Kenner Finals Update

[TBird41]

I had to leave the game w/ about 5 minutes left in the half. I had to go to work--I don't really want to talk about it. Anyway, here's what I saw in the limited time I was there:

Thornton looked pretty good, hitting 2 of 4 three point shots, one from NBA range. One of his misses was a forced three that was contested. Also, they played one of his songs (apparently he's a musician) but the horn went off right as he started singing. Maybe we'll get a Nodak-Thornton collabo?

Jeff looked pretty good, took Roy off the dribble twice. He also blocked Ashanti. Basically, Jeff was Jeff.

While Jeff did drive on Roy, the third time, Roy moved his feet and kept Jeff from the hoop. He also scored on a couple of putbacks, as well as had some nice passes to the open guy (usually the white guy, who it turns out, goes to AU). And he had a couple of blocks including sending a Ewing shot into the concession stand. Of course, PE2 responded by swatting one of the random's layup past half court. Ewing also hit 1 of 2 threes.

[TBird41]

My friends told me that Clyde's won the championship, 70-68. Jeff hit a shot in the lane to tie it at 68 w/ 13 seconds left, a random on Clyde's hit a jumper to take the lead and then Sapp's shot at the end was partially blocked.

[MCIGuy]

Just got back from the game. I didn’t take many notes so this will be a short summary.


Clyde’s did win 70-68 on I believe a late drive to the hoop by Lorenzo Miles. The game was tied at the half 38-38 in fact so it was nip and tuck all the way. I believe the difference in the game was that Clyde’s had a more balanced attack from the perimeter and made more three pointers.

For the first half of the game Ewing was the MVP for the Tombs. He easily had the most points and was doing a bit of everything (blocks, rebounds and assists). But early in the second half he tried driving and fell down hard underneath the basket when he collided with Roy. After that he was almost invisible and fouled out with around 6 minutes left in the game.

Roy Hibbert had his lowest scoring total yet in the league. I counted 11 points (6 in first half, 5 in the second). He had a few good moves when he posted up that led to baskets. He also missed about four close in shots (most were putback attempts) in part thanks to Green who was working hard. Ewing had one spectacular block on Roy which was payback for a block Roy had on him earlier. Roy was solid on rebounding and was very effective passing the ball out of the paint when he didn’t have a clean look. I only recall one turnover by him which came early in the game on his first post up when Jon Wallace stole it from him. His biggest contribution was easily his defense. He didn’t block a lot of shots but he made it miserable for The Tombs in the paint. He did the best job this summer in making Jeff look average. Went out to the perimeter when Jeff was there, stuck with him most of the time and made Jeff miss shot after shot in the paint. Did pick up fouls guarding Jeff and fouled out the game with his team up four points with about a minute left. Loud applause for him as he walked to the bench. When Miles made that shot and Clyde’s won he rushed out on the floor and lifted Myles in the air.

Jeff Green had a bigger struggle on offense than the five previous games I saw and likely more than any other game he has played in this summer. He had to work for everything with Roy guarding him. Probably had 12 to 14 points. None of his outside shots were falling today and there was some frustration on his part. Still he was solid on the boards and had some big blocks. His defense on Roy was pretty commendable too. The Tombs decided to front Roy on many occasions to take him out of the game and it was Jeff who got the assignment 95% of the time. Even with his struggles he still worked hard and fought down the stretch, giving his team key points and stops late. Like most of the Tombs he looked a step slow and out of sync today.

More to come.

[Thomas]

The guy who hit the winning shot for Clyde's is Lorenzo Miles, a rising junior from Niagara University. He played high school ball at Gonzaga. He easily drove past his man and hit the game winning shot with about 6 seconds left. Ashanti Cook almost cost Clyde's the game with some QUESTIONABLE decisions down the stretch with his team leading 68-64(he got an offensive rebound with less than a minute left and a 4-point lead, instead of taking the ball back out, he drove to the basket and picked up a charge). PEII and Roy Hibbert fouled out of the game. Clyde's only had 6 players. Tombs had all of the freshman(except for O.Spann), PEII, Jeff Green, Jonathan Wallace, and Isiah Swann. Despite only having 6 guys, Clyde's had the lead for MOST of the game. Clyde's had a 7-point lead with about 5 minutes left before Jeff Green and Isaiah Swann sparked a comeback.

[SFHoya99]

What's up with Tay missing so many games? I hope it isn't anything serious....

[TBird41]

The community scholars program (which all the freshman participated in) all checked out of Copley on Saturday morning, so I assume that Spann was on his way home Sat. and home on Sunday--which would be why he wasn't at either the semifinal game nor the finals game.

[MCIGuy]

Ashanti Cook shot the ball very well and hit some big time three pointers down the stretch. Early on he was very aggressive driving to the paint. When he did this he either got fouled or he turned the ball over. He was pretty solid until the very end. With his Clyde’s team up by I believe four points with under a minute to go (and Roy on the bench for good) he took an unnecessary quick jump shot which clanked. Fortunately he got the ball back and you would think that Ashanti the senior would realize he had made a mistake, got lucky and understood that it would better to hold onto the ball as The Tombs start fouling. Instead he takes another quick shot, which doesn’t get in and the Tombs score on the other end with around 20 seconds left. Two straight times a member of Clyde’s throw an inbound pass to a teammate (Ashanti and someone else) and each time they are fouled as the Tombs try to pile up fouls quickly. The third time the ball is thrown in Ashanti sees some daylight after receiving the pass and rushes over halfcourt. But he bounces the ball off his leg (my friend immediately said “UConn Big East Tournament flashback”) and turns it over to the Tombs who race the other way for a basket. Tie game. After a timeout I tell my friend that the players on Clyde’s should get the bal in the hands of Lorenzo Miles who had been successfully driving to the rack all game long and is a better ball handler than Ashanti. Sure enough Miles does get the rock and races for the hoop making a layup that JUST rolls in as the clock winds down to 3 seconds left.

[MCIGuy]

tbird41 said:

The community scholars program (which all the freshman participated in) all checked out of Copley on Saturday morning, so I assume that Spann was on his way home Sat. and home on Sunday--which would be why he wasn't at either the semifinal game nor the finals game.

That's how I took it. The session is over and Spann went home.

[hoyaboy1]

How did the freshman play? And Tombs really should have beaten Clyde's - I was more impressed with Tombs last year, even though it might not have had as much talent(but then again, way more size).

[MCIGuy]

thomas said:

Ashanti Cook almost cost Clyde's the game with some QUESTIONABLE decisions down the stretch with his team leading 68-64(he got an offensive rebound with less than a minute left and a 4-point lead, instead of taking the ball back out, he drove to the basket and picked up a charge). .

You're right. The second attempt by Ashanti on that possession ended up being a charge, not another missed shot as I had written.

[nychoya3]

However much Roy scored, I'm very impressed that he could throw Jeff off his rythym like that. If he could even begin to stay with Green on the perimeter, it bodes well for the continuing development of his athleticism. And, hey, he was pretyt much the session long most-effective player for the championship Kenner team, so that's something. I continue to believe that Roy does a lot for us that doesn't always show up on the stat sheet, and this does nothing to change my mind.

82games.com does +/- rating for NBA players. I wish there was something comparable for college, because I bet Roy would fare quite well.

[MCIGuy]

hoyaboy1 said:

How did the freshman play? And Tombs really should have beaten Clyde's - I was more impressed with Tombs last year, even though it might not have had as much talent(but then again, way more size).

Clyde's was undefeated for a reason. Give them their props.


Last year's Tombs lost 3 or so games despite having players like Jerome Williams and Sam Cassele makingbguest appearances in their lineup. Last year's team also had Darian Townes and relied on Isiah Swann to carry them offensively in the last two games. This year's Tombs team relied, for most games, almost exclusively on the talent of current and incoming Gtown players. And they were pretty impressive. They just seemed to lose their fire down the stretch.

As for the freshmen Thornton was solid during his limited time off the bench. He hit threes. he even scored a two point bucket with a tap in. But even when he wasn't on the floor Thornton's presence could still be felt...on the speakers!

Sapp came alive late. He had an important three point play off a frive and a pull up jump shot. It was just too bad he didn't get going to late. Looked the best of all the freshmen today.

Egerson has to be careful that he doesn't become the next Owens in terms of being pasive on offense. He had a couple of really impressive drives that he couldn't finish. Finally scored late in the first half with a beautiful drive for a score and one. Had another two points late in the game when he was fed underneath the basket. The friend that hung out with me today said he could have posted up the players on Clyde's all agme if only the coach had ran such plays.

To me part of the problem lately is perhaps the addition of Swann. Before this past week the only time Swann had played with the Tombs this summer was when all the frosh (outside of Thornton) weren't around. Swann had a pretty good game today but he dominates the ball so much (more than Wallace does) that I think the frosh don't really know what to do with themselves when they're in the game with him. They have to defer to him because he is more experienced and he gets placed in the starting lineup. But I must say that when Swann is not around, the Tombs share the ball better and pass it around more competently. Just my take. But, no, I'm not blaming Swann for the loss.

[hoyaboy1]

I actually forgot about Townes - so yea, last year's team was better.

But I don't think they lost 3 games - only 1 regular season that I remember (on a last second shot by David Hawkins), and they won the championship.

[jerseyhoya34]

People can call me the anti-Ignatius and whatever else, but color me very happy with Roy's development this summer.

Who would have thought that he'd be the Kenner League MVP this time last year? Although they may not award it, he is his team's MVP, and I don't think folks who have seen Kenner play will disagree with me there.

Roy's development is the most important thing that could have happened all summer for this team. We need him to make a solid contribution in the paint, and he is now more than capable of doing so consistently. It may not be 20/10 a night, but 10/8 is more than enough given our offense and our first and second options.

Sorry that the frosh could not pick up the championship, but the fact that Hibbert's team could beat them with almost less on paper, even if you leave the frosh out of the equation, is a testament to Roy and his development and something that we should be very excited about as fans of the program.

[macklinin06]

The two kids from Niagra were giving the Tombs backcourt HELL all day.

FYI...a little piece news floating around the gym afterwards were that alot of the Tombs guys were a little annoyed with Thornton's attitude and body language...and have been for some time now. Hope he doesnt get on the outs with his teammates when the season starts

[MCIGuy]

macklinin06 said:

The two kids from Niagra were giving the Tombs backcourt HELL all day.

Lorenzo Miles and Stanley Hodge. But of whom starred at Gonzaga High School. They've been playing well all summer but today they were on fire.

[lichoya68]

not sure aobut this spann story.. as i understand almost all players take a course and summer shcool NOT over till this coming friday.. not sure last player not to play much was cornelio girbunda and well you know dont like this at all go hoyas ALL of them

[MCIGuy]

Cornelio suited up twice for a period of a week (barely getting any minutes in the process) before disappearing. Spann played 4 or five games and was on campus this summer for nearly a month. Can't compare the two.

[WilsonBlvdHoya]

Can't add much more to this thread except:

1) I was very impressed with the Niagara duo for Clyde's, they fueled the team offensively while Roy really made Jeff work hard for what few points he could get (not necessarily on the perimeter; more on the baseline and underneath).

2) PEJr and Roy fouled out. PEJr and JW had 3 fouls apiece by halftime. This needs work bigtime so BE opponents won't be digging into the GU bench early.

3) Josh hit some shots early but didn't get touches after that. Ditto for Egerson. I'm really hoping this rumor about discontentment with Josh isn't true (can't we all get along!!). And MCI made an excellent analogy on Egerson sharing DJ's tendencies to let the game come to him offensively and not being particularly aggressive on the o.

4) Ashanti Cook takes two steps forward and then two steps back as far as on-court decision making is concerned. C'mon Ashanti, you're a senior now--think like one on the floor.....

5) Roy, as can be expected, was emotional/fired up about the win. He missed some bunnies underneath but played well and frustrated the Tombs on d (would love to see him give the team that consistent type of defensive presence in BE play). And yes, I will call Jersey34 the anti-Ignatius (just yankin' your chain, Jersey! )!

6) Give some credit to Jesse Sapp for trying to take it end-to-end at the buzzer (interesting no call there too!)--he had his shot blocked but he played well today....

7) Looking forward, JG needs to touch the ball on every possession if the offense is clicking. Ditto for PEJr in 2006-07 (ouch, it hurts to type that--really would love to see Patrick playing this year.....).

[SirSaxa]

Thanks to all for you many comments and insights.

I'd just like to add a reminder.
The GU coaching staff is not allowed to be involved in all of this.
When they are, if they feel Egerson needs to see the ball more or be more aggresive offensively, they will tell him... and the team. Sometimes a freshman will defer to upper classmen... especially in a summer league.
And Thornton will be integrated into the team concept too.
JT3 and his asst.s have not yet begun to work with these kids.
All the Kenner really tells us is about athleticism, and sometimes desire and work ethic.
As we know from many many years of watching KL games, there's a HUGE difference between what happens there, and what happens once the season starts.... and what happens once BE conference play begins.

It sounds like there's a lot of talent on the team this year, improvements from returning players and a lot more help on the way in '06/'07 too. As Lic would say... "GO HOYAS!"