july 31 kenner recap

Hahahaha. Thanks Lic, good to see that Henry atleast showed you something tonight.

You can bring in cameras (i.e. they won't frisk you at the entrance), but the KL organizers usually frown upon their use.

I saw most of the 1st game and all of the 2nd, so below are my thoughts. I'd like to caveat everything by saying that I realize this is Kenner and not necessarily indicative of how well our kids will play, so I'm expressing my opinions with this in mind.

First, pretty cool that Michael Beasley played. I gotta say that he looked skinner than I thought he was - I forget that he was in Austin's class. He went through the motions most of the time he played, but went hard at the end of the games and when someone else scored on him.

But now on to the important guys:

1st game : Clydes (Jason Clark, Henry Sims) vs. We are one (Hollis Thompson, Beasley)

Jason Clark: My first time seeing him this summer - to me, he was the best player on the floor in terms of effort. Beyond that, he was fearless and had the highlight of the game. He drove and took it right at Beasley, elevated and posterized him - the place went nuts! The whole game Jason found ways to drive to the whole and many times scored or got fouled. He was the primary ball handler and looked improved in terms of his ball handling skills. I was very impressed.

Henry Sims: He showed some signs today, but overall, I must say he doesn't looked that improved from last year. While he did finish some nice plays, like one alley-oop over Beasley, he did not go out there and grab offensive or defensive boards. He had one nice post-up on Beasley, but I didn't see too much else besides wide open finishes. I hope he puts on some more muscle and becomes more aggressive before the season starts.

Hollis Thompson: He didn't show me much today. I missed the beginning of the game, so maybe he exploded out the gates again, but he kinda got lost in the shuffle, especially once Beasley started playing. He also was in foul trouble which may have screwed up his flow. Positives for him include rebounding - he's always active on the defensive and offensive boards. In fact, he got an offensive board in the final minute to put We are One up for good.

2nd game: Tombs (Austin Freeman, Vee Sanford, Jerrelle Benimon, Beasley, Bobby Maze(TN) vs. Beyond Belief (James Gist (MD), Jeff Allen (Tech), Isaiah Swann (FSU), a couple other college guys)

Overall this game was very entertaining with so many college guys and Beasley playing. However, Beasley got tired by the 2nd half and also messed up the Tombs flow by taking long range threes much of the game. I kinda wish he didn't play this game. Anyhow, on to the players:

Austin Freeman: Another workman-like performance - very few highlight reel plays but scored almost whenever he put his mind to it. You forget that Freeman and Beasley played AAU together, but you could tell on the court - they were very comfortable together. Towards the end of the game, Beasley really trusted Austin and fed him the ball play after play. And Austin continually found ways to score. It was refreshing seeing him play against college talent because he pretty much scored or drew a foul whenever he drove the ball. He also was active on the glass despite being one of the shorter players.

Vee Sanford: While he didn't score as much it seemed, he did show me how good a passer he was. The highlight of the game for him was getting a rebound and then throwing a baseball pass outlet to an open man running down the court - right on the money for an assist. He also had other impressive passes through traffic - I like his vision. He also has the speed and handles to get to the hole mostly when he wants to, but missed a number of layups. No signs of an outside shot still. However, overall, his performance confirmed what I thought yesterday - that he will get playing time this year and be productive as a reserve.

Jerrelle Benimon: I hope that's how you spell his last name because the announcer prounounced in "Beniyon". Anyhow, he again was very active on the glass and got several offensive and defensive boards it seemed like. However, I think he was a little slower than Allen and Gist in the paint and got into foul trouble. He did show signs of an offensive game though and scored in traffic on a few occasions. This was the first time I saw him shoot free throws and he has decent form and swished 3 of them. Other than that I don't remember him shooting jumpers at all. I don't think Benimon will make a huge impact this year, but he definitely isn't a stiff. He will be a good energy guy when we need a 5-10 minute burst, but right now he doesn't have the athleticism to play big minutes in the Big East.

hoyaphatty,

henry scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds tonight....just how aggressive do you want him to be??? lol