Kenneth van Kempen is patiently biding his time.
With Ohio set to lose arguably one of its most prolific big men in school history, Leon Williams, next year, the 6-foot-9 sophomore from the Netherlands has the difficult duty of replacing him. It's a task that he feels is necessary for the Bobcats to continue their success.
It's going to be my third year
so I think I'm going to have to step up next year to try to take Leon's spot and get those wins next year van Kempen said.
Williams, a Mid-American Conference Player of the Year candidate, expressed optimism that his team would be solid inside with him turning over the reins to van Kempen.
I'm really confident Williams said. KVK is a good player
and he can be a great player if he works at it. Ohio should be fine.
Coach Tim O'Shea echoed Williams' sentiments and added that he has seen flashes of brilliance from van Kempen, such as in the game earlier in the season against St. Francis (N.Y.) when he scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in just 22 minutes.
I feel like he has improved tremendously as a basketball player
O'Shea said. I think people are really going to see next season when he moves to the starting role to replace Leon.
With Williams playing at such a high level this season, O'Shea admitted that it has been challenging to find as many minutes as he would like for van Kempen.
He really is outstanding
O'Shea said. You see it every day in practice.
One benefit van Kempen sees from playing behind Williams is the opportunity to go against one of the best players in the MAC every day in practice and learn from him.
Defensively
you have to step your game up or otherwise you get killed in practice
and that never feels good
van Kempen said. You can look at him and how hard he works every day and see what you have to do to get better.
Williams said that he has seen these improvements made each day in practice as the pair battles in the paint every day.
I know you can't tell because he doesn't play very much
but in practice he is really progressing well
he said. I know he has been in foul trouble a lot
