Kenner League Days

[MCIGuy]

Once again I’m here with my long Kenner League writeup. Instead this time rather than doing one day’s worth of games I’m covering the four days worth of games I’ve have caught this summer. Also unlike in the past I’m not posting my writeup all at once. I’m posting some of it today and hopefully I’ll post the rest of it by sometime on Friday. Final part will be a grade and breakdown of each Hoya of course. If I attend more Kenner League games this summer I also may add my comments on them in this very thread.

Enjoy. Or try to enjoy.



Kenner league writeup


Summertime sporting events. For most this refers to baseball. Millions of Americans head to the ballparks to catch MLB and minor league games all across the country during this period of the year. Some of us though find another outlet for our sports entertainment: summer league baseball. And when it comes to summer league baseball in DC there is only one place for me: the Kenner League. I’ve been attending Kenner League games off and on since Othella Harrington’s first appearance. I even followed the event when it was temporarily relocated to the campus of UDC. And over the years I have reported on my outlook of games and players as well as my overall experiences at the event to give those of you not in the area an idea of how it is like to actually take in one of the games. This summer is no different. I’ve seen a slew of games over the course of the first four weeks of Kenner League action and I’m here to tell ya what I saw.

So lets go. MCI back at the KL.

Part 1

SUNDAY
JUNE 19th

CLYDE’S vs CUSTOM UNIFORM

“The Boys Are Back In Town”

Back at quaint McDonough Arena. The parking lot is relatively full and the benches outside are empty. What’s up with those benches anyway? Was this someone’s ideal location for a picnic? Anyway these old benches have been in front of McD for so long now its impossible to imagine the arena without them. If only they could talk, the stories they could tell.

It had been a week since I was last here. The weekend before I stopped by and caught Marc Egerson and his Lutheran Christian Academy take on and defeat the Delaware Sharpshooters. I was thoroughly impressed with Egerson’s play and was hoping to watch him again, along with the rest of the Tombs and a few other Hoyas. The Tombs first suited up a couple days earlier and the buzz was spreading about their performance. Putting up 137 points in a first game, summer league or not, tends to get people talking…and chatting on the Internet.

Two games are on the schedule today. The first is Clyde’s vs Custom Uniform. Since I knew ahead of time that both Ashanti Cook and Roy Hibbert were in the lineup for Clyde’s, I wanted to take in this contest. A poster on HoyaTalk had taken in the first few minutes of Clyde’s game on Friday night and was under whelmed with what he saw of Roy in that little time. So I was a little eager to see the big guy in action for myself.

During the warm-ups I kept my attention honed in on Roy who, from my vantage point, appears to take his drills seriously. He puts a lot into it, more than most players. He started off with his dribbling exhibition through his legs. Then he settled in on his jump shot routines. On this day he planted himself on the right baseline, about five to seven feet from the basket. Then he started taking his jumpers. And making them. Soft shots would go cleanly through the basket, barely disrupting the net. It was virtually automatic for Big Roy to make these jumpers; he only missed a few of them. Some may not feel this is all that big of an accomplishment, but as far as I’m concerned it was a bit of an impressive feat. For some reason the close in baseline jumper psyches American players out these days. They don’t make them. And big guys are even worse because they are so used to dunking when they are in that close that they often don’t develop the ability to make the seemingly simple jumpers. Put a defender between them and the basket from that distance and just watch the ugly clankers that often follow.

Of course during the layup line drills that followed you won’t see Roy do what all the other big men and forwards regularly do as easily as breathing: dunking the ball. Roy can execute taking the dribble step to the hoop but all of his finishes ends up with the ball being laid in rather than slammed home.

With the gym about 1/3 full the game gets ready to start. Roy is in the starting lineup of course along with Ashanti and his new hair style. For the first time I notice that Darrel Owens is in the lineup for the opposing team, Custom Uniform. Cool. An extra bonus.

Not taking many notes today. The game gets off to a good start for the two Hoyas on Clyde’s. Ashanti hits two of his first three shots, both three pointers. Roy has an even better start knocking down shots whenever he was in position to score. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he tires midway through that first half and asks to be taken out. Another problem is that, still, at times when he runs the floor he looks like a pet owner trying not to wake the cat. Besides his scoring he makes an impression in the first half by delivering a perfect bounce past to a non-Gtown teammate who ran a backdoor cut. Can’t say enough about Roy’s deft passing when he uses the bounce.

At halftime Clyde leads comfortably 40-29. Roy made all of his five field goal attempts for ten points. Ashanti had cooled off and was stuck on 6.

During the second half I am reminded that Owens was actually playing. A bit of applause makes its way through the stands when DJ nails a three point shot or makes an impressive drive which leads to a slick pass to a teammate for a basket. Typical DJ game. Especially for the Kenner League. Blend in and don’t dominate the action. Score every once in awhile, especially when your team falls behind. Make the extra pass. And by all means possible don’t do anything to cause yourself to stand out too much from your lesser talented summer squad teammates. Owens is a master of this philosophy.

Meanwhile Ashanti goes from cooling off to an artic chill, hitting only two of his last eight shots, most of them three point attempts. Roy also comes down to Earth a bit during the second half by missing a few shots of his own. Still he was the difference maker. When he was taken out of the game, Clyde’s has difficulty scoring, defending and rebounding. Custom Uniform would make the game close during these instances. However when Roy went back into the game his team looks for him in the paint to get them points. My how times have changed. A couple of years ago that’s the last thing anyone would have done even if Roy had a foot in height advantage over his defender. Back to the game Roy makes three field goals in the second half to help his team maintain the lead. Ashanti did his part by being money down the stretch with his clutch free throws to seal the game.

Clyde’s beats Custom Uniform 80-73. Roy, who hit some free throws of his own finished with 22 points in my count. Ashanti has 19.

[MCIGuy]

BOWIE STATE VS THE TOMBS

“The Prodigal Son Returns”

Then comes the main attraction. Not long after the first game ends Jeff Green strolls onto the court with a tall, lanky dude that I recognize as Pat Ewing. Sure enough Ewing is wearing Knick shorts just like it had been reported earlier online.

Not too far behind comes Jonathan Wallace who must have never gotten the memo from Congress about the crackdown on athletes on the juice. Seriously, though, Wallace appears to have spent a considerable amount of time in the weight room. Upper body looks bigger, much stronger.

As I wait for the rest of the Tombs to show I pay special attention to Ewing during warm-ups. I get a chance to see him display good technique on his jump shots, making most of them. The real show though comes when the layup line drill starts. I’m not sure Ewing has ever heard of the term “layup”. He is the anti-Hibbert in that he makes the routine into his own personal dunk contest throwing down all types of eye popping slams. Its around this time that I get a little ticked off because I realize that, for some reason, some of the Tombs won’t be arriving. The game’s about to start and the Tombs only have about seven or so guys, a couple of whom I don’t even recognize. I knew that Spann would not be around but I’m surprised that Sapp and Egerson also were no-shows. Josh Thornton is suited up and on the floor but I saw him play the previous summer. Thankfully I don’t have an investment in only observing the frosh otherwise the day’s trip would have been a waste of my time.

The starting lineup for the Tombs are Green, Wallace, Ewing, Thornton and maybe Isaiah Swann of Florida State. The first interesting and telling moment of the game is the use of Ewing in the toss up instead of Green, who has the height advantage. But it makes since. Just by watching the warm-ups it was clear that Ewing is a special athlete. He has an explosion and natural fluidity about him that Green can’t even match.

Ewing wins the tossup and the ball is in possession of the Tombs. Ewing gets the ball in his hands and beats his man off the dribble. Another opposing defender steps out to help leaving Green unguarded in the paint. Ewing delivers a no-look, behind his head pass to Jeff who scores the game’s first two points with a layup. That was the start of the Ewing highlight show. Again I’m not taking many notes this day. Mostly observing. However as I would later write in a post that evening Ewing puts on as good, if not better, of an all around performance as I have ever personally witnessed on a summer day at the KL. He displays confident ball handling, looking very comfortable with the orange in his hands. He doesn’t force a thing. He finds teammates with passes. He makes all but one of the four or five three pointers he attempts as well as making most of his jumpers inside the 3-point line. He blocks shots and literally flies above mortal men for rebounds. He hustles and flows all game long. And, man, he finishes with ease. More on that later but lets just say he’s the type that gets people on their feet when he jams.

Green has a solid game too but does most of his damage in the paint with post up moves and putbacks. He also runs the floor like a gazelle as cliché as that may sound and defends the paint against all intruders. None of his two three point attempts go down but fortunately he didn’t try to force any more than that. Doesn’t force much of anything in fact even though he has every right to be a lot more selfish on the court. Always looking to make the right pass.

Wallace does not explode for 31 points as he did on Friday. He simply takes what’s given. He makes both of his three point attempts as well as I believe a couple of nice pullup jump shots. The majority of the game he is simply controlling the action, running the offense. Most impressive of all he drives more frequently and more effectively than he has in the past. It’ll be interesting to see if he can accomplish such successful drives during the BE season.


Isaiah Swann looks solid as usual and wasn’t gun-shy. Dokun, #9 from George Washington, didn’t do much from what I can recall.

The Tombs won 85 to 71 over Bowie State. Once more Bowie State was represented by the ageless Derrick Payne aka Eligibility For Life. I’m not sure Green was even born when Payne was making his legend during his high school days. Another DC Public School tragedy. Nevertheless he’s still a good player and was scoring a lot this day.

[MCIGuy]

Part 2

SATURDAY
JULY 9th

SYMONDS ALL STARS Vs TROPHIES AND AWARDS

“Bo and the Nobodies”

I arrive hours before the Tombs game because that gunslinger from the West, Brandon Bowman, is playing for Trophies and Awards. This is not too long after Bowman pulls his name out of the NBA draft so I’m even more excited to see the Hoyas’ leading returning scorer perform.

I try to get an idea who Bowman has to play with on his team. Someone better give me a lineup card because I’m not familiar with any of these folks. For all I know they could have rounded these guys up from Turkey Thicket and bribed them into spending a couple of hours up at Georgetown.

Game starts. Someone forgets to tell Bowman. He isn’t doing much at first; his impact on the game is about as significant as the woman selling hot dogs. In the first eight minutes there is a lot of standing around by him. He rarely touches the ball, hardly looks at it. He appears a tad disinterested. Or maybe he’s simply in shock as he glances at his teammates thinking “who the hell are these guys?” There is a nice assist off a baseline move he makes but other than that he is virtually a non-factor. Even worse he is a step slow to boot; rebounds and loose bumps he has a chance at registers too slowly for him to get to. And his first three field goal attempts are lazy, unnecessary three point shots which clank when colliding with the rim.

Then there comes a spark of life. He decides to be serious and he battles for position in the paint for a rare post up move (something he should do a lot more often). He scores his first two points and is fouled for a three point play. His game starts to pick up. He makes a spin move, misses but grabs the rebound and slams it through. Still the problem that remains is that he’s missing easy shots near the basket. Part of it was that the refs refuse to call any fouls. Bowman will go up and clearly get hit but the refs for the most part are apparently too worried over the possible wear and tear of their whistles to send anyone to the line.

At halftime T&A are down 34 to 27. Bowman has 15 of those 27 points.

A lot of the same in the second half as Bowman has to carry his team to stay within striking distance. Bowman has clearly gotten more involved. He’s rebounding like crazy and he has taken over the responsibilities of bringing up the ball most plays. He becomes the team’s primary ballhandler and scorer to mix results. The offense runs better through him but at the same time he gets called legitimately for his share of carries while dribbling. He has nice rapport with a guard I’m not familiar with. Some guy with braids or cornrows. Despite some of his travels Bowman does display some awesome one-on-one moves that get a rise out of the crowd, which includes a nice move from the top to the hoop for a hanging layup and a foul. Its not enough though. Trophies and Awards lose 68-58 to Symonds. Bowman finishes with either 34 or 36 points. He shot poorly from the three point line and taking all those shots out there did hurt his team considering he shot far better within the arc. Posting up more than once would have likely served him better too.


Interlude- The girl of the summer

Well, one fine tradition at the KL besides watching the games is catching a glimpse or two at the hot, fiiiine babes who show up because, well, they are the biggest basketball fans on the planet (insert sarcasm sign here). Of course none of these ladies, no matter how they try, can capture my heart like the immortal Girl In Grey. Sigh. Memories. However these ladies sure do give it the ol’ college try.

It’s a tough job coming up with the girl of the summer but someone has to do it. I haven’t gotten a perfectly clear look at the face of the woman I’m picking but, hey, I ain’t superficial. The body is all that matters. My pick is a somewhat short olive skinned number with long, curly hair. She has curves everywhere: front, back and sides. In terms of her ethnicity she’s either Hispanic, a dark Italian or Spaniard or someone whose family’s origins can be traced to the Middle East. Okay, maybe Greek. Her attire is usually something like tan pants and a white, spaghetti strap blouse. I refer to her as Salma Hayek and right now she’s the leading candidate for the ’05 entry into The Girl In Grey Hall of Fame.

I’ve seen her a few times this summer, each time during a Tombs game so maybe there’s a connection there since its unlikely she would just show up by accident every time the Tombs are about to play. Is she a girlfriend, a dear classmate, a groupie, a hoops junkie? That remains a mystery. She does give a lot of love to some of the other dudes who sit at the front checking out the games. And her sidekick is a cute blonde girl who sits with her every time. Hey, maybe the two of them are actually….nah. Only in my dreams.

Okay, back to the other action.

[MCIGuy]

THE TOMBS vs UNIVERSAL MADNESS ALL STARS

“The Gang’s All Here”

You can always tell the Big Games at the KL. There’s that special electricity in the air and the building suddenly swells with onlookers. It’s the Kenner League version of a heavyweight bout.

Green and Ewing appear joined at the hip and are amongst the first on the floor again On the other side of the court the George Washington boys, Pops Mensa Bonsu and Omar Hall, make their way onto the floor. Pops got the whole outfit routine down. Like some superhero from a comic book, he dresses in the same costume all the time. He has his gold trunks that look like the unis GW wears for home games. He also has his matching headband and armbands too. It never changes.

There’s about a 20 minute delay between the first game and this one. I catch Wallace strolling on to the floor along with Thornton. Then I spot Jessie Sapp whom I’ve never seen in person before but was familiar with his picture. Egerson is there of course along with about three other players who are on the Tombs’ team. After ten or more minutes another dude in a sweat suit shows up and joins them. I recognize the face immediately. Its Octavius Spann who is making his KL debut. He must have just arrived on campus moments earlier. Green is the first to spot Spann and he gives him a warm greeting.

The Tombs are loaded today with players. And they’ll need it because Universal has put together a local college all star team. Not only does Universal boast the services of Pops and Omar, it also has DeMatha grad and McDonald All American Travis Garrison, big Jai Lewis of George Mason who could back down a truck and Mr Excitement Tony Skinn who, last summe,r made the KL into his own personal playground. This lineup means baptism by fire for many of the youngins on the Tombs.


Yeah, this is a note taking worthy game if there ever was one.

Let’s get ready to rumbllllllleeeeee!

Starting lineup for Tombs: Green, Wallace, Ewing, Thornton, Egerson.

Green scores the first basket and then two possessions later goes to the free throw line making one giving the Tombs the early 3-0 lead. Universal then ties it up. But Thornton, in the loudest yellow shorts you will ever see, quickly puts the Tombs up again with a three pointer. Then Green hits Ewing with a pass and he dunks it. On the next play Ewing blocks a shot that leads to another furious fast break that ends on a thunderous jam by Green.

Timeout called by Universal as Gtown fans cheer wildly.
10-3. Tombs.

The timeout helps Universal regain their composure and the All Stars go on their own run. After cutting the lead 10-7, the first substitution of the game is made with Sapp and Spann coming into the game. The game starts to really slow down, and Universal keeps creeping back. The game is tied at 10 all.

Wallace to the rescue. He hits a 15 footer to give his team some breathing space. Then he comes back for an encore and drives for a hoop. Another basket by Ewing gives the Tombs another small cushion.

16-10. Tombs.

Universal shows its might and goes on a nine point run. Arena gets more quiet with the exception of the fans cheering on the All Stars. Obviously this isn’t going to be a walk in the park for the Tombs. And with about ten players to dish out minutes to continuity is lacking in their team play.

Egerson gets on the scoring board with a drive for a basket and a foul. He misses the FT though that would have tied the game. Universal is on the FT line at the other end and add two more points to their lead.

21-18. Universal.

Then comes arguably the most important run of the game.

Jeff Green scores and is fouled. He ties the game from the charity stripe. Spann follows with a jump shot of his own giving the Tombs the lead back. Universal follows with a three but Wallace steps up again and hits a three pointer in return.

26-24. Tombs.


After a defensive stop Thornton spots up behind the arc (where else would he be) and lets it go. Good! Another defensive stop. Back on offense the Tombs swing the ball around the perimeter with the rock ending up in Green’s hands. Green launches a three and connects just before the buzzer sounds. Crowd erupts as the Tombs hit three straight pointers and score the last nine points in the half.

Halftime score: Tombs 32 Universal 24

I wonder why Ewing didn’t see much time in the last 8 minutes until I realize that Junior, whose outside shots are not falling today, is in big time foul trouble.

Second half begins. Universal ain’t going nowhere. Five quick points are put up by the All Stars. Egerson stops the bleeding with a jumper. Universal follows with another two points and Egerson responds by hitting two free throws.

36-31. Tombs.

The All Stars score another basket. Green tries to get his team going but he drives too far and is called for a charge. Green really needs to add a pullup jump shot to his arsenal.

After a timeout the All Stars score four more points to take a lead of one point. Spann makes 1 of 2 free throws to even things up.

37-37.


Egerson displays his skill by taking the ball coast to coast for a field goal. Wallace decides that imitation is the best form of flattery and takes the ball from one end to next for another two points. Tombs keep up the defensive pressure and hold their opponents scoreless for a stretch. In arguably the move of the game Jeff Green, being guarded by Pops out on the perimeter, puts the ball on the floor and with a bit of a crossover blows by Pops and makes it to the basket where he floats and lays the ball in. Sapp follows with a three pointer.

46-38. Tombs.

Even with Ewing barely seeing much time because of foul trouble, the run continues for the Tombs. Sapp follows his three point bucket with two free throws. Spann misses a shot but Egerson is there to clean up after him by grabbing the missed shot and laying it in. Short time later Green scores on a putback of his own giving his team its biggest lead of the game.

52-38. Tombs.

Still…Universal refuses to yield. Back-to-back scores with the last being an exciting alley-oop by Pops.

Ewing scores for the first time in what seems like an eternity by driving to the hole. Next he puts an end to the All Stars’ four point run by throwing down a wicked slam (pass by Wallace) that leads to an eruption of cheers. Unfortunately soon after Ewing rebounds a miss by Universal and tries to throw an outlet pass. The pass is stolen by Skinn who sees an opening and zooms to the hoop. The vertically challenged but explosive Skinn rises up to dunk that ball but Ewing comes from behind and blocks the shot, although fouling Skinn simultaneously. There is a lot of commotion from the crowd as a result of the athleticism and determination displayed by both players. Ewing fouls out. Skinn makes both of his freebies.

56-48. Tombs.

Josh “Yellow Trunks” Thornton hits another three point basket. Pops does some work down low though and gets two of those points back. Universal adds another free throw moments later which leads to a timeout by the Tombs with 5:01 left in the game. After the timeout a play is ran for Thornton which involves picks and screens to get him open. He gets the ball behind the arc and is fouled while shooting. Thornton makes two of three throws. Tombs get the lead back to double digits.


61-51. Tombs.

A little back and forth action follows which is punctuated by a thunderous dunk by Pops who is fouled in the process. The lead is cut in half with the Tombs holding on 61-56. Then Universal (I believe Pops specifically) is called for a goal tend. Nonetheless Universal keeps displaying its fight and scores again.

63-58. Tombs.
44.9 seconds left on the clock.

During the sequences leading up to this time Universal had its opportunities to take the lead but its interior players missed shots in the paint. Much of the credit for that goes to Green who was at times fighting by himself against the big interior players on Universal.

Trying to run out the clock Sapp gets fouled. Facing a one-and-one situation Sapp hits both. But Universal scores quickly and with 38.9 secs left the score is still close 65-60.

Thornton is the next to be sent to the charity stripe. He too makes both attempt, although the first wobbled around before falling. And again Universal scores quickly against the Tombs’ prevent defense.

67-62. Tombs.
29.9 seconds left.

Thornton is the target of a Universal foul once more. He goes to the line. And incredibly his first attempt repeats that wobble dance before going in. The second attempt goes down much more smoothly. Finally the defense of the Tombs stops someone. Egerson gets the board and is fouled. He too makes both of his attempts for the Tombs’ last two points. The last point of the game is one more free throw by Universal.

Final score: Tombs 71 Universal 63.

Good test for the Tombs, especially the frosh. Though being undermanned in the frontcourt they got a win against a very talented team with very seasoned college players.

[hoyanick]

Thanks for the entertaining reporting MCI.

[SFHoya99]

Always my favorite post(s) of the year.

Thanks, MCI.

[lichoya68]

great recaps thanks

[RBHoya]

thanks for the recap... thornton sounds like he's playing better than I'd thought.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

Thanks for the recap - sounds like Thorton and Edgerson will definitely see a good amount of playing time next year, while Spann's performance can probably be attributed to him having just shown up on campus and being behind his team mates in terms of conditioning.

[theEDGEfactor]

Yeah, I think Thorton will be the answer to our shooting problems over the last few years. The only thing that sounds bad is that he got TOO MUCH confidence, that he takes too many shots, but im not sure if that is tooo badd. Also, Sapp isnt even playin too much, so I think there should be alot of hype around him too. This class looks outstanding right now, cant wait until Midnight Madness. Also, does anyone know when the 2005-2006 schedule comes out?

[Nevada Hoya]

Thanks, MCI. Sigh, I wish Pat Jr. were playing this fall.

[MCIGuy]

Sorry for the delay of the other parts, folks. But I was unfortunate to get hit by a power outage. I've relocated to another residence and I'm going to try to do the rest of the writeup all in one sitting.

[FLHoya]

mciguy said:

Sorry for the delay of the other parts, folks. But I was unfortunate to get hit by a power outage. I've relocated to another residence and I'm going to try to do the rest of the writeup all in one sitting.

So if you started around 6pm and we figure an average-length MCIGuy recap, we should be expecting the finished product around...tipoff of the Navy game?

Looking forward to it. ;D

[BM-GW]

I think I know your Kenner lady of the year. Pretty sure she's of middle-eastern origin and a pretty good dancer. Sits behind the bench at all GW games if she's the one I'm thinking of.

[dejoyahoya]

are you sure he isn't talking about hibbs' girlfriend?

[rkerby15]

It could very well be Roy's girlfriend she is of middle eastern origin and is pretty

[MCIGuy]

The girl I saw with Roy today did kind of look like her but I'm not sure. Her hair was tied back and she wasn't hanging out with a blonde co-ed so I'm not sure. She did walk over to Roy's family in the stands and greeted them.

Anyway I gotta get back to my writing.

[MCIGuy]

Part 3

SUNDAY
JULY 10th

CUSTOM UNIFORM VS THE TOMBS

“An Unimpressive Narrow Escape”

I don’t like what I see. Ewing is not connecting on his jumpers during warm-ups. I worry it’s a sign of things to come. The first day I saw Ewing play at the KL this summer his shots looked good during the pre game exercises and it carried over into the game. The second time, yesterday, his struggles in warm-ups mirrored the struggles he would have shooting during the actual game against Universal.

But there’s a bigger issue at hand. The Tombs appear very short in depth. Its takes me a minute before I realize that all the freshmen are missing. At first I think maybe all of them had to recover from a hangover the previous night as they showed Spann the town. But that would have been too much of a coincidence, right?

As the sands in the hourglass slide away the frosh remain absent from the building. I figure that some freshmen seminar must be going on and the suckers on the Tombs were told to report. Oh, well. Better today it happens than yesterday when Universal was in the house. Hopefully Green, Wallace and Ewing along with the other three or four players would be enough against Custom Uniform.

When the Tombs get out to a 6-0 start it appears that perhaps this will be a breeze. But that's the furthest thing from the truth. Custom Uniform, even sans Darrel Owens, is a highly competitive team. They cut into the lead minutes later, 8 to 7. Jeff makes a great steal and drives fullcourt for a layup, but Custom Uniform keeps gaining. It becomes 10-10. Then 12-10, Custom Uniform. Then 17-10. My worries about Ewing are well founded. His shot is way off. Not much of anything is falling for him and he is not making much of a difference on the other end either.


Green hits a three to give his team some life, but with nearly 10 minutes gone the Tombs are still down. The game gets bogged down in slow, painful play and mistakes. There isn't much excitement on the floor and even less in the stands. Ewing isn't helping with an ill timed turnover but its clear he's trying to make something happen. Wallace is trying to be more aggressive but his three point shots are not going in.

With 8:41 left in the first half the Tombs are still down 21-20. It gets worse. With a little over two minutes left they are now behind 34-23. I sit there in amazement that the Tombs may actually lose this game. Don't know why I am surprised. The Tombs have lost plenty of times before over the years even with a full roster at their disposal. Still I wasn't expecting this. The first half comes to an end with the score Custom Uniform 37, Tombs 28. That's right. 28 lousy points. That's a marked difference compared to the Tombs' first game this summer. As I sit waiting for the next half the only thing I can think of is that hopefully someone is rushing out to track down the freshmen at that instance.


Tombs go on a 9-0 run to open the second half and tie the game. The scoring included a three by Ewing, two FTs from Green and a bucket by Green.

But Custom remains a load. Its players settle down and go on a run of their own. With 13:16 left Custom Uniform is up 50-43 and the Tombs call a timeout. During the timeout the Tombs coach goes even more nuts than usual as he gets into his players’ faces. It seems a tad over the top but it works. The Tombs go on a run punctuated at the end by an alley oop from Wallace to Ewing for a slam dunk during a fastbreak. Score is 50-49. The game gets stuck on that score for a few minutes. During this time George Washington's Dokun Akingbade, who is the big guy with the # 9 jersey, goes down and delays the game a bit more as the Lori-In-Training (not too bad looking herself) comes onto the court to give him medical attention. He is escorted off the court never to return for this game.

Play starts up again. Wallace hits a three and for the first time early in the first half the Tombs regain the lead.

The game becomes an even worse grind it out affair the rest of the way. Wallace begins to take charge and executes a baseline drive for a hoop.

With the Tombs up 56-55 with 42 seconds left, a non Hoya member of the Tombs misses two free throws. CU tries to score but misses. Then in a key sequence Ewing is out of bounds trying to toss the ball in after a stop on defense. With the Tombs still holding on to that one point win he throws a bad pass that is intercepted by a guard who immediately goes for the basket to put Custom Uniform ahead. But Ewing, in arguably THE defensive play of the summer, blocks the shot attempt in a way that would make his Papa smile.


Tombs stop CU and are fouled. But again one of the guard misses the front end of a one and one. With 3.5 seconds left a timeout is called. What happens next occurs in blur. Custom Uniform tries to score but can't. They get the rebound and are fouled? Or they got the rebound by fouling in the first place. There's less than a second to go and the refs converge. They then decide that the Tombs were fouled and time ran out. What? Anyway game over. Custom Uniform players aren't happy. Tombs escape but the same could not be said of us fans who had to sit through that uninspired mess.

Tombs 56 Custom Uniform 55.

Based on my mote taking Green made 5 of 7 two point attempts, 1 of 6 3 pointers and 6 out of 10 free throws for 19 points.

Wallace made 3 of 5 from 2 and one of 5 from three. He didn't have any FT attempts. Finishes 9 points.

Ewing made 4 of 8 from 2, 1 of 7 from three and 1 of 2 from FT line for 12 points.

Green was clearly the man of the game as he was effective on all sides of the court. Ewing missed a lot of threes but in my estimation only one was forced. I think he took what the defense gave him. Outside of two bad charges in the second half he was under control with the ball and tried to pick his spots. He would pass around the ball quickly; trying to feed his teammates. But with Green doubled covered in the paint and Jon being hesitant to shoot when a defender is right in his mug, he was often left open and made the right decision to let the bal fly. His shots just weren't going down.


(a whole lot more to come)

[theEDGEfactor]

Thanks alot MCI, tho feel bad for you tho to have to sit through a game like that, but nice to hear about even tho Ewing is off defensively, he is trying to contribute in other ways.

[MCIGuy]

Part 4

SATURDAY
JULY 16th

CUSTOM UNIFORM vs SYMONDS ALL STARS

"Time to Kill"

Get to the arena just before the second game of the day which is Custom Uniform vs Symonds All Stars. I am only here to observe Owens play. Once again though as I look at the lineup for CU I see no sign of DJ. I must assume that Owens' participation in the Kenner League has concluded a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm stuck watching a game I have absolute no interest in. All that's left for me to do is kill time by observing the going-ons inside McD.

Sead's in da house. First time I've seen him this summer.

Oh, and there's Tyler in his sweat suit doing some stretching near the end of the arena.

Big Roy shows up and sits in a front row next to two co-eds who have been there for a few minutes. I think one of the girls is on the women's basketball team. He has a friendly chat with them. Tyler joins the bunch. And then later so does Brandon. Oh, and now comes Sead too who is greeted by Brandon before taking a seat. And there goes Ashanti walking through a door and pass the bench party. He says hello but doesn't stop and...and is anyone as bored with this as I am writing it? I thought so.

The game ends. I can't recall which team won. And I don't care.



R. DAVIS REALITY vs CLYDE'S

"A New Weapon In the Lineup"


Now here's a game that will definitely have my full attention. Clyde's has two Hoyas in Ashanti and Roy. And Tyler plays for R Davis Reality.

Warmup observation: Tyler puts more effort into the warmups and gets more out of it then anyone else. He gets to different parts of the floor and takes shots. Unlike most guards he spends more time inside the three-point arc rather than outside of it. And he looks GREAT shooting the ball. His mechanics on his shot are superb. Nice rotation, nice arc.

On the other side Clyde's seem to be short a few players. There are only four guys out there with just a couple of minutes left on the pre-game clock. I assume they will set the clock to zero, put 15 minutes back on the clock and start the countdown all over again. But then another player shows up. Bowman lets out a little whoop and goes over to exchange greetings with him before returning back to his seat on the bench. The new arrival turns out to be George Washington’s JR Pinnock. First time I’ve seen him suit up this summer. Good addition for Clyde’s.

The game is about to start and it hits me what's so different about the KL this summer. There isn't any music. Those loud, thumping, overpowering beats that usually fill the small building (and leave me worried about the health and the hearing of the senior citizens sitting in the stands) are absent. Is this a result of budget restraints or simply too many complaints from the attending fans? Who knows. Whatever the reason I find myself having to deal without the nonstop blasting of Usher's "Yeah" to keep me going through games. Oh, the horror.

Tipoff.

R Davis Reality scores the first two points. Roy puts up a shot for Clyde's but the shot doesn't fall. He grabs his own miss and scores on the folowup while being fouled. His free throw gives his team a one point lead. Another two points comes from Pinnock and then Ashanti follows with a three. Brandon from the bench shouts out "hey, #3 [Ashanti] is nice." Clyde's leads 8-4.

The teams are tied at 12 all and I begin to see late arrivals for Clyde's.

Tyler hits a three, which gives reality a 16-15 advantage. Two more points are added to their total pushing that lead to three. Hibbert retaliates with a nice spin move and a layup.

The JR Pinnock show official begins. One on one moves, exciting alley oop dunks, powerful slams on the fast break. He's truly electric out there. Cook manages to score a basket in between this outburst but Pinnock is the one who is really on a roll. He gets to the hole and finishes despite a taller defender in his face at the rim. Clyde’s is beginning to pull away.

I look over and see nearly the entire Tombs team enter the arena like rock stars. No back door/locker room entrance for them today. Like a powerful posse they show up and announce themselves with a swagger in their step. They make their way from the front end of the arena to the opposite side. Green and Wallace part company with the rest of the bunch and sit next to Brandon and Sead who are still taking in the game. Brandon, for his part, barks some encouragement and instructions towards Roy who is on the floor competing.


Speaking of competing, Tyler snatches a rebound in traffic he has no business getting. In fact Tyler is everywhere doing a bit of everything for his team. But he is having major problems trying to score in the paint. Meanwhile Pinnock is running much of the offense for Clyde's and dishing out dimes on the break.

Roy gets back into the act with a smooth left hand hook that leads to a burst of applause and cheers from the crowd. I seriously think Roy has more vocal support in these games than any other player.

The lead keeps expanding. Pinnock shows his soft touch with a perfectly executed pull up jumper from within 10 feet making the score 46-29. Roy delivers a great bounce pass on the baseline to a teammate who lays it in. Its the last points of the first half. Clyde’s leads reality 48-29.

During the intermission Pinnock puts on an aerial display with his dunking---including one move which he throws the ball off the backboard and pounds it in with one hand. Don't know how any of this helps him in preparing for the second half but it is fun to watch at least.

Tyler stops a 4 point run by Clyde's at the beginning of the second half with two points of his own. Ashanti responds with a three pointer. Not long afterwards Roy shows off more of that improved footwork. Once again he uses a spin move to make room for an easy basket. And once more he is fouled. Misses the freebie at the line however.

Tyler and his teammates of Reality are having difficulties scoring. This is not a problem that affects Pinnock. He hits a three which forces the coach of Reality to call a timeout. Clyde's is cruising 63 to 36.

Hibbert shows more of his growth on both sides of the ball. On O there is a skyhook he pulls out of his arsenal. On D he displays better reaction and foot speed by racing out on the perimeter to block a shot.

During one possession Ashanti blazes past his man on the baseline and throws a bullet pass to Roy between two other defenders. Roy catches the pass and an opponent fouls him as he takes the shot. The sequence stands out for a number of reason: 1)Ashanti and Roy are developing a connection that could pay dividends in the upcoming season 2)Roy caught a blur of a pass without a hint of struggle 3)Ashanti had trust in Roy that he would catch the pass which means he perhaps has more confidence in Roy’s capabilities. Roy makes his free throws.


The leads grows to 76-42.

Not everything is perfect for Roy. A couple of times he is surrounded when he receives the ball and he takes too long to figure out who to kick the ball out to. As a result those passes are picked off. And a 12 foot hook shot of his that rolls through the net is taken away because of a teammate's interference. But his rebounding and shot blocking remains outstanding. After one late swat of an opponent's attempt, the announcer shouts that that must be Roy's ninth block of the game. Don't know how accurate that is but it sounds about right. Unfortunately Roy isn't running the floor anymore. With a couple of minutes left in the game he has stopped running at full speed. Interesting enough he has been in the game for virtually every minutes which is something I've never witness Roy doing before. He usually gets at least a couple of breathers. I assume the lack of sitdown time is the main cause for Roy taking it easy the last section of the second half. I wonder if JTIII has spoken with Clyde's coach and ask him to keep Roy on the floor longer in order for Roy to improve his stamina and conditioning for the real season.

The final score is 98-61, Clyde's.

Tyler did not get much burn in the second half. Neither did Ashanti who faded into oblivion anyhow when on the floor the latter half. Roy and especially Pinnock are the stars of the game. Two of Roy's other teammates deserve mention. Lorenzo Miles is on Clyde's and looks good. He had a great senior season at Gonzaga a couple of years back and even got some attention from the Hoyas late that season. He is simply a speed demon with the ball and is very good at penetrating against any defense. The other dude is a tall white player (#7) who I believe plays for American. He is simply automatic whenever he gets a clean look at the hoop.

I have Hibbert making 7 of his 10 two point field goals but only 2 of 5 of his free throws. Total is 16 points.

Cook connects on 1 of 2 of his two point shots and 2 of his 6 three point baskets. He didn't go to the free throw line in the game. Total is 8 points,

Crawford made 3 of 8 two point shots, hit his only three point attempt and went 1 for 2 at the FT line. Total is 10 points.

For you GW fans out there I have Pinnock with at least 26 points. He made the majority of his twos, threes and free throws.

Tombs game is up next.