Kenner League Weekend 2 Observations

Rowan Brumbaugh and Wayne Bristol Jr. were the highlights, but several other Hoyas impressed during the second weekend of Kenner League.

After missing out on the first weekend of Kenner League, I made it out to Kenner League Weekend 2.

Jayden Epps and Drew Fielder were out again this weekend, but were seen walking through McDonough on Saturday afternoon. Supreme Cook didn’t play Saturday, but did play Sunday, after I had left, so I still haven’t seen him play in person. Ryan Mutombo played on Sunday afternoon, but got hurt and sat out the rest of the game before I could get there to see him.

Stat-taking was sporadic from me, in between taking pictures with my camera, live-tweeting, and chatting with friends at the game.

Here’s what I saw from the Hoyas that did play this past weekend.

Akok Akok

Akok made his Kenner League summer debut on Saturday, playing on the same team as Rowan Brumbaugh. In the offense-friendly Kenner, Akok’s game doesn’t necessarily stand out compared to others, but Akok had a solid day overall.

The highlight of the day for him was a patented Akok block on a dunk attempt at the rim, this time on Caelum Swanton-Rodgers of Maryland.

Offensively, Akok’s three-point shot looked to be in decent form, knocking down a few from deep. Coming off a season in which he shot 28.2% from deep on a career-high 2.7 3-point attempts per game, if Akok could get that rate up to 31-32%, that would be a big help to this Georgetown team.

Other than that, most of Akok’s point production came from around the rim.

The biggest thing for Akok to do in Kenner this summer? Stay healthy. This team is going to need his shot-blocking and athleticism in a big way.

Wayne Bristol Jr.

Wow. I was blown away by what I saw from Bristol on Saturday, in a very entertaining game between his Quashie Family Dental team and A. Wash & Associates, Rowan and Akok’s team.

Bristol and Brumbaugh were both spectacular on Saturday. Bristol was a different kind of aggressive than I had seen last season, or during last summer’s edition of Kenner. He was explosive in the full court, decisive in the half court, and attacking the rim constantly. He was letting it fly from three, and I don’t think his shooting percentage from deep was great, but that was mostly due to shot selection influenced by the pickup nature of Kenner.

Last year during Kenner, I had this to write about Bristol.

To me, Bristol Jr. is at his best when he doesn’t think. He is a good athlete, and his straight-line speed is better than most. When he grabs the ball on the perimeter and puts his head down and goes, he can have success getting to the hoop. He gets in trouble when he dribbles too much, or tries to break his defender down one-on-one. That’s not his game.

Today, I still agree with that take. On Saturday, Bristol was decisive, quick, and playing with confidence. He is a really good athlete, and his athleticism alone can overpower defenders when he gets the ball.

If he can take that same confidence into the regular season, and improve his shot-making from three compared to last season, Bristol could be a dark-horse contender to start for this team, because of the lack of shooting on the roster currently.

Looking forward to seeing more of Bristol the rest of this summer. It was really enjoyable watching him play on Saturday.

Rowan Brumbaugh

I’m going to try to temper expectations for Rowan with what I write in this space, but after what I saw in two games on Saturday and Sunday, it’s hard not to get very excited about he can be for this Georgetown team this season.

Brumbaugh’s court vision and passing ability has been evident since his high school days, but the flair and confidence that he played with this weekend was very fun to watch. His A. Wash & Associates team lacks another on-ball creator, which means Rowan plays nearly every minute of every game, giving him plenty of opportunity to make plays for himself and his teammates.

His team lost on Saturday, but won on Sunday in OT, propelled by 23 points by Brumbaugh, who earned Player of the Game with his performance. In both games, Brumbaugh was easily the best player on his team, if not the best player on the floor (Bristol gave him strong competition on Saturday).

Brumbaugh’s ability to keep his dribble alive and keep his head up and reading the floor is really impressive. It allows him to find teammates for open shots and also manipulate the defense to create looks for others. He also showed the ability to get by his defender in one-on-one situations when his team needed a bucket, and his ability to use his handles and agility to snake through the defense was notable.

Player comparisons can be unfair, but it was hard to watch Brumbaugh directing traffic and leading his team this weekend and not think that you were watching a more athletic version of Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek.

On Saturday, Rowan had issues with turnovers early on, mostly due to over-dribbling and trying to get too fancy. That will be one thing to watch for— how careful he is with the ball— but one would expect him to be a little more conservative with the ball once the regular season kicks off.

With his combination of passing, scoring ability, and creative handles, Brumbaugh has separated himself as one of the must-see players in this year’s Kenner League. Looking ahead, consecutive strong performances between Week One and Week Two show a player who absolutely could start for Georgetown this season, and has a ceiling as an All-Big East caliber player in the future.

Donovan Grant

Grant was an unknown commodity for me heading into this one. Initially, I had even forgotten he was playing in Kenner. I noticed his play because he was the hardest-working player on the floor in his game on Saturday, and he also drained a couple of three-pointers with confidence. Then, I looked up who he was and realized who I was watching.

Overall, I was impressed with Grant’s three-point shooting and his effort on both ends of the floor. However, his offensive package seemed fairly limited to me, outside of his strong perimeter shooting. When he did try to put the ball on the floor and beat his man off the dribble, it didn’t end successfully.

Grant’s ceiling for this team appears to be as a 3-and-D option on the wing. With the lack of shooting on the roster, I could see Grant’s number being called at some point this season. He appears to be a useful depth piece for this team, and if he can improve his ability to beat his man off the dribble and get into the paint, he could be a real player long-term for Georgetown.

Jay Heath

Heath didn’t play much in his game on Saturday, and sat for much of the second half. From what I saw of him in the first half, he appeared to be the same offensively-gifted guard that we got to know in his first season at Georgetown.

Heath is going to have a massive role to play this year for Georgetown. All I’m looking for him to do this summer is stay healthy and find a good rhythm heading into the fall.

Ish Massoud

Rowan and Wayne were the stars on Saturday, but Ish Massoud wasn’t far behind either. He got hot from three-point range for his Jim Couch team, finishing with 24 points and shooting 6-of-10 from three. His length and size really stands out up close, and his quick release was evident as well.

Once he got cooking from three, you could see Ish feeling more confident in his game. He started dribbling from the top of the key and trying to break opponents down, and also had a couple of possessions in the high post.

He got in trouble when he tried to do too much, which happens to a lot of players in Kenner. He had a few turnovers when he was trying to attack off the dribble.

His elite performance from deep shows what he can be this season for Georgetown: a versatile, shot-making wing with length who can guard multiple positions. That’s a very valuable type of player for any roster to have, but especially this Georgetown roster this year.

One thing I’ll be watching for the rest of Kenner: Does the hot shooting come and go with him, or can he maintain it for consecutive weeks? Reports from the first week of Kenner were that he was off the mark from three, so hopefully after a strong second week performance, he can sustain the strong shooting.

Drew McKenna

If you asked me how old McKenna was, I would guess he was an upperclassman with his height and chiseled build. I certainly would not guess that he’s a soon-to-be college freshman who really should be getting ready to start his senior year of high school.

On Saturday, McKenna had a quiet game, due in part to the fact that two Maryland players, Julian Reese and Jahari Long, along with another, older player (#55, I don’t know his name) take most of the shots on their team.

On Sunday, it appeared to be much of the same as Saturday, but McKenna got the ball a little more late in the first half, and took advantage of his opportunity, hitting three field goals and knocking down three free throw attempts after getting fouled on a three-pointer by Maryland’s Jamie Kaiser.

McKenna’s shot-making was a clear strength heading into Kenner, but I was surprised by how confident he looked handling the ball on the perimeter. Offensively, despite the lack of shots, his potential as a scoring wing at the college level who can be a primary offensive option for his team is clear.

Defensively, it’s hard to tell what McKenna’s ceiling is. He got worked by Jamie Kaiser (29 points) on Sunday, but it could just be due to the Kenner atmosphere, which does not encourage any real defensive effort by any means. With his frame and athleticism, it would be surprising to me if McKenna doesn’t wind up being a plus defender at Georgetown when the games actually count.

It would be nice to see him get the ball more this summer, but regardless, it’s hard not to be impressed with McKenna. His future is bright.

Dontrez Styles

A lot of people have high hopes for Styles this summer, hoping that he can take a Bryce Hopkins-like jump under Ed Cooley. Saturday’s game for Styles wasn’t a smashing success, but he showed the ability to knock down shots, including a couple with hands in his face.

Styles took a backseat to the Bristol and Brumbaugh show on Saturday, and I hope to see him seek to assert himself more in future matchups the rest of the summer. He certainly looks the part out there, but I would like to see him be a bit more selfish with the ball, and aggressive in playing downhill and looking to score at the rim.

It’s worth noting that I was told by a source over the weekend that Styles almost didn’t play on Saturday, due to a minor foot injury. That could explain Styles’ lack of aggression on offense and mostly settling for jumpers.

Between Bristol, Styles, and Massoud, the Hoyas will certainly have a fair level of athleticism out on the wings this season. However, for the Hoyas to have success this season, at least one of those players is going to have to show the ability to be a primary scorer for Georgetown this season, and not just a catch-and-shoot option who floats around the perimeter to stretch the floor for his teammates.