Prediction comes true on Shawn Kemp’s success

Editor’s note: Al Lesar covered Michiana sports at the “South Bend Tribune” for 32. After retiring in 2017, he gave away his snowblower and moved to the Knoxville, Tenn. area. He maintains a watch on the pulse of Michiana and tries to add some historical perspective.

After recently pleading guilty to second-degree assault, 55-year-old Shawn Kemp can expect some prison time.

The incident happened in the Seattle area in 2023 when his car was broken into and items were stolen while he was at a concert. He tracked the individuals allegedly responsible for the theft and confronted them.

Kemp, who owns and operates a cannabis dispensary in Seattle, said he returned gunfire after being fired upon.

Sentencing, which could include a prison term of three to nine months, will be in August. 

That’s not the Shawn Kemp I knew. More than 40 years ago, I knew the young phenom from Concord High School who was anointed as a can’t-miss future star by one of the best judges of talent I’ve known.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 1984, I had been at the “South Bend Tribune” for two months. I was working as a copy editor that night when Earl “The Pearl” Mishler came back from covering a game.

It was Concord-Elkhart Central High School. Mishler, who passed away a couple years ago, left the South Bend “city” games to others. He loved seeing teams on the periphery of our coverage area.

The Blue Blazers won that game, 64-61, but that wasn’t what caught Mishler’s discerning eye.

“I just saw a (6-foot-7) freshman (Kemp) who is going to be an NBA All-Star,” Mishler said.

Four decades later, I still remember that because Mishler was never one for hyperbole. That really meant something. 

The only other time I heard such a prediction was when fellow staff member John Fineran came back from covering the Western Amateur Golf Tournament at Point ‘O Woods Country Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He saw some teen named Tiger Woods and said that kid could be one of the best ever.

Anyway, Shawn was special from the get-go. Fortunately, he had a quality coach, Jim Hahn, to try to keep him on the straight and narrow. The time he was suspended for a couple games for “mooning” the girls choir immediately comes to mind.

Kemp ended up scoring 2,134 points for the Minutemen, but he fell short of two major honors. As a senior, Concord suffered a 23-point loss (its only of the season, 76-53) to Muncie Central High School in the State championship game, and he was beaten out for the Mr. Basketball Award by Richmond’s Woody Austin (which was a farce).

The most memorable play I saw Kemp make (as a sophomore) came in the Fort Wayne Semistate in a 108-82 loss to a really good Michigan City Rogers High School team. Kemp got a long rebound and had a full head of steam as he headed down the court. 

The games were played in the Fort Wayne Coliseum. The basketball floor was put over the ice on which the Fort Wayne Komets played. I’d wear three pairs of socks because the floor was so cold. If the conditions in the arena were right, moisture would form on the court. On this day, the conditions were right. Kemp went to plant for a dunk. Instead, his foot slid out from under him and this manchild wound up flat on his back.

During his junior year at Concord, my mission was to do the ultimate Shawn Kemp story. Thanks to Hahn, we had a great sit-down that was quite revealing. The most significant insight I came away with was that he was dealing with dyslexia, and it was difficult for him to prepare for a future that included college. He talked honestly about struggling with college entrance exams.

The story ran a couple days before Concord played at Riley High School (the Wildcats won, 99-83). Every time Kemp got the ball, Riley fans would chant, “SAT, SAT, SAT…” 

I felt a little bad that my story may have had an impact.

The most memorable moment of Kemp’s (he was 6’10 by then) senior year, aside from the State championship collapse, was Concord’s game against St. Joseph High School. The Indians (the team’s nickname at the time) were loaded. Coach Steve Austin had a great nucleus — featuring guards Rodney Holmes and Darran Teamor — that went to the State Finals the next year. 

The colossal showdown was set for St. Joe’s little crackerbox of a gym (seating fewer than 1,000 fans) — and that just wasn’t right. I saw this coming in November. I remember hitting up Austin outside the lockerroom after the LaSalle game, early in the season, suggesting moving that battle to Notre Dame would be worth it. 

Renting the Joyce Center (now Purcell Pavilion) at the time was $2,000. They could pay off all sorts of bills with what they could make. Austin had trouble convincing St. Joe’s administration to move the game. I wrote, “It would take a lot of bake sales to make what they can in one night.”

Assistant Coach Paul Menne even offered to bankroll the $2,000, if it meant he could keep the profits.

Finally, St. Joe relented and the game was moved. 

It was incredible. No season tickets were honored. There was no pre-sale of tickets. Fans lined up from the ACC to the middle of the parking lot. 

The upper balcony bleachers weren’t pulled out. One by one, each set of seats was rolled out — and filled immediately. Then the next and the next. 

The game was delayed 45 minutes so the crowd could get into place — more than 11,000, and about another 1,000 were turned away.

The teams seemed rattled by such a large crowd. Nobody scored for the first five minutes. Finally, Concord came away with a 63-58 victory.

Kemp skipped college after giving some JUCOs and Kentucky a try before not making it. The “Reign Man,” known for his amazing dunks, had a 14-year NBA career and was a six-time all-star.

Good call Pearl.