Kavion was one of fifty seven participants in the 2019 NBA G League Player Invitational. There were several talented undrafted players that participated, including Nick Ward of Michigan State, Markis McDuffie of Wichita, Shaq Buchanan of Murray, and Martaveous Mcknight of UA Pine Bluff. The Invitational was held over two days, 8/10/19 and 8/11/19 with each player participating in three, 5 on 5 games and one, 3 on 3 competition. Kavion lead all scorers in the 5 on 5 with an average of 18.3 points per game. He was third in rebounds at 8.3 per game. Kavion lines for the three games were; 16pts - 9rebs, 13pts - 7rebs, and 26pts - 9rebs. Below are links to the overall stats and the three games that Kavion played in.
https://gleague.nba.com/news/2019-nba-g-league-player-invitational-measurements-box-scores/
Dakota Schmidt wrote an article, published on 8/8/19, for SB Nation that is linked below that lists Kavion as one of nine players to watch in the G League Invitational. Alex Stein of USI, (played for Rodney Watson) was also a participant in the Invitational and was mentioned in this article. It was fun to watch the linked college highlight video of Stein in the article and the motion offense Rodney runs at USI. It was kind of like watching Kid Kent playing at SIU back in the day!
Probably finally getting coached up
I always felt like Kavion had much more talent in reserve that never consistently surfaced during his time with SIU. That's largely on the coaching staff for not coaching him up and potentially not pushing him. It's also partially on Kavion for maybe not "getting the led out" when he had opportunities to elevate his game.
That being said, glad he's getting the opportunity with the NBA G League.
When I watch the 5's in the NBA I simply don't see Pippen being able to stay with them. But I wish him well.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
When I watch the 5's in the NBA I simply don't see Pippen being able to stay with them. But I wish him well.
I don't think he's quick or athletic enough to have with bigs in the modern game. Also, even the centers are shooting threes now, which he didn't show the ability to do here. I think he could have a long career overseas though.
I've heard from multiple people that Pippen actually has range that extends beyond the 3pt line, but wasn't allowed to showcase it much here.
With his length, the lack of elite NBA athleticism can be worked around, but foot speed will be a bit of a problem.
--Insert something witty here--
At SIU, Kavion made 1 of 3 attempts for three pointers his Senior year. He had zero attempts his Junior year.
The game stats show that the thirteen 6'8" and above participants in the Player Invitational posted the following 3pt stats for their three games. Kavion shot 0 for 2 in the first game and then 1 for 2 in both the second and third games. It appears he had the green light to shoot the 3 in this Invitational.
7'1, Trayvon Reed, 3 of 6, 50%
6'10, Kavion Pippen, 2 of 6, 33.3%
6'8, Kevin O'Brien, 3 of 12, 25%
6'10, Trey Porter, 0 for 4, 0%
6'9, Jonathon Galloway, 0 for 2, 0%
6'8, Gabe Levin, 0 for 2, 0%
6'9, Demajeo Wiggins, 0 for 1, 0%
6'8, Mark Ogden Jr., 0 for 1, 0%
6'8, Nick Ward, 0 for 1, 0%
6'10, John Egbunu, No Attempts
6'10, Valentine Izundu, No Attempts
6'9, Cam Lard, No Attempts
6'8, Chad Brown, No Attempts
I never had the impression, while he played at SIU, that he was "coached up". Did that actually happen with any player the past few years? He also seemed "lost" a lot....coaching? I wish the young man great success and hope he represents himself, and his family, with great integrity what ever he chooses in life.
I thought at times last year he was very impressive. Led the MVC in blocks. Definitely has talent to improve with better coaching!
Good luck to Kavion - hope he does great!
Pippen signs with Warriors
Great news - congrats Kavion!
The Warriors have a home preseason game on Thursday night, 10/10/19 at 7:30pm (9:30pm CST). The NBA Channel guide shows they will carry the game live. I hope Pippen breaks into the Warrior rotation for at least the preseason games.. It will be fun to watch him play again.
Interesting article below said the Warriors chose Pippen over Thabeet because they "wanted a big man with more range"!
https://sports.yahoo.com/warriors-sign-kavion-pippen-to-non-guaranteed-deal-004230361.html
Congrats to Kavion. He should be glad I'm not an NBA scout. When I saw him play, I didn't see anything that told me he could compete at the next level. I'm glad I was wrong.
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
Neat to see him in Warriors gear already -
https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1181633867540774912?s=20
