Walking down the streets of Georgetown on a humid summer eveningis an enjoyable stroll for many Washingtonians, but stuffy McDonoughArena on the Georgetown University campus is where fanatic areabasketball followers can often be found.
The attraction on the court is the James 'Jabbo' Kenner summerleague, one of the nation's top showcases of collegiate talent.
The league has made great strides over the past three years sinceEddie Saah was named commissioner. Saah, who also directs one of thearea's top high school summer leagues, immediately set out to restorenew direction to the league, which had experienced a feworganizational problems.
It did not take him long to accomplish that goal, but now he hasa new problem. More college teams and individuals want a chance toplay against the top competition the league offers, but Saah wasforced to turn many of them away. This year, the league has grown to16 teams; before Saah became commissioner, it had 10.
'If I would have said, 'Yes,' to every team, we would have had 30teams in the league this summer,' said Saah. 'But then the quality ofplay wouldn't have been that great.'
The league is open to college and high school players, althoughfew high school athletes are talented enough to compete in theleague. Although some colleges try to put several of their playerstogether on a Kenner team for experience, the league rules allow nomore than one senior from a particular college on a Kenner team.
Saah has worked hard to establish teams that are equallybalanced, and that can be depended upon to follow the leagueschedule.
'{The Kenner League} used to be hit or miss-sometimes playerswould show up and sometimes they wouldn't,' said Saah. 'But now, theyknow that it's a quality league with quality players.'
The league's purpose lends itself to almost every game providingpotential material for a highlight film. In the past, the league hasbeen a summer home to players like Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning andCharles Smith, Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott and Maryland's JerrodMustaf and Walt Williams.
This summer, the league will be perhaps as flamboyant, intenseand competitive as ever due to an influx of big men and versatileforwards. The two-time defending champion DCI Eagles, even thoughstacked with talented players such as 6-foot-9 American Universitysenior Ron Draper and Georgetown senior guard Mark Tillmon, will findit a challenge to come away with a third straight title.
DCI will be counting on several highly-touted freshmen to aid inits title defense, but the inexperienced Eagles will not have aproblem filling spots down low. Among the team's newcomers are 6-10Sean Stevens, 6-8 Craig Sednak and 6-7 Brian Gilgeous.
But DCI, like most teams in the league, will need all that heightto contend with CLP's frontcourt of Mourning and recent Flint Hillgraduate George Lynch, a 6-8 power forward who will play for theUniversity of North Carolina next winter. CLP is furtherstrengthened upfront with James Madison's 6-5 William Davis.
Many Georgetown University players compose the roster of TheTombs, which should also be a Kenner contender.
The Tombs will be anchored by 6-10 sophomore Dikembo Mutombo;The Washington Post's high school player of the year Mike Tate ofOxon Hill High; 5-10 David Edwards, a freshman point guard from NewYork and 6-4 guard Antoine Stoudamire.
Both The Tombs, and Georgetown University followers, hope theKenner League helps Mutombo improve his offense play. If thathappens, The Tombs should be in the middle of the summer league race.
Smith Litho, with the 6-10 Mustaf, 6-7 Georgetown senior AnthonyAllen and 6-8 senior All-Met forward Grant Hill from South LakesHigh, is a team that will be able to get up and down the courtswiftly enough to make other teams quiver.
James Madison University is making its initial entry into theKenner League with a significant number of its players together asthe Dukes, and it should have an immediate impact. Leading the Dukesare former DeMatha star Steve Hood, a 6-6 junior swing man whotransferred to James Madison from Maryland; George Leftwich, asophomore point guard from Princeton; and Todd Dunnings and 6-8forwards Jon Fedor and Chancellor Nichols.
Another team that could be a factor is the Firebirds, which has anucleus of players from the University of the District of Columbia.Heading the Firebirds will be Maryland forward Tony Massenburg, 6-9junior Brian Tucker, 6-8 sophomore Joe Lucas and University ofNevada-Las Vegas junior point guard Greg Anthony.
Other players to watch this summer in the Kenner League include6-10 George Mason junior Henry Abrams (playing with Wilson SportingGoods); 6-10 Maryland-Eastern Shore senior Cedric Izelien (EconoLodge); 6-7 Georgetown sophomore Milton Bell (Pacific Corps); 6-9George Washington junior Byron Hopkins (Colonials); 6-8 DrakeUniversity junior Kevin Sams (Nike Air); 6-8 Notre Dame freshmanMonty Williams (Nike Air); and 6-7 UDC senior Eric Johnson(Colonials).@Slug: J10KEN
