Keion Kindred Signs With The Beach
May 17, 2004
LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State Head Men's Basketball Coach Larry Reynolds announced today that Keion Kindred has signed a National Letter-Of-Intent to attend Long Beach State in the fall. Kindred (PG, 6-5, 220) hails from Los Angeles, CA and attended Yavapai (AZ) College and Dominguez High School. He will be a junior and have two years of eligibility remaining.
Kindred, a point guard, averaged 5.75 assists per game this year to rank No. 25 in the nation and No. 4 in the conference. Yavapai went 27-7 this past season, advancing to the National JC Tournament in Hutchinson, KS for the second consecutive year. Kindred concluded his career at Yavapai as the all-time assist leader at the school with 402 assists. As a freshman, he averaged 2.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game as Yavapai went 28-6.
The Roughriders, who finished the season ranked No. 17 in the nation, won back-to-back Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) and Region I Championships (2003, 2004). In 2004, Yavapai fell to Georgia Perimeter (59-56) and Walters State CC (61-48) at the NJCAA Tournament. In the Region I Tournament, Yavapai defeated Eastern Arizona (93-78) and Arizona Western (105-97, OT) to capture the title. Yavapai won the ACCAC regular season title with a 19-3 mark this past season. In 2002-03, Yavapai won the Region I title with wins over Scottsdale CC (79-68) and Chochise (80-79) to advance to the national tournament. At the NJCAA Tournament, they fell to Okaloosa-Walton (92-75) in the opening round, defeated Northwest Mississippi CC (87-84) in the consolation round before being eliminated by Southeastern Illinois, 96-69.
"We are very happy to have Keion in our program," said Reynolds. "He is a proven winner that has won at every level. He is a player who can help us in a lot of facets of the game. A big strong guard, he can also defend for us. He helps our passing and he can rebound and score the basketball. He'll be a great local addition to our club."
Kindred was a part of two CIF State Championships while at Dominguez High School. He was named All-CIF and All-State his senior year. As a senior he averaged 23 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals per game. Kindred was a first team All-San Gabriel Valley selection and a first team Long Beach Press-Telegram "Dream Team" pick. Dominguez went 16-12 in 2001-02, won the San Gabriel League title, but lost in the first round of the CIF Division III-AA playoffs. As a junior (2000-01) he averaged nine points, seven rebounds and four assists per game and was a third team "Dream Team" pick as Dominguez went 22-2 and won the California State Championship. Kindred was selected in the summer of 2001 to play at USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival, where he competed for the West team. He was recruited out of high school by UTEP, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Minnesota and USC. Kindred was a high school teammate of current 49er Travon Free. |
