Maurice Leroy Kemp Jr[1] (born February 2, 1991) is an American basketball player for the Pistoia Basket 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[2] He played college basketball for Alabama A&M, Miami Dade College, and East Carolina, with whom he led Conference USA in scoring in his senior year.

Maurice Kemp
No. 9 – Pistoia Basket 2000
PositionPower forward
LeagueLBA
Personal information
Born (1991-02-02) February 2, 1991 (age 33)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolMiami Dade Christian Academy
(Miami, Florida)
College
NBA draft2013: undrafted
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2014Alba Fehérvár
2015Canton Charge
2015–2016Kavala B.C.
2016Rapla KK
2016–2017Tadamon Zouk
2017–2018Obras Sanitarias
2018–2019Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
2020Club Nacional de Football
2020–2021BC Kalev
2021Gigantes de Carolina
2021Maccabi Rishon LeZion
2021–2023Bnei Herzliya Basket
2023Hong Kong Bulls
2023–2024Guangzhou Loong Lions
2024Fujian Sturgeons
2024–presentPistoia Basket 2000
Career highlights and awards

Kemp has previously played for Maccabi Rishon LeZion in Israel, and in several other leagues from 2013 to 2022; namely, the EuroCup, NBA G League, Greek Basket League, Liga Nacional de Básquet, Liga ACB, and the VTB United League.

Early life

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He was born in Miami, Florida, to Valerie and Maurice Kemp Sr., and he has three siblings.[2][3] Kemp grew up in Miami, as well as Pembroke Pines, Florida.[4][5]

Kemp attended Miami Dade Christian Academy, graduating in 2009, and played for the basketball team. As a senior, he averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds a game. He was named second-team All State and first-team All County as a senior. He was also on the high school track and field team.[3]

He is 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) tall, and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg).[3][6]

College

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2009–2011: Alabama A&M and Miami Dade College

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Kemp attended Alabama A&M from 2009 to 2010, playing for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs basketball team. He averaged 5.5 points per game, on 47.8% shooting from the field, and 34.8% shooting from beyond the 3 point line; he also picked up 2.8 rebounds per game.[3]

He then attended Miami Dade College from 2010 to 2011.[3] Playing small forward for the Sharks basketball team, Kemp averaged 16.9 points on shooting percentages of 59% from the floor, 52% behind the 3-point line, and 65% on free throws, while also averaging 9.9 rebounds (17th nationally), 1.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.5 steals a game.[3][4] He was named as first-team All-Florida Community College Activities Association.[3]

2011–2013: East Carolina

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Kemp then attended East Carolina University (ECU), where he majored in child development and family relations, and played basketball for the East Carolina Pirates as a junior in 2011–12. Here, he averaged 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.[3] He also shot 77.9% on free throws across the entire season (7th in Conference USA), and 88.9% on free throws during conference games (which led the conference); his 2.4 offensive rebounds per game were 10th in the conference.[7] He was unanimously selected as a member of the Conference USA Men's Basketball All-Academic Team.[3]

As a senior at ECU in 2012–13, Kemp led Conference USA (C-USA) in scoring with 18.9 points per game (becoming the first player in the program's history to lead the C-USA in scoring), and in points (660).[3][7] He was 2nd in the conference in field goals (231; 15th in the NCAA), 2-point field goals (215; 9th in the NCAA), and free throws made (182), 4th in field goal percentage (50.5%), 4th in defensive rebounds (193), and 5th in steals (61) and steals per game (1.1).[7][3] He became the third player with the Pirates to score more than 600 points in a single season, and established new school single-season records for made and attempted free throws (182/241, respectively), and minutes played (1,202).[3] He received first-team All-Conference USA (the first East Carolina player to receive them), and second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 11 honors,[8] as well as being named MVP of the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).[3]

He ended his career with the Pirates ranked ninth in school history with 66 blocks.[3]

Professional career

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After turning professional, Kemp played in 2013–14 for Alba Fehérvár in the EuroCup, where he averaged 12.3 points and 1.5 steals per game, and shot 82.1% from the free throw line. During the 2014–15 season, he played for the Canton Charge of the G League, and in 2015–16 for Kavala B.C. in the Greek Basket League. In 2016–17, he played for the Tadamon Zouk of the Lebanese Basketball League, where he averaged 23.4 points (3rd in the league), with 8.6 rebounds (8th), and 1.9 steals (5th). He moved on to the Liga Nacional de Básquet, where he played for the Obras Sanitarias in 2017–18; here, he averaged 20.7 points per game, leading the league.

He played in 2018–19 for Montakit Fuenlabrada in the Liga ACB, and in 2020–21 for Kalev/Cramo in the VTB United League, where he averaged 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and was 9th in the league with 0.9 blocks per game, with a .548 field goal percentage (2nd).[9][10][11] He also helped the team win the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League and was named the MVP of the competition.[12]

In 2021–22, Kemp played for Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, where he averaged 16.0 points (10th in the league), 6.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.[13][14] He joined Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League on December 8, 2021.[15][16]

On November 22, 2024, Kemp signed with the Pistoia Basket 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Maurice Kemp". ACB.COM. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Maurice Kemp Player Profile, Bnei Ofek Dist Hertzeliya, News, Stats". Eurobasket.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Maurice Kemp – Men's Basketball". East Carolina University Athletics.
  4. ^ a b "Maurice Kemp – Basketball Recruiting – Player Profiles". ESPN.
  5. ^ "ECU Basketball Signs Maurice Kemp To NLI". Conference USA. April 13, 2011.
  6. ^ "Maurice Kemp International Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Maurice Kemp College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "Maurice Kemp Named Second-Team All-District 11". East Carolina University Athletics. March 26, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "Lebanese Division A Stats – RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  10. ^ "2013–14 Stats – Bericap Alba Fehervar". Basketball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ "VTB United – 2020–21 Standings and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  12. ^ "Uudised – BC Kalev/Cramo defeated VEF in Paf League final, Ogre brought home the bronze". www.estlatbl.com. April 12, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2022. Kalev/Cramo forward Maurice Kemp won MVP award of the tournament. Kemp was also named to the tournament`s All Star 5 along with Janari Jõesaar (Kalev/Cramo), Kyle Allman (VEF), Rihards Kuksiks (Ogre) and Brandon Childress (Rapla).
  13. ^ "Israeli BSL Stats – RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  14. ^ "Maurice Kemp joins Maccabi Rishon LeZion". Sportando. March 10, 2021.
  15. ^ Bnei Herzliya [@BHerzliya] (December 8, 2021). "תוספת כוח 💙💪 בני Ofek Dist הרצליה שמחה להודיע על הצטרפותו של מוריס קמפ לקבוצה! קמפ (בן 30, 2.03) פתח את העונה במכבי ראשון לציו ורשם 16 נקודות למשחק. ברוך הבא @MKemp02" (Tweet) (in Hebrew) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "ISRAEL BASKETBALL SUPER LEAGUE | Israel Basketball | 2021–22 Season | Maccabi Effie Capital Rishon Lezion | Maurice Kemp". basket.co.il.
  17. ^ "Estra Pistoia Basket firma Maurice Kemp Jr". Pistoia Basket 2000. November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
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