Kenner League July 15, 2012 RECAP

[FLHoya]

Besides Jeff Green's first summer league appearance, the only surprise at today's Kenner League action was that going into the Tombs-Emery Heights game--the fourth of the afternoon--the games were 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Generally at Kenner, if you're on time, you're early. Those game clocks are running clocks for a reason!

(*To be fair, running clocks made up a 30-minute late start to yesterday's first game by the start of Game 3.)

Sometimes, you can be too early to Kenner League. In year's past, when Kenner often shared McDonough with the morning session of various GU summer sports camps, the doors wouldn't open until at or past the first scheduled start time. The early arriving fans would mill about in McDonough's lobby (home to, I verified today, the first working pay phone I've seen in a couple years) while behind the big wooden doors to the gym the sounds of pre-game warmups echoed through an empty gym. Late openings used to be as much of a KL tradition as the snack bar.

So it was a little slice of tradition today when the doors opened just after the first game's scheduled noon start time.

Unclear whether there was a delay, or the only open door had shut itself and nobody had noticed. The lobby? Occupied for the early afternoon by registration for a soccer camp.


DCX 90 Tree & The Top Boys 54

Today's selection from the scorer's table during pre-game warmups and halftime: Prince.

Prince: I Would Die 4 U

Some days Kenner League taketh away. On the plus side, the Top Boys were all present at the appointed tip off time. They didn't have the legs to keep up with DCX, who quickly built a double digit lead and never looked back. Most of the second half was played at "pickup" pace, and by consequence you should probably read the following eight paragraphs or so accordingly.

Jabril Trawick: 18 points, 6-12 2FG, 1-3 3FG, 3-3 FT, 2RB, 2A, 1TO 7F

Today was probably the least active Jabril's been during the summer leading the DCX offense. This was mostly a consequence of the game being a blowout, but some of it also had to do with other players like Jamal Olasuwere getting their touches. For a lot of the game--especially the second half--Jabril hung deep on the perimeter and generally served to balance the floor in the event of possession changes (3-on-1 breaks are common in blowout Kenner League games).

When he did get scoring and distributing opportunities, Jabril followed his normal pattern. He doesn't have great moves off the dribble, but he's very strong and very determined. What that leads to are a lot of trips to the free throw line or, particularly today, a lot of bumps and tough finishes. This can be hit or miss of course--he takes a lot of difficult shots.

Where I personally think his game can go to another level is becoming a better distributor once he draws in a defense. In the first half, Jabril went to the post a few times, but couldn't create once the double team came. He was better, to be fair, in the second half on driving and dishing, and lost at least 2-3 assists to missed layups. Still, the combination of driving into traffic (at times) and reacting to double teams puts him in a lot of tough situations. Plus side--his turnover number was low today.

If Chris Wright was a wrecking ball, Jabril is a boulder that you've just pushed over a hill. If he can contain that energy a little more, I think he'll be very effective as a point guard--should that be his role going forward.

Gotta be careful about those fouls; he plays very tough, physical D for a summer league.

A late game sequence: Jabril is called for a questionable hand-check foul (his seventh), the opposing team immediately runs the play (to Lawrence Moten) in the same spot on the court, this time Jabril makes an impressive clean steal, dribbles the length of the court, but gets his layup blocked after driving into a double team in the lane.

Greg Whittington: 11 points, 1-5 2FG, 3-7 3FG, 5RB, 1 TO, 2STL, 1BLK, 2F

Greg was barely involved in DCX's offense in the second half; like Jabril, the game being a blowout had a lot to do with it. But even in the first half, Greg stayed largely camped around the perimeter on offense. His offense came almost if not totally exclusively from jump shooting. He was around the rim once or twice to attempt offensive putbacks, but that was about it.

This is the downside of Kenner League games: sometimes they're just duds, and don't leave much to talk about.

[FLHoya]

Clyde's 81 Team Takeover 75

Eric B. and Rakim: "What's On Your Mind" (1991):
Midnight Star: "Curious" (1984)

And some days Kenner League giveth. One of the traditions that makes Georgetown a great program is alumni returning to teach younger players. Much of it no doubt occurs behind the scenes (or, behind the jersey wall) but fans often get a glimpse during Kenner League of the Hoyas' recent tradition when our veterans suit up alongside our current and returning players.

Today's Clyde's-Team Takeover game may end up being the summer's Hoya showcase, and several hundred Georgetown fans took in the game, which featured Jeff Green, Jon Wallace, Tyler Crawford, and Sead Dizdarevic alongside Nate Lubick and Markel
Starks on Clydes; and Greg Monroe manning the paint next to Mikael Hopkins for Team Takeover.

One clear benefit of a veteran-heavy lineup is that regardless of the score, the current Hoya players will be tested against high level competition. What's more, the veteran players take it on themselves to challenge the younger fellas, so fans are often treated to intergenerational matchups like Greg Monroe vs. Nate Lubick (spoiler alert: Moose gets paid for a reason).

Plus side: the teams put on a close, competitive contest played at the higher end of Kenner League scale. Clyde's held a modest lead throughout the first half, which saw quick starts from both sides of the Moose-Vanilla Gorilla matchup. At halftime, Clyde's led by three.

Team Takeover never fell too far behind in the second half, but also never found the run that could push them over the top. When Jeff Green glided through the Takeover defense and thundered in a massive dunk on the fast break, Clyde's led 71-64 with five minutes left. From there, every Takeover basket was countered, usually through a Green or Wallace three pointer. The final minutes were to standard--a few intentional fouls, but not much drama.

Markel Starks: 13 points, 3-8 2FG, 2-3 3FG, 1-1 FT, 2RB, 5Ast, 1TO, 1F

Markel's mid-range shot was only so-so today, eliminating one of the primary elements of his halfcourt game. I thought he did well shifting to a drive and dish game when that presented itself. He began in the first half working well with Lubick, who he found on a lob pass in transition, a pass from the post to Nate cutting on the baseline, and a drive/dish play on the baseline to Nate for a three-point play. Markel generally was better in drive and dish than creating his own offense, and he seemed to recognize that.

Overall, I thought he showed good recognition of the defense and created good opportunities for his teammates when his own shot wasn't on point.

Nate Lubick: 13 points, 6-7 2FG, 1-3 FT, 4RB, 3A, 2Blks, 5F

Nate had an excellent offesive first half to the tune of 11 points. He's always seemed to me to be the guy who finishes the fast break or the drive/dish play, but doesn't do as well creating his own offense. In the first half, Nate did plenty of finishing, but he mixed things up--see an impressive sweeping hook finish off a solid cut through the lane.

He also made a concerted effort to get touches in the post. Here, he has an interesting dribble--he keeps the ball very

far away from his body with the left hand. He seems perfectly adept dribbling out there--it shields him from being stripped by his defender (Monroe), and he did well to recognize double teams and dribble out of it. Still, seems a bit dangerous. As for the offense: it wasn't as easy for Nate creating down low, but then, he was being guarded by a well-paid NBA player with height and size over him. Of course, that raises the question: well, can you play him at the 5
consistently? Not everyone in the Big East is Greg Monroe, of course.

What Nate DOES do very well--and we've known this for two years--is pass out of the post. That's what makes you wonder: well, can you make him the facilitator in the offense? His jump shot isn't anything special, and he isn't going to take you to the basket. But other than Otto Porter--maybe--there's not another obvious pick who's better dishing the rock IMO.

Mikael Hopkins: 13 points, 6-12 2FG, 0-3 3FG, 7RBs, 1-3 FT, 1AST, 1 STL, 3F

Mikael would be the other logical option as a facilitator in Georgetown's offense. He's a good passer for a rising sophomore, and he worked a beautiful give and go with Monroe on the fast break early in the game.

Offensively, his moves are getting there. Early on, he did a nice job backing down Green and finishing with a lefty hook. Mikael is generally good at finishing if you can get him a touch below the rim, for instance on a dump down or lob. I'd hold off before making any call on his post moves beyond what I saw today.

He did a solid job defensively when matched against Lubick. For at least this matchup, he held his ground well in the paint.

One clear area of improvement: he hasn't been aggressive on the glass when I've seen him this summer. He's generally in the paint area, but he doesn't box out that well, and often gets out-jumped and out-competed.

Unfortunately, Takeover's schedule makes Mikael this year's odd man out: each year, there's a Hoya player or two playing solo on a team who often plays on Thursday nights or late on weekend afternoons, meaning your recapping types often miss out on their games. (Last year, it was Moses; the year before, it was Hollis)

[FLHoya]

Tombs 96 Emery Heights Elite 72

Men at Work: "It's a Mistake"

And then sometimes, good Kenner League games come out of nowhere. Tombs-Emery could have been a decent matchup on paper, since any Rodney Turner-coached squad tends to give GU teams fits (he's knocked GU teams out of the playoffs in multiple
seasons, and last year's Tombs-Turner quarterfinal required a last-second winner from Mikael Hopkins.) Competitively, the game was a dud: Tombs went up 23-15 after Ol' Rodney took a technical foul ten minutes into the first half, and it was never close after that. But from a Georgetown perspective, there was a lot to like in a 24-point blowout.

Today's Tombs performance was up there with the best last year's Trawick-Whittington-Porter-Hopkins squad offered in terms of teamwork, offensive balance, and execution. Such was the completeness of the effort that John Caprio and David Allen shared the scoring lead for most of the first half, and every Tombs player was in double figures midway through the second half. Only one Tombs player truly struggled during the game, and in the second half the team made such a concerted effort to get him involved that he finished as the second leading scorer despite being scoreless at the half. The 15 combined assists for the 5 Hoyas on the Tombs is a very high total for the Kenner League, and reflects the level of
teamwork on display.

It made irrelevant the fact that the game wasn't close and lacked drama, save for one play in the final seconds: with both defenses having called off any pressure, Aaron Bowen dribbled uncontested down court and soared in for a dunk. He missed the jam, but the rebound fell into Caprio's lap, giving the Hoya walk-on a Kenner League double-double.

Otto Porter: 22 points, 8-11 2FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-6 FT, 10 RBs, 3A, 2TO, 2BLK, 2F

Probably don't need me to tell you that's he pretty good.

Early in the game, Otto looked for offense the same way he had yesterday and Friday: breaking down a defender on the dribble and for the most part taking mid-to-long range jumpers. It seems more like he's trying to find his shot and work on his skills than have a specific impact on the game, which is fine and what you find the higher level players often doing in Kenner.

In the second half, Otto worked in the post more often, with a fair degree of success. Late in the game, he notched two three-point plays down low. He's not powerful by any means, but he can make scoring moves in the post either towards the basket or baseline. His length also allows him to make difficult shots when off balance or after taking a bump.

One of the most important plays of a blowout: on the first possession of the second half, on what was clearly a called play, Porter worked a textbook pick and roll to get Brandon Bolden--scoreless to that point--an easy dunk, the first of his 18 second half points.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera: 17 points, 5-7 2FG, 1-3 3FG, 4-6 FT, 2RB, 7AST, 1TO, 2STL, 1F

His shooting was fairly efficient again, and I reckon that'll be the norm going forward. Who knows how he'll fit into the offense during the regular season and/or how his game will translate, but for now it's clear: dude can shoot. He mixed in a few nice looks, including one of his trademark moves: a turn-around fall away in the lane when he hits traffic on the drive.

I really, really liked his distribution today. It was especially critical to Bolden's game to get easy looks at the basket, and DSR was a great provider today. It wasn't really drive and dish stuff, per se (so we can't necessarily claim that his dribble penetration is making strides). Rather, it was good recognition of cuts and backdoor chances in unsettled situations. DSR was particularly good when the defense scrambled or over-committed to the perimeter in finding
Bolden when he slipped to the basket. Liked that a lot.

Some folks are expressing concerns about his defense. This can sometimes become a self-fulfilling prophecy: you start to hear the concerns, and find yourself focusing in on a single player in defensive possessions and/or highlighting times when he got beat, rather than the number of times the possession was fairly pedestrian.

That being said, I do have some legit concerns about DSR's defense during the past two Kenner League games. Yesterday it was more a matter of drifting and needing to be more engaged with the guy he was guarding, especially off ball. Today, I noticed a number of occasions when he got beat off the dribble with realtive ease. He isn't the quickest guy in the world--the early Austin Freeman comparisons are apt here too, IMO--and he didn't seem to move all that great laterally, allowing offensive players to get into the lane or on his hip too easily.

Who knows: maybe it's some kind of selection bias.

Brandon Bolden: 18 points, 9-11 2FG, 5RB, 2TO, 1BLK, 4F

His second half was the most unexpected Kenner League development thus far in the summer. Consider: Bolden was
substituted out in the first half after less than two minutes of play, in which he recorded a single foul. He didn't return until 1:45 remained in the first half, and even THEN he only lasted 37 seconds, enough to miss and shot and commit an offensive foul. He was in the back hallway before the halftime buzzer.

I don't know what Kenner League teams talk about at halftime--I always assumed it was their plans for that evening--but Tombs clearly came out intent on getting Bolden scoring chances. On the first possession of the second half, he set a good perimeter screen for Porter, who found him wide open on a pick and roll for a dunk. He followed quickly with a putback dunk, and then John Freakin' Caprio found him on a drive and dish play for yet another dunk.

No joke--Bolden may have scored on eight dunks. The second half almost seemed like Tombs was playing against an imaginary target of assists for dunks.

It certainly fits his athleticism--as long as he can be fundamentally sound in the screening game or present a good target, he's a very strong finisher and he's reasonably quick. It's when creating his own offense than he struggles: Bolden is very prone to offensive fouls and his post game at the moment isn't polished at all. Long way to go before he's somebody you'd want to run offense through.

For now, just marvel at the dunks.

John Caprio: 17 points, 7-8 2FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-4 FT, 10 RB, 4A, 2TO

I guess if you're a Kenner League cynic, this will probably become Exhibit B next to Henry Sims' 30-20 game from a few summers ago.

I'm not a cynic, so I enjoyed the best "Will He Or Won't He" mystery of the Kenner League aside from Isaiah Swann's shooting range.

I do have to confess to being very surprised that Caprio got into the lane as easily as he did throughout the game. Once you get past the initial wave of defense in KL, there are going to be plenty of opportunities. Give him credit: he was efficient as a scorer and distributor.

A double-double, for goodness sake!

David Allen: 11 points, 3-7 2FG, 1-7 3FG, 1-3 FT, 3RB, 1A, 1TO, 4F

Shoot, even this guy's getting in on the act. One thing he's not: shy on the court. He'll pretty much shoot from any distance beyond the arc. Loves the baseline drive and reverse layup, to the exclusion of...well, just about any other move off the dribble.

14 shots, for goodness sake!

Aaron Bowen: 11 points, 4-8 2FG, 0-2 3FG, 3-6 FT, 2BLK, 1STL, 1F

Emery Heights has something like a 26 deep bench of players with roughly equal talent, so it tends to limit minutes and scoring opportunities for a player. With that in mind, I thought Bowen in the first half was too timid, passing up chances to create or take his own shot in favor of being cautious. It's a good strategy for the regular season, but shoot, it's Kenner League, might as well....ummm...shoot it.

He had a good early second half with three quick baskets, but his chances dropped off thereafter, and he only mustered three misses in the final fifteen minutes.

Next week: Tombs returns to action on Friday night at 8:50, and roughly a dozen other games.

[saxagael]

Fantastic write-up as usual!

It was good to see David Allen get some good ball time in the first half of the Tombs game. The second half didn't have as many touches, which may have been a good thing as he needs to keep a better eye out for teammates to dish to.

[Ranch Dressing]

Amazing. You are a treasured poster. Thanks again. Love to read your reports.

[HometownHoya]

Thanks again FL!

When Otto was pulling up for his mid-range jumpers, was he doing it because his man was recovering or was he just working on his shot off the dribble? Thanks!

[blueandgray]

Can't thank you enough FL.

[bigelephant]

Thanks,bro!

[lichoya68]

thanks fl couldnt make it this weekend but as usual you create the WHOLE pix thanks. great job.

[whatmaroon]

FL, you remain a gift to HoyaTalk.

[nychoya3]

Hometown, I thought Otto had a good mix of pull ups and strong finishes. Honestly, no one could really check him at all. He was even bringing the ball up as a point guard a good amount of the time when they started picking up full court and playing tough defense on DSR and David Allen. He looked like a lottery pick out there.

I don't understand how Bolden didn't get PT in high school. He's not the world's most polished player but he's 6'10'' with long arms and he can catch the ball. Anyway, definitely pleasantly surprised by him. He probably isn't ready for BE play, but he has a motor and some aggression to him. I thought he was going to just be taking up space on the roster, but he may be a real contributor by his second year.