Kenner League Recap: Weekend Two!

Here is a recap of Weekend 2 of Kenner League!

Ismael Massoud: (1 game) 24 pts, 2-5 2pt, 2-2 FT 6-10 3pt, 10 reb (2 off), 3 asst,

1 st, 4 TO

-This is why we should have some excitement over Massoud. When his shot is falling, he puts up points quickly. At 6’8 and with a quick release, he does not need much space to get his shot off. All his threes were also from a step or two beyond the line - he has deep range. Today he looked like the guy who had some big moments for Kansas St. in the NCAA tournament last season.

-He’s a decent defensive rebounder - looks to put a body on an offensive player, strong enough to hold his position, good length.

-You don’t want him dribbling the ball into any kind of traffic - results in a lot of TOs

-Likes to try a turnaround baseline jumper from 7-10 feet. This is a very tough shot. He hit one today, but not the kind of shot you want to see him try too often

-Got matched up with Maryland’s Dante Scott in the low post on one possession. Scott is a very strong guy, with some skill in the post. Massoud did a good job getting low and holding his position. Did not let Scott back him down, then stole the ball from him

Dontrez Styles: (1 game) 10 pts, 1-2 FT, 1-7 3pt, 8 reb (2 off), 2 asst, 1 to

-His offensive game so far this summer has consisted mainly of him hunting contested jump shots. His form is good and he makes some, but these are tough shots.

-He looks strong and athletic, but does not try to attack the rim often

-Solid rebounder, seems OK on D. But has not shown much of an offensive skill set yet this summer

Wayne Bristol: (1 game) 24 pts, 5-7 2pt 5-6 FT, 3-10 3 pt, 1 red, 1 asst, 1 st, 1 TO

-The best surprise of the summer so far. He has been the best of the small forward candidates.

-Playing with much more confidence and aggressiveness. Looking to attack the rim, and has been pretty successful in doing so. Went for a highlight reel power dunk over two defenders today - slammed the ball off the back rim, but got fouled.

-Nice Euro-step transition finish

-Hit a very tough three with a man right in his face

-Blew past Brumbaugh off the dribble for a power dunk

Drew McKenna: (2 games)

-I did not stay for the full game in either of McKenna’s games

-He got very few touches this weekend. Two Maryland players (Julian Reese and Jahari Long) dominated the ball for his team. McKenna is at his best working off the ball to fine open space for 3s and cuts to the basket. Nobody was looking for him (or anyone else) at all, so he got very few touches

-On Sunday he managed to score 9 points with efficient play in the first half, despite so few touches. But he struggled when matched up with Maryland freshman Jamie Kaiser. Kaiser scored 29 in this game. He can do much more with the ball in his hands than McKenna can at this point.

Jay Heath: (1 game on saturday. May have played on sunday, I left prior to his scheduled game)

-Heath played only the first third or so of this game, then sat out the rest. He was not hurt. His team had a lot of players, and the coach seemed determined to get everyone pretty even time. Many of the starters sat for the majority of the game. I left midway through second half when it became clear Heath would not play much more.

-But in his limited time - heath again showed that he is one of the most skilled offensive players on the team. He makes quick decisions with the ball, scores from all three levels, and finds open teammates with good passes.

Akok Akok: (1 game) 12 pts, 3-7 2 pt, 2-5 3 pt, 6 reb (1 off), 1 bl, 1 TO

-Plays well with Brumbaugh - runs the pick/pop well, spacing out for Brumbaugh to find him for open 3s

-Blocked a dunk attempt by Maryland 7 footer Caelum Swanton-Rodgers

-Nice drive, spin, finish from foul line, again on Rodgers

Donovan Grant:

Saturday- 14 pts, 2-7 2 pt, 1-2 FT, 3-8 3 pt, 9 rep (3 off), 1 asst, 3 st, 2 TO

Sunday - 10 pt, 2-6 2pt, 2-6 3 pt, 10 rep (1 off), 2 last, 1 st 1 bl

-Drew two charges - i think these are the only offensive charge calls I have seen in two weekends

-No hesitation firing up 3s when he is open

-As it did last week, his hustle truly stands out. Flies around the floor, dives for every loose ball. Hustled hard to save a ball from going out of bounds. Gets a lot of rebounds because he consistently works to get into good position. He reads the ball well off the rim - often seems to be in exactly the place a missed shot rebound is going to fall.

-He can shoot open 3s and he’s a good athlete. But his skill level is not strong enough for him to finish well when attacking off the dribble. He tried this more on sunday, but struggled to beat defenders when he got to the rim

-Grant is probably a great practice player. I’m sure he goes hard 100% of the time, and he is a good enough athlete and shooter to put some pressure on his teammates in practice. I don’t think he is skilled enough to contribute a whole lot in BE games, but he plays so hard and enthusiastically that he might be able to hold his own if needed for a few minutes at times. Plus he can hit open 3s, so he forces defense to cover him when he spaces out. Grant is a fun player to watch, and a guy you want to root for because he plays with such effort and joy - always hustling and looking like he is having a blast just being out on the court.

Ryan Mutombo: (1 game) 13 pts, 6-11 2 pt, 1-2 FT, 11 reb (6 off), 1 asst, 3 bl, 1 TO

-Ryan left the game fairly early in the 2nd half when he landed in a funky way and tweaked his knee. He was walking around the gym after he came out of the game with a bag of ice on his knee, but no noticeable limp or indication of significant pain.

-Grabbed an off. board and immediately kicked the ball out to an open 3 point shooter. I don’t think Wahab did this once in three Hoya seasons!

-Always does a good job of not biting on pump fakes near the basket. He doesn’t jump - walls up, stands tall, uses height/length to disrupt/block shots

-Had a nice one dribble baseline move into a difficult layup that he converted

-Had a strong offensive board follow up dunk when trailing in transition

-Did well when switched onto smaller ballhandler on perimeter. this happened twice that I noticed. Both times Ryan got low, dug in, moved his feet, and kept his man from blowing past him into the lane

-Worked hard to get good position deep in the lane, and received a number of solid entry passes for good opportunities. But he was inconsistent in converting. He has good touch around hoop, but zero lift. So size/explosiveness from defenders gives him trouble. A 6 foot tall guard even blocked one of his shots right at the rim, coming from behind to smack the ball away as Ryan went up to the hoop

-Used his height/length to pile up offensive boards. Will probably be less successful at this against bigger/better athletes in BE.

-Overall Ryan looked OK. Because he is not an explosive athlete, he doesn’t do anything flashy. But he knows what to do on both ends, positioning himself well and using good fundamentals on both ends. He has good enough touch to score around the basket fairly well, and good enough defensive fundamentals to provide some rim protection and to hold his own surprisingly well when he has to defend on the perimeter

-But better athletes are always going to expose his athletic limitations, at least to some extent

Rowan Brumbaugh:

Saturday - 17 pts, 4-10 2 pt, 3-8 3pt, 5 reb (1 off) , 6 asst, 1 st, 5 TO

Sunday - 23 pts, 5-10 2 pt, 4-4 FT, 3-7 3 pt, 7 reb ( off), 4 asst, 2 st, 1 bl, 2 TO

-I think Rowan is the real deal - a true point guard with fairly special passing vision, plus the ability to both finish at the rim and hit 3s. This is probably too optimistic a comparison - but he plays kind of like Tyler Kolek (Marquette). But quicker, more athletic, and a better shooter. He may not have quite Kolek’s level of passing vision, but he is at least in that ballpark. When Kolek put it all together last year, he was the engine that drove Marquette to a great season. I think Brumbaugh has at least some potential to have the same kind of impact for the Hoyas.

-Had a nice reverse against a 7 foot defender from Maryland (Caelum Swanton-Rogers) - used the rim to protect the ball and finish.

-Had a tough time when he had to cover Va Tech grad Erick Green. Green is probably the best offensive player in Kenner this summer, so no sin struggling with a talented vet player like Green. Everyone struggles to defend him

-In all three games I have seen Rowan play this summer - he has started the game kind of slowly. But at some point he gets in his groove, and takes over the game for a stretch by pushing pace, passing very well, and both attacking the basket and hitting threes. You can feel the energy pick up when he gets going - very fun fan experience when this happens. On sunday he had only 5 first half points but then put ups 18 in the second half/OT (2 minutes) to finish with 23

-Noticed that he consistently sets screens when he does not have the ball, both on and off the ball. You don’t see a whole lot of off ball screens being set in kenner games, but Roan does this consistently.

Notes:

- On Sunday I left before the final game, when Heath and Supreme Cook were scheduled to play. I saw on twitter that Cook had a big game - something like 21 points and 9 boards. He was equally effective in the first game he played this summer, which i did see. He can play - I’ll be surprised if he is not an important part of the team this season.

-Good crowds for both A Wash games this weekend (Brumbaugh and Akok play for A Wash, but the crowd was there for Brumbaugh)

-I will not be at the games this coming weekend, so no reports from me until the following week