Week 4 and Runnin'

Welcome to another addition of As the Basic Ball Bounces-the Blog for the Basic Ball Men's League sponsored by Ballers4Life

Last week's games (week 3) were skipped due to circumstances beyond our control. Sorry to our readers for the inconvenience. 

10/11/11

Game 1  Orange vs Blue

This week’s Monday night games were played on Tuesday because of Columbus Day. Boy, what a difference a day makes. In this 1^st match up between Orange and Blue both teams struggled to shake off the rust created from the extra day of rest.  We painfully watched as these two teams missed easy shots, made numerous turnovers and air balled (credit the air balls to Basir "Beeg" Crandall who air balled 3 shots in the 1^st half) their way to half time. In the end it was Orange on top of Blue 71-56. With this lost Royal Blue dropped to 1-4.  A royally dismal start to the season.

Blue who were without their leading scorer Al “Hollywood’ Cole got behind early and Orange managed to take an 11 point lead into halftime at 33-22 lead by Antoine "Doo Dirt" Brown and Xaiver Williams.

By the beginning of the 2^nd half  the Orange team seemed to loosen up, while Blue continued to struggle. Orange started the 2^nd half off on a 6-0 run to take a 39-22 lead. This was due in part to the fundamentally sound play of James "Jim Bob" Pope who finished with 18 points off the bench.

The Blue team started to get into gear and tried to go on a run lead by their very young back court, Sherman Williams and the lighting fast Hanif Edwards. Both of whom are what we call JPP’s (Just-Pass-Puberty). In the middle of the 2^nd half, Hanif who we affectionately nicknamed “Sonic” got the ball on a quick outlet pass and zipped down the court to a waiting Doo Dirt Brown who couldn’t “Doo” much  as Hanif blew by him for a lay-up. The two “Baby Blue”guards combined for 30 of the team’s 56 points. Blue tried to muster up a comeback but only on the offensive side and just as you can't fly a plane with one wing, you can't win a game one side.

Every time Blue tried to make a run Doo Dirt and the Orange gang turned up the intensity to keep them at bay. Orange was lead by their talented three; Antoine “Doo Dirt” Brown who had an all around game and finished with 16 points, 11 boards, 7 assists and 5 steals.  Xavier Williams who finished with 20 points and Jim Bob also added to the blue teams woes as he finished with 18 points off the bench. Orange improved to 3-2 with this win to move into 3^rd place in the league.

Game 2 Black vs Teal

What can be said about the Black team that hasn’t already been said about Afghanistan, they were bombed, depleted and had a lack of resources. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Black team was blown out and skidded to 1-4 in their 80-50 lost. Teal however improved to 3-2.

Getting beat that bad by a team wearing Teal is worse than getting robbed by a guy wearing skinny jeans!

Black never led and despite Teal starting off with a little “rust” of their own, they were able to take an early 8-2 lead forcing Black to use their 1^st time-out.  The time-out didn’t seem to help them much as Teal went on a 9-0 run which was finally ended by a sweet spin move and lay-up by Kenny Freeman who finished with a season high 12 points and 7 boards. But that only seemed to anger Teal as they scored another 5 unanswered points for a 16-2 run. By the end of the 1^st half Teal was up 39-24 .

In the 2^nd half it was all Teal and they seemed to enjoy it. A mid-air between the leg pass late in the game by Charles "Chew" Bostic showed us this much.

Teal’s Isaiah Russell lead all scorers with 24 and Lamarr Singletary dropped in 22 of his own while Ron McGee lead the team in assists with 6 and added 11 points.

Despite Black’s dismal performance, we love their heart and passion (at least in the 1^st half). Black clearly felt they could win and they tried their best. Black was led by Marcus Spence who finished with 16 points and Kenny Orange who finished with a double-double, 12 points, and 10 rebounds

Game 3 Purple vs Yellow

Yellow picked up a few new players which added some much needed scoring power. But that didn’t seem to matter much this game as Purple topped Yellow 78-64. Purple was led by their big man Tim “Chip” Rawls, no relation to the late Lou Rawls, but just as smooth. He finished with a league high 40 points giving Purple the 2^nd best record in the league at 4-1.

Yellow’s notable “pick-ups” were the Franklin brothers Chaz and Taron. These two speedy and sharp shooting guards were a much needed addition. They compliment Yellow’s linky swing man, Jermain Higgins fast pace game. While Yellow seemed to have the elements of a good team, their 1^st half was marked by turnovers and missed shots as they struggled to find a collective rhythm to compete. At the half, Purple was comfortably out front 39-16.

Yellow’s leading scorer, Jermain Higgins played with an apparent elbow injury that clearly effected his game, he scored just 2 points in the 1^st half

 By the 2^nd half Yellow stared to get it together as the Franklin brothers played a 2 man game. Chaz finished with 21 points and his brother Taron finished with 18 points in their debut. But that wasn’t enough to topple Purple who was led by their “Fireman Duo” Tim and Brandon “B-money” Abney. They combined to score 54 points. Tim went to the foul line almost every time he touched the ball and Yellow had no answer for him. He also pulled down a game high 16 boards. Abney is a fast penetrating guard that can also shoot the “J” when needed. His game goes well with the dominate inside game of Tim Rawls. Those two coupled with Raymond Strickland who at approximately 6’3’’ can rebound, score and handle the rock. It’s no wonder why they’re 2^nd in the league.

10/12/11

Game 1 Orange vs Yellow

The 1^st game of Wednesday’s triple header featured Doo Dirt Brown’s Orange team vs Jermain Higgins and the rest of the Yellow gang.

This game started out slow for both teams and despite Orange’s several 1^st half turnovers, they managed to get the W and move to 4-2 with a 83-77 win over Yellow.

Taron Frankin of the Yellow team scored an impressive 36 points in this up and down, hard fought game. And he did it in a barrage of ways, from “behind the arc” in transition and by good ol’ fashion grown man moves to the basket. Yellow had the top performer in every category, points (Taron with 36) Rebounds (Jermain with 13) assist (Chaz with 6) , steals (several tied with 3) and blocks (Jermaine with 2) Despite this solid effort Yellow could not come out on top.

 How could Yellow lead in every stat but still drop the game? Because of the team effort put forth by Orange. Four players were in double digits and two more players were just 2 shy with 8 points. Orange responded to pressure well, as a result they were able to hold off a late run by Yellow to get the win.  They were lead by Xavier Williams who scored 19 points and pulled down 10 boards on his way to a double-double. Orange also got a solid performance from  Basir "Beeg" Crandall who made up for Tuesday night’s air balls by scoring 17.

Game 2 Red vs Grey

The 2^nd game of the night put the undefeated, red hot Red team against the tough and talented Grey team.

Red had been on a roll beating teams by an average of 24 ponits. Most of their games were over in the 1^st half with them well out front. But Wednesday night Grey tried their best to hand Red its 1^st lost but to no avail. Red squeaked  by in a 79-71 victory to move to 5-0 and keep their title of the only undefeated team in the league.

Red jumped out to a 8-0 lead with 2 quick 3’s by John Ashmore. But Grey answered with a run of their own to tie it at 8. Red’s Dre Frazier thunderest 1^st half dunk ignited the crowd and sparked a small run. But Reggie Strickland and the rest of the Grey team met this challenge to finish the 1^st half only down by 7 points at 43-36 despite Red hitting 7 threes in the 1^st half.  

Grey continued their aggressive play into the 2^nd half and Red struggled to maintain the lead. It was not John  Ashmore’s night. He’s usually good for about 5 3’s a game, but Wednesday night he struggled behind the arc and finished with only 9 points, well shy of his league average 22 points. However, he had a game high 12 boards.

Grey brought the game within 2 at the 11 min mark in the 2^nd half due to two straight 3’s by Donte Goodman for 6 of his 17 points. But Maurice Wood seemed to be determined as he played like a man on a mission. The mission: not to lose and destroy his team’s  undefeated record. He was all over the court on both sides of the ball and even putting his team on his back at times when others struggled. He finished with a game high 25 points, and added 2 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Although Grey never led, they kept it close throughout, but they seem to lose their steam and will at the 2 minute mark and let this game slip away. They dropped to 1-4 after this lost.Although Grey got stellar play out of Shawon Watson who scored 19 points, Reggie Strickland who scored 18 points and 7 boards and Donte Goodman who scored 17 points, that’s not the only reason they almost won.

The Red team overall did not have a good game in the 2^nd half. This however is what makes this team so good and very tough to beat. When one player is off, the others step up. Red have at least three players; Maurice Wood, Dre Frazier and John Ashmore that can be the game’s leading scorer on any given night. Plus, they play hard for 40 minutes each and every game no matter if they’re up 30 or down 10. They give each game a strong effort.  They will be back in action on Monday 10/17 at 8:15 against Royal Blue. If Royal Blue’s entire roaster shows up, this should be a good game.

Game 3 Purple vs Green

The last game of the night featured Purple minus Tim “Chip” Rawls and Green who only had 5 players.  Purple didn’t start out too strong, they missed lay-ups played poor “D” and was out muscled. Despite this, Purple was only down 2 at the half 36-34. But Green loss their steam in the 2^nd half as the lack of rest by this 5 man team took its toll and they lost 72-52.

Green’s David Taylor caused problems for purple early with several 2^nd chance buckets and some strong moves inside. He finished with 17 points and 8 boards. He was tied for a game high in points with Bobby Bouknigh who also scored 17.

Green didn’t play good “D” in the 2^nd half and Taylor started to wear down. Purple went on the offensive and exploited Green’s fatigue, they finished with 5 players in double digits. Purple’s Keean Rand and Raymond Strickland were tied for a team high 15 points. Raymond also had a game high 11 rebounds to grab his 2^nd double-double  of the season. Purple fast and tenacious  guard, B-Money also played a solid game on both sides of the ball and finished with 14 points and 7 boards.

Green dropped to 3-2 with this lost and Purple maintained their 2^nd place status at 5-1.

That’s All for Now, until next time deuces 

Written by Ballers4Life

We Got Now, Next and Forever

The 1st installment of Week 2's wrap up

GAME 1 Orange vs Grey

The 2nd week of Basic Ball’s inaugural season did not disappoint. Orange and Grey started Monday night’s action off with a close, fast tempo game as both teams battled for their 1^st win. The Grey team’s Reggie Strickland seemed to be a one- man-scoring machine on his way to a game high 22 points. Despite Strickland’s efforts, Grey dropped their second straight in as many games. Grey’s Shawon Watson grabbed everything that came near him and finished with a game high 15 boards, but even with both game leaders in points and boards on the Grey team , they could not keep pace with the fast, speedy tempo style of the Orange team.

After Orange’s first lost, they wisely made some additions to their roster. The most notable was Antonie “Doo Dirt” Brown, he lead them in both scoring and rebounds, with 19 points and 7 boards in their 51-46 victory to capture their 1^st win of the season moving to 1-1.

GAME 2 Royal Blue vs Yellow

The 2^nd game of the night featured the Royal Blue team vs the Yellow team. The Yellow team was without their leading scorer, Phil Robinson, yet they managed to get the ‘W” due in part to the superb and sometimes selfish play of Jermaine Higgins who scored a team high 27 points and pulled down 16 boards to grab his 2^nd double-double of the season.  Darrell Reed of the Yellow Team had a solid game with 13 points and 5 rebounds while Kesh Spencer scored 15 points and grabbed 4 boards for them

Yellow jumped out early with a 17-3 lead and all signs pointed to a blowout. But yellow began to get sloppy and cocky and Blue capitalized on it. By the end of the half, Blue had fought back to bring this game within 6 at 28-22 due in large part to their agile big man Al “Hollywood” Cole. The Yellow team seem to have no answer for Mr Cole as he went “hollywood” on them on his way to a game and league high 30 points!

The only answer Yellow could come up with was to turn the game into a sprint and with the speed and stamina of Yellow’s Jermain Higgins, that was enough. For all things that the Blue team are, one thing they are not is fast. Built more like an offensive line than a basketball team, they could not keep up with Yellow eventually losing 60-54.

Despite their lost, Blue has a really good team, especially in Hollywood Cole, John Adderly who pulled an astonishing game high 18 boards and Tyreik Harrison who scored 13 points and grabbed 7 boards.  We look for “Big Blue” to be a team to be reckoned with in this league.

Game 3 Red vs Black

This game started out close (0-0), but after a few minutes into the game, it was evident that Black was out matched. Even though Red started out flat, they quickly got it going and it was all down hill from there for the Black team. Red were just too fast, too aggressive and just plain ole too good for Black. Not one player on the Black team scored in double figures. Their leading scorer, Kenneth Orange was held to just 7 points. This game was stopped at the 2 minute mark before Black lost any more self-esteem in this brutal 74-38 massacre.

 By the end of the 1^st half, the score was 36-21 with Red in the lead. Mustafa Sulliman, the Black team’s former player turned coach, lit into his team with a expletive- loaded “pep talk” about the lack of defense and poor effort displayed in the 1st half. But when you’re playing a team that is that much better than you, sometimes you need more than just defense and a dream.

Red was lead by the Maurice Wood who scored a game high 23 points and Nicholas King who scored 20 points. Both players combined, scored more than Black’s entire team! And if that wasn’t enough Andre “Dre” Frazier added17 points and had a game high 5 blocks as well.

But the thing that impressed us most about Red wasn’t their sharp shooting, or how well they ran the floor or even their, athleticism. The thing that impressed us most was their passion. Late in the second half, with the Red well out front, we watched as they continued to play aggressive on “D”, take and make good shots and complain about foul calls as if they were losing! Add their passion for the game combined with their sheer talent and what you have is a red hot problem for the rest of the league. Stayed tuned. They should be fun to watch.

Written By,

Ballers4Life

A recap of Wednesday's night action soon to follow