By Tim Tassa -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Once accustomed to taking the last shot of a game, Shenandoah freshman center Kevin Kline is now often the source of the first.

Playing for Waynesboro (Pa.) High School last year, Kline said down-to-the-wire plays were sometimes scripted to finish with his touch, usually in the form of a clutch basket.

Now, not so much. Not when his teammates include preseason all-Americans Jeremiah Lawrence and Onyie Onunaku. Not when he admittedly spent a good portion of the preseason — before becoming a fixture in the starting lineup — adjusting to the speed of the game.

Instead, in 25 starts for the Hornets, Kline has been the focus of the team's opening offensive series, a tactic employed by head coach Robert Harris to beckon Kline's previous crunch-time composure at the team's earliest convenience.

"It's good for me just because especially if I get the ball first and I score right away, it's just a huge confidence [boost] right off that bat," Kline said.

"And it makes me want to play a heck of a lot harder with the more confidence I have."

Sometimes it works, according to Harris, and because of opponents' scouting, sometimes it doesn't. But the more opportunities he has faced, including a 17-point performance against Bridgewater on Jan. 5, the higher Kline's scoring has risen, improving nearly two points (to 6.4 points per game) since mid-December — a testament to his adjustment to the collegiate game.

"I think that's helped me to follow my role here," said Kline of his prep basketball stature.

"If I have to score a big basket in one of these games I have the experience from high school and the confidence to do so."

With USA South tournament play looming tonight at home in the quarterfinal round against sixth-seeded Greensboro at 7:30 p.m., Harris has approved Kline's play as a complement to Lawrence, even if it has taken some seasoning along the way.

If the big shot isn't his, Kline is content in his service as a rebounding force and as a defensive stalwart asked to take on the opposing team's best inside-threat in each game. In turn, the more athletic Lawrence is able to match up with an opponents' best inside-out player.

"He is a solid, solid player; he's very intelligent, he's done a lot of great things on the court," Harris said.

"He's very good and he's going to get better and better and better as he goes through his years of college basketball."

Shenandoah closed out the season on Sunday with a 72-66 victory over Greensboro, avenging a one-point loss to the Pride at home on Feb. 2, and earning a third seed in this week's tournament. The Hornets (16-9, 6-6) were 4-2 in their final six conference games, surviving a difficult four-game losing streak that stretched the end of January and into the first week of February.

And in the process, the progression for Kline has continued heading into the tournament, after scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds against Greensboro. Kline, at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, averages 5.6 boards per game

"I just tell him man to play ball," said Lawrence, who's taken on his senior leadership role by offering routine advice to the Hornet freshmen.

"When you play with heart [and] you play ball, it will take care of everything. Don't think about what you're doing out there. Just play ball, do what you do."

Because they are both post players, Lawrence has been particularly helpful to Kline both on and off the court. Kline said Lawrence calls him even on off days to make sure he is in the weight room. He said both Lawrence and Onunaku offer words of encouragement that have aided his rookie-season development through adverse situations.

"Jeremiah has just taught me how to just be relentless and just how to follow his working habits and to make sure that I'll be a tough player for right now and the future," said Kline, who admitted that his strength in the paint has been his biggest improvement this season.

Added Harris, "Just by the way of leadership, Onyie and Jeremiah play hard every night. They come with it. Steven [Johns] is the same way, they play extremely hard together. So their influence isn't always by way of verbal leadership, but it's by way of how hard they play. When you look at the stat lines of those guys and see that they have about a double-double every night, it's very impressive."

For the Hornets, the emergence of Kline and freshmen Brandon Bryan and Nick Brown, represents a portion of the youth of a team that relies heavily on the play of Lawrence, Onunaku and Johns, a junior.

But Onunaku reiterated on Thursday the theme of the season has been that of camaraderie. By all accounts, their tutelage has been a prime example of togetherness for the younger players.

Said Bryan, "Jeremiah — he's been there from Day 1. I know practice and open gyms, he's always there to help you, he's there to lend a helping hand. He encourages us in everything we do, so they're good people to have there."

Tonight's contest will mark the second time in two seasons that the Hornets and Pride have met in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. The Pride will be the first obstacle for Shenandoah, which likely needs three straight wins for Lawrence to reach his preseason goal of making the NCAA Tournament.

And to get there, Kline will have to be a factor, as well. He said whenever he is faced with a big challenge, he will do anything or play any role to win. Though hearing his number called for a game-winning shot is unlikely, the less glamorous rebounds and defensive help will be just as imperative.

"Those two guys [Lawrence and Onunaku] have been just outstanding for me, and I'm going to miss them," said Harris, who earned his 100th career victory on Sunday.

"But at the same token it's the nature of college basketball in which you recruit other young men and they're going to mature and you're trying to develop them as well to be just as good."

In his own development, Kline is off to a fast start.

*Contact Tim Tassa at ttassa@nvdaily.com

Comment on this story | View Comments |