Beach Ball Classic notebook: Kennard leaves behind legacy, records
In the past 34 years, nobody has left a mark on the Beach Ball Classic quite like Franklin (Ohio) senior Luke Kennard has.
The Duke signee holds the Beach Ball Classic single-game scoring record with 52 points in a win over Mullins and he extended his Beach Ball Classic four-game scoring record to 147 points after suffering a loss to Bishop Gorman in the championship game.
"That means a lot. I’m really blessed and really excited about hearing that stuff," said Kennard, who was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 Beach Ball Classic. "But these are just some records and a little hype but I’ve got a lot to work on. I’m going to keep working. There’s always room for improvement and that’s what I’m going to do."
The Wildcats have been in the Beach Ball Classic the past three years and Kennard said he was eager to get his shot in his final trip to the prestigious tournament.
"We knew coming down here that we had a chance to do something special," Kennard said. "We’ve never won two games here the past couple of years so winning three games was unbelievable for us. We did what we needed to do; I’m excited with what we’ve accomplished."
Kennard passed Mike Bibby of Shadow Mountain (Ariz.) on the Beach Ball Classic single-game scoring list this year. Bibby, who is now a coach of Shadow Mountain, said watching Kennard break his record was exciting.
"It was good," Bibby said. "He’s a heck of player; that’s the first time I’ve seen him play. He has a smooth game and he can play and do it all. I wish him the best of luck at the next level."
Meanwhile, Kennard just keeps racking up personal accomplishments and team achievements before he makes his way to Duke University to play basketball next year.
But first, he wants a ring.
"The scoring is going to come," he said. "As we play as a team, our team connects together and guys are hitting shots, making plays and that opens things up for me. These were great teams win for us and we’re going to keep battling, run for a state title and see how it goes."
Kennard was among those on the all-tournament team. Bishop Gorman (Nev.) 7-foot center Stephen Zimmerman, whose team won the championship, averaged 11.25 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, 3.5 assists per game and two blocks per game during the Beach Ball Classic and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Meanwhile, Kennard was named the Most Outstanding Player as he averaged 37 points per game during the tournament.
The All-tournament team included: Zimmerman, Kennard, Luke Maye of Hough (N.C.), PJ Dozier of Spring Valley, Chase Jeter of Bishop Gorman, Malik Beasley of St. Francis (Ga.), Camron Justice of Knott County (Ky.), Jalek Felton of Mullins, Seth Towns of Northland (Ohio), Prince Ali of Sagemont (Fla.), Derek Funderburk of St. Edward (Ohio), Kobi Simmons of St. Francis, Craig Randall of Shadow Mountain (Ariz.), Evan Crowe of Franklin (Ohio), Kipper Nichols of St. Edward (Ohio) and Evan Hall of Knott County (Ky.).
Coach Cal visits
Wednesday’s championship game between Bishop Gorman and Franklin attracted Kentucky coach John Calipari, who was likely courtside to watch uncommitted Bishop Gorman 7-foot senior Stephen Zimmerman, who has Kentucky among his five finalists.
The game featured Duke signees Kennard and 6-foot-11 Chase Jeter of Gorman, though there was still plenty of uncommitted talent on Gorman to perhaps draw Calipari’s interest.
It wasn’t Calipari’s first visit to the Beach Ball, but it was his first in more than 20 years. He attended the tournament when it was still played at Socastee High School, likely when he was coaching UMass from 1988-96. “It’s as good as they get,” Calipari said of the Beach Ball.
He was also at the Convention Center for the Crescom Bank Holiday Invitational girls basketball tournament when his daughter played for White Station (Ky.) High about eight years ago when he was coaching Memphis.
Kentucky is on a holiday break so Calipari was able to fit the tournament into his schedule. The Wildcats had meetings and a practice Wednesday morning.
“The game was late enough so I could do it,” Calipari said. “I’m kind of bouncing around. We’re out of class and doing a couple things a day – practice or individuals and weight training.”
Prior to his flight to Myrtle Beach, he was in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Mississippi on Monday and New Orleans on Tuesday for recruiting and other reasons, he said. He’ll be back in Lexington, Ky., tomorrow for a pair of team practices and a dinner.
Crash course in coaching
The players for Knott County (Ky.) had to play for rather than with their head coach again Wednesday.
Coach B.B. King, who broke a rib in a go-cart accident with his team at Broadway Grand Prix on Sunday, was headed back to Kentucky when the Patriots took the floor against Spring Valley in the fifth-place game.
Raymond Justice, the father of Vanderbilt-bound senior Camron Justice, filled in as the interim head coach for the team’s last three games in King’s absence. Justice has 35 years of coaching experience, including at the small college level and 18 years as a high school head coach.
King was injured when a couple of his players spun him out and a third player, who will remain nameless, was close behind and T-boned him in what the coaches believe was an accident.
King wasn’t comfortable flying in his condition, so he was wheeled and carried from his hotel room down to a heavy-duty Ford pickup Wednesday morning for the eight-hour ride back to Hindman in eastern Kentucky, where he’ll go directly to the aptly-named Hazard Regional Medical Center.
King was hopeful Tuesday – while under the influence of pain medication – that he’d be able to be with his team Wednesday at the convention center. “I told him the third day was the worst because I had a broken rib last season, and he was in just terrible pain this morning,” Knott County assistant Roy Conley said. “He got something for pain but it’s not controlling it. We’ve got about eight or 10 pillows in around him. It’s amazing he’s gone through what he has.”
King was concerned the rib may have damaged a lung.
King instructed the coaches to win before he left and only texted a few times Wednesday during the Patriots’ easy 78-46 win after texting more than 20 times during their games Monday and Tuesday. The Patriots went 3-1 in the event.
King is in his fifth season at the helm of his alma mater and is 120-30. Under King, the Patriots (11-1) have twice reached the Elite 8 in Kentucky’s all-inclusive Sweet 16 state tournament.
“He was really disappointed [he couldn’t coach],” Conley said. “You have to know what kind of coach he really is. He’s the greatest thing I’d say that ever happened to Knott County basketball. He takes care of these kids just like they’re his own. I’ve been under three coaches and he’s been the greatest coach of the three to really take care of the kids.”
Making a name
Making the Beach Ball Classic all-tournament team is quite an honor, but performance isn’t required to make the annual Beach Ball All-Name Team.
The teams is led by royalty, as Prince Ali of Sagemont (Fla.) has been appointed the team captain. The starting five also includes DonQwayvias Davis of Mullins, Dez Duckworth ‘Dynasty’ of North Little Rock (Ark.), JuJuan Weatherspoon of Northland (Ohio) and Mookie Payton of Scott County (Ky.).
The Second Team consists of ‘Shark’ Finn Melko of Socastee, Connor “Miracle” Whipp of Hough (N.C.), Clay “Fist Full of” Nickles of Knott County, Ben ‘Thin’ Mintz of Myrtle Beach and the hoops-inspired Sam Dunkum of North Little Rock (Ark.).
Honorable mentions go to Chase Nomaaea of Bishop Gorman (Nev.), Ephraim Utley of Mullins, Qon Murphy of Hough (N.C.), Maceo Donald and Norvie Henry of East Carteret (N.C.), Cleb Trent and Camron Justice of Knott County (Ky.), Kambrion Dickerson of North Little Rock (Ark.), Darian Spottsville of Shadow Mountain (Ariz.), Kipper Nichols of St. Edward (Ohio), Paul Gassman and Thomas Schmook of St. Edward (Ohio) and Kaiser Gates of St. Francis (Ga.).
The team is coached by B.B. King, with his faithful assistant Lucille.
Contact ALAN BLONDIN at 626-0284 or on Twitter @alanblondin, or read his blog Green Reading at myrtlebeachonline.com
Contact MAX McKINNON at 626-0302 or on Twitter @mmckinnonTSN.
This story was originally published December 31, 2014 at 11:28 PM with the headline "Beach Ball Classic notebook: Kennard leaves behind legacy, records."