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Kron, defensive terminator
 Media Credit: Jason Risberg Jason Kron guards one of his teammates during a scrimmage Tuesday evening at Halenbeck Hall.
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Playing good defense in basketball is more than just sticking a hand in the opponent's face. A decent defender possesses quick feet and is able to stick on their man like glue. Being a good defensive player is one thing, but SCSU's Jason Kron has taken it to another level.
Kron, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior forward is known as his team's defensive stopper. In addition to that, he's also known as the North Central Conference's best defender. Kron has earned NCC Defensive Player of the Year honors two out of the last three seasons and is on pace to make that three out of four. With his help, the 20th-ranked Huskies (16-2, 6-1 NCC) have been holding their opponents to a stingy 68.4 points per game.
Kron, a native of nearby Cold Spring, fine-tuned his smothering defensive style at ROCORI (Rockville-Cold Spring-Richmond) high school. At ROCORI, he was a four-time letterwinner in basketball, three-time All-Conference selection, two-time All-Area pick and was chosen as a MSHSL (Minnesota State High School League) All-Star.
Having been a part of such a respected high school boys basketball program is what Kron attributes his success to.
"Our coach (Bob Brink) was really fundamental," Kron said. "I was taught from little on up to make good passes, hit people in the chest, get balance on your shots and play tough defense. It's all about pride when you're playing and doing each little thing. I've just been brought up that way."
Recruiting process
After his senior year in high school, 12-15 college programs were heavily recruiting Kron. The whole recruiting process tested his patience and eventually he decided on the most logical choice: SCSU. It was close to home, so it allowed his family and friends to drive over and watch him play. In addition, he liked what he heard from head coach Kevin Schlagel.
"Coach Schlagel preaches the same things coach Brink did," he said. "I really liked the coaching staff's philosophy here. I liked that it was still close to home, and this area just fits my personality."
Schlagel admits that landing the talented Kron was on his mind for a long time.
"We recruited him as hard as anyone we've ever recruited," Schlagel said. "He's one of our key players that we've ever been involved with from a local standpoint. He's such a talented player and such a nice person that we made him our number one priority when he was already a sophomore in high school."
"He's a lot better athlete than what people realized. He played point guard in high school when they needed him to, played forward and was their leading scorer and rebounder. He's just a well-rounded, solid basketball player that has tremendous heart."
A Frosh Start
Kron came into SCSU's program and made an immediate impact. He started his first game on Nov. 18, 1999, and hasn't looked back. He has now started in 105 consecutive games for St. Cloud. As a freshman, Kron averaged 12.6 ppg and ranked second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per game. He helped St. Cloud reach the NCAA tournament and earned his first Defensive Player of the Year award. He was also named NCC Freshman of the Year.
For a first-year player to make that kind of impact is impressive and is something that isn't seen much in college basketball. But according to Schlagel, that just shows what kind of skills Kron has.
"I think it's pretty impressive that anyone can do that. For him to come in here and play the position that he does on the frontline as a '3' man, that's a very physical position. He handles the frontline well. He loves the physical contact and rises to the occasion."
Kron racked up recognition again in his sophomore season as he helped SCSU back into the NCAA tournament. He averaged 12.5 ppg and led the team in rebounding with 196 boards. He scored a career-high 28 points in the Wells Fargo Championship game against South Dakota and was named to the All-Tournament Team. The only thing missing was the NCC defensive honor.
Last season, however, Kron came back and earned Defensive Player of the Year once again. It's something that Kron shrugs off, but he still likes some of the aspects that the honor brings with it.
"I think it kind of gets good offensive players from other teams kind of a reason to get fired up," Kron noted. "If I match up with them, they want to stick it in my face. It's one of those deals where you get everyone's best shot."
Offensive load picks up
The coaching staff encouraged Kron to shoot more and more last season. Kron has that rare ability of a frontcourt player with an outside touch. Playing the '3' position allows him to move both inside and outside, something at which he is very adept at. On occasion you'll even see him running the point and bringing the ball up.
In his junior campaign, his scoring average was down to 11 ppg, but that was mostly due to the fact that the team already had too many offensive weapons in Rado Ranick, B.J. Brant, Jonny Reese and Forrest Witt. So Kron concentrated more on other parts of his game. He led the team in rebounding at 6.2 rpg and still shot 48.4 percent from the field.
As a senior, Kron's load at the offensive end is finally increasing. Currently he's averaging 12.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg. He's also coming off a season-best 26 point and 13 rebound performance against Minnesota State, Mankato last Saturday. He currently ranks 11th in the NCC in scoring and eighth in rebounding.
"I'm so happy for him," Schlagel said. "In the past we've had some other guys who had more of a scoring role. Jason was more rebounding and defense. He accepted that role without question. We sat down with him and told him that he needed to score more. He looked at his opportunities to score, and he did in the last half of last season. He's continued that into this year. We need that inside/outside threat he gives us."
Kron knows that being a senior and a leader go hand-in-hand. He's accepted all the responsibilities that come with that.
"We have a lot of good leaders on our team and guys that are willing to step up. But this year, being a senior, I can't take a backseat to anyone. I've got to look myself in the mirror if something's going wrong. It's just taking more responsibility upon your shoulders to get the job done."
Strong work ethic
One area in which Kron never wavers is his work ethic. He works hard in practice and is as genuine a person as one could meet. His gee-whiz personality has rubbed off on both his coach and teammates.
"He's one of the biggest keys to our team," junior point guard Alex Carlson said. "Nobody ever outworks him. Everyday he comes to practice and works his butt off. Without him we'd definitely have a missing link."
"Over the course of four years, I can count on one hand the number of days he's had a bad practice," Schlagel said.
As far as the future goes, Kron is undecided what path he will choose. The biology major has many options on whatever his next endeavor may be. However, right now he's just concentrating on getting the Huskies through the rest of the NCC season and back into the NCAA Tournament.
"I always have a hard time predicting my future," Kron said. "I'm kind of a free spirit. I hope to be around the game of basketball. I just want to have a well-rounded life and enjoy it."
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