Kimmie is Kicking It Into High Gear

Ron Bailey, Publisher

May 9, 2007 - Baltimore’s Kim English has steadily grown as a player, not only honing his increasingly impressive small forward skills, but also helping lead Randallstown high school to three consecutive Maryland high school titles, as well as helping Cecil Kirk (AAU) maintain it’s status as perennially one of the hardest playing, most dangerous AAU/travel teams in the East.

A 6’5” 210 pound senior swingman, English averaged around 18 points and 7 rebounds for Randallstown, functioning not only the team’s captain, but scoring leader also. In essence, he did it all.

Cecil Kirk’s Chairman, Calvin Dotson thinks English is someone to be reckoned with. “Kimmie is a good ball player” opined the long time coach and hoops official. “He does so many things at a high level”.

With his athleticism, English can score, rebound, pass, and all the while is improving his defense. According to him, his mental game has become stronger as well, resulting in his starting “to get a killer instinct”.

Dotson on English, who plays a power forward/center position out of necessity for Cecil: “He’s one of the leaders on the team. We have to teach all our so called bigs to do everything – like Reggie Williams (G’Town star and NBA small forward) who played the five (center) for us”.

According to English, that aggressiveness started to display itself, late last summer, specifically “After Vegas (Cecil Kirk annually participates in that city’s Main Event Tournament)”.

Dotson, who has worked with English since the young guy was around 14 years of age, always saw similar things in Kim that other Cecil standouts possessed. “It was the same thing with DaJuan (Summers) and Rudy Gay” he recollected. “They worked hard to expand their game”.

By the schools that have displayed recruiting interest, his work and relatively new mindset is paying off, as schools from the Big East, ACC, Big 12, and Pac-Ten - such as Miami, UConn, Iowa State and Washington, State - along with, Towson, Loyola, Marist and a host of others have all shown various levels of interest. The last three had tendered scholarship offers at the time of this writing.

Expect that list to increase next year, after he matriculates to Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, MA. There, Kimmie will continue to develop his game, which English defined as “getting my ball handling on a rope, being able to guard quick, smaller guards, and working on my overall versatility”.

He will also be able to expand a growing court awareness that allows the young guy to distribute the rock, set picks, and play a point forward position for Cecil.

Showing a willingness to inherit the mantle of Cecil’s next great player, upon being asked how to spell his first name, English responded “H-O-R-S-E”, and then “Big Dawg”. The first is the Cecil program’s nickname for Dajuan Summers (GTown), the second applies to Rudy Gay (NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies).

Cecil’s Director, Anthony Lewis thinks Notre Dame’s isolated campus, competitive program, and demanding schedule will do just that. “I think he’s going to have a very strong impact at Notre Dame” said the thirty year plus Charm City basketball figure. “And it will impact him. He will improve his skills and maturity”.

Check back with i95Ballerz.com on Kimmie’s recruitment. Possessing athleticism, work ethic, a growing killer instinct, and significant skills, there are sure to be many schools interested in securing his attendance.

As Dotson said, “He’s going to surprise a lot of people”.