Prospect Spotlight: Kenny Gavin (2018)
A talented 2018 wing player, Kenny Gavin is gearing up for an expanded role at St. Thomas Aquinas this season after the Saints suffered big losses to graduation in the offseason.
At 6’2, Gavin is an undersized, but effective forward who can handle the ball, beat players up and down in court in transition and put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways.
“I’d describe my game as kinda an all around player who can score on just about anyone,” he says. “I can push the ball in transition, pass the ball well, rebound, and I can shoot pretty well. i’m pretty athletic and i’m faster and bigger than a lot of the guards that I go up against my strength is in a lockdown defender.”
This past offseason, Gavin played on a talented MoKan Select squad and competed alongside several of the top players in the Kansas City area.
“We traveled almost every weekend to play the best teams in the nation and I kinda got an image of where I stand as a player compared to all the rest of the players I saw,” he said. “It pushed me to get better and better everyday both physically and mentally.”
St. Thomas Aquinas was among the premier teams in Kansas a year ago, finishing the season 17-5 while playing a brutal schedule. The team suffered several losses, including the graduation of Angelo Allegri, Ben Hagenkord, Leiland Lewis and Jack Boedeker.
“This upcoming season will be a lot different for me,” Gavin says. “i’m going to have to do a lot more than i did last year if we want to be good.”
Kenny Gavin says his father Brian Gavin, who played his college basketball at Kansas State, has had the biggest impact on his basketball career to date.
“He knows what it takes to be good I trained with him all summer trying to perfect my game,” Kenny Gavin said. “I wouldn’t be the player I am without him and I hope to be as good as him some day.”
A fan of Kansas State, Gavin says he enjoys watching the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox play.
“He’s a extremely fast and athletic point guard who can do just about everything,” Gavin said. “I took a lot of notes from him and hope to model my game like him this season.”