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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Day 1 of 2011 Season

LaQuinn Parks and Xavier Edwards Come Through in the Clutch

Team Laquinn 27
Team Hassan 26

The 2011 season picked up exactly where it left off last year as team LaQuinn (1-0) used some late game heroics courtesy of Xavier Edwards and Captain Parks to pull out a thrilling last second victory. Even with point guard extraordinaire Mario Sawyer locked down by arch nemesis Christopher "Lil Chris" Pride (See May 13, 2010), Team Parks was able to find a way to gut out the win. LaQuinn Parks had a monster game, finishing with 13 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 blocks. His lay-up with 10 seconds left, put his team up for good and sent the rauc
ous crowd into complete pandemonium. As a senior, Parks will have to file his KBA retirement papers in mid-June. He's hoping he'll be doing so with a KBA championship and league MVP trophy in hand. Today's performance certainly has him headed in that
direction. Fortunately for all of Parks fans, the KBA league office is releasing commemorative LaQuinn tee-shirts to honor the illustrious career of the sure-fire Hall of Famer. You better get em while they're hot, because if Parks continues to dominate, these will sell out fast.

It was the Hassan Hall show for Team Hassan (0-1). The captain finished with 15 points and three steals on the day. Side-kick Chris Pride couldn't get it going on the offensive end, but he was marvelous at defending Sawyer. CP33 used his length and athleticism to limit Mario's scoring opportunities, and helped keep his team in the game. The energy that he expended on the defensive end however, stifled his normally reliable lefty J. If CP33 is to live up to the pre-season First Team All-KBA expectations, he will have to improve his conditioning to be effective at both ends of the floor. Adonis Hughes finished with four points, while Nashid Puckett added six.

Here's what KBA analyst Derric Roberts had to say about the first half via his Myspace page:

Opening Day KBA was DRY!! Team Hassan got talent but they were actually very scared. Christ Pride and Hassan tried but in the first half they couldn't do it alone. Team LaQuinn came out on fire with the trio of Trent, Laquinn, and Mario. You gotta turn it up!!!


Team McBride wins by Forfeit Over Team Justin

Team McBride 1
Team Justin 0

Team Justin (0-1) started off the year with a forfeit to Team McBride (1-0). Usually, we don't write anything about forfeited games and the ensuing exhibition games that take place, but an important point must be made.

After his performance in the exhibition, Mr. Derric Roberts came over and asked if we saw how much he was killin. I informed him that I never watch or pay any type of attention to exhibition games and today was no exception. Derric, undeterred, told me he had about twenty.

IMPORTANT POINT ALERT: Having twenty in an exhibition game is kind of like a circus performer walking across a tightrope with a net underneath them or someone winning 20 million in play money with an on-line poker site. While great in theory, without the pressure associated with performing with no net or having your own money at stake, the feats are not all that impressive. The pressure is what separates the pretenders from the contenders. Which one is Derric? We will have to wait until next week to find out.

Remy-Less Team Red Upsets Team Korey

Team Red 35
Team Korey 33

All the pundits predicted a blowout. Team Korey (0-1) was favored by 15 in Vegas. Even fans of Team Red were preparing themselves for defeat. Who could blame them? They were without super-soph Remy Price (day to day with a knee injury) and they were facing the pre-season favorite to win it all. Most thought that if Team Red (1-0) could lose by less than ten that it would be a moral victory. The only people who didn't think this was Team Red themselves, particularly Captain Red Washington and Small Forward Thomas Hood. Red scored 15 points and added 6 offensive rebounds. His huge three with a minute left put Team Red up for good and put a dagger into the spirits of Team Korey. Thomas Hood contributed 14 points and provided comic relief by hitting the top left corner of backboard on one of his first-half three point attempts from the top of the key. The most impressive thing about Hood's performance was that he was able to limit himself to a career low, 26 field goal attempts. Hood, normally a shoot first-shoot second guy, realized that he is more valuable to his team if he keeps his attempts below 30.

Team Korey struggled to find their rhythm today. This team has all the pieces, they just have to find a way to put the puzzle together. One guy who had it figured out and who appears like he has been working hard in the off-season was Antoine Williams. Toine dazzled the crowd by draining five threes and scoring 21 total points. I have to think Williams has been coming to school early to get shots up and work on his game because a.) as Cebron would say, Antoine looks like he's got a burner and b.) I've been opening the gym for him so I know that for a fact actually. Unfortunately for Team Korey, no one else really had it going today. Don't worry though, there is a lot of season left. With a the "W"-cubed nucleus of Korey Williams, Antoine Williams, and Rookie of the Year candidate JyBrael Wilson, Team Korey will be a tough match-up come
playoff time.

Where in the World was Chris Crawford?
Inconspicuously absent from Friday's festivities was KBA mainstay Chris Crawford. Granted, his team didn't play, but that's never stopped him before. He usually uses his off days to talk trash, bug the commissioner or assistant-commish, and do anything that he can to get mentioned on the blog. If I
had to bet, I'm guessing Crawford is having some sort of identity crisis. Should he stick with the Cebron moniker that worked so well for him or with his improved outside game, should he make the switch to Cimmer like he proclaimed he would in the preseason? Or maybe he should he should do a combination of both? Cimron or Cebroner sounds good, right?

.....Man, I can't even imagine would it would be like to walk in shoes of a KBA superstar like Crawford for one day. How Crawford manages to make such important decisions like Cebron or Cimmer is beyond comprehension. I guess that's why he's decided to take his talents to 49th St. Beach. He can handle the heat.