July 18 Kenner League RECAP

[FLHoya]

Short People got no reason
To live

They got little hands
And little eyes
And they walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

Well, I don't want no Short People
Don't want no Short People
Don't want no Short People
Round here



Now taking the opening tip for Clyde's...JEREMIAH RIVERS!!!!

He won it too.

With the absence of Patrick Ewing, Jr., Harvey Thomas, and Deron Washington, this evening Clydes and the Bulldogs played one of the more unusual Kenner League games I've seen. The tallest starter on the court was 6 foot 5 Omar Wattad, and his only basket in the first half was a three pointer!

He also had four fouls in the first half before fouling out late in the second.

McFadden and Whitehead opened the proceedings with "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". Apparently when it comes to the Bulldogs, the rim is excluded from this statement, as their hard-fought late comeback in regulation was cruelly denied by several missed putbacks in the final seconds.

Put another way:

Short People got...nobody To love

In the overtime period, fitting that it was Jeremiah Rivers who...wait for it...STOOD TALL. With Clydes down 62-61, BIG RIV blocked a shot, collected the ball and fired an outlet pass to Austin Freeman, who scored a rare "And 2" (the always-tech happy Kenner ref...you know the dude...called an intentional foul) that gave Clydes a lead they would not relinquish.

Not much going on tonight, so we're gonna be...wait for it...SHORT with these evals:

CLYDES 70 BULLDOGS 62 (OT)

Jeremiah Rivers: 9 points, 2-5 from two, 1-5 from three, 2-2 FT, 3R, 3A, 4T, 2S

I think the funniest moment of the game was late in the second half, after a particularly ugly sequence that ended with a Clydes player nearly breaking an ankle stepping on a loose ball and a about three missed layups and a hard foul that sent a teammate flying, Jeremiah flashed this disgusted look at his Hoya teammates in the stands.

This was sort of Rivers' "Wallace vs. Bears" moment--although he didn't have to run the show nearly as much with the UDC guy and that Lorenzo dude from Niagra.

Rivers did impress a few times going coast to coast in transition...he kind of darts from side to side in the open court...being that we're both from Florida, I'm assuming JR also learned when he was young that's what you do when you're being chased by an alligator. If he can get a handle on finishing...he did a nice combo of a behind the back dribble and change of hands to get a CTC layup in the first half...then that might develop into another weapon for GTown.

Unfortunately, the jump shooting still isn't there--he was trying again today, and the quality of looks still leaves something to be desired. I'm not sure what the deal is, whether it's getting separation or not finding his stroke, but he's putting up a lot of zeroes on the jump shots.

BUT...that all being said, his block-rebound-assist combo in overtime was the sweetest play of the night, and probably saved what was being called a "collapse of Esherickean proportions" in the stands at the end of regulation.

(REALLY??? We're using the E Word?)

Austin Freeman: 19 points, 5-8 FG, 1-3 from three, 6-6 FT, 11RB, 2A, 2TO

Unforunately this game has asterisk written all over it...given the lack of height, SOMEBODY had to get all of those rebounds.

But don't shortchange him toooooooo much--his aggressiveness on the boards is a sight to see...this gets him minutes almost instantly coming into next season IMO. Several tip in chances tonight for Austin and he was making good on them.

A better play-- a sweet diagonal pass on a fast break that froze the defense and sent his teammate through for a layup. Great court vision there.

Or his strong drive finished off with the high bank shot.

AND he's starting to show some good speed running the court, most notably on his And 2 in overtime. Really gonna like this kid.

Omar Wattad: 5 points, 1-1 from two, 1-5 from three, 2RB, 3T, 6FLS, 1ST, 1BL

I realize it's a summer league game but he racks up fouls at a pretty serious clip...including 4 in the first half. Just seems like no matter the opponent he's always picking up fouls on the interior...he definitely gets a little slappy when his team gives up an offensive rebound--probably 4 of his fouls were sort of hacking a dude from behind going up for a layup. Whether it's just overaggressiveness doing him in here I don't know.

He had a couple unforunate TOs today--attempting a bounce pass to Freeman on a fast break, getting blocked on a 1-on-1 drive and then jacking a three on the rebound, and just straight dropping an outlet pass that had him through 2-on-0 to the basket cause he looked away from the pass a second too soon.

The long range shot--he keeps firing, and his form is a little unusual (very Drew Hall, I'm convinced)...I hope he starts nailing a few to get some confidence.

TOMORROW: MYERS & ALTERMAN vs. TOMBS, which honestly given The Vern and The Mason Frontline might as well be Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

[gujake]

I'll add some notes on Austin as I was really concentrating on watching today, especially on defense and rebounding. I was a little concerned from the other games that Austin might be giving up on defensive rebounding too early. He really helped settle those concerns tonight. Yeah, there weren't any tall people out there. But as FL said, it was his aggression and mindset in going after rebounds that really impressed me tonight.

Defensively, he definitely needs a lot of work, but he does do a few things well that I didn't see before. His off-the-ball defense is pretty decent; he keeps himself in good position most of the time and usually has no trouble with screens or switches. He's also very good at timing when he needs to jump to get a hand in the face of a shooter.

One of the reasons why I think people say he looks kind of disinterested on defense is because he is rarely in a good stance. Simply keeping his hands up would probably help him quite a bit. On the ball, he reacts too slowly to initial moves at times, but usually does a decent job recovering. His slow initial reaction is, in my opinion, partly due to his being in a poor stance. It should be really interesting to see how his defense progresses through the season.

[hoyaboy1]

Pretty ugly game tonight, recapped well as always by FLHoya.

I think another reason people say Austin seems disinterested is just the way he carries himself; I'm not sure how to describe it, but he looks sort of mopey. This leads people to think he isn't intense even though he is - the same way that his build makes people think he isn't athletic.

The only incoming freshman that has impressed me as much as Austin since I've been going to Kenner was Jeff. Omar, on the other hand . . . I still don't see what makes him a Big East caliber prospect.

[hoyaLS05]

Do we know why PE2 (who I saw around N street just a few minutes ago), Harvey, and Deron weren't playing?

[uptownathlete]

From watching J.River's Hs highlight film on rivals, that's always been a skill of his...a lot of his highlights are coast to coast plays..

[lichoya68]

JERIMIAH SOUNDS SOLID AND D I GETING BETTER AND BETTER JUST THE SHOOTING THING OK CANT HAVE EVERYTHING AND AUSTIN IS A PLAYER HE AND WRIGHT WILL PLAY ALOT GO HOYAS THANKS FOR THE RECOUNT i cant believe i forgot about the game and went out to dinner lichoya jinxed himself ouch ouch ouch go hoyas go kenner

[lichoya68]

ps who wil take the opening tip for the hoyas wil it be vern if he starts dont think roy or patirck who who who maybe JERIMIAH WOWOWWOOWOWOWO ;D ;D

[SFHoya99]

If Pat starts, Pat will jump.

[HeartAttackHoya]

either PEjr. or VMack..both would definetel excell at doing it..