Maine’s Kellen Tynes is among nation’s best in steals
“He’s got an innate talent in terms of being able to hawk the basketball.”
ORONO, Maine (WABI) - Kellen Tynes has grown up into one of college basketball’s steals leaders.
“I have long arms, and I played a couple different sports growing up like football and baseball. I think that helped. Watching a lot of film to learn tendencies of teams helps a lot,” said Tynes, sophomore guard.
His parents, Quinta and Joey, instilled his skills as his early coaches.
“A lot of people preached defense to me at a young age, so that’s just kind of how I was brought up. You can have bad games offensively, but you can always play defense, have energy and active hands, and do the little things,” said Tynes.
The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native’s dedication shows the way for his teammates.
“He really pays attention to the details and all those different certain things with team scout. He learns tendencies a lot, so I think that plays a really big part in how he gets his steals,” said Jaden Clayton, freshman guard.
Tynes and the Black Bears will be tested by UMBC’s three-point shooting, so they’ll have to bring the defense.
“He’s got an innate talent in terms of being able to hawk the basketball. I’ve been around a few guys in my career similar to him. It’s not something you can really coach or teach. It’s just certain guys are innate at certain things. He just always finds his way around the ball,” said Chris Markwood, head coach.
He’s helping Maine to turn a corner in Markwood’s first season as head coach.
“Shout out to the Black Bear fans who come out to support us. I know it’s been tough because we haven’t been winning, but we’re working hard. We’re out there trying to get a win for you guys,” said Tynes.
Tynes is jockeying for the top spot in steals with Kent State’s Malique Jacobs and New Mexico’s Jaelen House. Jacobs is at 3.2 steals per game with House checking in at 3.0. Tynes just recently dipped from 3.0 to 2.9.
Tipoff with the sharp-shooting UMBC Retrievers is on Saturday at 1 p.m. down in Catonsville, Md.
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