FanPost

Kenner League Recap: July 10, 2016

Recap of Sunday's Kenner League action:


Bradley Hayes: 23 pts, 11-17 2pt, 1-4 FT, 10 reb (3 off), 2 asst, 2 TO

-Played much better than he did on saturday. But that was in part because the opponent had nobody over 6’6. Kaleb had to guard Hayes for much of the game!

-That being said - Hayes did a real nice job in the second half. He posted up well, and finished with his jump hook consistently.

-He also had two nice reverse pivot spin moves to his left, leading to layups. His feet actually looked pretty quick on these moves

-His final hook was a full on running hook from about 5 feet out, much tougher than his normal 2 foot jump hook

-Was stripped in the post his first few possessions. But then began to keep the ball up more consistently, allowing him to get to his right hand for the hook shot. He also was not doubled often. He can dribble the ball once or twice to get to the hook shot when there is no help defender, but he really struggles when a help defender goes after the ball as he tries to dribble.

Tre Campbell: 23 pts, 3-6 2 pt, 0-1 FT, 5-9 3 pt, 9 reb (1 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 4 TO

-His best game of the summer. He was aggressive all game, but made better decisions. Resulted in higher quality shots and fewer turnovers. He also shot the ball real well.

-Did a really good job on the D boards both saturday and sunday. Dug down from up top to grab boards out of his area consistently.

-Still sometimes attacks the basket at full speed, but without a plan about what he is going to do if he gets into the lane. Produces some ugly shot attempts and turnovers

-Got burned badly on D on one baseline inbounds. Lost his man on a quick cut to the hoop along the baseline, allowing an easy layup

-Had a bad airball on a 3 attempt. Over dribbled trying to figure out how to negotiate a screen set for him, then forced up a real bad 3

- But later on he used a screen well to get into the lane and finish.

-HIt a 3 and got fouled with his team down 4 and 20 seconds to play. Did a nice job pump faking to both free himself a bit for the shot, and to draw the foul. But he missed the foul shot!

Kaleb Johnson: 27 its, 7-16 2pt, 7-8 FT, 2-5 3pt, 10 Reb (4 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 1 bl, 3 TO)

-Playing very aggressively every game, attacking the basket at every opportunity. In the first half he struggled, often failing to finish with some ugly misses and turnovers. But in the second half, he got in his groove and played great. He scored at least 20 of his points in the second half. Finished in a bunch of ways, used both hands around the rim, drew fouls, etc.

-Played his usual good D. Had one great sequence in which he moved his feet really well to stay with his man and eventually block his shot.

-Made a good baseline cut to make himself available for a pass under the basket, resulting in a layup

-Shot well from the line and from 3 in the second half. I talked with a fan today who had spoken with Kaleb about his shot mechanics, with the fan making some recommendations on his foul shooting. When Kaleb hit his foul shots today, he gave a nod of thanks to the fan in the stands.

-Down 1 in the last 15 seconds, he took a D board upcourt, tried a spin move in the lane in traffic, and got stripped by a help defender from the blind side. He can’t be faulted much, he was trying to make something happen as time ran out. Good to see him take charge and want to make the big play.

-In general he played an extremely impressive second half. Kaleb has a lot of talent, plays very hard, and brings a very positive spirit to the court. He is a very easy kid to root for!

Paul White: 4 pts, 2-3 3 pt, 0-2 3pt, 2 reb, 1 asst, 1 st, 1 TO

-Played a lot today, looked better than in the really limited playing time he saw in other games

-Had a nice post up spin to his left to finish at the rim

-Had another nice drive off a ball screen with a left hand finish

-Drew a help defender on a post up, threw a nice bounce pass to the help defender’s man under the basket, resulting in a foul

-White clearly is still recovering, so it is hard to judge much about his prospects for the season. At this point, it is just good to see him on the court.

Rodney Pryor: 31 Pts, 7-14 2pt, 8-9 ft, 3-6 3pt, 10 reb (1 off), 1 asst, 1 bl, 4 TO)

-Another very impressive game, especially in the first half. He plays extremely hard, plays strong defense, and does a lot of talking on D. He was diving after loose balls, going to the floor when drawing hard contact on aggressive drives, doing all the tough, physical effort stuff that every team needs. He seems to lead through his energy and example.

-Won the opening tip over 6’9 Tyler Cavanaugh. he can really jump, and he gets off the floor quite quickly.

-Went end to end with a D board, with a tough eurostep finish in traffic

-Defended Ginyard well - moved his feet, stayed in front of him

-Took some quick jumpers that he missed early in the game. Loves to dribble towards his man, then bounce backwards into his jumper. Can make this shot, but may take it a little too often.

-Had 3 of the Lebron-style blocks where he runs the shooter down from behind as the shooter goes in for the layup. The shooter was fouled by another defender on these blocks twice, but this move is clearly going to be a trademark of his defensive game. Again, super quick and explosive leaper - as demonstrated on these blocks.

-Played a little PG, and looked OK. Had a nice drive and kick pass for an open 3.

-Very physical player - drives into contact rather than avoiding it, draws a lot of fouls

Jonathon Mulmore: 14 pts, 2-3 2pt, 7-9 FT, 1-2 3pt, 7 reb (1 off), 1 asst, 4 TO

-Again displayed his quickness throughout the game. able to get into the lane easily most of the time, and changes direction on a dime on his drives. Usually draws a foul if he does not finish successfully, although he does end up with a couple of bad looking shots on these drives each game.

-Had a pretty fake behind the back pass, right into a scoop layup - the Rajon Rondo move

-Also threw a good behind the back pass in transition that Pryor could not finish (he tried what would have been a spectacular dunk over a defender, which he slammed off the back rim)

-Also aggressive in seeking contact/drawing fouls on drives. But we saw the primary concern with this approach late in the game. He got fouled very hard, and came down with a loud thud on his tailbone. he was clearly in some pain, but nailed the free throws before going out. He was around the gym the rest of the afternoon, but had ice on his tailbone and was clearly in some discomfort. He is a tough kid, but fairly slightly built. He takes a lot of contact and will end up on the floor at the end of these drives regularly. There is likely some reason to be concerned that he could get hurt, or at least worn down physically, over the course of the season. Not everybody can be Iverson and absorb this kind of contact game after game without getting overly beat up!

-Hit another long 3 from the top of the key when left open. Does not hunt his jump shot, but comfortable firing up a 3 when left open.

-The Tombs really pushed the tempo, especially in the first half. They looked like the "7 seconds or less" Phoenix Suns. We better not see any possessions where they pass the ball passively around the perimeter for 20 seconds before going into an isolation attack that results in a contested jump shot - not with this group. They need to have the freedom to run and attack at all times.

-Mulmore and Pryor clearly have a great feel for each other in transition, and Marcus has done a great job running the floor. Then add in Peak - and I think we may have the makings of something very different from past JTIII teams, and potentially something very special. another fan noted today that this may be the quickest hoya team ever, even quicker than vintage Big John teams.

Jagan Mosely: 11 pst, 2-5 2pt, 1-2 FT, 2-3 3 pt, 4 reb (1 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 2 TO

-Had a nice drive where he rejected a pick and beat White off the dribble for a layup

-Lost his man under the hoop for a layup after a full court press, as team was transitioning into half court D.

-Had a strong steal and length of court finish

-He had a few bad misses on drives where he tried to force the issue against sound defense

-Made a nice transition pass to marcus cutting into the lane and drawing a foul

-Best play: lob pass from a few steps inside mid court for a Pryor dunk

-Mosely is a very solid player. Sound in everything he does, smart, makes few errors - especially considering his youth. Carries himself with confidence and poise. Seems like the kind of player who will become a program cornerstone as he refines his game, particularly his ability to finish at the rim. He can get to the rim very well, but still fails too finish too often. Similar to kaleb in this way - you can see the breakout potential every game he plays, it just seems like a matter of experience/development.

Marcus Derrickson: 7 its, 3-8 2pt, 1-2 FT, 0-3 3pt, 11 Reb (4 off), 2 asst, 1 st, 1 bl, 7 TO

-Tough day for marcus. he was matched up with GW power forward Tyler Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh is a big strong guy with a nice outside shot and a pretty high skill level. They were really banging with each other on both ends of the court

-I think Marcus got a little too caught up in the physicality of the matchup, especially in the second half. He kept trying to power through Cavanaugh in the low post, without much success. This really bogged down the Tombs offense in the second half, when they lost a big chunk of what had been about a 20 point halftime lead. He probably would have been better served to take Cavanaugh away from the basket by setting ball screens or facing him up - where he could use his quickness advantage over Cavanaugh, rather than trying to overpower a guy who is just about as strong as Marcus is.

-But you had to appreciate his competitiveness, he really played hard (if not always as smart as he could have). And cavanaugh could not muscle marcus in the post, although Marcus did foul him quite a bit inside.

-Had a good give and go to cutting pryor, who was fouled trying a power dunk over a defender.

-This game got physical and chippy in the second half. The other team seemed to realize that the Tombs were running them off the court with their quickness, so they started banging tombs players to the ground on drives, throwing a few elbows, etc. this physicality seemed to get to Marcus a little. It is good to respond aggressively to this kind of chippy play, but you can’t get so aggressive that you get out of your own game - which is what I think happened to Marcus a little bit.

Jessie Govan: 22 pts, 9-16 2pt, 4-6 FT, 0-1 3pt, 14 reb (1 off), 1 asst, 2 bl, 2 TO

-Jessie played much, much better today than he had in his first few summer games. Much more energy and focus. Plus he did not seem winded at all, even though he played the entire game, and ran the court hard.

-Hit a nice 15 foot baseline jumper early on. also had a step back 10 foot jumper of the dribble later in the game, a very skilled and impressive play

-Had a strong drive across the lane to a right hand finish off the glass. Very coordinated move, not nearly as mechanical as his post moves sometimes look

-Had a good catch and lefty finish on the move cutting down the lane in semi-transition.

-Did have a couple of sloppy turnovers. dribbled right into 2 defenders in the post and was easily stripped, then threw a bounce pass to a cutter right into a maze of defenders’ legs.

-Good move stepping through a double team in the post to draw a foul

-He was calling out picks on D, something he has been doing pretty regularly this summer

-Today showed that when Jessie plays with energy and focus - he has the kind of high talent level to be a real good player. He just needs to bring this level of energy every game.

LJ Peak: 22 pts, 9-13 2pt, 1-3 FT, 1-3 3pt 4 reb (2 off), 2 asst, 3 bl, 2 TO

-First possession, he drove to the hope through traffic, finished, drew the foul

-But then struggled to finish and hit jumpers for the rest of the first half

-Got going in the second half, however. He was full fledged Kenner LJ in the second half, attacking the rim to score and then hitting a few jump shots. Scored 18 in the second half

-Also played good D - really shut down GW’s Watanabe, a pretty talented and athletic kid. also had a few good blocks while playing help D.

-Made a good lefty pass in transition to Govan hustling in transition for a basket

-Grabbed a D board and went end to end for a dunk

-Best move: in transition from the right wing, peak attacked the basket with a full speed eurostep move, resulting in a lefty finish around the defender, flipping the ball back over his head and off the glass

-Late in the game had a strong transition dunk over Watanabe - then stared Watanabe down. Jesse threw a long outlet pass that got this break started.

JTIII INTERVIEW: he is doing a podcast with Jon Rothstein today. It is Rothstein’s Big East summer preview. He tweeted out a bunch of Big East stuff this morning. He picks us as his "sleeper" team. Rothstein is, for the most part, an enthusiastic but empty, cliche-spewing journalist. JTIII rarely gives much to the media, but it will still be interesting to hear some initial thoughts on this year’s team.

Stay Casual, my friends.