. 27. Waiting was the No. 1 team in the PacWest standings at the time, and Azusa Pacific proved their worth by defending their home court with a 75-70 win over the Knights on Jan. 29. The fifth and final swipe of the game against APU from Brown was his 53rd of the year, a new ART U single-season program record after topping the previous record of 52 set by Alexis Moore in the 2013-14 campaign. 

After seeing the program-record winning streak come to an end and now having lost four consecutive games and six of the last eight, Waterman and staff tried to keep the team balanced as the Knights weathered the storm that is the grueling college campaign. 

"No season is ever [always] smooth sailing, and again credit to our guys for never getting too high or too low during the course of the season," Waterman said. "When we won, we remained focused on our next game and never rested on our laurels, and when we lost on the scoreboard, we used those games as lessons to improve for the next time. Winning is incredibly hard in college basketball, especially on the road. In this conference where there are so many extremely talented players and great coaches, you have to execute every night while minimizing your mistakes."

Defensive grit was what ended the four-game skid for the Urban Knights, producing 13 steals and forcing 18 Dominican turnovers as ART U sealed a regular season series sweep over the Penguins with a 63-52 victory on Feb. 5, the first time they have done so since they did it in back-to-back seasons starting in 2017-18 and again in 2018-19. Slay tallied nearly half of ART U's swipes with a career-high six steals en route to being named PacWest Defender of the Week, becoming the fifth Urban Knight to win the award during the season while it was the seventh time for ART U overall, both of which are PacWest and ART U records. A team that in year's past had been known as an offensive team had morphed into a team that was a pest without the ball, constantly pressuring opponents on the defensive end, something that was a goal of the coaching staff according to Waterman. 

"We were able to use our athleticism, length, and size on the defensive end to create turnovers so we could get out and utilize our skills on the offensive end," Waterman said. "When our staff evaluated our team at the beginning of the year, looking at the returners and the incoming players, we felt pressing and ball pressure would be a great way to maximize the natural talents of our team."

Momentum kept rolling for the Knights when they finished a 3-0 week with a pair of victories over Holy Names, first 92-85 on Feb. 9 before repeating the feat again 78-69 on Feb. 11, and finally ending the week with a victory in a rematch over UH Hilo on Feb. 13. Allowing just 48 points to the Vulcans would lead to Academy of Art's largest margin of victory this season (+38), and is the fewest points allowed since they also allowed just 48 points surrendered to Notre Dame de Namur on Feb. 21, 2019. Meanwhile their work on the glass led to 50+ boards for the first time this season with a total of 55, which is now the second-most in a single game in program history (most: 58; vs. SFU 11/21/14). Junior forward Mike Asante was key for ART U, nearly averaging a double-double for the week with 15.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg, highlighted by his first double-double of the season in the second win over HNU where he dropped a career-best 23 points and snatched 11 boards. 

The winning streak would reach five games after a convincing 73-54 victory in a rematch with Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 17, the second time this season ART U would take five straight. It was a sweep the season series with the Sharks after the Knights collected another 12 steals while totaling 16 assists, also giving ART U their third consecutive win over HPU dating back to last season. 

APU would once more get the better of the Urban Knights in the rematch between the two teams on Feb. 21, but the stopping of the streak by the Cougars would not deter Academy of Art who closed out the regular season with a pair of victories over Biola and Fresno Pacific. The first of the two would come on Senior Night where ART U weathered an early second half comeback attempt by Biola, pushing the lead to double-digits late in the frame before cruising to an 85-71 win on Feb. 24. The finale of 2021-22 was an overtime thriller, as a key second-chance bucket from graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek forced overtime, where ART U was barely able to escape with a 75-72 win on Feb. 26. Winning seven of the last eight to close the campaign had secured the No. 4 spot for the PacWest Championships for the Knights, and for a team that was originally projected to finish eighth in the conference, ART U ended the year with an impressive 13-7 mark in PacWest action. 

Such a successful regular season campaign resulted in a trio of postseason awards, as Brown was named the PacWest Defender of the Year while Williams was selected to the All-PacWest Second Team. Additionally, Waterman was tabbed as the PacWest Coach of the Year. Brown was named the PacWest Defender of the Week a whopping three consecutive weeks beginning on Jan. 10, Jan. 17 and Jan. 24, the most by an student-athlete in the PacWest this season. Not only did his average of 2.42 steals per game and total of 75 thefts lead the PacWest and set ART U records, Brown tied for sixth in all of NCAA DII for his total swipes while his steals average was 11th. Meanwhile, Williams was an All-PacWest selection after a season in which he poured in an average of 11.3 points per game while pulling down an average of 7.9 rebounds per game. His rebounding average was third in the PacWest and the third-most in ART U history, while his total of 252 rebounds was the most in the PacWest and in ART U history. Waterman helped lead the Urban Knights to its most successful season in program history, setting new ART U records for overall wins (17) and conference victories (13) while securing the first overall .500 record or better in school history, and is the first coach in ART U history to be picked as the PacWest Coach of the Year. 

"I have always believed awards are team awards," Waterman said. "Individually it is hard to have success without having great teammates around you. It was truly an honor to be voted Coach of the Year by my peers in the conference, but I had a great staff and players who deserve the credit for putting me in the position to get this award. Klay did a great job on the defensive end creating turnovers and guarding the other team's best player. His energy and knack for making plays on that end of the court was phenomenal. Latrell did an incredible job on both ends of the floor this year. He has a great feel for scoring inside and outside.

Arguably no other team had a tougher road ahead of them in the PacWest Tournament, but Academy of Art met the challenge head on every step of the way. After falling in the first round in each of their prior two appearances at the conference tournament, the Knights won three consecutive games by six points or less which included defeating each of the tournaments top two seeds en route to becoming the first Northern California school to win a PacWest title.

As the #4 seed the Knights drew host school Fresno Pacific in the PacWest Quarterfinal, where ART U was able to win the trilogy match between the two teams in a contest that came down to the latter stages of the second half, as Academy of Art locked in on defense to generate timely stops resulting in a 63-57 win on Mar. 2. A reward for advancing was a date with #1 seed Point Loma, and in a matchup that was hailed as an instant classic, a last second 3-pointer in overtime from Brown would send ART U into the title game with a 78-75 win. Needing one more victory to clinch the title but matched up against a #2 seed Azusa Pacific team that ART U had not beaten since the first matchup between the two teams in 2013, the Knights played a complete game for a full 40 minutes to seize a 73-70 win over APU, snapping a 14-game losing streak against Cougars and allowing the Knights to cut down the nets for ART U's first ever PacWest trophy. 

The trio of Asante, Brown and Williams were named to the PacWest All-Tournament team at the PacWest Championship, led by Asante bringing home the Tournament MVP award. In being named the MVP, Asante fell just shy of a double-double in each game though he did average that over all three contests with 13.0 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game, going off for a high of 16 points in the final against APU. Brown hit the clutch three-ball that capped off a thrilling overtime victory against PLNU to put the Knights in the title game, while Williams added two more double-doubles to his total and averaged 13.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg.

"It is still an incredible feeling to have won the PacWest Championship with this team," Waterman said. "From the beginning of the season they had their eyes set on winning the tournament and despite the tough stretches of the season, they bounced back and we began playing our best basketball on both ends of the court in February and March. It is a tremendous testament to the guys that we were able to achieve our goals as they were relentless in their effort to improve and play great basketball at the end of the season. For our two super seniors, Adrian Byrd-Jelinek and Joshua Bagley, when they arrived here three years ago, we talked about getting the program to a championship level."

Reaching the NCAA Tournament thanks to an automatic qualifying bid as the #6 seed, fresh off of having won five consecutive games for the third time this season which was also a program record, ART U turned its sights to a NCAA West Region Quarterfinal matchup with #3 seed No. 15 Chico State. While Academy of Art went step-for-step with the Wildcats in the first half and trailed by just six points with six minutes left in regulation, Chico State pulled away down the stretch to defeat ART U by a 78-61 final. The Wildcats would eventually go on to win the West Regional, and would make an appearance in the Elite Eight before finally exiting the tournament. 

"It means a lot to be the first ART U [men's basketball] team to make the NCAA tournament," Waterman said. "What makes this team so great was that they were so tough and that path did not bother them one bit. They actually thrived and expected to win every game. I felt that in the NCAA Tournament we ran out of gas against a really good Chico State team. We could not get our game going and give credit to Chico for their execution. We made a late run to cut it to six [points] in the final minutes, but just could not get over the hump. The biggest thing we can learn from this game was that we have taken a gigantic step towards building a winning culture here at ART U, but we still have a ways to go to get to where we want to be year in and year out."

By year's end, Academy of Art had set numerous program records, including: overall wins (20), points scored (2,449), rebounds (1,203), scoring margin (+2.7; only positive scoring margin in program history), and field goal percentage defense (42.2 percent). Additionally, the Knights set a new program best in steals with 331 (fourth in NCAA DII) and steals per game at 10.3 (fourth in NCAA DII). The 331 steals are also a new PacWest record, topping the previous record of 328 set by Concordia during the 2018-19 season. Meanwhile, the Knights also set their second-best program marks in scoring average (77.6 ppg) and assists (423). 

As the calendar prepares to flip to page into the next season, Waterman knows that there will be other teams aiming for ART U at the top of the mountain, and that there will be work to do after enjoying the moment. 

"It was a great season and we will definitely take our time to reflect on all that we accomplished this year," Waterman said. "However, there will now be a target on our backs and we will need to keep those memories in the past and start fresh. We will be losing four seniors who brought so much to the program in Joshua Bagley, Adrian Byrd-Jelinek, Denny Slay, and Grant Bellis. However, I am extremely excited about the core of returners we have next year: Mike Asante, Deang Deang, Cheickna Sissoko, Latrell Williams, Klay Brown, and Christian Popoola Jr. We will have to add to this core but I am excited to get started and build upon what we accomplished this year."