Rams import sheds ‘too small’ label
Considering Jeremy Kendle was told he was too small to excell at basketball when he was in high school, the Canterbury Rams point guard isn’t doing too bad.
The 29-year-old American import, who hails from Jeffersonville, Indiana, leads the National Basketball League (NBL) in scoring through four games and is an early MVP contender.
Kendle was snapped up by Rams coach Mark Dickel shortly after he signed to play for the Brisbane Bullets in the ANBL in January, and hasn’t wasted any time making an impression.
He’s averaging 26 points and 5.5 assists a game and, minus a 10-point outing against the Saints last week, has poured in at least 24 points in each game.
Nearly cut as a sophomore at Jeffersonville High School due to concerns regarding his size, Kendle dug in and began his rise through the ranks.
‘‘I got told a lot of things, being small was one of them,’’ Kendle said.
‘‘I got told by a head varsity coach I’d never play varsity basketball and that I might as well transfer schools. My dad was pretty content with me transferring schools, but I grew up with those guys and I didn’t want to take the easy way out.
‘‘So I just worked my butt off and ended up going from barely playing any [junior basketball] at all to starting varsity and being probably the best player on the team in one off season.’’
Kendle also had to overcome a rotten string of injuries while at Olney Central Community College, including three broken foots in as many years.
It limited him to just a couple of games in three years, before he broke through after securing a full scholarship with Bellarmine University, just a 20 minute drive from his home, in 2009.
He went on to average 17.9 points per game in three seasons there, and ended his career fourth on Bellarmine’s all-time scoring list with 1792 points.
His time there coincided with his mother battling ovarian cancer, which she overcame to provide Kendle with a new outlook on life. ‘‘You just gain a different perspective when you see somebody so strong just battle,’’ Kendle said. ‘‘My mother is a very strong woman and I’ve learned so much from her and she’s been my rock.
‘‘Seeing her battle and not give up and just being so fierce in doing all the right things to get healthy was definitely inspirational for me.’’
‘‘Basketball is just a game, it’s going to end one day for everybody.
‘‘But when you actually get to go out and see people battling for their life, you see kids around the world starving and not having homes and parents – those are true battles.’’
Kendle’s family still lives in Jeffersonville, a small city of about 50,000 people in the south of the state which is often referred to as the basketball capital of the world.
The 1.86m guard did head to Indianapolis to occasionally watch Pacers legend Reggie Miller play but, despite growing up in the state, it was Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic who Kendle supported first and foremost.
Kendle, who has also played in Switzerland and Morocco, will play his fifth game for the Rams against the Supercity Rangers in Christchurch on Friday night, the same team he ripped for 39 points in the season opening 114-107 loss in Auckland.