Prospect Spotlight: Kai Pennington (2019)
Kai is a quiet assassin from the corner-three spot, without a doubt.
The St. Pete-Gibbs junior wing has proven he can be an asset from deep. But he does it by deferring, not really an off-the-dribble type of guy. Kai said he likes to get the rock to his main ball-handlers so that he can focus on being set for his shot.
A lot of repetition has gone in to his shooting success.
“Everyday, I’ll go under the rim and form shoot,” Kai said. “Some days where we don’t have practice, i’ll shoot on the gun. Really for me, it’s more confidence in shooting the ball. Gotta’ get it off right.”
Kai did most of his damage in the second half, notching 11 of his 17 total points in the final two periods. He laced four threes, on the night.
He’s not the widest guy out on the floor—he understands that in order to become even more successful, strengthening his body will have to become a major task on the to-do list.
“I’m going to have to get stronger so I can be better for the team,” Kai said. “(I want to) knock down even more shots—so we can get more W’s.”
He’s definitely a shooter that you want in the game late, if you’re down or trying to break away from a close lead. He has one more year to elevate his stock. It’ll be awesome to see how he’ll finish this season out, and how he’ll enter his last one. Crunch time.