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HoyaTalk :: General :: HoyaTalk :: Kenner League July 31 RECAP Author Topic: Kenner League July 31 RECAP (Read 1,573 times) FLHoya Diamond Hoya member is offline Proud Member of Generation Burton Joined: Jan 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 3,341 Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Thread Started on Aug 1, 2009, 1:34am » What have we been doing for the last four months? Arguing. Back and forth. The system vs. the players. The coach vs. the execution. Concerned vs. not concerned. What did we get out of all of this? Well, two new Georgetown basketball websites, for one thing. But really...nowhere, right? Here's the thing--it's a talkboard. We get to talk--sometimes until we're blue in the face. But that's what it is--talk. As eloquent and persuasive as we might be at times, the beauty of it all is--someone else makes the closing argument in the end. That's why we've come so far in days but so little in conclusions since March 2009. We've been through the arguments, the name calling, the points and counterpoints. But whatever side you fall on in the great debates of Hoyatalk, we're all waiting for one thing: The players to prove us right (or wrong). I'm not here to tell you that the second day of the 2009 Kenner League on the last day of July tied up last season with a cute little bow. I'm not here to hail saviors or tone down expectations. I'm just here to tell you that I had a heck of a lot of fun tonight watching Henry Sims. How predictable--the first round of Kenner League recaps, caveats aplenty...don't take us too seriously...and we all did. Nobody drew more attention than Henry Sims. Some would call him the lynchpin of the 2010 Georgetown Hoyas, the X-factor that will make or break a successful offense. Some would call him a clumsy goofball. How fitting--the first player to make a compelling argument in 2009-2010 was the very player who caused the first debate of 2009-2010. By numbers alone, this was the finest performance by a Georgetown player since Roy Hibbert dominated the paint in his many championship seasons. Is he? No. Can he? Doubt it. Was it fun? No doubt about it. Sometimes you forget...it's just a game. A fun one at that. We Are One 79 Clydes 77 (To refresh, We Are One features Hollis Thompson, Folarin Campbell, Louis Birdsong, Adrian Bowie, Michael Beasley, Rodney's vocal cords, and the 2-2-1 press that looked intimidating until midway through the first half. Clydes features Henry Sims, Jason Clark, and an Afternoon Delight if you're lucky.) 69 seconds in, and Rodney wanted a timeout. He doesn't suffer fools, including those who don't play transition defense, and apparently a 4-2 deficit means enough is enough. Heaven help you if you don't hit the defensive glass. 5:26 to go in the first half, and Rodney's screaming again. Oh mercy, they let Henry Sims score! Won't be the last time. This was highly entertaining Kenner League basketball--the doubleheader produced a consistently competitive and skillful level of basketball rarely seen at McDonough during July. Of course, when you throw in the 2nd pick of the 2007 NBA Draft and a boatload of ACC vets, this can happen. None of them outscored Henry Sims. A one point lead for Nosotros...ah, screw it...at halftime. It never got much higher, the Fightin' Rodneys holding Henry and the Miracles at arm's length...until Sims' layup with two minutes to go gave Clydes their first lead in forever at 73-71. Jason Clark impressively blocked a shot on the next possession, but was whistled for goaltending. A turnover and WAO basket canceled out by Sims' offensive putback over Hollis Thompson. Thompson returned the favor with a minute to go to put WAO back up 2. Clark and Sims then ran the perfect pick and roll play...for a practice session with no defenders...and an easy steal with twenty seconds to go set the fouling machine in motion. Three possessions later, a missed front end by WAO gave Clydes one last heave...not to be. But what a fun matchup...let's do it again tomorrow!* (*This being KL and it's screwed up scheduling, they actually ARE doing it again tomorrow.) Henry Sims: 30 points, 14-18 FG, 2-4 FT, 10 RB (5off), 3A, 1TO, 1BLK OMG. I ran out of space. What a closing argument...or is it an opening argument? There's a perfect symmetry to the whole thing: 7-9 from the floor in both halves, 1-2 from the line in each half, 15 points in each half. The longest shot Henry made tonight, I'd put at about 7-8 feet from the basket. Easily 20+ of his points were at the rim, but from a variety of setups. Early, Henry asserted himself with a variety of low post options, from a running layup out of post position to a baseline mini-fade from the low post. Later, he ran the floor in a way I confess I did not think was realistic for him at this point in his development, aiding in the many transition opportunities Kenner provides...once with a fierce transition dunk. When WAO set up their press, Sims proved more than competent as a target man near halfcourt for a break-out play. Throughout, he scored on dump-downs, offensive putbacks, and drop-in layups and dunks. He's a high percentage shot taker, but he's getting them by putting himself in the right position to benefit from the drive and dish Kenner League style. Probably the greatest complement is that throughout the latter stages of the second half, WAO was compelled to put their best player--that'd be NBA star Michael Beasley--on Sims to keep him off the scoresheet. It didn't always work--Sims scored at least three times over Beasley, twice with clever face-up jumpers--he adjusted to this offense immediately after Beasley started guarding him in the post--and later with a strong catch in traffic that he ripped from the NBA star. Now, it bears noting that after a lot of these scores, Beasley came right down the court and basically punked Henry off the dribble. There's comedy, and then there's the Muppet-like Henry Sims trying to chase future NBA all star Mike Beasley around the perimeter through screens. Henry still struggled on defense when it got right down to forcing him to either body up a big body in the post, or (cringe) guard a quicker player on the perimeter. The size and quickness still need work, for sure, although he looked better today against more favorable interior matchups. But you can take little away from his performance today. Dude just filled a stat sheet--and it doesn't matter if it came primarily from chippies and effort rebounds. You put yourself in a position to win. He and Clark work great together. They're running the same give and go feed to the post that Hibbert and Freeman ran so effectively in 07-08. Clark and Sims also favor the high screen and roll at the three point line, although Sims isn't quite graceful enough to fully pull it off and they telegraphed it a mile away on Clydes final legit posession. Bravo. Jason Clark: 12 points, 3-7FG, 1-5 3pt, 3-4FT, 2RB, 2A, 2TO, 2STL, 1BLK Yesterday I said Clark really blossomed when he finally put his head down and got assertive/greedy with the Clydes offense and took his. Today the opposite was true--Clark struggled by being too aggressive and not considering other options. Too often Clark went flying into four players in the lane, hoping for a trick shot or a foul. To be honest, maybe it's a credit to his improved handle--he's definitely more under control on the bounce--that he didn't turn the ball over more. Clark is lightning fast, but that means nothing without the proper decision making. We know he's got that from yesterday and our experiences last season--just needs to be consistent, and yes I realize KL makes players do things they normally wouldn't. As above, really liked how he and Sims work together on the court running the pick and roll, and good to see GU players working with each other on the finer points of offense during the summer rather than just gunning. Hollis Thompson: 9 points, 4-6 FG, 0-1 3pt, 1A, 1TO, 5Fouls If you thought it was going to be hard to get shots as a SF on a KL team with two Terps and a GMU guard who loves to shoot, just wait until you add another GMU guard and one of the Miami Heat to the roster. For half of his points, Hollis needed to use the tried and true method of follow jams. Whatever works. There's definitely a flash to his game--he can bring a crowd to their feet with athletic finishes and style plays. None was more apparent than when he went 1-on-3 into the lane on the bounce, rose in the air and delivered a perfect high lefty bounce pass between defenders to a wide open teammate for a layup. That being said, his defense was pretty tragic today--he picked up five fouls and you could tell Rodney was limiting his PT a bit because of the defensive struggles. It's a little hard on him, not being even the Epsilon Dog on WAO and still trying to get in rhythm. In the first half on a steal and unsettled situation, he passed off in the lane, only to have a teammate turn it over. "Hollis--That's a dunk!!!" screamed Rodney. In time. Ryan Dougherty: DNP (CD) Dagger. Not even the Kappa Dog. (Ahead: Free-throws and the Dino Sponge) Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged "they are calling him "beavis" vasquez on their board and have been Editeding and moaning about him all summer. it makes me chuckle. i told them a g-town education should require a more creative nickname than "beavis"." -TerpSportsReport.com Message Board FLHoya Diamond Hoya member is offline Proud Member of Generation Burton Joined: Jan 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 3,341 Re: Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Reply #1 on Aug 1, 2009, 2:03am » WWE lately is doing this odd promotion in which they have guest hosts on their Monday Night Raw program. The ostensible purpose of this appears to be leveraging their brand to promote shows I don't watch or albums I wasn't thinking of buying...and where possible, letting some random actor or athlete play fight in a main event and make the highest rated show on cable TV entirely unwatchable. I say this as a means to ask two random questions: 1. Does anybody besides me think the center for the Bearcats (the dude with the goatee) has the exact same facial characteristics as a full-grown version of Hornswaggle? 2. If Austin Freeman wrestled, would he be eligible for a cruiserweight title bout yet? In any case, today's Kenner League was brought to you by very special guest host Michael Beasley, who changed shirts and suited up for Tombs in the second half of the GU doubleheader. Beyond Belief 84 TOMBS 81 It was a real Battle Royale of college basketball out there tonight. The Tombs started Beasley, Austin Freeman, Jerelle Benimon, Vee Sanford, and Bobby Maze of UT. Beyond Belief countered with a lineup featuring among others, Jeff Allen of VT, Isaiah Swann of FSU, Greg Peterson of UDC, and James Gist of the NIT. Like the opener, this one was nip and tuck throughout...though played at a much faster pace. Beyond Belief nearly blew the roof off the place early on, building a 21-12 lead only four minutes into the game, and 28-18 lead less than eight minutes in. But Tombs eventually quieted down BB's shooting and actually took a 48-44 lead into the break. Tombs went ice cold for a while in the second half, allowing BB to build back a solid 7 point lead for most of the period. Tombs kept getting it to 3 and stalling, until Austin Freeman rose up from the corner after about five head fakes to drain a triple and tie the game at 78 with a minute to go. Swann answered with a floater 10 seconds later, and Freeman couldn't replicate his shot on the other end. Two free throws were answered by Bobby Maze's three, and Tombs trailed 82-81 with 17 seconds to go. Swann drained his FT attempts, and the stage cleared out for Michael Beasley. Not fooled, BB put on a strong perimeter D and forced the NBAer into an off balance attempt that fell short. Freeman collected the rebound, dribbled to the corner, and let fly with a three at the buzzer...well short as it clanged off the rim. Didn't dampen a solid game for Freeman. Austin Freeman: 29 points, 6-8 FG, 1-6 3pt, 14-15 FT, 5RB, 3A, 3STL I suggested yesterday that perhaps Freeman would be shooting and scoring a lot this summer primarily because he lacked for solid depth on his team and would likely be the Alpha Dog. Well, Freeman got a solid backcourt running mate in Maze, to say nothing of Sanford playing a full game, and of course the services of the ex-KSU Wildcat...and it didn't affect his assertiveness at all. Freeman is such a different player between the last two Kenner Leagues and the most recent regular season. In the KL, he is constantly on the attack, taking defenders on the dribble in full court situations, or bowling past a perimeter check and through multiple defenders in the lane on the way to a strong finish. He really only shoots the three when needed by the scoreline--he's more apt to attack the rim. He got those free throw attempts exactly that way--attacking the defense and forcing them to make a decision, usually a hard foul. It came many ways--curls through the lane, crossovers, scoop shots, and even one attempt at a tomahawk jam. He hit his last 12 FTs consecutively, including all of his second half attempts. The question--does he do this in January? Vee Sanford: 5 points, 1-4 2pt, 0-3 3pt, 2-2 FT, 1A, 1STL Vee was squeezed out a bit by the arrival of Beasley and Maze. He started and didn't really suffer for minutes, but whereas yesterday in the second half when Freeman essentially handed him the keys and a learner's permit, he was firmly in the back seat today. Interestingly, he played far more cautious today. He def. has that glide about him, almost a slow motion way with the ball, though he's plenty quick--just visually it looks odd. But verrrrrrryyyyyy careful--drives into traffic or tough passes many KL vets would take in a heartbeat and see what happens, Vee would pull it out and reverse the ball. Very cerebral approach to the game I think. Tried out the trademark floater a few times and don't think any worked. Wasn't his day shooting--hard to find looks and he prob. didn't make the greatest decisions in the world. Like Clark, when he pressed the issue the quality of results went down. Jerelle Benimon: 7pts, 2-2 FG, 2-4 FT, 5RB, 2BLK, 4F Showed a great deal of toughness today. Not necessarily a mean streak--rather, a willingness to battle on the inside and for effort plays. This will serve him well as he tries to feel his way into the GU rotation. His first basket was very high degree of difficulty, receiving a tough lob with one hand running towards the basket and finishing quickly off the window in heavy traffic. He looked decent in the paint if you consider effort and hustle. On defense? Wellllllllll...Jeff Allen won that battle, and it wasn't close. Jerelle probably needs a bit more quickness to go along with the effort. Allen for a big guy broke out a number of athletic spin moves that left Dino Sponge wrung out. Of note--Jerelle was sporting tube socks with giant GU bulldog logos with his uniform. Hi-larious. Stephen Stepka: 1RB Gotcha this time. ========================== One of the better quality doubleheaders in KL for some time, in terms of level of play and players. Good to see, keeps you coming back for more when it's another long weekend of tripleheaders. Song of the moment I wrote this sentence: Heck, it's that time exactly on my clock anyways... KLF: "3AM Eternal" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXEOESuiYcA& NOTE: Tomorrow's recap like today's will probably be posted again on the later side of things. Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged "they are calling him "beavis" vasquez on their board and have been Editeding and moaning about him all summer. it makes me chuckle. i told them a g-town education should require a more creative nickname than "beavis"." -TerpSportsReport.com Message Board cnyhoya Century member is offline Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 200 Re: Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Reply #2 on Aug 1, 2009, 8:35am » Aug 1, 2009, 2:03am, FLHoya wrote: Freeman is such a different player between the last two Kenner Leagues and the most recent regular season. In the KL, he is constantly on the attack, taking defenders on the dribble in full court situations, or bowling past a perimeter check and through multiple defenders in the lane on the way to a strong finish. He really only shoots the three when needed by the scoreline--he's more apt to attack the rim. He got those free throw attempts exactly that way--attacking the defense and forcing them to make a decision, usually a hard foul. It came many ways--curls through the lane, crossovers, scoop shots, and even one attempt at a tomahawk jam. He hit his last 12 FTs consecutively, including all of his second half attempts. The question--does he do this in January? Great Recap FL. Thanks. Austin's performance will be a major factor in our success this year. Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged lichoya68 Blue & Gray member is offline BEWARE IF THE FOUR HEADED CENTER COMES OUT TO PLAY WOWOWOWOW Joined: Nov 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 10,235 Re: Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Reply #3 on Aug 1, 2009, 8:45am » great READABLE and right on recap as usual especially the henry commets one thing i believe for that game and you may have said this beasley arrived like one minute till the end of the first half i saw henry starting good but then he looked like the nite before HOWEVER when beasly played on OH HENRY in the whole second half i think well HENRY HELD HIS OWN AGAINST A GREAT PLAYER GREAT.. i think HENRYGOTMUCHMOREMEANERAGAINSTMICAHAELBEASLEYAGREATGREATPLAYER.. hopefully that will give henry lots of confidence .. i think he has much more skill speed hustle in him thn most people give him credit I WAS FREAKING ESTATIC YUP ESTATIC.. thnaks again fl for great readbale posts in good anglish GO HOYAS GO OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HENRY YES YES YES Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged go hoyas eat up and feast on the big east russodj Century member is offline Joined: Nov 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 135 Re: Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Reply #4 on Aug 1, 2009, 10:42am » Good recap, I think you did a nice job summarizing everything. Even though Clark's line wasn't as impressive that kid has potential. The block you talked about was an insanely athletic play and he also threw down a dunk in traffic that was the most impressive play of the night. I think him and Hollis are the two most athletic guys on the team. How many do you guys think Beasley had in a game and half (second half of the first game and all of the second game)? I think I had him around 55 total. Nice to see Monroe and Wright in the gym. And I'm pretty certain AI was there hanging out with JT for a bit. « Last Edit: Aug 1, 2009, 10:43am by russodj » Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged hifigator Platinum Hoya member is offline Joined: Mar 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 5,435 Re: Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Reply #5 on Aug 1, 2009, 12:07pm » In general, with respect to this thread: I like it and enjoy it. To FlHoya, that new WWE angle is intriguing in one regard. What it does is keep you guessing a bit. With the guest host being "general manager" for a night, it gives the writers a lot more options. Normally they have to write their script as part of continuing sagas. Certainly that angle is still there, but with essentially an arbitrary person in charge weekly, they have a lot more flexibility. In a sense, it's kind of like that Comic Book series called "What If?" For those who don't know, What If was a story essentially about parallel universes and the story line would deviate from "ours" at key moments based on specific decisions or actions that key people made. It allows you to "think outside the box" to a degree. To oversimplify it, it allows you to go to the box office for a Premier, and honestly not know whether James Bond, Batman or Superman will in fact win or die trying ... or whether the bad guy will in fact blow up the world. In a very rough sense, this random General Manager for the night, with supreme power, allows a similar aspect. « Last Edit: Aug 1, 2009, 12:09pm by hifigator » Link to Post - Back to Top   Logged hoyarooter Diamond Hoya member is offline Joined: Jan 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 3,577 Location: Los Angeles Re: Kenner League July 31 RECAP « Reply #6 on Aug 3, 2009, 12:15pm » Great work, as always, by the man who must not have a job. And this is a beautiful turn of phrase: "That's why we've come so far in days but so little in conclusions since March 2009." It's the little things like this, plus the copious summaries, that make FL such a special contributor. Keep it up! 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