Need Info on Former Wildcat Ray Kraemer

Posted by Ed Davis

An alum of the University of Nevada at Reno recently emailed me asking for information on Ray Kraemer, a CCHS graduate and a recent signee for their basketball program.  I will admit that I had nothing to share with the alum, Pat, but thought I might put this question out to readers of this blog.  So, if you can help Pat out, please add what you can in the comments below. 

Both Dan Jensen and I have referred Pat to Buddy Carlisle, who would have coached Ray.  Hopefully, that will result in some info as well.

I have also invited Pat to keep us informed of Ray's progress in the University of Nevada-Reno program as the season begins and progresses this year.

Comments

[Dan Jensen]

This from the Nevada-Reno website:

RENO, Nev. — Ray Kraemer of Kemah, Texas, has signed a national letter of intent to study and play basketball at the University of Nevada beginning in 2007-08, Wolf Pack head coach Mark Fox announced Tuesday.

“We are very excited to have Ray join our program,” Fox said. “He is a very versatile guard and will be a great benefit to our program.”

A 6-4, 200-pound guard, Kraemer comes to Nevada from Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas. He was named the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors as a freshman in 2005-06. He finished second in the league in scoring at 18.0 points per game and was fourth in rebounding at 8.3 boards per contest that season. Kraemer did not play in 2006-07 due to a shoulder injury and will have three years of eligibility remaining at Nevada.

Kraemer attended Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas, where he was named the district MVP and an all-region selection as a senior. He helped Clear Creek to a district championship and the second round of the playoffs.

[Dan Jensen]

Here is a scouting report on Kraemer that I got from Keith Mathis. I cannot get him interested in our blog (although brother Terry and son Bubba contribute) but he is one of Clear Creek's most knowledgable fans and has followed the team for 55 years after playing football, basketball and baseball for us. He has recently moved from League City to Lovelady because League City isn't League City anymore.

I am surprised that Keith rates Kraemer so highly among all-time Wildcats. You will note though that he doesn't rate him above Bennie Lenox or Bill Doty and I would put Paul Timmins ahead of him too and I don't have to have seen Kraemer play.

Arthur Landriault, only two years behind Keith as a star Wildcat athlete, could tell us about Kraemer too and I hope he will.

Here's Keith's report: "Ray was most valuable player in the district his senior year. I feel like he was the best jumper Creek ever had or at least in the top five. I believe his upside is tremendous. I think he has a chance to be a really outstanding player at the next level if his body holds up. He plays with a lot of desire and puts 100% into the game. I don't understand why he didn't get a scholarship to a large school right out of high school. His only draw back is that he is an in-between player. He is a little too small to play inside and doesn't handle the ball well enough to play outside. His ball handling is not bad but not like a point guard or a #2 guard. I think he was a tremendous player for Creek and would rate him at close to the top for all time.

"During Ray's junior year he won the 3 point shooting contest at the Toyota Center. In his senior year, he and a team mate were chosen to participate again. His team mate won first and Kraemer won second. The team received about $11,000.00 for that performance."

[Pat H]

Thanks for the response. We're looking forward to seeing Ray play. For those of you who aren't familiar with our program at the University of Nevada here's some info.

After many long years with little success, the Wolf Pack (two words) has won the WAC conference and to the NCAA tourney for 4 consecutive years defeating Gonzaga, Michigan State, Creighton and the University of Texas in tournament play. We return a young team next year, losing two players (Nick Fazekus and Ramon Sessions) to tomorrow's NBA draft. The only returning starter from last year is wing Marcellus Kemp. He's a great scorer and the description of Ray Kraemer sounds a lot like Marcellus. The Pack will start 2 seniors and 3 sophomores/freshmen.

For Ray to get minutes I'm afraid he'll need to be able to play as the 2 guard. Sophomore Tyrone Hanson backed up Kemp last year and hit around 49% of his 3pt shots, plus he's 2 inches taller than Ray. I hope Ray has improved his ball handling and can work his way into the lineup.

I'll drop back by and keep you updated on anything new in Ray's time in Reno.

[Pat H]

I forgot to mention, the player currently predicted to be the starting #2 guard in Reno is another player from Texas that is the same age as Ray Kraemer. His name is Brandon Fields out of Bowie High in Arlington. It's a little strange that a university in Reno has 2 young men from Texas competing for the same roster spot. I don't know if Ray and Brandon have any history vs each other, but I'd be interested if any of you know of such.

[Ed Davis]

Hey, Pat, great to have you with us. We will be looking forward to some reports on Ray.

I do not know if Ray and Brandon would have met in any game - Arlington and League City are several hundred miles apart. But, if anyone out there has further info on this, let us know.

[Bubba Mathis]

I saw Kraemer play a number of times his last two years, and agree w/ Dad's assessment. He is a leaper who shoots well. He's not a pure shooter, and didn't have a fundamentally perfect shooting motion. But he was practiced at it and was often deadly accurate. His jumping ability is his best attribute in my mind, along with his tenacity and desire. He's a smooth, easy leaper! His ball handling needs to improve for him to see real playing time, because he IS a "tweener". I agree he was one of the best all around players (I've seen) at Creek over the years. The other thing that may hamper him some at this level is his quickness. He's not slow by any stretch, but he's not a lightning quick guy or a speedster either. He's a hard-nosed, way above average athlete who can shoot and score. I think if he works hard, he could see playing time at Nevada. In answer to question about Fields vs. Kraemer, I am nearly positive Creek did not play Bowie in either of the last two yrs he was there, but maybe they competed in AAU ball?? Just my opinion - I think it would be hard for Fields to beat Kraemer head to head. I would be surprised if that happens. I hope & expect Ray to do well there.

[Dan Jensen]

Bubba uses the interesting term "pure shooter." I have asked for a definition of that from time to time from folks who ought to know but have never gotten one.

If Buddy Carlisle still checks this site, I wonder if he could dig up Kraemer's free throw and three point shooting percentages? And, give us his definition. If he shot 90 percent from the foul line, I say he is plumb pure.

[Pat H]

There was a scrimmage at the University of Nevada last night. It was mostly to allow fans to bring their children for a Trick or Treat with the players after the scrimmage. Word is that Ray Kraemer was 2-2 on three pointers and looked pretty good overall hitting every one of his 3pt shots during the shooting drills. He isn't as fast or athletic as Fields out of Bowie High in Arlington, but he shoots better. His defense might be what determines how much playing time he gets.

Finally, Nevada has signed an agreement to play North Carolina this December on the 27th, so you should have the opportunity to watch one of your own this winter.

Here's a few links to a pictures of last night's scrimmage. The password is "Hoops" if you need it and it's case sensitive. Ray is the young man with the platinum blond hair.

photo 1

photo two

I hope html works.

[Pat H]

Well, the html didn't work so just cut and paste these addresses to see the photos. Their nothing special, but I'll have better when the season starts if anyone is interested. Remember the password is Hoops if you need it.

http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b42/renoguy/Hoops%20and%20Treat%202007/?action=view&current=DSC00612.jpg

http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b42/renoguy/Hoops%20and%20Treat%202007/?action=view&current=DSC00583.jpg

[Dan Jensen]

I never saw Kraemer play and know very little about him but if he is a Clear Creek guy he is special and I will look forward to your updates. I wish some of our own were as diligent with them.

[Pat H]

There was some bad news for Nevada fans last week. Tyrone Hanson, the player I mentioned that was supposed to start for Nevada at SF was dismissed from the team for rules violations. Coach Fox demands his young men act responsibly or that they play elsewhere so that's that. That may be good news for you fans of Clear Creek as graduate Ray Kraemer will definitely see more minutes due to the loss of Hanson. Today there was an exhibition game vs DII Seattle Pacific. They are a very good DII program and since Hanson was gone, the Pack leader Marcellus Kemp (18+pts per game last year) and Brandon Fields of Arlington, TX were being held out of the game for having missed some classes (did I mention coach Mark Fox doesn't tolerate slackers?) I thought the Pack was in trouble.

The Pack won but Ray Kraemer had an off game. He only scored 2pts, was 0-6 on 3pt shots but was described as a very scrappy and physical player that impressed with his hustle and rebounding at only 6'4". Those three pointers will drop in the future as I hear he doesn't miss many in practice. He had to be pretty excited to get his first real taste of big time basketball. He's playing with at least 2 players that will be drafted by the NBA in the next few years and Nevada had two players drafted last year that made their teams.

I read the discussion above of Kraemer being a "pure shooter". I hear he shoots well but that the coaches have changed his shooting motion over the summer. We'll see how that works out over the next 3 years.

[Dan Jensen]

A couple of days ago, Pat Hosier e-mailed me a progress report on Ray Kraemer and asked me to post it on this blog. I encouraged him to do it but he has not, so here it is:

Here's another update on Ray Kraemer in case you want to post it on Carlisle’s Creek. He's only averaging 6 minutes a game, but I think his playing time is going up with 10 minutes in our last game. In a game last week he hit two key 3pt shots that started a double digit run giving Nevada the lead in a conference game, so the coach is gaining more confidence in his play. It's been a disappointing team this season with 3 sophs and a freshman starting. The Pack is currently 10-7 but only 2-2 in conference with their best win being on the road vs the Missouri Valley's Northern Iowa, but they got blown out playing North Carolina in Chapel Hill after playing the ‘Heels even for the first 18 minutes of the game.

Ray seems hesitant to shoot when he's in the game, but his hustle and determination are frequently commented on by Pack fans. He's coming back from missing all of last season with a shoulder injury and he's getting his first taste of D1 basketball so I'm not surprised by his slow start. Honestly, I'd like to see him get more minutes as Nevada's offense is the biggest problem this year. That might be what gets Ray more playing time. I'll drop you another line later this season or if anything major changes or I’ll give and end of season recap.

[Dan Jensen]

Pat Hosier, any information on Ray Kraemer on any thread is welcome but here is the official thread for such.

[Patrick H]

The Nevada Wolf Pack played their first game Saturday, and exhibition vs San Francisco State. I'll go into a little detail here because it affects Ray's minutes.

Nevada currently has 3 players suspended for a shoplifting incident. One had charges dropped as he was just "there" (it's last year's starting SG Brandon Fields from Bowie High in Arlington, Texas), but Coach Fox is making him sit out anyway. The other two are Cotton Giles, a freshman PG from Kimball High in Dallas, he plead guilty and got a $300 fine and the other is a PF with a court date. Anyway, this moved Ray up on the depth chart as he became the second guard off the bench rather than the third. His stats: 26 minutes, 3-7 shooting, 3-6 3pt shots, 4-6 FTs, 6 reb, 12pts, 1 assist. I expect Fields to be back for our first game vs Montana State on Saturday, but won't know for sure for a few days.

Also, the description of Ray from some of you who saw him play in HS is accurate. He's extremely determined, very strong physically, is a better shooter since they straightened out his stroke (hitting almost 50% of his 3s last year) and is still a great leaper and hustler.

Unfortunately, he's still not quick enough to play defense as well as the coaches would like, though they say his defense has improved dramatically. Because we picked up an exceptional transfer from Indiana to play the SG and SF positions, Ray likely won't see more playing time than last year barring injury to someone ahead of him. Here's his player's page from the Nevada website:

http://www.nevadawolfpack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=45431&SPID=4084&DB_OEM_ID=10000&ATCLID=1179438&Q_SEASON=2008

And here is the link to the article in the Reno paper about Ray that I posted earlier:

http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/misc/blogs/wolfpack.pbs&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3acf54a7c3-6850-4148-9710-effa04ad5005Post%3af40c7e21-4b51-4ab0-bc9b-22ed24c26fc8&sid=sitelife.rgj.com

[Patrick H]

Ray got his first start last night. It was due to another player being late for a practice, but Ray really contributed with 12pts (2/3 3pt shots), 7 rebounds and a personal 8-0 run near the end of the 1st half to put Nevada up by 16. Here's an article on Ray, but no photos since the game was in Bozeman Montana.

http://www.rgj.com/article/20081116/SPORTS06/811160355/1018/SPORTS

[Dan Jensen]

Patrick, I never saw Kraemer play but am glad to get these updates.

The paper said: Kraemer started in place of Armon Johnson, the preseason Western Athletic Conference player of the year. Johnson didn't get the start because he was late for practice earlier this week because of an emergency dental visit.

What kind of coach would bench a player because an EMERGENCY dental visit made him late for practice?

What are Kraemer's chances of starting next year? Any seniors ahead of him this year?

[Terry Mathis]

Here is a update on Lance Pevehouse, another CCHS ex now playing at Sam Houston State. In their first game last Friday night in Huntsville, they blasted Schreiner College 100-42.
Lance played 21 minutes, went 4-8 from the field, 1-4 from 3Pt range, 0-2 free throws, 1 rebound, with 9 points. Sam Houston is picked to finish 3rd in the Southland Conference behind their big rival SFA, and Lamar University.

[Terry Mathis]

Clear Creek Ex Lance Pevehouse and Sam Houston State lost to Texas Tech 87-76 Monday night to avenge a 56-54 loss last year in Huntsville.
Lance played 24 minutes, was 3-8 FG's, 3-8 3PT's, 3-4 FT's, 1 Rebound, with 12 points. This evens their record at 1-1 for the season. Texas Tech is 2-0.

[Patrick Hosier]

I haven't been updating the Kraemer info because he's not seeing much playing time. Nevada is very young. We start 2 freshman, 2 sophomores and 1 senior. Ray is a junior this year, but he's a bit of a tweener as was discussed last year. He's 6'4, 200lb and in excellent shape. But he lacks lateral quickness and doesn't handle the ball well enough to play the SG position, and he's playing behind a couple of very good small forwards that are both 6'6 and over 210lb.

Ray's a good 3pt shooter, an outstanding FT shooter (21-22 on the season) and a good rebounder, but opposing guards are too quick and opposing SFs are too big so it's his defense that limits his minutes IMHO. When Nevada plays zone he gets playing time, but the team only plays zone when there is foul trouble or the defense is getting abused by our opponent, so it doesn't happen often.

Ray's averaging 9.5 minutes, 3pts, 1.6 rebounds and a very good 1.3points per shot. I don't expect Ray's status to change much next year as we lose one SG but have signed the nations #14 ranked SG from a HS in Seattle. Both of the SFs that play in front of Ray are also back next year. Still, I'll check in on occasion to let you know how he does.

Patrick H

[Terry Mathis]

Ray's ex teammate Lance Pevehouse @ Sam Houston State is averaging 22.5 MPG, .385 FG, .337 3 Pt., .782 FT, and 9.1 PPG. He has been the 6th man for the Bearkats. It's to bad Ray didn't stay close to home and play at Sam with Lance. Could have been a ticket to the big dance and dancing, not setting on the bench. Sam Houston is in first place in the West Division of the Southland Conference, with old nemesis SFA leading the East Division.

[Dan Jensen]

Go ahead Sammy Huston!

[Terry Mathis]

Ray Kraemer and Nevada are on ESPN2 now, playing New Mexico State in Reno, and are trailing at the half.

[Terry Mathis]

Clear Creek Ex Lance Pevehouse scored 9 points today as Sam Houston crushed Central Arkansas on the road 75-52 to improve their record in the Southland to 7-1, after starting 0-1.

[Buddy Carlisle]

So I was watching Baylor beat UT for the 3rd time this year, very enjoyable and rare times for Bear fans. And I realized that Sam Houston and Southeast Louisiana were also on espn360, the greatest site in the world for sports fans. I had been following the score of the Sam game on the ticker and once Baylor had put theirs away, I focused on the Sam game. A great game all the way through and Sam actually trailed by 5 with 2 minutes to play. They scored and then got a steal and scored again to cut the margin to one. They got the ball back and Lance Pevehouse(Creek class of 2006) nailed a huge 3 with a hand in his face to give the Bearkats a 2 point lead. He hit a free throw with 6 seconds to play that gave them the 3 point win. Lance scored 14 for the game and they now play SFA for the right to go dancing on Sat. at 3 in Katy's Merrell Center. I plan to be there and will report after.

Also, Ray Kraemer's Nevada team won their tourney opener 87-71 and they are the #2 seed. Ray hit 3 of 4 from the 3 point line and scored 9 points. They must win to get in the field of 65 but should probably get an NIT bid if they can not win it.

Mentioning those 2 guys reminds me of a great come from behind win we had in 2005 when Ray was a senior and Lance a junior. We were playing Clear Brook in the semis of the Clear Creek ISD Classic at our gym and we trailed by 5 with 9 seconds to play. Game over, right? Not so fast my friends! We had the ball out of bounds at mid court and called timeout. We set up a play where Ray would break to the corner off a screen on the baseline and hope to hit a 3 and call time. They overplayed that so we countered by lobbing it to the basket where he leaped up and funneled it in and we called time with only 1 second off the clock. Ray could shoot the 3 but could really jump at only 6'3". They inbounded, we stole it and flipped it to Lance in the middle of the lane where he double-clutched a banker off glass and was fouled. Now 5 seconds left and he sinks the free throw to tie it. We press again and steal it and pitch it to him again in the middle of the lane and they foul him on the shot. He sinks both free throws with a couple of seconds left and their desperation heave goes amiss and we win by 2. We then won the tourney over Nacogdoches and Damian James(UT loser to Bears last night) in another great game but not nearly as good as the Brook win.