After Ohio forward Kenneth van Kempen surprised his team and coach with a strong outing in his first game with the Bobcats last week, he went and did it again yesterday against Yale.
Van Kempen topped his previous performance for the Bobcats as he played a major role in Ohio's 73-65 victory. With 15 points and five rebounds, he was one reason why the Bobcats were able to hold off the Bulldogs.
I want to come out every time and work hard to help the team out. That's what I try to do
van Kempen said. I see what I can do to get the team to win a game. I just try to become a little better every week step higher to see where we come every game.
And what he did to help his team earn its second win of the season was a hodgepodge of his developing skills. He shined whether connecting from midrange, knocking down 3-point shots, sacrificing himself to take a charge, pulling down rebounds or grabbing a steal.
He does a little bit of everything. I thought he'd be really good but I thought it would take a year for him to get acclimated to the U.S. game
coach Tim O'Shea said. But he has made incredibly rapid progress.
His progress has shown after just a week since his first game as a Bobcat. Against Marist, van Kempen had 10 points, two rebounds and a steal in just 17 minutes. Yesterday, the freshman from the Netherlands was on the court for an extra 10 minutes and found himself in some difficult situations.
A little more than midway through the first half, van Kempen wound up with the ball as the shot clock was ticking down from two seconds. Just outside the three-point arc with a defender in his face, van Kempen launched a buzzer-beater that swished through the net. As the crowd erupted, he turned and through out a fist pump in celebration.
I'm working on (three-point shooting)
to try to get that in my game too. I'm trying to shoot a lot of threes at practice
van Kempen said. I think when the audience cheered real loud it gave me an energy shot
gave me some adrenaline
and that was nice.'
In the second half
he got the ball again behind the three-point line and fired another shot. The result was the same as his first
minus the fist pump
but it completed a Bobcat 10-point run.
That's the European in him, the big man who can shoot, O'Shea said. He gave us a huge lift and was able to pick up the slack tonight. I really don't expect him to score like this every night, but maybe he will, I don't know.
Van Kempen got some help down low from his frontcourt counterparts
