Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

Week 1 of 2 of the Playoffs Grown Up Sports Thursday Night Adult Men’s Basketball League at the D-Spot in Southwest Houston is a wrap. One week left. Lets take a look at a recap of the night’s action.

6PM: Blazers v J Crew

This game began as a true battle of the bigs. J Crew workhorse, Ivan Lambert, came fired up and ready to go with a low post arsenal we hadn’t seen all season, practically having his way in the paint. Not to be outdone, Blazers’ tall forward, Brian Egwauth, would pound home his fair share of tough buckets, effectively offsetting Ivan’s power plays. The difference in the game would be big time performances from GUS MIP Jay Sutaria (18 points, 3 steals), Brett Shelton (three 3′s) and Jack Payne (11 points, 6/6 fts). Defense wins championships, but free throws win games. Jay and Jack drained 10/10 fts on the night, which makes a world of difference in the playoffs. Per usual, J Crew offensive heavyweight Earl Robertson poured in 20, but since most oits hose points came as a late game rally it wouldn’t be enough to change the outcome of the game. J Crew had an impressive run this season and we’ll look to see them improve again next season and be a real competitor for the GUS WCOTW title.

Blazers advance, 60-53 (Box Score)

GUS Player of the Game: Jack Payne (Blazers): 11 points, 10 rebounds

GUS Leagues Spring 2012 D-Spot Men's Basketball

7PM: Block Party v Crazy Pirates

Whoo. Block Party came out with guns a blazing. After studying the playoff preview, enforcer Thomas Cleveland came prepared to be aggressive with Crazy Pirates’ hardest hitters, Tom and Kenneth. An early three personal fouls on Thomas and another quick two team fouls would change the momentum as Block Party was forced to tone down their aggressiveness on D. Filip “Beast” Johnson saw this opening and began his interior attack with power moves around the basket and even a rare finger roll displaying a finesse that we haven’t seen from Filip in the past. Coupled with a strong start from sleeper guard Kegan Gonzales and Tom’s steady pace, the Pirates were off to sea with this one before we knew it. Block Party was clearly missing their mercenary Ralph Charles providing significant height on defense and a healthy amount of firepower on offense. Block Party has looked better every game and this game was no exception. Unfortunately, going up against the number one seed has it’s disadvantages and Block Party ran out of time.

Crazy Pirates block the party, 62-44 (Box Score)

GUS Player of the Game: Kegan Gonzales (Crazy Pirates): 17 points, 2 assists, a swag you would kill for

Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

8PM: Swag v. Letsgetit

Apparently neither team got the memo that this was a playoff game. Two teams with major upside yet notorious for attendance issues continued their shenanigans during the first round, hedging their bets that the other team would show up even more undermanned. All jokes aside, despite this looking like an open gym run, the game turned out to be better than advertised. SWAG floor general and Ball So Hard University Alumni, Liam Morrissey, came into his own, attacking the rim as if Letsgetit big body, Byron Shelton, wasn’t even there. Liam displayed all manner of herky jerky maneuvers that can only be completed with extensive advanced yoga training. In addition, Mudassir finally put the ball in the hole like we know he can, taking more controlled shots and helping his team to compete. Lee continued being Lee, providing the most solid of role plays you can ask of a player, begging the question, “why is this guy a free agent?” Some questions the world will never know the answer to. Letsgetit, however, had an answer to every play SWAG made except the age old question “where are your teammates?” Newcomer Blue showed the league why he’s nicknamed Charles Barkley in the mean streets of Houston, locking down 10 points and 7 rebounds as an undersized big in his first game back with GUS post-injury. It seems both Shelton brothers took offense to SWAG trying to power up and came back with some ammunition of their own – Bryan pouring in 12, 12 and 4, and Byron banging in 17, 15 and 3 blocks – all blocks on SWAG’s Liam and all blocks monstrous. The game changer? Claude Cox. We would expect no less.

Letsgetit survives, 75-69 (Box Score)

GUS Player of the Game: Claude Cox (Letsgetit): 29 points, 4/8 3ps, 9 rebounds

Fun Fact: GUS Statistician, Favor, goes for 20 points on 6/10 3ps, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, proves that GUS really lives this. Ha.

Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

9PM: Afro Boys v. VA G Ballers

Coming in we knew this had the potential to be the marquee game of the night. J Crew and Blazers is a rivalry game, but Afro Boys and VA G Ballers is for respect. VAGB thoroughly trounced the Afro Boys earlier in the season in a game where Nick, Bassey and Kevin balled outrageous. They would need that same type of performance to beat the Afro Boys again with the Boys’ roster at full strength. As soon as the ball tipped off David “Ruger” came out shooting with dribble drive, pull-up combinations that we couldn’t have prepared you for in a scouting report. It was clear the Boys’ were focused on their end goal. Boasting their entire lineup, the boy’s looked seamless, with steady production from their entire lineup. When these guys get their gears moving together, they look like a top team. But we told you that already, so you know if they play like this they’re contenders for the gold. Unfortunately, we also told you the same thing about the VA G Ballers, with their key to victory being that they play on the same page or at least read the same book. It seems as though they all chose their own adventure this week. Standout play from Thursday Men’s Basketball Scoring Champion Kevin Charles  (29 points, 8/9 fts, 9 rebounds) and Bassey Ekong (16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals) wouldn’t be enough to beat the Boys’ complete team play. Both of these teams look to be a problem next season if they come back with focus. Afro Boys will continue on, looking primed for the semi’s and championships.

Afro Boys advance, 62-58 (Box Score)

GUS Player of the Game: OJ Oni (Afro Boys): 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists

Looking forward to finishing out the season this week guys. Be sure to wear your Sunday’s best and be prepared to start with straight shots and then pop bottles. We’re popping champagne like we won a championship game.

Don’t forget to sign up for next season if you haven’t already. We have several leagues available, including bringing back the Tuesday league and an all new Thursday Rec League (less competitive), as detailed below.

Who is going to take it all? Reflections? Predictions? Guarantees? Sound off in the comments.

-Joe

 

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