July 30 Kenner League RECAP

[FLHoya]

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]

[lichoya68]

good summary flhoya i did my almost understanable jibberish on the main kenner blog there i thought vee was very good and also hollis only disappointed in henrys game hope it was an off nite we need him to rebbies and d adn be freaking mean not tonite tho go hoyas good job mr. flhoya good job and READABLE TOOOOOOO

[kghoya]

My random thoughts:

I liked Freeman passing up a bunch of three pointers in exchange for closer jumpers. He had some nice dunks and seemed more explosive than usual.

Sanford was about what I expected. It's worth noting that I expect him to surprise people this year and make shots off the bench on a consistent basis. He seems like a good shooter.

Jerrelle seemed smaller than I was picturing him to be. 6'5 to 6'6 seems about his height. I could be wrong. He's definitely a thick dude out there but seemed a bit slow.

Stepka was alright for a walk-on. I sorta expected him to camp out around the arc and take threes. He definitely didn't do that as he had a bunch of shots around the basket with little success.

Hollis is going to be a star. He started his game and kenner league career for that matter with a nice alley oop dunk. His shot is sick. Taller than I thought and pretty lanky.

Dougherty, I think that's his name, is a decent player. Hopefully he can push the guys in practice.

Clark had a better handle tonight and that's what I was hoping to see. I really think he can be a good BE player. For most of the game he didn't a better job rebounding than Sims. Clark had an all around good game. I would hate to try and keep up with him.

Sims - it was a tough night for Henry. Monroe stayed around for most of this game and at halftime went over to him and they talked for awhile. Henry was guarding a rather large body and was going for way too many of his pump fakes.

For the me the downer of the night was the fact that the team with Greg and Chris wasn't playing. It was, however, cool of them to be there watching all three games.

I wonder where Nikita and Julian were tonight? I hope they are playing this summer.

I thought Gregory and Bowie had nice games. They play with Hollis and that seems like a pretty good team.

[FLHoya]

In about a paragraph or so, you're going to scratch your head and wonder "what happened to the two teams that were supposed to be playing?".

Or maybe not.

This will come as a shock to you, but the Kenner League schedule looks nothing like what was posted on GUHoyas.com about a week ago. For one thing, there are four fewer teams (Wouldn't have sounded as good if Paul Simon sang "Where have you gone, Meyers & Alterman...") and Monday/Tuesday games are axed.

I don't have the actual schedule aside from jotting down when the main GTown teams play...but suffice it to say today's KL was brought to you by the letters "TBD".

WE ARE ONE 67 Bearcats 62

(We Are One features Hollis Thompson, Ryan Dougherty, Folarin Campbell, Adrian Bowie, Dino "I Like It" Gregory , Coach Rodney, and Coach Rodney's 2-2-1 zone press).

Yeah, you read that right. Coach Rodney doesn't earn the title Coach Rodney by screaming his way into your hearts. Man coaches 'em up like he went to Jay Wright's coaching academy.

Let's be real--We Are Half of Two is an unstoppable force in the Kenner League if they're using the secret weapon of strategy.

I guess the roster doesn't hurt. And here's where the rub is for Hollis Thompson:

We Are 33 Percent of Three is strong in the backcourt with Campbell and the frontcourt with the Bowie/Gregory tandem. Kenner isn't really a wing player's league--either the guard jacks up the first open look the get, or the team with a size mismatch bangs down low and powers their way to the victory.

We Are the Square Root of One did a little of both, coupled with the super-genius 2-2-1 that finally broke the Bearcats down and broke the game open in the second half--a tie game turned quickly into a 12 point margin. Nosotros es Uno tried to give the game away late but it was little to worry about as they won by five.

And despite being the odd person out on paper, a star...or at least star-quality hype--was born:

Hollis Thompson: 16 points, 3-6 2pt, 2-2 3pt, 4-4 FT, 3RB, 1TO

Three seconds in...throws down a two handed alley oop. And at that instant the Hollis Thompson Hype Machine (tm just in case) purred into action. Next touch, a pull up three from deep atop the key, and the old girl was chugging its way into overdrive with not thirty seconds gone. A few minutes later, another NBA range three, and steam is pouring out from under the hood. A baseline drive, a tough reverse, and we're opening the windows, turning off the A/C and the radio, and keeping it under 55.

That was fun. 10 points in about five minutes. Now, he cooled down a lot after that, and got far fewer touches as Campbell, Bowie, and Gregory put together a nice second half effort. But Hollis left his mark clearly.

If we can get this guy into a SF or three position during the season, he's gonna have great success and create some matchups difficulties. Plenty of range, good ballhandling skills (played a lot at the two tonight), and athleticism to spare...although he tired noticeably in the second half--Rodney played him almost the entire game and was definitely riding him to give more effort in the 2-2-1 and getting back on D.

He had one more alley oop as a curtain call late, but my favorite play was when he sprinted back on a second half fast break and reached low to break up a bounce pass and disrupt a three on one break.

Solid.

Ryan Dougherty: 2points, 1-3 FG, 1RB

16 footer, got a bounce that would have probably given you the H-O-R-and S at least.


[AHEAD: Uniform tragedies of the KL]

[kghoya]

I was pretty excited that we got an announcer for the 2nd and 3rd games.

How about Clyde's having 13 players and losing to a team with only 5? Of course it's not like all 13 played.

[jkhoya12]

Thank you FL....good to hear about Austin and Hollis, Vee is standard, Benimon is a work in progress. Like the sound of Dougherty and Stepka. And with regards to Henry, it's one game folks.....

[FLHoya]

One legit problem I do have with the competition in the Kenner League is that you can get too far by merely having your players show up. Invariably in every KL matchup, there is a team with a full second squad on the bench, and another that would be playing a man down if anyone reached 6 fouls (and that's happened multiple times a season in the KL).

Clyde's fielded a baker's dozen in the Royal Purple today, while Madness All Stars sent out a furious five in their vulture vomit-inducing sea green uniforms.

Usually in Kenner League, the larger squad walks all over the smaller squad. Then again, usually schedules tell you which teams are playing when.

Madness All Stars (hereafter "The Aquamarine Hunger Force") 77, CLYDE'S 72

(Clyde's features Jason Clark, Henry Sims, and a variety of reasonably priced Sunday brunch specials)

Clyde's was larger in numbers, Madness All Stars was bigger where in mattered--in the paint.

A tale of two halves really--Clyde's dictated an uptempo contest in the first twenty minutes, and after all the back and forth had 44 points (the highest half total of the night, and more than Tombs' opponent scored all game) and a seven point lead. This was Jason Clark at his frenetic best, zipping around the court and expertly piloting the bullet train that was the Clyde's offense.

Then a lightbulb went on in Sea Green land and the Hunger Force realized there wasn't anybody on Clyde's who could bang with them down low. As Clyde's went ice cold from the field, AMHF grabbed offensive board after offensive board, and bulled their way into the lane for easy bank shots and layups.

But wait...wasn't Henry Sims manning the paint?

In a manner of speaking, yes...but he was matched up against the wrong kind of player, a 6'9 or so burly, mean bald headed dude with a penchant for backing down skinny Big East centers. Didn't go as well as we'd all have liked, but it's early after all.

AMHF built a 6-8 point lead that held for the middle of the second half. With two minutes to go, Clyde's had pulled within 4 points at 70-66. After a AMHF miss, Jason Clark couldn't nail the top of the key three though Clyde's gained possession and cut it to two. Ahhhh...but the offensive rebounds...a putback and one boosted AMHF back to a five point margin. Henry Sims threw one down with 34 secs to go, but AMHF downed their FTs. Another Sims chippy with 14 seconds to go.

And then...Jason Clark ripped the full court IB pass for his fifth steal of the game. Three ties it, and Clark hesitated at the line but went for the lane and a three on one situation...and passed it off to a teammate...who dumped it down again...and saw it stripped and turned over.

Score one for teal.

Jason Clark: 22 points, 7-12 2pt, 2-5 3pt, 2-5 FT, 7RB, 5A, 4TO, 5STL

Rare among Kenner League players is a point guard who decides to play like a point guard. Clark is serious about this whole "making your teammates better" thing apparently. For all the shots he took (17), he sure worked his butt off to make the right passes tonight.

At least for a while.

At a certain point maybe 10 minutes in, Clark switched into a scorer's mode. It was there for the taking. Lots of pull-up J's around, but he made his mark with his speed off the dribble, from the perimeter or in full court transition mode--some tough finishes.

When does Georgetown's offense call for the point guard to flip the switch I wonder?

Loves him some defense, and every lob pass is in play. Seemed visibly upset he didn't nab some lazy chest passes, and cherry picked long inbounds passes all night.

Great energy, great game.

Henry Sims: 11 points, 4-7 2pt, 0-1 3pt, 3-6 FT, 9RB (5off), 1A, 3 TO

Don't know if it'll make the ESPN version, but one of the pre-taped segments of Alonzo Mourning's "Homecoming" episode has 'Zo running practice with the basketball team. In particular, this segment focuses on 'Zo giving the big men some pointers. They run a drill where the big man runs to "the smile line" in the paint, turns and posts, receives a pass from a guard and finishes strong against 'Zo's defense.

You see Monroe in there flipping in a layup, Julian Vaughn banging big time and throwing in a dunk for gratuitousness sake. Then Henry Sims gets in the post...and 'Zo shoves him clear out of the lane.

Henry does some things with the basketball that a 6'11 guy of his build shouldn't be able to--for one thing, shooting effortless three pointers and darting in for offensive putbacks. He's a tantalizing talent precisely because you don't know what his talent will make him capable of.

The downside is that he still maneuvers roughly like one of those long carts in the warehouse at IKEA...when you get momentum going it's unstoppable, but heaven help you if you want to stop it and turn a different direction.

Henry runs the floor at a better speed than last year, but he's still going to lag in transition. He's banging more in the post and on defense, but he's still not nearly a reliable interior stopper. He can still poach his fair share of offensive putbacks each game, but it remains to be seen whether he can create his own shot down low.

More bulk will help, as will more experience on the court. Great talent, great potential, unclear learning curve.

==========

Tomorrow WAS to be the only off day for the GTown teams during the KL schedule. Now with the new schedule, all three teams from tonight are playing again tomorrow, starting with Clyde's and We Are One at 7:15. Every day Wednesday-Sunday until August 16th there's GU basketball. A short sprint on the marathon journey to next season.

Song of the moment when I wrote this sentence:

The Plimsouls, "A Million Miles Away":


Until tomorrow, one more mile closer.

[dense]

lol, Yeah Eddie Basden and #21 were pretty much owning Clydes.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

I had stepka as 1-2FG 3 assts 1 Def RBD 1 stl 2pts.

[Eurostar]

reading this subject line this morning made me go from 6 to 12

[HoyaFanNY]

thanks for the great updates guys...keep them coming

[kellycpcm]

FL, agree on your post. Henry still has a lot of work to do. He didn't make it up and down the floor with the pack. His post play left one to wonder if he hit the weight room this off season. Jason shined with those quick, long arms, he was everywhere.

[FLHoya]

Jul 31, 2009 6:23:52 GMT -5 kellycpcm said:

FL, agree on your post. Henry still has a lot of work to do. He didn't make it up and down the floor with the pack. His post play left one to wonder if he hit the weight room this off season. Jason shined with those quick, long arms, he was everywhere.

Yeah I think Henry's gonna be the one that causes the most discussion over the summer. One of those odd Kenner stat lines--how can you have five offensive rebounds and not be holding your own on the inside? Course by the same token, does Austin score 23 if he has any help at all on the roster for the first 15 minutes?

Stats are tricky like that in Kenner--there's always the WHY out there that you gotta figure out. Seems most everyone who wrote about last night's game took a similar conclusion. But we'll see how this goes in later games w/ different matchups.


Note about tomorrow--I'll be at the games but the recap won't be up until very late Friday or early Saturday morning.

[williambraskyiii]

can we get an update on the schedule? out of saturday and sunday this wknd, which day will feature the most gtown ballers?

[HoyaSinceBirth]

based on the schedule they handed out last night and what we beleive we know about the rosters there will be the same amount of gtown players saturday and sunday.

although i'm sure the schedule will change before then. One weird thing about the current schedule. Clydes plays we are one tonight and tomorrow. Seems a little weird.

[jerseyhoya34]

Can someone compare a taller iteration of Ashanti Cook with Vee Sanford? Just trying to get a feel for his game.

[CAHoya07]

Jul 30, 2009 23:09:41 GMT -5 FLHoya said:

Nosotros es Uno tried to give the game away late but it was little to worry about as they won by five.

To be gramatically correct, it would be "Nosotros Somos Uno."

"Nosotros es Uno" would be "We is one," but maybe that's what you were going for.

[SirSaxa]

Jul 30, 2009 23:09:41 GMT -5 FLHoya said:

Hollis Thompson: 16 points, 3-6 2pt, 2-2 3pt, 4-4 FT, 3RB, 1TO

Three seconds in...throws down a two handed alley oop. And at that instant the Hollis Thompson Hype Machine (tm just in case) purred into action. Next touch, a pull up three from deep atop the key, and the old girl was chugging its way into overdrive with not thirty seconds gone. A few minutes later, another NBA range three, and steam is pouring out from under the hood. A baseline drive, a tough reverse, and we're opening the windows, turning off the A/C and the radio, and keeping it under 55.

That was fun. 10 points in about five minutes.

It was also fun to read your first report on Hollis. Sounds like he is everything for which we've been hoping!

The news on HT, along with the report of a slimmer Freeman -- that is outstanding for our Hoyas and the upcoming season. Thanks FL!

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

Based on one set of Kenner League games (a very significant statistical sampling, I'm sure), I'd say you're starting 5 looks like this:

Wright
Clark
Freeman
Thompson
Monroe

with Vee, Vaughn, Nikita, and Simms coming off the bench in that order.

[skyhoya]

Vee was quicker that he looks, good moves to the basket, dribbles close to the floor, will be hard to steal the ball from, great 15' shooter and good finisher at the rim. Will be a great addition to the Princeton, can make the cutter pass.