James Kinney (basketball)

James Edwin Kinney Jr. (born October 11, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for MBK Handlová of the Slovak Basketball League.

James Kinney
MBK Handlová
PositionPoint guard
LeagueSlovak Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1990-10-11) October 11, 1990 (age 34)
Champaign, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolCentennial (Champaign, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2013: undrafted
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2014Özel Gelişim Koleji
2014–2015KTE-Duna Aszfalt
2015–2016Zalakerámia ZTE
2016Szolnoki Olaj
2017Inter Bratislava
2018–2019BC Balkan
2019–2020Soproni KC
2020–2021Jászberényi KSE
2021–presentMBK Handlová
Career highlights and awards

Early life

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Kinney was born in Champaign, Illinois and graduated from Champaign's Centennial High School in 2009.[1] In his senior season, Kinney was The News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year.[2]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
James Kinney
PG
Champaign, IL Centennial HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Nov 5, 2008 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 7 (IL); 83 (national)   ESPN: 95 (national)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2009 Ohio basketball commitment list". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "2009 Ohio basketball recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "Ohio Bobcats 2009 player commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

College career

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As a freshman in 2009–10, Kinney played at Ohio University under coach John Groce. In 19 games with 3 starts, Kinney averaged 9.7 points and 1.5 rebounds.[1][3]

On February 10, 2010, Kinney, already suspended indefinitely by Groce, pleaded guilty in Athens County court to a count of possession of marijuana. He was given a suspended jail sentence of 30 days, and his driver's license was suspended for 180 days.[4] Groce subsequently dismissed Kinney from the team, and Kinney transferred to the College of Eastern Utah, a junior college.[5] After Kinney's suspension began on February 4,[6] Ohio won the 2010 Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament and as #14 seed in the NCAA Tournament upset #3 seed Georgetown before losing to #6 seed Tennessee in the second round.[7]

At Eastern Utah in 2010–11, Kinney averaged 13.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in a 22–8 season and was named second-team All-Scenic West Athletic Conference.[1]

Kinney transferred to San Jose State University to play under coach George Nessman. In his junior season, 2011–12, with the San Jose State Spartans, Kinney started all 31 games and led the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game. He also had 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists, as well as the most total steals on the season (40) and led the Western Athletic Conference in free throw shooting at 85.3%.[1] San Jose State went 9–22 (1–13 WAC) that season.[8]

As a senior in 2012–13, Kinney played 14 games with average 20.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.[1] Kinney was suspended twice in the season for violating team rules, the first time for the December 22, 2012 game against James Madison, the second time beginning January 11, 2013.[9][10] On February 8, Nessman confirmed that Kinney's suspension would continue until the end of the season; the San Jose Mercury News reported that the suspension "is believed to be related to academics."[11] After Kinney's second suspension, when the team was 9–6, San Jose State's scoring average went down 15 points to 49.8, and the team never won another game on the way to a 9–20 final record.[11][12] Nessman was fired immediately after the season.[13]

Professional career

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On August 6, 2013, Kinney signed with Özel Gelişim Koleji of the Turkish Basketball Second League.[14] Kinney played 4 games for the team, with 2.5 points a game. He was sidelined by an ankle injury much of the season.[15][16]

In September 2014, Kinney signed with KTE-Duna Aszfalt of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A.[17] In 29 games with KTE, Kinney has averaged 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.[18]

Kinney signed with ZTE KK of the same league for the 2015–16 season and averaged 16.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.[18]

In 2016, Kinney signed with Szolnoki Olaj KK also in Hungary.[18]

On August 23, 2018, Kinney signed with BC Balkan of the Bulgarian league.[19]

Kinney spent the 2020–21 season with Jászberényi KSE, averaging 9.3 points, 4.0 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. On November 4, 2021, he signed with MBK Handlová of the Slovak Basketball League.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "James Kinney". San Jose State Spartans. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013.
  2. ^ Huth, Jeff (March 26, 2009). "All-Area Player of the Year: James Kinney". Champaign News-Gazette. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "James Kinney College Stats". sports-reference.com/cbb. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. ^ "OU basketball players plead guilty to possession of marijuana charges". Athens Messenger. February 10, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  5. ^ Huth, Jeff (July 8, 2010). "Kinney hopes juco route pays off". The News-Gazette. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2015-04-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "2009–10 Ohio Bobcats Schedule and Results".
  8. ^ "2011–12 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results".
  9. ^ "Pennington Scores 16 In Loss to James Madison". San Jose State Spartans. December 23, 2012. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  10. ^ "San Jose State Points-Rebounds-Assists (as of Mar 12, 2013)". San Jose State Athletics. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  11. ^ a b "San Jose State top scorer James Kinney suspended for remainder of basketball season". San Jose Mercury News. February 8, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  12. ^ "2012–13 San Jose State Spartans Schedule and Results".
  13. ^ Wilner, Jon; Faraudo, Jeff (March 14, 2013). "San Jose State fires basketball coach George Nessman". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "James Kinney Gelişim Koleji'ne Transfer Oldu". Haberler.com (in Turkish). August 6, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  15. ^ http://www.mackolik.com/Basketbolcu/12782/James-Kinney
  16. ^ "INVICTUS Sports Group – INVICTUS signed JAMES KINNEY!". www.invictussportsgroup.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-10.
  17. ^ "KTE-Duna Aszfalt tab James Kinney, ex Gelisim". Pro Basketball Overseas. September 25, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  18. ^ a b c "James Kinney Basketball Player Profile, Sopron KC, SJSU, News, A Division stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards – eurobasket".
  19. ^ "BC Balkan signs James Kinney". Sportando. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  20. ^ Duchovic, Michal (November 4, 2021). "Handlova adds Kinney to their roster, ex JKSE". Eurobasket. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
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