Post by FLHoya on Jul 7, 2007 23:29:38 GMT -5
Hold on a minute.
No...that...couldn't be.
That...couldn't...nooooooooo...that must be a mistake.
Like running into an ex-girlfriend on the street, uncovering an old family secret, or seeing your fourth grade yearbook picture, today at the Kenner League was one for an unexpected blast from the past.
Though he didn't appear today, the twelve letters that form the tenth name on the Clyde's roster loom large over the rest of the summer league season. A man who didn't play a minute today may be...the most dangerous man in the Kenner League:
HARVEY THOMAS
Big Harv or no Big Harv, today was a fun day at McDonough for the middle two games. There's quite a bit to discuss, much of it rather impressive, none of it involving bite marks.
So let's do this thing:
TOMBS 67, SLAINOLOC 65
Now THAT, my friends, is a Dagger.
In his first summer league game as a Hoya, Chris Wright saved his very best for the very last second, hitting a fall-away jumper from just inside the three point line with 3 seconds remaining to give the Tombs a 67-65 victory over the Colonials.
The backcourt hit squad of Wright and Wallace combined for 47 of the Tombs points on the afternoon, and sparked the decisive late game rally that pulled Tombs back from as many as seven points with am aggressive, energetic defensive tour de force.
This was far from the beautiful game, however not often enough does one see a Kenner League game where afterwards it can be muttered: "that was really something."
The margin was within a few baskets for the entire game, and the teams entered the half tied at 34. Early in the second half, Vernon Macklin took a knock underneath the basket and immediately headed to the locker room, not to return for the remainder of the game. From there the Colonials built a small lead which rose to as much as seven.
But that's when the small guys took over.
Wallace and Wright put on quite the defensive show in the final few minutes, leading a full-court pressure defense that changed the tide of the contest. At one point Chris Wright single-handedly forced a timeout by the Colonials guard to avoid a 10-second violation (seriously, have you EVER seen one of those come up in Kenner?).
On the final possession, it was always going to be one of the W's going for the win. With the hero of East Rutherford waiting on the wing, it was Wright going to his...right...with a slight push to clear space and a slight fall-away on his jumper.
For the W.
Players:
Jonathan Wallace: 22 pts, 4-7 from two, 4-8 from three, 2-4 FT, 1RB, 4A-1TO, 3S, 2 fouls
Jon was ON FIRE in the first half, hitting his first four 3-pointers (his only miss of the half came on the desperation heave to end the period). Better still, each was off of movement, whether a slight dribble around a screen or transition--no catch and shoot today. Any doubts about Wallace's long-range prowess should have been forgotten long ago. Interestingly though Jon missed all three of his second half three pointers.
He's a great running mate for Chris Wright--it's invaluable to have the kind of leadership Jon provides on your team if you're a young college guard. For the purposes of the Kenner League, Jon is always going to provide steadiness and "routine" plays, freeing up Chris to be more daring, assertive, and dare I say experimental.
What was most impressive however was when Jon turned up the defensive intensity in the final minutes of the game. Within the context of the full court press (and half court trap, really) that the Tombs threw out there, Wallace simply hit a second gear. I think the recap on GW's message board has it right when it implies that the Colonials' guards simply couldn't keep with Wallace and Wright at the end of the game.
One heady play from the Wallace arsenal--drawing a foul on a double-clutch jumper at the end of the game...reminiscent of his move against North Carolina.
One play NOT from the arsenal--going behind the back in three-defender traffic and putting in the tough scoop layup with less than 2 minutes to play in a close game.
Chris Wright: 25 points, 9-13 from two, 0-4 from three, 7-8 FT, 1RB, 1A-7TO, 2S, 2F
He's gonna be okay I think.
I'll be honest, it wasn't the greatest of starts for Chris--at the half he had 6 points and 5 turnovers--but he owned the game when it counted and the sum total of the experience today can be nothing but positive.
Chris is extremely aggressive off the dribble--he's a constant threat to penetrate and has the quickness to get by the first man more often than not, esp. when employing a deadly crossover dribble.. Where he gets into trouble is when he hits the second layer out of control, as happened in the first half. He also had a few tough passes out of traffic go awry.
Just a tendency I noticed, Chris went to his left when driving from the perimeter the vast majority of the time, although he went right on the final play.
He's willing to fire from just about anywhere--he put up one three pointer from the letter "O" I believe in the second half.
Reference the Jon Wallace points from the end of the game--Chris was a dominant defensive presence and really raised his game in the final minutes to bring home the victory:
He grabbed a rebound and threw a full-court baseball pass to spring a teammate for a dunk to tie the game at 61 with 2:08 to play. Moments later he forced the Colonials timeout in the backcourt. With the score tied at 63 he went glass over Will Thomas.
Then, after a time out with the score at 65s, Wright brought the ball up court and held in the corner nearest the bleachers. With under 10 secs to go he made his move, assertively and with speed, to the right. A slight forearm gave him the needed space and it was clear Wallace to his right was never an option. No need, he buried the shot.
I've seen him play one summer league game. It's foolish to extrapolate anything from that game.
However, I will say this: if he can eliminate some of the "control" turnovers, he's going to be a major contributor on next year's team. He can do things off the dribble with regularity that NOBODY on the current team can, and his energy and speed are tantalizing.
So how's that for non-extrapolating hype?
Vernon Macklin: 6 pts, 3-5 FG, 9 RB, 2T, 3F
I didn't see exactly what happened to Vern, but it came on a loose ball under the basket. While the Colonials prepared to shoot free throws, Vern was already making a beeline for the training room...I would describe his posture rather inarticulately as a combination of someone who had just separated a shoulder and someone who had a nose bleed and was trying not to get blood on their jersey. Which is to say I have no idea what happened to him. But he did not play the final 14:35 of the game, nor did he emerge from the training room./
Vern had a most impressive day on the boards--his athleticism was probably most on display here. Definitely a step up in the athleticism category in the brief sample I saw today. Vern didn't have much of a traditional "post game" today; rather, he was receiving 12-15 feet from the basket near the baseline and making some sweeping, driving moves--think the kind of play Jeff Green exploited so effectively in the second half run against North Carolina. The finishing wasn't quite there yet, but the takeaway again should be the improvement in athletic movement.
Nikita Mescheriakov: 0 pts, 0-2 FG, 0-1 from three, 2RB, 1F, 1TO
He's listed on the KL Rosters as "Nakita Meshcharakov"
He played far less than Wallace (who almost never sat) and Wright. Again the caveat that it's impossible to tell from a single game what any player's contributions will be this coming season.
This being said, Nikita will probably have a longer learning curve than his fellow freshman. It seemed today that Nikita was simply a step slower out on the court. Now he's got a decent height, but he couldnt really make any moves off of the dribble that I saw. It'll be interesting to see if he gets more shooting opportunities as the KL goes on, I'm wondering what his skills are like there.
No real judgements here until we've got more info to work with.
Kenner League rosters were moving like hotcakes today for some reason. Here's the full Tombs roster:
Wallace, Wright, Macklin, Nikita, Adrian Joseph (UVA), Tunji Soroye (UVA), Frank Borden (AU), Brian Gilmore (AU), Reggie Holmes (Morgan State), Gilroy Hemsley (Morgan State), Wes Parker (Catholic)
Roy Hibbert made an appearance at McDonough today, along with a much more crowded than normal house. This is becoming something of a trend...KL attendance has gone through the roof in the four years that I've been going to games. It'll be interesting to see what next Saturday's Tombs-Clydes tilt is like.
AHEAD: That other game with GU guys in it.
No...that...couldn't be.
That...couldn't...nooooooooo...that must be a mistake.
Like running into an ex-girlfriend on the street, uncovering an old family secret, or seeing your fourth grade yearbook picture, today at the Kenner League was one for an unexpected blast from the past.
Though he didn't appear today, the twelve letters that form the tenth name on the Clyde's roster loom large over the rest of the summer league season. A man who didn't play a minute today may be...the most dangerous man in the Kenner League:
HARVEY THOMAS
Big Harv or no Big Harv, today was a fun day at McDonough for the middle two games. There's quite a bit to discuss, much of it rather impressive, none of it involving bite marks.
So let's do this thing:
TOMBS 67, SLAINOLOC 65
Now THAT, my friends, is a Dagger.
In his first summer league game as a Hoya, Chris Wright saved his very best for the very last second, hitting a fall-away jumper from just inside the three point line with 3 seconds remaining to give the Tombs a 67-65 victory over the Colonials.
The backcourt hit squad of Wright and Wallace combined for 47 of the Tombs points on the afternoon, and sparked the decisive late game rally that pulled Tombs back from as many as seven points with am aggressive, energetic defensive tour de force.
This was far from the beautiful game, however not often enough does one see a Kenner League game where afterwards it can be muttered: "that was really something."
The margin was within a few baskets for the entire game, and the teams entered the half tied at 34. Early in the second half, Vernon Macklin took a knock underneath the basket and immediately headed to the locker room, not to return for the remainder of the game. From there the Colonials built a small lead which rose to as much as seven.
But that's when the small guys took over.
Wallace and Wright put on quite the defensive show in the final few minutes, leading a full-court pressure defense that changed the tide of the contest. At one point Chris Wright single-handedly forced a timeout by the Colonials guard to avoid a 10-second violation (seriously, have you EVER seen one of those come up in Kenner?).
On the final possession, it was always going to be one of the W's going for the win. With the hero of East Rutherford waiting on the wing, it was Wright going to his...right...with a slight push to clear space and a slight fall-away on his jumper.
For the W.
Players:
Jonathan Wallace: 22 pts, 4-7 from two, 4-8 from three, 2-4 FT, 1RB, 4A-1TO, 3S, 2 fouls
Jon was ON FIRE in the first half, hitting his first four 3-pointers (his only miss of the half came on the desperation heave to end the period). Better still, each was off of movement, whether a slight dribble around a screen or transition--no catch and shoot today. Any doubts about Wallace's long-range prowess should have been forgotten long ago. Interestingly though Jon missed all three of his second half three pointers.
He's a great running mate for Chris Wright--it's invaluable to have the kind of leadership Jon provides on your team if you're a young college guard. For the purposes of the Kenner League, Jon is always going to provide steadiness and "routine" plays, freeing up Chris to be more daring, assertive, and dare I say experimental.
What was most impressive however was when Jon turned up the defensive intensity in the final minutes of the game. Within the context of the full court press (and half court trap, really) that the Tombs threw out there, Wallace simply hit a second gear. I think the recap on GW's message board has it right when it implies that the Colonials' guards simply couldn't keep with Wallace and Wright at the end of the game.
One heady play from the Wallace arsenal--drawing a foul on a double-clutch jumper at the end of the game...reminiscent of his move against North Carolina.
One play NOT from the arsenal--going behind the back in three-defender traffic and putting in the tough scoop layup with less than 2 minutes to play in a close game.
Chris Wright: 25 points, 9-13 from two, 0-4 from three, 7-8 FT, 1RB, 1A-7TO, 2S, 2F
He's gonna be okay I think.
I'll be honest, it wasn't the greatest of starts for Chris--at the half he had 6 points and 5 turnovers--but he owned the game when it counted and the sum total of the experience today can be nothing but positive.
Chris is extremely aggressive off the dribble--he's a constant threat to penetrate and has the quickness to get by the first man more often than not, esp. when employing a deadly crossover dribble.. Where he gets into trouble is when he hits the second layer out of control, as happened in the first half. He also had a few tough passes out of traffic go awry.
Just a tendency I noticed, Chris went to his left when driving from the perimeter the vast majority of the time, although he went right on the final play.
He's willing to fire from just about anywhere--he put up one three pointer from the letter "O" I believe in the second half.
Reference the Jon Wallace points from the end of the game--Chris was a dominant defensive presence and really raised his game in the final minutes to bring home the victory:
He grabbed a rebound and threw a full-court baseball pass to spring a teammate for a dunk to tie the game at 61 with 2:08 to play. Moments later he forced the Colonials timeout in the backcourt. With the score tied at 63 he went glass over Will Thomas.
Then, after a time out with the score at 65s, Wright brought the ball up court and held in the corner nearest the bleachers. With under 10 secs to go he made his move, assertively and with speed, to the right. A slight forearm gave him the needed space and it was clear Wallace to his right was never an option. No need, he buried the shot.
I've seen him play one summer league game. It's foolish to extrapolate anything from that game.
However, I will say this: if he can eliminate some of the "control" turnovers, he's going to be a major contributor on next year's team. He can do things off the dribble with regularity that NOBODY on the current team can, and his energy and speed are tantalizing.
So how's that for non-extrapolating hype?
Vernon Macklin: 6 pts, 3-5 FG, 9 RB, 2T, 3F
I didn't see exactly what happened to Vern, but it came on a loose ball under the basket. While the Colonials prepared to shoot free throws, Vern was already making a beeline for the training room...I would describe his posture rather inarticulately as a combination of someone who had just separated a shoulder and someone who had a nose bleed and was trying not to get blood on their jersey. Which is to say I have no idea what happened to him. But he did not play the final 14:35 of the game, nor did he emerge from the training room./
Vern had a most impressive day on the boards--his athleticism was probably most on display here. Definitely a step up in the athleticism category in the brief sample I saw today. Vern didn't have much of a traditional "post game" today; rather, he was receiving 12-15 feet from the basket near the baseline and making some sweeping, driving moves--think the kind of play Jeff Green exploited so effectively in the second half run against North Carolina. The finishing wasn't quite there yet, but the takeaway again should be the improvement in athletic movement.
Nikita Mescheriakov: 0 pts, 0-2 FG, 0-1 from three, 2RB, 1F, 1TO
He's listed on the KL Rosters as "Nakita Meshcharakov"
He played far less than Wallace (who almost never sat) and Wright. Again the caveat that it's impossible to tell from a single game what any player's contributions will be this coming season.
This being said, Nikita will probably have a longer learning curve than his fellow freshman. It seemed today that Nikita was simply a step slower out on the court. Now he's got a decent height, but he couldnt really make any moves off of the dribble that I saw. It'll be interesting to see if he gets more shooting opportunities as the KL goes on, I'm wondering what his skills are like there.
No real judgements here until we've got more info to work with.
Kenner League rosters were moving like hotcakes today for some reason. Here's the full Tombs roster:
Wallace, Wright, Macklin, Nikita, Adrian Joseph (UVA), Tunji Soroye (UVA), Frank Borden (AU), Brian Gilmore (AU), Reggie Holmes (Morgan State), Gilroy Hemsley (Morgan State), Wes Parker (Catholic)
Roy Hibbert made an appearance at McDonough today, along with a much more crowded than normal house. This is becoming something of a trend...KL attendance has gone through the roof in the four years that I've been going to games. It'll be interesting to see what next Saturday's Tombs-Clydes tilt is like.
AHEAD: That other game with GU guys in it.