By Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations
The last time Lehigh was in the tournament, the Mountain Hawks earned a historic 75-70 win over Duke, which literally put Lehigh on the map for the 6-foot-10 Kempton.
“Coming from the West Coast, I honestly didn’t know anything about Lehigh,” he said. “If you said Lehigh University, I couldn’t have even begun to guess where it was on the map.”
On his recruiting visit, Kempton was sold on Lehigh’s family atmosphere. The senior class of 2013 was Kempton’s hosts, featuring current Portland Trail Blazers standout C.J. McCollum, along with Gabe Knutson and Holden Greiner, who both went on to play professionally overseas.
“I was able to see the family atmosphere through the upperclassmen on that team,” said Kempton. “Everyone on the team was inviting and very friendly. It was a close-knit group, which I valued.”
Kempton was also sold on the direction of the program, and his potential role in Lehigh’s success.
“Obviously, with the graduation of Holden and Gabe (down low), having a chance to play right away played a big factor,” he said.
Kempton’s father (also Tim Kempton) was a star at Notre Dame and in the NBA, so one would think the younger Tim had basketball on the forefront of his mind. That wasn’t necessarily the case.
“I was always around basketball and grew up with the ball in my hand, but baseball was my main sport until my freshman year in high school,” said Kempton. “I actually played club and travel baseball. I didn’t start playing competitive basketball until my high school years. That’s when I hit my growth spurt and found out I could be pretty good at basketball.”
Kempton’s biggest growth spurt came when he went from 6-foot-4 during his freshman season to 6-foot-8 at the start of his sophomore campaign.
It’s safe to say Kempton has been a bit of a late bloomer. He developed nicely as his high school career progressed, which caught the interest of college coaches.
“Lehigh started recruiting me pretty late,” said Kempton. “Everything happened so quickly. They were probably one of the hardest schools that recruited me in the shortest period of time. I went up for a visit, saw the Lehigh campus and just fell in love with the school.
“I always knew I wanted to go somewhere with a good education and good athletics,” he continued. “I never really wanted to stay in-state, so it was a change of atmosphere and a change of scenery.”
Kempton’s development has continued at Lehigh. Head coach Brett Reed was expecting a strong college player, but what he’s gotten has exceeded his initial expectations.
“When I first evaluated Tim, I saw somebody who had good size and demonstrated a strong feel for the game,” said Reed. “We investigated, started to flush out more of his profile and realized that he was even better than we initially anticipated. He came on our campus (as a freshman), we learned about him and became more and more pleasantly surprised.”
Kempton made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Mountain Hawks, tallying 13.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, then following with 15.3 points and a league-leading 8.7 boards per contest as a sophomore. So far in his junior year, he has posted 16.8 points and 8.6 rebounds, already eclipsing 1,000 career points on Dec. 5.
“Tim had such an offensive talent that considering we featured such a young team (during his freshman season), we knew he could make a difference,” said Reed. “He’s taken the reigns and has really done well with the experience he’s gained.”
Kempton’s Lehigh career has already featured tremendous improvement. Each year has featured a different type of improvement.
“Freshman to sophomore year was more of a physical growth stage,” said Kempton. “My low post and mid post game definitely rose and my performance increased, but the biggest improvement from freshman to sophomore year was improving my body. You’re able to get away with it in high school, but once you get to college, you need to have everything almost perfect if you want to excel. I wanted to improve my overall game, and my durability, throughout the season.”
Kempton had a different area of focus this past offseason.
“I was more focused on translating my game to a more efficient style,” he said. “I was able to expand my mid post game and stretch my shot a bit. Ultimately, I’ve been looking to make myself harder to guard.”
The fact that Kempton still has room to improve is a scary proposition for opponents. He has already greatly matured, but is becoming even better by the day. For all the success he’s enjoyed, Kempton hasn’t even reached his ceiling.
“Tim came in as a talented, but somewhat fun-loving and goofy freshman,” said Reed. “Now that he’s gone through the experience of Lehigh, academically and athletically, we see him becoming more mature, more responsible and even taking on more leadership responsibilities. He’s still the same fun-loving guy who will make you laugh, but he’s definitely grown and matured through his experiences here.”
What’s left for Kempton to accomplish? A 2015-16 team captain, he looks to lead the Mountain Hawks back to the big dance. Kempton also has aspirations to play professionally and follow in his father’s footsteps to the NBA, but that’s not something he’s worried about at the moment.
“Playing professionally is definitely something I’ve thought of, but it’s not something I’m going to get too stressed about,” said Kempton. “I’m planning on playing my game and hopefully big things come.”
Regardless of future professional opportunities on the basketball court, Kempton will be well suited for post-graduate success with a degree from Lehigh University.
“Being at a great school like Lehigh and part of a great business school, I chose finance because I think it could take me a lot of places and give me the greatest opportunity outside of basketball,” he said. “I’d like to continue playing basketball, but no matter who you are, basketball ends at some point in your life.”
Kempton still has plenty of college days ahead. For now, he is focused on helping continue the positive momentum of Lehigh Basketball, going back to McCollum’s days and Lehigh’s 2012 upset of Duke. Last year’s team earned two wins over power conference opponents, DePaul and Arizona State, and took a major step forward back to championship contention. Kempton is looking to do his part to bring the title back to Bethlehem.
“Our class doesn’t want to leave Lehigh with a thought that they could have been great, but were mediocre,” he said. “I think these two years are going to either leave a legacy or just let us be somewhat known. We have a different focus because we do have the talent and all the pieces. We have high expectations for ourselves.”
The buzz around Lehigh Basketball is contagious.
“It’s a fun period for the program and it’s fun to see everything unfold,” said Kempton. “With C.J. (McCollum) and the success he’s having in the NBA, it’s awesome to have an alum who’s enjoying success at the highest level of basketball. I’m sure he’s excited, and the fans are excited, about the talent we have and the predictions that have been made (as the preseason Patriot League favorites). But as we know, preseason predictions don’t mean anything unless you act upon them.”
The family atmosphere Kempton identified when choosing Lehigh is very evident today. One example is McCollum, who continues to be engaged with the program, even recently tweeting to the elder Tim Kempton, who is a radio announcer for the Phoenix Suns: “I need 20-10 (20 points, 10 rebounds) this year from your son! Tell him we need aggressive Tim.”
Everyone is in it together, and ready to see Lehigh continue its rise.
“Hopefully we can live up to expectations,” said Kempton. “I really think we can. We have a good group of guys. Everyone seems to be mentally focused this year and knows what they want.”
“Every year, Tim has found a way to enhance his production and performance on the floor,” said Reed. “We’re looking for that same type of evolution this year as our program evolves towards championship contention.”
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