August 3 Kenner League RECAP

[FLHoya]

VH1 Classic is trying to tell me something.

How else to explain the music video/Flashdance/Rock Honors the [BLANK] network bombarding me with not one, not two, but three separate viewings this weekend of the music video for Europe’s “The Final Countdown”:

(BTW, the More From… videos for “The Final Countdown” are hysterical. How you go from Europe to Warrant to Luther Vandross to this:



is beyond me.)

Thanks to years of exposure to the Georgetown University Pep Band, I’ve always associated this synth-metal classic with, well, the under-four media timeout in the second half of a basketball game. When you think about it, “The Final Countdown” has heralded probably dozens of nailbiting finishes over the past decade or so of Hoya basketball. Now, in the Esherick era playing a song that ushered in any kind of Final Countdown was roughly comparable to handing one of the characters in “The Godfather” a sack full of oranges, but lately in the times of JT3 “heading for Venus” has more often than not meant heading for another victory.

So what were Joey Tempest (if that’s his real name mine is Trenton Hillier), John Norum and Co. trying to tell me/warn me about all weekend?

Evidently, to expect a Kenner League rarity this afternoon—two highly competitive, closely played games that went all the way down to the…well you get the idea.

So strap on in, we’re leaving together…leaving ground…heading for Venus…on The Final Weekend of the Kenner League regular season.

Electro-Lite 71 Madness All-Stars 70 (OT)

The Swedish meatball appetizer, if you will, brought quite a few Maryland Terrapin fans out to McDonough to catch the Madness All-Stars vs. Electro-Lite game. Terp fans were visually rewarded with a gold vs. red showdown that resembled those awful second alternate jerseys UMCP wears periodically during the ACC season.

Of course, everybody was rewarded by the teaching stylings of Coach Rodney (oh, oooooh oh, he’s my cover girrrrllllll…[/NKOTB]). For all you folks who’ve complained lately that Kenner League coaches aren’t up to par, you oughta be sentenced to watch half an hour of the one KL coach who lives up to that title. Safe to say it’ll be a cold day on Venus before another KL coach calls three timeouts in the first half.

Early in the second half, the height of Kenner League comedy—Rodney getting T’d up for arguing no-calls against Byron Mouton. To be fair, he was right on both calls he was disputing, although Mouton doesn’t get much credit from officials for his running impersonation of an Italian national team soccer player.

Strangely, the result of the technical was to elevate the quality of play and “coaching” significantly over the final ten minutes of regulation. Electro-Lite had blown and early 9 point lead and was down in the second half by as many as 8, but they fought back and eventually forced overtime, which brought an exaggerated groan from the “we’re not here to see your 2002 Final Four retreads” Hoya contingent. I was rather enjoying seeing a tense game for once…

…and it only got better in overtime, as Electro-Lite pulled out a one point victory thanks to a layup-plus-one off about a ¾ court drive to the rim with 0.7 seconds to go.

Coach Rodney, true to form, wanted to hear it from the crowd one more time, but not much was forthcoming.

Hi Hater!

(Side note—Today’s winner for “Comment by a Maryland fan that made me laugh,” in the first post of the thread here mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=174&f=2580&t=2755753 :

Which is your favorite Team most hated rival in any sport NFL,MLB ,NBA or College?

For me as a Redskins fan it is easy it's the Dallas Cowboys they are our one and true rival.

As a Maryland Basketbal fan it's Duke with Georgetown a close 2nd. I enjoyed seeing both of those 2 schools losing in the second round of the NCAA tournment last March.)

TOMBS 66 Beyond Belief 62 (OT)

Here was a game full of unexpected developments:

The most crowd-rocking defensive play of the afternoon—a blocked shot by a shooting guard…

…the key defender on the inside in the final seconds of regulation—a point guard…

…the biggest shot of the game—coming from Nikita Mescheriakov…

…and for that matter—that we were in overtime in the first place, and Tombs was lucky to survive.

I think it’s fair to call today an off performance for the Monroe-less Tombs squad. Full credit to Beyond Belief, who had a solid shooting first half, crashed the boards hard, and was frequently able to identify defensive mismatches and keep with Tombs the entire game. The ball just didn’t bounce their way in crunch time.

It looked like it would be smooth sailing for the Tombs early on, as they responded to BB’s opening basket by ripping off an 11-0 run. Tombs quickly hit the wall though, and over the next 6-8 minutes they only added five points to their total and actually trailed 17-16 with 6 minutes to play in the first half. Poor shooting was partially to blame, as Chris Wright from beyond the arc and Nikita Mescheriakov from inside the arc both went through a long cold stretch, and Tombs struggled to put together much of a coherent offense. BB’s lead peaked at five, 30-25, with 1:30 to go in the half, and the Fightin’ James Brolin’s
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Belief:_Fact_or_Fiction) led 32-29 at the break.

Tombs tried to wrest control of the game early in the second half, as Chris Wright repeatedly broke down the Beyond Belief defense and got to the rack at will with a series of strong moves in traffic, igniting a 10-1 run that gave his team a comfortable margin. It didn’t last.

Things got a little nervous with about seven and a half minutes to go when Henry Sims picked up a personal foul on the inside, then was assessed a technical for arguing the call. I actually had Henry down for four fouls before the play, which would have made the T his sixth foul and disqualified him. He did sit for a long stretch thereafter, but evidently the scorer’s table had him at five fouls after the T, so he was still eligible. In any case, after the personal and technical free throws BB retook the lead 46-45. The final minutes seldom if ever (can’t remember) saw either team take more than a one possession lead.

With 2:00 to play in regulation, Beyond Belief pulled down two offensive rebounds (they killed Tombs on the glass all afternoon) and scored a layup to take a 52-51 lead.

Fire up your synthesizers!

Chris Wright went hard to the basket and was fouled just as hard. His two FTs with 1:51 left gave Tombs a 53-52 lead, which they gave right back 14 seconds later after their 10th team foul. With 1:11 to go and down 54-53, Tombs missed a three pointer…and BB quickly converted a layup to go up 56-53 with 1:02 to go. As he’d been doing the entire half, Chris Wright knifed through multiple defenders and went strong to the rack, but this time he couldn’t get his layup to fall with 50 seconds to go. Fortunately for Tombs, they managed to get a tie-up in the scrum during the rebounding action, so they maintained possession down three.

You remember that play at the end of the Georgetown-Florida game in the 2006 Sweet Sixteen, when Darrell Owens came around to the top of the key and had a dead on shot for a three pointer? Tombs ran almost a carbon copy of that play, and sent Nikita Mescheriakov out high to try and tie the game. As the crowd rose in anticipation…a Beyond Belief player got a piece of the shot. With 35 seconds to go Nikita was forced to give a foul and send BB to the line…

…where they missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Da Da Da Da…Da Da DA DA DA!

Tombs ran the same play on their next possession, but this time Nikita swished the three pointer to tie the game with 23 seconds to go…and the pro-Georgetown crowd went nuts. Beyond Belief called timeout with 17.5 to go to set up their final play.

It started as an isolation with the BB guard and Wright, but BB passed off to their #13, a widebody power forward type with above average handle for a dude that size. He’d been guarded by Nikita all afternoon and for all his effort, NM many times was kind of hanging on for dear life. The GTown fans cheering on, #13 deftly spun past Nikita (it was pretty bad, I gotta say)…but Chris Wright came over on the help defense along with another Tombs player, and #13 was forced into a tough fadeaway from 7-8 feet which never had a chance.

The teams traded misses at the start of the three minute overtime period, before Jason Clark—who’d been rather quiet to that point—put Tombs back up 58-56. BB couldn’t convert on their end, but Clark could for Tombs, squeezing in a layup from an offensive rebound to give his team a 60-56 edge. I found it quite interesting that during the 120 second span between the :30 mark of regulation and the 1:30 mark of overtime, Nikita and Jason Clark of all people scored 7 straight points A change of possession later and Tombs put the final nail in the coffin, coming up with a steal and a fastbreak layup for Chris Wright to open up a six point lead with a minute to go.

It was all fouling from there, and Tombs pulled out a 66-62 overtime victory in their final regular season Kenner League contest. A game they deserved, definitely earned at the end, but probably shouldn’t have been so difficult.

[FLHoya]

Chris Wright: 31 points, 10-15 2-pt, 8-9 FT, 1-7 3-pt, 1RB, 2A, 3TO, 3STL, 1BL, 1F

Spanning the end of the first and beginning of the second half, Chris reeled off a 6-6 run from the field. Leaving aside the question brought up elsewhere of whether the uptick in his production has to do with Tombs playing shorthanded, this was the most impressed I’ve been with Wright in the games I’ve seen this summer.

What I liked most is the mere fact that he CAN do a lot of what he did today. Specifically, that he’s got the strength to finish around the rim in traffic. Time and time again in the second half Wright would take his man from the perimeter and weave through the taller defenders down low. He did it from the top of the key, the wing, the baseline, and he finished everything from uncontested layups to tough reverse shots. I complemented Austin Freeman a lot last summer on his ability to drive the lane and absorb contact while still finishing. Well, Wright displayed a very similar ability today. The dude also, I might add, is noticeably stronger and better built than I recall from last season—this is unquestionably a huge benefit to his skill set.

Is Chris going to be relied upon to “carry” a team like this in the regular season? Doubtful—but then again you never know. Any offense—no matter how many cuts and gimmicks—is bound to break down at times, and it’s really been a while since we had a guard who could break down a defense in a pinch when nothing was going the right direction. To that extent, I was very encouraged by what Chris was doing on the floor today.

Despite the ugly looking percentage from three-point range, he actually displayed good decision making in his takes, and more importantly he was squared up to the basket and in rhythm on his attempts. He also did so running the offense, keeping the tempo much slower than previous Tombs games I’ve seen and doing a good job in the halfcourt.

Compliments on the three first half steals, all very early, which helped along one of the better Tombs scoring runs.

Good looking FT stroke as well, pretty much all swishes on his first eight, before missing the not-really-that-consequential final attempt late in overtime.

Funny moment late in the second half when the Old Man ref called Wright for palming and drew a chorus of boos and catcalls from the pro-Hoya crowd. I didn’t protest much, and we should all be thankful that for once at least that ref was in position to make a call. If only they had fitness tests for Kenner League refs…

Jason Clark: 8 points, 4-9 2-pt, 0-1 3-pt, 3RB (2off), 1A, 2TO, 2STL, 1BL, 1F

Until his four points to open the overtime Jason had been rather quiet for the balance of the game, save for one moment in the second half when he rose quickly to send back a layup attempt in the end, which got a rise out of the crowd.

Clark’s quickness off the dribble was still there today, and he made repeated use of a crossover move, but very seldom did all of this effort break him free from his defender. Many times if it did BB helped on defense well enough to prevent him from getting into the lane.

That’s sort of the next step, isn’t it? You could make the argument that if it were a matter of “who’s quicker” Clark would probably have a slight edge on Wright. But what you can see now from Chris is that he’s bulked himself up (Clark is pretty thin at this point) and added strength so that he can get through defenders and not just around them. The big difference between Wright and Clark today was that when Wright hit the second level of defenders, he’d just power through to the goal, while Clark would retreat.

My sense is that we’ll get the appropriate number of minutes from Clark in reserve, not unlike the pattern Jessie Sapp followed when he backed up Jon Wallace and Ashanti Cook. If Clark’s jump shot is consistent, and he can be a spark plug for some up-tempo play, then there’s plenty of run to be had. But there are a few improvements—most notably the bulking up—that’ll need to happen before Clark’s completely ready for prime time against the Big East’s elite, I reckon.

Henry Sims: 8 points, 4-7 FG, 11RB (6off), 1TO, 1STL, 6F (1Tech)

Similar story to Clark in that Henry’s going to need some extra bulk to give him a greater sense of assertiveness down low. Even in Kenner League you notice that he tends to favor the face-up game in the post and if he does shoot a hook shot he’s turning away from the basket (save for one FG he banked in today from the post). Beyond Belief has decent size for a KL team but not approaching what you’d see from a good 75% of Big East teams.

The rebounding numbers look good on a stat sheet, but I’ve always felt RBs—especially offensive boards—are a bit inflated in Kenner League because of the number of shot attempts and wild looks. If you’re a big guy, you should be pulling down 5 boards almost by default. The real place to evaluate is how a player is doing matched up against the big men he’s boarding against. In that measure, despite being in double figures AND having 6 offensive boards, I didn’t think Sims was that great today. Beyond Belief almost certainly outboarded Tombs and actually helped themselves out significantly on the scoreboard with second chance opportunities. I suspect, again, that the lack of bulk hurts Sims a bit (and also explains why Julian Vaughn has put up consistently great RB numbers all summer).

The fouls—well, some of them were a consequence of Tombs giving up so many offensive boards. Sims was hacking quite a bit down low on putback attempts. I thought he’d fouled out with 7 minutes to go in fact, but he actually made it into the OT before being disqualified (he did sit out several minutes after the technical).

Nikita Mescheriakov: 8 points, 1-5 2-pt, 2-3 3-pt, 2RB, 5F

Well how bout that.

Nikita’s not the first (second, third, fourth…) person I’d think of to take a game-tying shot on the final possession of a game. But it makes sense if you think about it—it’s entirely possible Nikita’s the best three point shooter Tombs has from the spot up or coming of a curl/screen. Great form on the release (both times—on the block the defender got great elevation leaping in from the side). DAGGER.

Nikita’s shooting has been one of the pleasant surprises of the summer (not the fact that he’s a decent shooter, but that it’s starting to come out more regularly in games). He had the tendency today to fade away on his jumpers, particularly the non-three pointers, and as a consequence was leaving pretty much all his misses short. But that he’s getting eight attempts in the first place says something about his increasing offensive contribution and potential to be a solid reserve this season.

Now, Nikita was bailed out big time on the final possession when two defenders helped on defense after his man spun by him. In fact, the entire day Nikita had been matched up against a player who was a shade taller and much wider than he (a PF more in the Mike Sweetney than Jeff Green model). What’s more, NM’s man had a decent enough handle to make life difficult at the perimeter. Too many times he got by Nikita and put pressure on the interior defense. Wasn’t for a lack of effort on Nikita’s part, and he won a few battles…

…but in the end it’s defensive weakness that, right now, is going to limit Nikita’s minutes during the season I’d guess. Just not that many favorable defensive matchups in the Big East that will allow him to go beyond a situational substitute at the moment.

But I wouldn’t gasp if I saw him on the court if we’re ever down by three with one possession remaining.

So what’s VH1 Classic trying to tell me now?

Whatever it is involves some sort of festival performance by John Mayer.

Sooooooo…minus side…me and my generation don’t yet have the power to bring our neighbors home from war (although this may be subject to the world changing in the near-term, for which I am told to just wait)…but I may now have my pick of Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Anniston, or Jessica Simpson.

Ermmmmmmm…I’m gonna go ahead and stick to my girlfriend, Coach Rodney, and 80s synth metal if that’s okay.

Catch you kids again for the KL Quarterfinals (and nope, I have no idea when Tombs or Clydes play).

[tonydeals]

Thank you!

[dense]

like Lic said in the other thread #13 for beyond belief is no other than Jeff Allen of Va. Tech...so not surprised Henry had problems with him, everyone in the nation has problems guarding him.

[hoyaboy1]

I would have loved to see an Allen-Monroe matchup, so it was doubly disappointing that Greg wasn't there. Tombs doesn't have much of a shot to win the league without him, I don't think - unless Roy comes back.

[prhoya]

So, FL, should we expect 80's rock-inspired recaps this season?

[MCIGuy]

Aug 3, 2008 23:07:27 GMT -5 hoyaboy1 said:

I would have loved to see an Allen-Monroe matchup, so it was doubly disappointing that Greg wasn't there. Tombs doesn't have much of a shot to win the league without him, I don't think - unless Roy comes back.

They have a good shot unless all the other teams have their rosters filled by their stars. Besides I doubt all the other guys other than Chris will have collectively that bad a performance again. That being said unless Roy comes back the Tombs are no longer the favorite (or co-favorite).

[The Stig]

I'm not sure Monroe could have shut down Allen, but he could have controlled him more than Henry did.

A big chunk of Henry's rebounds were missed tip-in attempts. He also had a few where he pulled down the rebound, but immediately got stripped.

[lichoya68]

great great great accurate review flhoya AND you can spell and wright in english thats readable GO HOYAS GO FLHOYA WHAT A REVIEW WOWOWOOWWOO

[FewFAC]

I like that we seem to be getting a taste of different lineup looks. That's what's really gonna make us dangerous come March.

[FLHoya]

Aug 3, 2008 23:38:13 GMT -5 prhoya said:

So, FL, should we expect 80's rock-inspired recaps this season?

I suppose it depends on which music video channel I'm watching leading up to a game. I don't plan out what I'm going to write so it's usually anything goes--heck, I had a recap one time that started out quoting the Bible. Sad news for 80s music fans...the end of the Kenner League comes a little more than two weeks before I hit the Regeneration Tour 2008. Coulda figured something out to compare Rodney to that dude from A Flock of Seagulls.

[Boz]

Wooo! Regeneration Tour!

(no Dead or Alive though, which sucks)

Oops. I forgot Admin's sticky mandate.

Thanks for the recaps. I think we should avoid using the term "dagger" with respect to any players though. We haven't had much luck with that one.

[idhoya]

Can we get another rendition of "Don't stop believing" by Journey? I've only heard it 30 times in the last month since it was on "I love the 80's" on VH-1! Okay, I put it on my MP3 player, but still.

[tlphoya]

FL - Many thanks for the great recaps.

And to everyone else who has pitched in over the summer!

[FLHoya]

Aug 5, 2008 8:05:07 GMT -5 Boz said:

Thanks for the recaps. I think we should avoid using the term "dagger" with respect to any players though. We haven't had much luck with that one.

It's lost so much meaning since the whole Thornton debacle that I even throw it out when I finish brushing my teeth.

Aug 5, 2008 10:06:56 GMT -5 idhoya said:

Can we get another rendition of "Don't stop believing" by Journey? I've only heard it 30 times in the last month since it was on "I love the 80's" on VH-1! Okay, I put it on my MP3 player, but still.

Probably have better luck with the Kenner League team all the AU players are on.

Tricky area...in theory I should be against schools that play out some 70s/80s/90s song during their run to the postseason (see also: Davidson)...but then again, Georgetown fans have like three albums worth of parody songs and the most notable cheer Hoya fans have come up with since "We Are Georgetown" is from a parody of a Survivor song from a commercial about a coffee energy drink.


To bring this back on topic, Thomas' readout of the KL playoff schedule would have Clydes and Tombs playing at 8:15 on Thursday and Friday respectively. Not the most advantageous schedule in the world for watching, but I'll give it a shot.