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Kenner League Recap: July 20, 2014

A recap of Sunday's Kenner League action:

LJ PEAK: 37 points, 11-13 2 pt, 5-7 3pt, 0-2 FT, 3 reb, 3 assts, 3 st, 1 bl, 6 TO

-Context: this game had virtually no defense, with both teams running and dunking often. Michael Beasley played for the Tombs, and he was very committed - to playing absolutely no defense at the rim, leading to probably a dozen dunks for Mo Sutton (once he realized that Beasley would back away whenever he attacked the basket) and taking as many bad shots as possible.

-That being said - Peak was still impressive. Lots of good dunks and he was again nearly unstoppable when he drove to the basket

-But the big story today - the 3s. He was clearly feeling his jumper, and started firing away from great distance in the second half. And one of his misses was really a lob pass that hit the rim, so he was essentially 5-6. I don’t think many of them even hit the rim.

-Also hit two pull up jumpers in the lane. But missed his two foul shots. He is definitely a feel shooter, not a mechanics guy. He’ll be streaky, but when he feels it - the combo of his always strong rim attack game and hot outside shooting is going to be a site to behold.

-had a real nice lefty scoop move on one finish

-with Peak and Tre Campbell - to get the most out of their talent, we are going to have to accept a few turnovers. To play aggressively enough to use their speed, they need to take some of the kind of chances that we are not very used to seeing Hoya guards take. But if they don’t play this aggressively, it will be a waste of their talent (sorry to keep harping on this point, I’ll try not to overdue it over the rest of the summer!)

ISAAC COPELAND: 15 pts, 5-10 2pt, 1-4 3pt, 2-2 FT, 3 reb (2 off), 2 st, 2 bl

-Took his man off the dribble from the three point line - crossover move to the baseline, followed by one hand power dunk

-He and Peak both had nice lob dunk finishes in transition

-Hit a catch and shoot three, but missed his other 3’s. Hit a turnaround jumper - definitely looks more comfortable from mid range than from 3

-Had one really special play - great block, picked up the ball, drove the length of the court to finish with a basket.

BRADLEY HAYES: 6 pts, 2-8 2 pt, 2-3 FT, 5 reb (1 off), 1 asst, 4 bl

-Had a nice catch and finish for an and-1

-Offensively he really struggled to post up vs. Hopkins and 7’2, 315 lb Jordan Omogbehin.

-Generally battled Hopkins pretty well defensively - about 50-50 on stops/scores

-Stopped a trawick transition drive attempt, then swatted a Hopkins follow up shot into the seats

-HIt a nice RH jump hook late in the game from the middle of the lane, with Braswell coming at him to try to strip the ball

-My guess would be that Hayes will be fairly serviceable as a defender/rebounder if we need some minutes from him this year. I don’t think he’ll be real bad on offense, but for the most part any points we get from him will be a nice bonus.

AARON BOWEN: 17 pts, 6-11 2 pt, 0-1 3 pt, 5-10 FT, 3 reb (2 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 3 TO

-Really struggled with his shot in the first half, from both the field and line. Missed wide right (way right) on his first jumper. But shot much better, and played much better overall - in the second half.

-He is better at hitting pull up jumpers off the dribble and floaters than at catch and shoot threes. Looks more comfortable and natural when pulling up from 15 feet and in.

-Had some nice drives, was getting to the basket well and generally playing real aggressive (but controlled) offense in the second half.

-Had a nice defensive play on Jabril. Trawick started his power move to the hoop; Bowen moved his feet well to cut off the drive and cause a traveling call

-Had a nice play in transition - pushed the ball up court and hit an open teammate for an and-1

-Late in the game he passed up a wide open corner three in transition to attack the basket along the baseline. He missed the contested layup off the glass, but I think this was the right play for Bowen. He is probably better off using his athleticism when he has that much space to work, rather than firing up stand still corner threes.

JABRIL TRAWICK: 15 pts, 5-14 2 pt, 1-2 3 pt, 2-4 FT, 6 reb (5 off), 1 asst, 1 st, 3 TO

-Had a nice catch and shoot 3 off a kick out pass

-Was getting to the rim, but not finishing nearly as well as usual today. Still had his moments, including a great drive right at/over Hayes. But Hayes and his teammates did a solid job protecting the basket vs. Jabril

MIKAEL HOPKINS: 11 pts, 4-10 2 pt, 3-3 FT, 5 reb, 2 bl, 3 TO

-Had a nice transition play - caught the ball on the run in the middle of the court, dished to a driving shooter who was fouled. Also had a very good and-1 finish in transition

-Took on Hayes on his first three touches - blocked once, scored once (using left hand, going under the rim to protect ball), missed another lefty attempt

-Did well pushing Hayes outside his comfortable post range consistently

-Mikael really does look for his own shot almost every time he touches the ball within 17 feet. This was a problem the last 2 years, but will be an even bigger problem if it continues this year, since we should have a number of better offensive options this season.

-Struggled with turnovers in 2nd half.

-Threw a nice inside-out pass from the post resulting in a wide open 3

-Passed up a wide open 10 foot baseline jumper to take a tough contested driving shot that he missed. while the wide open 10 footer can be a somewhat shaky shot for Hopkins, the contested driving shot is still a lot less desirable

PAUL WHITE: 15 pts, 6-10 2 pt, 0-1 3 pt, 8 reb (3 off), 1 asst, 4 bl, 2 TO

-White put in his first really impressive work of the summer today, especially in the second half

-Nice drive and semi-floater through contact. Sort of a poor man’s version of the Nowitzki move where he raises the right leg in front of him and shoots off the left leg, using the right leg to create separation from his defender. White likes this shot.

-Matched up with Gus Gilchrist - the 6’9, athletic PF from S. Florida who often dominates Kenner games and went for 34 on Saturday. He scored probably half that (maybe less), as White used good positioning and timing to control Gus very well. It was a really impressive defensive performance, since Gus probably has 50+ pounds and a significant explosiveness advantage on White. White is a guy who just figures out how to get things done. As the game slows down for him and he gets stronger, I think we’ll see more and more games like today’s second half.

-His jumper has not been sharp this summer. He was deadly on the mid range pull up this year in high school, but he has not been getting good rotation or touch on his very high arcing shots. He seems to be hesitating a bit before shooting, allowing defenders to contest shots that would be fairly open if he took them quickly. One of his great strengths in the HS games I watched him play this year was his super quick decision making. So I feel pretty confident that once the game slows down and he gets comfortable, his decision making will speed up and he’ll get more comfortable in his jump shooting game.

-Example: -Hit a nice contested 14 foot jumper right in Jabril’s face late in the game, and also hit a three late. Seemed more comfortable shooting after playing well throughout the half.

-Had a really nice lefty transition finish through contact, off a pass from Tre. White started the play with a rebound and really good outlet pass to Tre. White then hustled downcourt to get in position to receive a pass as the trailer on the break and get to the basket for the hoop. Really impressive sequence.

-Drew a foul from Jabril when they were down 3 in the final minute, hit the shots. Then had a steal with his team down 1. then had an offensive board and follow up score to cut the lead to 1 with 9 seconds left.

-Overall a very nice game for White, the first time he really showed the strengths of his game this summer. The fact that he did this largely while covering/being covered by Gilchrist is the most impressive aspect of his performance.

TRE CAMPBELL: 27 pts, 4-7 2 pt, 5-11 3 pt, 4-5 FT, 6 reb, 4 asst, 3 TO

-Shot real well today. Hit a few threes off the dribble, using pick and roll screens to get space. Also hit some threes in transition and off one-dribble pull ups.

-Finished well at the basket, sometimes through some contact

-Definitely a tempo/momentum player at this point. You can see his confidence build when he starts to make a few plays and as the pace of play then speeds up. He ended up getting a bit out of control, forcing a few "heat check" type shots that let the opposition get back into the game after his team had built a little lead. But decision making like this should improve with experience. The talent is definitely there, and he is a lot of fun to watch.

-It will be interesting to see if he and Peak play together much this year. It will probably be tough to get Tre many minutes behind DSR/Trawick/Peak in the backcourt. But Tre and Peak would clearly play really well together - both love to play fast and aggressive.

REGGIE CAMERON: 6 pts, 3-8 2pt, 0-4 3 pt, 3 reb (1 off), 1 bl

-Another rough one for Reggie. Never really got in the flow, and ended up spending most of the second half on the bench. Symonds had 10 players today, but it was still disappointing to see Reggie sitting for so much of the game. The guys playing ahead of him were not particularly special talents.

-Not hitting his outside shots. His hoops today came on putbacks and layups

-Went at White in transition - resulting in a weak LH layup attempt that white easily swatted

-Unfortunately, I am beginning to get a bit of a Domingo feeling about Reggie. Just not quite good enough to play with more athletic guys, even when the athletic guys are not that skilled. Can’t find room to get off his shots. And Reggie did not look too happy today - about his play, or about sitting on the bench for much of the second half. I would not be surprised if he is getting frustrated, especially as he sees how talented the freshmen are, and realizes how much talented competition he is going to face for playing time.

RIYAN WILLIAMS: I did not stick around to watch Rian’s game on Sunday

DAVID ALLEN: did not play again today for Symonds

OTHER NOTES:

-Greg Whittington was wandering around McDonough. He had what looked to be very friendly conversations with big John Thompson, and some of his former teammates.

Stay Casual, my friends.