Powder Kegley

A first-place battle with Simi Valley High was 48 hours away, yet Coach Steve Johnson of Newbury Park scouted the Westlake-Thousand Oaks boys’ basketball game on Wednesday night rather than the Simi Valley-Agoura one.

Johnson wanted to observe a Thousand Oaks team that gave defending Marmonte League champion Simi Valley all it could handle in a league opener on Jan. 5 before losing, 73-71.

In particular, he wanted to watch Kyle Kegley, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound junior swingman for the Lancers who averaged 27.7 points in his first three league games.

Kegley made only eight of 23 shots while scoring 21 points in a 71-69 overtime loss to Westlake, but it was hard to not be impressed with the variety of shots he made.

He ended the first quarter by pulling up for a 12-foot jump shot in the lane with seven seconds left after leaving his defender behind with a cross-over dribble.

He hit a three-pointer midway through the second quarter, scored on a layup off a steal early in the third and swished a three-pointer early in the fourth for the Lancers (10-7, 2-2).

He scored later in the quarter on a turnaround jumper in the lane after posting up his defender before hitting a 12-foot bank shot from the left side while going to his right in overtime.

Not bad for someone who missed the first nine games of the season because of a back injury. He estimates his fitness level is “no better than 85%” of what it should be.

“Conditioning is my only problem now,” Kegley said before the Westlake game. “I’m getting tired in games. That makes it hard for me to shoot [late in games].”

Kegley’s back injury was caused because he’s growing so fast that his spine wasn’t properly aligned.

Only 5-10 as a freshman, Kegley could do little more than shoot standing shots from late in October until mid-December. In his first game back, he scored 32 points against Moraga Campolindo in the Santa Barbara tournament.

The time off was particularly frustrating because Kegley knows a good junior season can lay the groundwork for a college scholarship offer as a senior.

“It was very hard,” he said. “This is an important season. Sitting through the first [nine] games was . . . very emotional. It was a hard time in my life, but I came back and I’m doing pretty well right now.”

Rich Endres, Thousand Oaks’ second-year coach, said Kegley dealt well with the injury for a couple of weeks, but became distraught as time passed.

“He became pretty quiet and he was angry because he couldn’t get out on the court,” Endres said.

The intensity that fueled the anger is one of the things Endres likes about Kegley, who is averaging 20.8 points a game after scoring 10.8 as a sophomore.

“He’s very intense,” Endres said. “But sometimes to a fault. He can be too critical of his game. But he loves the game. He’s totally dedicated to basketball and the team.”

That dedication helped Kegley make great strides last summer and Endres figures it will help him become a better defender and rebounder the next season and a half.

“We’re trying to complete Kyle’s game as a player,” Endres said. “He can shoot and he handles the ball well, but there are other ways in which he can contribute.”

Kegley concurred.

“I’m a decent defensive player,” he said. “But I can always improve. Defense is a lot of heart and attitude. So is rebounding.”

Like most good scorers, Kegley wants the ball in his hands in close game, Endres said.

“He likes to have the ball in tight games,” Endres said. “He seems to enjoy that. He seems to enjoy the challenge of ‘Try and stop me,’ and that’s what you want in a player. You want a player who wants to have the ball in his hands in the final minutes and who wants to take the big shot.”

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