FanPost

Kenner League Recap: July 19, 2014

Recap of Saturday's Kenner League action:

Our guys go to class - and they try to make a difference in the wider world!: The word is that three of our freshman (Peak, Campbell, and White) did not play for their respective teams today because they were doing a community service activity as part of one of their summer courses. David Allen also did not play today for Symonds, I have not seen any reports as to why.

REGGIE CAMERON: 7 pts, 0-6 2pt, 2-3 3pt, 6 reb (2 off), 1 asst

-I may be off by one three pointer in Reggie’s stats. I was making a note on my stat sheet, and I am pretty sure someone hit a three while I was looking down. I think it may well have been Reggie, but I am not positive. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on the stat line.

-Reggie and Ike spent some time guarding one another. Reggie did not do too badly. He generally kept Ike from beating him off the dribble, and defended him nicely on one post up.

-Reggie hit a deep three from the top of the key - Copeland got caught in no man’s land, between closing out on Reggie or helping defend a player in the post.

-Reggie tried to back down/post up Copeland at one point. It did not end well - a turnaround jump shot air ball.

-In general, Cameron was largely a non-factor offensively. But part of that is because Gus Gilchrist (you may remember the 6’9 Gilchrist from his work for South Florida). Gilchrist played a dominant game (34 points, 11 boards, 5-6 from 3). This is a good reminder on the limits of assessing guys from Kenner play. Gilchrist is a solid high major power forward - but was not a special player in college. The fact that he can step out to hit a three, put the ball on the floor to attack the hope, and power his way through contact inside - makes him a pretty dominant kenner league player at times. So when you see big numbers from a Hoya in summer play - remember that Gus Gilchrist puts up these kind of great numbers a few times each summer. The good games from our guys are certainly encouraging, but using Gilchrist as a fairly known control comparison is a good exercise in perspective

ISAAC COPELAND: 22 pts, 6-11 2pt, 1-4 3pt, 7-8 FT, 5 reb (1 off), 2 st, 3 bl, 3 TO

-In the first 4 minutes of the second half, Copeland did the following:

-Great lob dunk off a half court set pick and roll play to start the half

-Transition dunk in traffic

-came from way off the ball for a spectacular flying block

-Missed an almost spectacular follow up dunk attempt - one hand, way above the rim

-Another transition dunk, through some contact

-Good steal to break up a 2 on 1 break

-Overall, a really impressive, high flying second half for Copeland. This was the first real flash of the full level of his talent this summer, and it was fun to see.

-With Peak not playing, Copeland was more involved and aggressive offensively. Copeland and Peak give us two high level athletes - we really have not had two athletes like this playing together for the Hoyas during the JTIII era. Maybe Green and Ewing, but I think the Peak/Copeland combo may be even a bit more explosive than Green/Ewing.

-Was smooth and in control on his pull-up jumpers

-Again looked good pulling down rebounds and heading right up court to start transition opportunities

-Made a good, aggressive move off the dribble to get into the lane for a nice floater. The shot did not drop, but it was the kind of good off the dribble move that I think we want to see Copeland make.

-Got fouled on a lob dunk attempt off an inbounds play. Copeland is always looking for the lob dunk openings - White was very good at throwing this pass in high school, and Peak seems to have a feel for it as well. That could add up to a lot of fun over the next few years.

-Also had a nice transition lob dunk in the first half, in addition to the burst of dunking early in the second half

-Threw a real nice post entry bounce pass

-Tried a turnaround 10 foot bank shot from the right side - looked like the classic Tim Duncan shot. He did not hit it, but it was fun to see him try this shot. So few players use the glass on jumpers when they should these days - just ask Bill Walton, he’ll be happy to tell you ALL about it.

-One quietly notable play - he dove to the ground quickly in a loose ball situation during the first half. He showed good instincts and hustle. It seems like in recent years, we have not quite gotten our share of these 50/50 balls, so it was good to see this kind of play from Copeland.

-Hit a three in transition at the buzzer

-Overall, just a really impressive game from Copeland.

JABRIL TRAWICK: 24 pts, 9-12 2pt, 0-3 3pt, 6-7 FT, 2 reb, 1asst, 1 st, 1 TO

-Trawick came out rocking, putting up 17 points in the first 15 minutes of the game. He was going to the basket relentlessly for a series of finishes, power dunks, and fouls. He had the dunk of the summer so far when he went over two defenders to power down a one hand jam, head up near the rim. This one brought the house down in McDonough, as it was the exclamation point on a series of these power moves/dunks.

-Jabril also hit a nice pull up 12 footer early on, but his 3 point shot was off today

-Had a great cut and finish in the lane, catching a tough bounce pass in traffic and converting the hoop.

-Had a great Lebron-style block on a transition play in which he ran down the opposing player from behind. You could see him lining up the block as Jabril hit midcourt, and he flew in to smack the shot away from behind.

-His hot streak of rim attacks was finally stopped when he tried to go right over Mo Sutton (Villanova), who is a long 6’10

-Had a sweet semi-euro step transition touch shot off the glass vs. two defenders. Great combo of skill and strength. He really was scoring almost at will on these first half basket attacks

-For all the wonderful work Jabril did throughout the game, he did struggle on the final two Takeover possessions. With 30 seconds left, up 1 - he forced a drive into a group of players with 10 seconds on the shot clock, missing badly. Jabril thought he was fouled, but no call. The other team then scored to go up 1. Jabril drove downcourt in the closing seconds, but could only get off a well contested 8 foot baseline shot at the buzzer, which did not come close. Still, a great, great game from Jabril.

MIKAEL HOPKINS: 17 pts, 6-13 2pt, 0-1 3pt, 5-7 FT, 11 reb (6 off), 1 st, 2 bl, 1 to

-Solid game from Mikael. He had some tough moments, but on the whole played well. He was matched up mostly with Mo Sutton. Sutton is not a great player, but because he is long/tall and athletic, he sometimes fares well in Kenner games, and he offers more of a challenge than most of the lower level big guys that Mikael goes against in the summer.

-Took two face up 13 footers from the baseline - hit one, missed one. Both good, open shots

-Took an open 3 early in the shot clock that he missed - that was not a good shot!

-Made a nice lane cut and tough catch, drew the foul

-Went coast to coast with a defensive board for an and-1 finish. Hopkins likes to sometimes take the rebound and take off in transition - not a move we really want to see in a real game, much of the crowd is yelling something like "pass it to a guard" when he begins these jaunts. But he is skilled and athletic enough to complete one of these plays every once in a while.

-Fell asleep on D at one point, letting Sutton back cut through the lane wide open for a dunk. Then on the ensuing offensive possession, he tried to get back at Sutton - and ended up badly forcing a shot that sutton easily blocked.

-Had a nice catch on the move and finish over sutton; but then on the next possession Mikael tried one of his patented telegraphed spin moves, spinning right into sutton’s chest and getting called for a travel.

-Had a really nice baseline drop step move for a hoop - great to see him make a really smooth looking move to his left out of the post. He needs to do this to keep defenders from overplaying his move to the right. He usually tries a spin move left as his counter, but this takes too long and results in a turnover more often than not. The smooth drop step move to the left was textbook - if Mikael can do that regularly, it will add a lot to his offensive game.

DSR: 18 pts, 6-9 2pt, 2-9 3pt, 7 reb (1 off), 8 asst, 3 TO

-Real point guard kind of game from DSR. Did not attack the rim or lane off the dribble much. Was really looking for open shooters in the corners/wings - both in half court (after penetrating into lane) and in semi-transition. even beyond the 8 assists, he found wide open 3 point shooters at least twice that often. It was an impressive, controlled passing performance

-The 3s he took were pretty much all good, open shots. He hit two very nice open transition 3s, but could not hit his half court 3s today.

-Not much else to say - very solid game from DSR today, especially considering he did some different things than he usually does (e.g. not a lot of mid range shots in the lane, a lot more passing to open shooters)


TREY MOURNING:
8 pts, 2-4 2pt, 1-3 3pt, 1-2 FT, 15 reb (2 off), 3 asst, 3 TO

-Trey was really strong on the boards today. Many of his defensive rebounds were contested. It was the first time this summer where he really looked aggressive and showed some physical strength.

-On offense, it is still a tough go for Trey. He really needs others to create his offensive opportunities for him. He can’t (and should not!) take defenders off the dribble, and is not strong enough to post up many players. So he needs to spot up for open shots and make good cuts to the basket to receive passes. This leaves him with a fairly limited ability to impact games offensively right now.

-Has good passing instincts - made a nice pass to set up a dunk today.

RIYAN WILLIAMS: 4 pts, 2-9 pt, 0-4 3pt, 8 reb (1 off), 1 st, 1 to

-this was Riyan’s first extended playing time of the summer, as his team had only one sub. He definitely plays hard, and this shows mostly in his defensive rebounding. He is not shy about shooting, but Riyan is not explosive or strong enough to finish contested shots at the rim.

-Did have one nice reverse layup converted in traffic.

OTHER NOTES:

-The schedule today was different from what was posted on-line. A number of teams were short players, and a few had uniforms arrive late (or not at all, in the case of Takeover - they had to pull out some bad pale yellowish units for them to wear). It was a flashback to earlier Kenner days, when wrong schedules, late starts, etc. were routine. But to the credit of the people running the league - the day’s games ended pretty much on time. They really move things along, with very short halftimes and short times between games (if the uniforms and players are present!)

-Tyler Adams is a coach for the Tombs, and he is very active on the bench. Tyler seems like such a great guy and teammate, and it is such a shame that his health issues have prevented him from playing college ball. But the way he has remained a vital, invested part of the team is truly impressive. It would be cool if Tyler ends up getting into coaching down the line - he seems to have that kind of passion for the game, and the kind of personality that really connects well with people. For a guy who barely stepped on the court as a Hoya, I think he will always be a favorite alum of the program for many of us.

-Yuta Watanabe: a 6’8 freshman forward for GW- has been a real pleasure to watch this summer. Really skinny (listed at 200 lbs), but long and athletic with solid skills. He runs the court hard, jumps very well, can hit open 3s. As he gains some strength and experience, he is a player to watch for GW

-Jessie Govan: i watched a few of Govan’s Peach Jam games on-line this week. A few quick thoughts based on very limited evidence. He clearly has talent and a lot of potential. But he has quite a ways to go to be ready to provide significant minutes as a freshman. He is a good shooter - the right hand jump hook is real good, and he is a very solid jump shooter out to about 15 feet. He also looks like an extremely good (maybe 80%?) foul shooter - which is a great asset for a big man. He rebounds well in his area, but does not show a lot of explosiveness to go after the ball out of his area right now. Uses his long arms well on the defensive boards. Needs to improve his hands quite a bit. Has trouble catching contested entry passes if they are not very accurate right now. Fumbled/lost quite a few passes. But note that in AAU ball, they don’t call a whole lot of fouls on defenders of big men, which allows for quite a bit of hacking at the ball/hands that might not fly in real games. Not a true shot blocker - but does a nice job simply standing tall and holding his hands straight up to contest shots. It is surprising how much trouble a tall, long armed guy can cause on D simply by doing this, rather than always jumping and swatting (which results in a lot of effective pump fakes and a lot of fouls called on the defender.) On the whole, looks like a very solid prospect who should develop well over time. But our freshman year expectations should be realistic. I think that we will need someone other than Govan to be the primary, starting center next year. It would be great if we could win the Ivan Rabb sweepstakes - but that is certainly somewhat of a longshot (as is almost any recruiting battle for a 5 star player), so we may need Hayes to develop quite a bit over the next year in order to play significant minutes at the 5 as a senior. I heard today that Jessie was invited to try out for the USA basketball 17-and under team today - that will be a great experience for him, whether he makes the team or not.

Stay Casual, my friends.