Recruiting Profile: Brett Kingma

by Griffin Bennett, Staff Writer

Brett Kingma? Really??

I’m not knocking the 6’1” point guard from Jackson High, but I can’t quite seem to understand how he fits into the Huskies long term plans. With four scholarships available (not including Kevin Davis) it’s a bit shocking that we could potentially be giving one up to a guy with only Ryan Appleby’s game (no offense Ryan). Let’s take a deeper look into what Romar might be seeing in this guy.

Name: Brett Kingma

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 160 lbs.

Position: PG

Class: 2011

ESPN Rise Ranking Overall: PG #67

Location: Mill Creek, Washington

AAU Team(s): Friends of Hoop

High School Team: Jackson High School

Interested Schools: Oregon, BYU, Colorado State, Pepperdine, Seattle U, Vanderbilt, Washington

If you haven’t seen him, here are a couple decent highlight videos:

Highlight 1

Highlight 2

What’s His Game Like?

The short answer is Ryan Appleby with average defense. The long answer is a bit more complicated. His shot is a thing of beauty. His quick release and ability to shoot of the dribble are incredible and he is one of the best in the nation in that respect. His shot can be streaky at times (both good and bad) and he can shoot his team out of games or back in them. Let me break him down some more:

• Speed: Above average up and down the court and his ability to pass or shoot on the fast break is what makes you love Brett.
• Quickness: He has worked hard on improving his first step it has shown. He can beat opponents off the dribble at times, but I don’t see it translating to a positive skill in college.
• Shot: Superb release with deadly range. This is by far his best skill. He can catch and shoot as well as off the dribble. Streaky at times, but who isn’t?
• Defense: Better than Appleby, but nothing special. He can pressure the ball at the point but doesn’t share the quickness that most Pac-10 point guards will have.
• Passing: Averages only four assists in high school, but has good vision and sees the passing lanes well. Projects to the point more the shooting guard for this reason.
• Athleticism: Below average in this category compared to other prospects, but in now way is he out of shape or slow. He has little explosiveness and won’t be throwing down two handers any time soon.
• Potential: He’s a four year player that probably won’t be used as anything but a 8-9^th man off the bench until his junior or senior year. However, his work ethic and determination are off the charts. He is a major sleeper prospect who could end up being like Luke Ridnour by the end of his career.

Will UW Get Him?

If there is a real “say-yes-and-it’s-your” offer from Romar then the answer is yes. His sister Kristi is a junior of the UW Women’s Basketball team and he wants “to prove that [he] can play at the highest level and that [he] can do more than just shoot and that [he’s] an elite basketball player that can contribute a lot at the Pac-10 level.”

It seems as if UW would be his ideal school to join. Done and done. He should be a Dawg, right? If this is all true then Kingma is about to become the first official member of the 2011 Husky recruiting class. Unless….

It’s been a while since our last crazy Montlake Madness theory which is based on nothing. Why not launch into another one right now?

An Unsubstantiated Montlake Madness’ Theory (UMMT?)

Going into 2011, the Huskies will be looking for at least two big men to replace the losses of MBA and Holiday (Chol, etc). That leaves two of the four scholarships up for grabs. One is definitely being reserved for Tony Wroten who plays PG/SG. That leaves one left which would be the spot that Kingma would take up. It just seems fishy to me that Romar would take a gamble on Kingma while he has the fame/popularity/success to land a higher skilled player. Now it’s theory time. What is the offer to Kingma is a conditional one? In other words, Romar told him the scholarship is his if a certain number of other players turn him down (Brown, Carson, Stewart, etc.). Especially with a guy like Hikeem Stewart (recruiting profile to come soon) being a far better skilled point guard, in my opinion, I don’t know why we would potentially skip over him and sign Kingma. I trust Romar more than I trust anyone, but this one is a HUGE head scratcher. Now it’s possible we sign more than two guards, but with a UW team that already is deep at guard I can’t possibly see that happening. My advice is to keep a close eye on the Kingma situation as it could be an indicator of how well the recruiting of some other guards around the west coast is going.