Freshman Debut

[Jamaica We Have a Bobsled Team]

So I caught the tombs game today at kenner and saw the three freshman. Overall it was an ugly game with way too many whistles and the tombs lost to a team featuring Bethel, Guibunda, and Crawford.

Rivers- Shot does not look good. He was slipping around a lot in the first half so he changed shoes at halftime. Seems to penetrate pretty well but also forced a lot of things. and turned the ball over. I think he'll be better in a structured style of play. Had a nice pass to Macklin for a dunk in the first half. Clearly the strength of his game is going to the basket as a slasher.

Macklin- Disappointing. He grabbed a few boards and had a few dunks but that was about it. He needs to work on his hands and poise a little. He seemed sort of anxious when he got the ball and tried to force things. However, he can jump very well and is quick. He should be able to dominate on athletic ability alone. His free throw stoke does not look good either. So, we need to take those expectations of Macklin jumping right into the fold off the bat and throw them out the window. It is gonna be a while before he is game ready. For now hes gonna be a defense and rebounds guy. Had a weak side block that got a rouse out of the crowd.

Summers- I was impressed with Summers. He played the best out of the three. Had one or two threes I think but scored mostly by taking it to the rack. Clearly an inside-outside threat and pretty much as advertised. He also threw down a big dunk/facial that got a reaction from the crowd.


Overall the team did not play very well. They had a huge scoring drought at the end of the first half and into the second that seemed like an eternity. Wallace played under control and had some nice plays, looked pretty good all around although he fouled out with about four minutes left.

The game before the tombs game was pretty good. It ended with Gist throwing down a put back dunk at the buzzer for the win.

I already hate Greivas Vasquez of Maryland by the way. He played well but was acting like a jackass.

[hoyabinx]

I'd have to agree with that overall assesment.

I think one thing that is apparent is that our defense will step up immediately. Macklin is just as quick as I've read he is. He will block and alter shots from day 1. He is also going to be a rebounding machine. Rivers is a great defender already, he had several steals and if you watch just him he is always keeping an eye on his guy and an eye on the guy with the ball. Great help defender and one on one as well.

Summers is the real deal. He attacks the basket well and has a good stroke. I think he had around 15 points or so.


(Oh yeah, Vasquez is a punk with attitude)

[CAHoya07]

Nice to hear about the freshmen, thanks for the report.

Rivers' poor range from doesn't surprise me, I had heard similar things from other sources. Macklin sounds just as I'd expect - a true athlete but raw. I think he will really help with defense and rebounds immediately; on the other end, aside from a few dunks, sounds like he will have to become more polished. Hopefully he will use these summer games and practices as well as the early part of the upcoming season to do just that.

And Summers.... awesome. Sounds like he can be an immediate impact kind of guy. Looking forward to it.

[Jamaica We Have a Bobsled Team]

Yeah out defense is going to be disgusting next year. Rivers is a good size big east guard and I noticed his defense as well. He has quick feet and nice athleticism and will be a great on the ball defender. Another thing: caught Pat junior in the earlier game. He looks like he put on 15 pounds easy from last years Kenner, and is just so big and fast. He and Macklin are going to be terrifying defenders. Ewing is developing a nice finishing touch around the basket.

[MCIGuy]

Sounds like Green wasn't playing in this game.

By the way is it a good time to repeat how I wish both Green and Wallace were not on the Tombs? Knowing that Rivers is mostly a passer and defender rather than a scorer and knowing that Green, Summers and Macklin are all forwards, this team would have, IMO, been better served with a true center like Hibbert and a shooter like Thornton. Wallace and Rivers may both look to pass more than shoot. I think a guy like Thornton with KL experience and one year of college under his belt is the type of guy that's aggressive and bold enough to look for his shot repeatedly. Therefore perhaps someone like him could have help prevent any type of scoring drought from occuring. Maybe not.

[GUHoya07]

JerseyHoya should have exact numbers coming for all the Georgetown players from today's games. He was keeping track of all that when I saw him at the first two games so I'm sure he'll post sometime tonight.

[jerseyhoya34]

guhoya2007 said:

JerseyHoya should have exact numbers coming for all the Georgetown players from today's games. He was keeping track of all that when I saw him at the first two games so I'm sure he'll post sometime tonight.

You got it. I left in the middle of the 3rd game because I needed to run errands and, to be honest, the officiating had me annoyed enough. So, I'll post the numbers late tonight. FLHoya is not posting a recap in protest.

[RockawayHoya]

Jamaica... question about Ewing Jr.... is he a legit 6'8-6'9? When I saw him last week (first time having seen him in a uniform), both my friends and I noted almost immediately that he was at least two inches shorter than Izzo, who was standing next to him during a timeout in their team's huddle. Unless Izzo's grown a bit, we both didn't think Ewing Jr. broke 6'7, and he looked shorter than we had thought he was going to be. You're right about his quickness and athleticism, though. Both were evident even though he did play sloppy last week, but it seems like he played better this week.

[hoyaboy1]

I'd say Ewing (Jr., not the original, who was lounging next to JT) was about an inch shorter than Summers, as I saw them talking between games. Not sure where that leaves us though.

I gotta eat, so I don't have time to post a real recap - I basically agree with what was said above. Only Summers played well, but Macklin and Rivers had some flashes - but also some awful plays.

And yes, what you've heard is true - Jeremiah can't shoot. At all.

One quick question - have the Tombs ever started out 0-2? Or lost by 20 like they did today?

[MCIGuy]

Lost by 20? Man. I gotta go back in the archives and look that up. But I doubt it. I mean the Tombs once won the trophy with Ya Ya Dia as the MVP.

[Jamaica We Have a Bobsled Team]

Ewing Jr. is probably about 1 inch shorter than James Gist from Maryland, as they stood next to eachother, if that helps

[MCIGuy]

All I recall is that Ewing was shorter than Jeff which put him in the 6-7 to 6-8 range. That has always been his listed height range. Why are people surprised? Was he not wearing the fro today? That would explain it.

[hotelhoya]

I don't think PEII breaks 6'7" however he can leap and has great sense about breaking to the ball or the rim.

Agree with the comments about the frosh. Was surprised at Rivers' size-had seen him listed a lot lighter than he looks.

No comments about Crawford. Thought he played in control-his passing was great. He has muscled up a bit. Showed an outside shot twice.

Next game these guys play together will tell a lot. The team they played had great guard play and a lot of depth. Tony Bethel looked very good.

[SFHoya99]

Tony Bethel looked very good.

He should. This would be his sixth year of college ball.

[prhoya]

mciguy said:

Lost by 20? Man. I gotta go back in the archives and look that up. But I doubt it. I mean the Tombs once won the trophy with Ya Ya Dia as the MVP.

Ya Ya Dia the MVP? Is that right?

[MCIGuy]

^^^Gotta go through the archives but I think so. Got that info from the WPost back when that newspaper still covered the KL.

I don't think PEII breaks 6'7" however he can leap and has great sense about breaking to the ball or the rim.

Much to my surprise neither did Bowman when measured without shoes at the workouts. Ewing and Bowman looked about the same height to me last summer...even when Pat didn't have the fro blow out.

Regardless I have great confidence in Pat's game. He may not be hitting his threes so far this summer but he was last summer. Here's the thing...he needs to keep his game efficient. That means a Wade/Grant Hill like approach. Don't settle for long range shots, settle for the medium jumpers, the short pullups and the drives to the hole. He may be the most physically gifted of all the current Hoyas. If the coaches can make sure he's under control, he will replace Bowman's numbers easily. He may not be the better three point shooter but he will provide better ball handling, better defense, more athleticism and a better finisher. If Ewing lives up to my expectations he will give the Hoyas a 4th very solid starter (along with Green, Hibbs and Wallace). The question comes down to who will be the fifth. That's why I'm very interested in keeping up with these KL reports. Keep 'em coming. And maybe Summers is more of a likelihood to start (over Ewing) than I was giving him credit for. Regardless its that fifth starter at the guard spot that intrigues me. Sapp. Thornton. Egerson. Crawford? Rivers??? Who will it be?

[hoyaboy1]

I'm pretty sure Sapp will start - I think the real battle is for the third guard spot.

[theEDGEfactor]

yea lets settle down a lil these guys were kinda just dropped at the hilltop within the past week and were told to play a game...i bet they didnt feel to comfortable-let them get things settled down first then lets see what they do

[nychoya3]

I was there for most of the first two games, so I'll toss my two cents, particularly where it hasn't been said ten times already:

1) PEII didn't look like he's in game shape to me. Closer than his dad (!) but he's going to have some unpleasant suicides ahead of him in practice.

2) Vasquez is a total prick. He's also something Maryland hasn't had in a while - a good player. Unfortunately for Terps fans, it should take about 3 spittle flinging rantings from Gary Williams to break his spirit and he'll suck from then on out.

3) Jon Wallace was the best player on the floor. Wow.

4) Hiram Greenbergstein (I can say this because I'm jewish) should not start over Macklin and Summers. Especially on the sabbath.

4) The freshman: Macklin looked better to me than he did to a lot of others, apparently. He's going to give you exactly what you want from a big guy off the bench next year. Energy, rebounding chops, and great size. Think AKD on steroids. The question going forward is how he develops.

5) Summers is very advanced offensively. Ewing better bring his game the next two years, because Summers is going to be hard to keep off the court.

6) Rivers has a nice handle and great size. He also looked like a good athlete, at least when he wasn't falling on his ass (Doc, buy your boy some new Jordans). He didn't look like he can shoot it at all. Think Ray Reed with a blindfold. That isn't acceptable. Get to work, Jeremiah.

7) We didn't miss anything with Guibudna.

[jerseyhoya34]

Well, I am going to try my best to cover everything, but I'll probably fall woefully short. Fortunately, I have a little something to imbibe that may improve quality and creativity.

Beginning with the stuff that didn't matter, which is the usual bizarro stuff that you see at a day of the Kenner League.

--Somebody driving a Honda CRV parked ON the tennis courts, per the PA announcer in McDonough. He/she did not leave his/her lights on, however.

--A good crowd on hand today and probably more people than I saw at any set of games last year, although I did miss the championship due to vacation.

--It is pleasant to not have any WG players in the league because that means there are no WG fan(s) in the gym. Unfortunately, Twerp fans seem to be showing more interest this year (or, at least, they did so today).

Notables in attendance -- Patrick Ewing Sr. sat with his significant other next to JT2. Many came to greet him and get autographs.

JT3 crossed through the gym at times but could not stay for much duration due to NCAA rules. Assistant coaches Burke, Broadus, and Johnson were not seen, so they are presumably on the road recruiting.

Director of Hoops Operations Matt Henry was in the building, as was the Head Trainer for Basketball Lori Michel.

The Good Doctor was also in attendance, much to HoyaBinx and FLHoya's delight. He was without Statistician Evan Chvotkin, who probably could show me a thing or two.

GAME NOTES/OBSERVATIONS

This was my first time trying to keep a scoresheet for a basketball game, and I had limited success. I was only able to keep reliable stats for scoring, but I do have some sense about rebounding, assists, and turnovers.

The first game was back and forth and pitted UMD's participants -- James Gist and Beavis Vasquez* -- against a team featuring NFSU player Calvin Brown and PE2, not to mention Kenny Izzo. Long story short, James Gist dunked home an offensive rebound at the buzzer to win the game for DC Jammers. Some UMD fans erupted in applause/cheers because their players had actually won something for a change. Anyway, I am basically going to do player observations instead of some sort of game log.

Ewing -- His numbers are likely to be lower this year in KL because the guards on his squad are well below average. While he shows some ball handling ability, he needs a guard to hit him at the right time. HoyaTalk's own TBird41 noted that Ewing frequently made cuts and a "woo" noise to let the ball handler know that he was open. Unfortunately, they didn't hit him, so we didn't see but one Ewing dunk, and the dunk was off a board or broken play.

I have Ewing down as 6-10 from 2 point range (two of the misses were on layups/short range shots) and 0-5 from 3 point land. He was 4-5 from the line. His miss was on the front end of a 1-1. He committed 2 turnovers. One was an offensive goaltend, and the other was a stupid play when he decided to dribble through a double team in the backcourt. So, he finished with a respectable 16 points by my count.

Unfortunately, he didn't get his midrange and perimeter game going, but he made a good adjustment by attacking the tin. In doing so, he showed his ability to adjust to contact and to hang in the air for extended periods of time.

I saw Ewing last year and can tell you that MCI is not wrong about him. The problem we're seeing relates more than anything to his team assignment, as the guards did not defer much to him or, even, Calvin Brown, who impressed last year in KL.

My sense is that Ewing won't be any worse than Bowman behind the arc, and he's a better finisher (as he was last year). So, no need to worry about him. Games like these make one realize how important/valuable Wallace is.

As for the height issue, I had to search a bit for Ewing when the teams came out because Ewing indeed has shaved his head. Fortunately, the Ewing Family gait gave him away. I can't weigh in one way or the other on the height issue because my eyes are pretty bad.

In terms of his weaknesses, I think he needs to bring that mid-range/perimeter game around so he can make defenses guard him out there. I also remember him as being more aggressive last year. Perhaps it has to due with how he's being used on his team, but it would have been helpful to see him mix it up a bit more so he could create opportunities for himself.

Kenny Izzo -- He was announced as Kenny Eye-Zo when he came in. He does not have much to show for the day except the rare Izzo bucket. He was 1-1 from the floor, committed 1 unremarkable turnover and 2 fouls. In his favor, he looks to have taken up the Tyler Crawford workout regime.

UMD's guys showed well for themselves, although incoming frosh Beavis Vasquez* committed two ill-advised fouls in the final minutes that allowed C.U.T.S. (otherwise known as Ewing's team) to tie the game and take the lead. One of these fouls was a charge that Ewing drew. More importantly, Vasquez fouled out, which seemingly made the game impossible to win for the Jammers were it not for James Gist's acrobatics at the end.

Nonetheless, Vasquez was impressive, as he turned the heat up at the end to build leads for DC Jammers. He was 2-5 from 2 point land and 5-9 from behind the arc. He was also 3-3 from the sin stripe for a total of 22 points using new math and a base of 10. Unfortunately, CUTS' guards are really bad, so it is tough to say much about his day, but he did as much as he could. I'd be surprised if he didn't start right away for the Sweaty One.

As for James Gist, he played well but didn't show anything to make me think that he has improved. In that sense, he only scored on dunks and hasn't expanded his game. He was 5-7 from the field and 5-7 from the line for 15 points. All but maybe one of his FG's came on dunks that probably won't be there in NCAA competition.

My take on the Tombs' game coming up in my next post...

* Credit FLHoya with the nickname.