Post by FLHoya on Jul 30, 2009 22:49:24 GMT -5
7:10pm, McDonough Arena parking lot. A coach? Parent? Relative? is trying to solve a crisis in progress.
"Tell 'em you playin'!!!" he screams into the phone. "Tell the lady you playin' at 7:15!!!"
I imagine the starting small forward for Premium Athletics, stuck at the gate of the Southwest Quad parking lot with the surly parking attendant trying to explain what in the world the Jabbo Kenner League is and why this merits waving of the four dollar parking fee (so much for NCAA rules prohibiting charging for parking...thanks Kenner!).
SF needn't have worried. We were standing in the parking lot at 7:10pm because the McDonough foyer was filled with a hundred odd Kenner League fans and curiosity seekers...waiting for the organizers to open the door.
It's been four plus months since the Baylor game...what's another five minutes or so?
Fittingly, the doors opened...then closed...then opened a couple seconds later.
Welcome to the 2009 Kenner League...just as soon we get a few things straightened out with the doors.
Okay, caveat time:
Please remember that these recaps represent my observations and mine alone about the games I witness on a given day. I do my absolute darndest (yeah, darndest) to be objective and fair, and above all not take the whole thing too seriously. It's a summer league. There are little nuggets of wisdom here or there, maybe even something to get excited for. Worried? Upset? Concerned about the direction of the program? Naaaaaah.
Let's just have fun here.
TOMBS 69 Premium Athletics 40
(Tombs features Austin Freeman, Vee Sanford, Jerelle Benimon, and Stephen Stepka)
Okay, maybe not "fun" quite yet. Remember that 2001 BET QF game between Georgetown and Seton Hall?
This one might have peaked when the Tombs came out in uniforms that made Austin Freeman look like a blue corn tamale. It got interesting, at least from a recapping standpoint, when Vee Sanford and Jerelle Benimon strolled in wearing their business appropriate jobwear midway through the first half.
Until then, think "Austin and the Miracles"--Tombs ain't exactly the 1998 Kentucky Wildcats--without the pesky trouble of needing a miracle. Tombs parlayed a pretty lazy first half and dreadful opponent shooting into a 32-17 halftime lead, and was never seriously threatened on the way to a 29 point win that was about as easy as it looks on this here message board. Austin Freeman was able to take a well deserved backseat and a rest in the final 10 minutes or so after playing alpha dog ahead of the arrival of the other freshmen.
A solid if unexciting start to the summer.
Austin Freeman: 23 points, 7-10 2pt, 1-1 3pt, 5-6 FT, 3RB, 1A, 1TO, 1 STL, 2BLK
Austin gets the early award for "most likely to carry a Kenner League team". Every year it seems a Georgetown player gets saddled with a team where, for better or worse, they're the first, second and third option. Minus the freshmen, Austin was in such a situation tonight.
On the plus side, this gives Austin a chance to do a variety of things offensively. Early in the game, he scored via the mid range pull-up and a number of drives to the basket through traffic. On the minus side, if we're being realistic here, it probably gives an unrealistic picture of what Austin can or will be expected to accomplish in a more structured Georgetown offense during the season. He's probably not the A or B option to penetrate, though he can. And he certainly won't need to take 10 FGs a night.
He showed valuable leadership when he teamed with Vee Sanford. On the very first possession they shared the court, AF pulled VS in for instructions, and he returned many times to help out his teammate. He willingly ceded the offense to Sanford for most of the second half, and that produced some good results. It's a learning process in KL, and AF looks to be a good teacher.
Vee Sanford: 10 points, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3pt, 3RB, 1STL, 3TO
Vee reminds me of someone's little brother who hit a growth spurt and can now beat his older bro in pickup. There's a smoothness to his movement on the court, but also a distinct hint of caution...put another way, it isn't that he's moving in slow motion, or gliding through traffic, but rather that he isn't putting it past 1st gear on purpose while he feels out the game.
He eventually did, hitting on three straight field goals in the second half and becoming very comfortable as a lead guard running the offense. Scored via the pull-up jumper and a very attractive baseline drive and floater after a smart up-fake in the corner. As the comfort level increased his play improved dramatically, which bodes well for his ability to grow quickly in a difficult system.
Worth noting, he only played effective half of the game because he arrived late.
Jerelle Benimon: 2 points, 1-2 FG, 1A
JB arrived at the same time as Sanford but entered the game a few minutes later.
He looks much different in person. IDK why but he seemed scrawny in the photos, but he's definitely not. If Jerelle were one of those expanding dinosaur sponge things, he'd be another few seconds under the hose from morphing into Julian Vaughn.
Good news is that you won't want for effort from the Expanding Dino Sponge...he's got the busy hands in the paint, and is always slapping about trying to make something happen, a useful skill to be sure in the summer league, maybe not so much when it's Karl Hess making the calls in February.
He is however likely in need of a bit more conditioning. For all the activity and effort he's a bit slow in the feet, and against a more mobile center or forward he's going to struggle staying in front of them for the time being, as he was on occasion tonight.
A lot to expect someone who literally did the Superman act and ripped off the business suit coming into the game. Probably the player I'm most interested in watching develop over the summer, b/c I got a great vibe from reading about him and his work ethic.
Stephen Stepka: Oh riiiiiiiiiight...
I forgot to keep his stats for a good half or so. I know he scored two points in the second half and missed a layup in the first that would have been an awesome assist for AF. I'll get ya next time, buddy.
[NEXT: The Hollis Thompson show and Rodney's Coaching Corner]
"Tell 'em you playin'!!!" he screams into the phone. "Tell the lady you playin' at 7:15!!!"
I imagine the starting small forward for Premium Athletics, stuck at the gate of the Southwest Quad parking lot with the surly parking attendant trying to explain what in the world the Jabbo Kenner League is and why this merits waving of the four dollar parking fee (so much for NCAA rules prohibiting charging for parking...thanks Kenner!).
SF needn't have worried. We were standing in the parking lot at 7:10pm because the McDonough foyer was filled with a hundred odd Kenner League fans and curiosity seekers...waiting for the organizers to open the door.
It's been four plus months since the Baylor game...what's another five minutes or so?
Fittingly, the doors opened...then closed...then opened a couple seconds later.
Welcome to the 2009 Kenner League...just as soon we get a few things straightened out with the doors.
Okay, caveat time:
Please remember that these recaps represent my observations and mine alone about the games I witness on a given day. I do my absolute darndest (yeah, darndest) to be objective and fair, and above all not take the whole thing too seriously. It's a summer league. There are little nuggets of wisdom here or there, maybe even something to get excited for. Worried? Upset? Concerned about the direction of the program? Naaaaaah.
Let's just have fun here.
TOMBS 69 Premium Athletics 40
(Tombs features Austin Freeman, Vee Sanford, Jerelle Benimon, and Stephen Stepka)
Okay, maybe not "fun" quite yet. Remember that 2001 BET QF game between Georgetown and Seton Hall?
This one might have peaked when the Tombs came out in uniforms that made Austin Freeman look like a blue corn tamale. It got interesting, at least from a recapping standpoint, when Vee Sanford and Jerelle Benimon strolled in wearing their business appropriate jobwear midway through the first half.
Until then, think "Austin and the Miracles"--Tombs ain't exactly the 1998 Kentucky Wildcats--without the pesky trouble of needing a miracle. Tombs parlayed a pretty lazy first half and dreadful opponent shooting into a 32-17 halftime lead, and was never seriously threatened on the way to a 29 point win that was about as easy as it looks on this here message board. Austin Freeman was able to take a well deserved backseat and a rest in the final 10 minutes or so after playing alpha dog ahead of the arrival of the other freshmen.
A solid if unexciting start to the summer.
Austin Freeman: 23 points, 7-10 2pt, 1-1 3pt, 5-6 FT, 3RB, 1A, 1TO, 1 STL, 2BLK
Austin gets the early award for "most likely to carry a Kenner League team". Every year it seems a Georgetown player gets saddled with a team where, for better or worse, they're the first, second and third option. Minus the freshmen, Austin was in such a situation tonight.
On the plus side, this gives Austin a chance to do a variety of things offensively. Early in the game, he scored via the mid range pull-up and a number of drives to the basket through traffic. On the minus side, if we're being realistic here, it probably gives an unrealistic picture of what Austin can or will be expected to accomplish in a more structured Georgetown offense during the season. He's probably not the A or B option to penetrate, though he can. And he certainly won't need to take 10 FGs a night.
He showed valuable leadership when he teamed with Vee Sanford. On the very first possession they shared the court, AF pulled VS in for instructions, and he returned many times to help out his teammate. He willingly ceded the offense to Sanford for most of the second half, and that produced some good results. It's a learning process in KL, and AF looks to be a good teacher.
Vee Sanford: 10 points, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3pt, 3RB, 1STL, 3TO
Vee reminds me of someone's little brother who hit a growth spurt and can now beat his older bro in pickup. There's a smoothness to his movement on the court, but also a distinct hint of caution...put another way, it isn't that he's moving in slow motion, or gliding through traffic, but rather that he isn't putting it past 1st gear on purpose while he feels out the game.
He eventually did, hitting on three straight field goals in the second half and becoming very comfortable as a lead guard running the offense. Scored via the pull-up jumper and a very attractive baseline drive and floater after a smart up-fake in the corner. As the comfort level increased his play improved dramatically, which bodes well for his ability to grow quickly in a difficult system.
Worth noting, he only played effective half of the game because he arrived late.
Jerelle Benimon: 2 points, 1-2 FG, 1A
JB arrived at the same time as Sanford but entered the game a few minutes later.
He looks much different in person. IDK why but he seemed scrawny in the photos, but he's definitely not. If Jerelle were one of those expanding dinosaur sponge things, he'd be another few seconds under the hose from morphing into Julian Vaughn.
Good news is that you won't want for effort from the Expanding Dino Sponge...he's got the busy hands in the paint, and is always slapping about trying to make something happen, a useful skill to be sure in the summer league, maybe not so much when it's Karl Hess making the calls in February.
He is however likely in need of a bit more conditioning. For all the activity and effort he's a bit slow in the feet, and against a more mobile center or forward he's going to struggle staying in front of them for the time being, as he was on occasion tonight.
A lot to expect someone who literally did the Superman act and ripped off the business suit coming into the game. Probably the player I'm most interested in watching develop over the summer, b/c I got a great vibe from reading about him and his work ethic.
Stephen Stepka: Oh riiiiiiiiiight...
I forgot to keep his stats for a good half or so. I know he scored two points in the second half and missed a layup in the first that would have been an awesome assist for AF. I'll get ya next time, buddy.
[NEXT: The Hollis Thompson show and Rodney's Coaching Corner]
