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Ultimate Hoops Headlines

Author:	Jasmin Williams
Posted Date:	4/27/2012 6:35 PM
Comments:	0

Colorado Springs Week 4 Recap: Upset???

Could The Angels Lift Team Flight Over Pull The Trigger?????

“Clearing Throat” Uggghhhh Hmmmmm, Cough! Cough! Good morning class…I’m your teacher Jazz “The Stat Man” Williams and I’d like to welcome everyone to Defining Moments 101. Today we are going to talk about upset, implosion and chemistry. These are key things that can cause mental breakdown, frustration and a difference between a win or loss.

Ring, Ring, Ring...Class is now in session! Allow me to do what I do what I do when I do what I do oh so well…

Upset [v., adj. uhp-set; n. uhp-set] -To defeat or overthrow an opponent that is considered more formidable, as in war, politics, or sports.
Implosion [n.] (m-plzhn) - A violent collapse inward.
Chemistry [kem-uh-stree] noun, plural -The interaction of one personality with another.

Game#1 (0-3) Who Dat vs. (3-0) Hooligans
Half way into a basketball season nobody should be asking, “Who Dat?” At this point we all know who this team is and what they are known for…2nd half implosions. Let’s go inside the numbers before we get into what happened in this game. Week 1 halftime deficit -6points, Week 2 halftime lead -9points and Week 3 halftime deficit -9points. Who Dat has allowed a combined 81 points (27ppg) in the 1st half of the past three games, but give up a combined 126 points (42ppg) in the 2nd half of games. Most knowledgeable players know how you start isn’t as important as how you finish. Enter week 4…

What makes Who Dat a threat in the 1st half of games is their ability to establish that inside and out game early. Henry Cuadra (7pts, 3rebs & 2stls) has taken the job as director of operations for the offense as he tends to make easy work penetrating and finding his team for open shots (4asst). Sanjay Dronavalli (6pts) has made a name for himself in the paint being able to get good position and grab rebound after rebound with ease finishing with 8 (5.8per). With everyone learning and accepting their roles it allows a player like Reggie Small to put in work. Making light work in the 1st half shooting 3-5 (8points), grabbing 5 rebounds and letting the air out of the ball with 2 big blocks kept Who Dat neck to neck with the Hooligans. Leading scorer Geoff Page (4rebs, 4asst & 2stls) came in averaging 14.3ppg and 14.9 attempts, which is okay when you’re able to create your own shot. Shooting 4-6 (2-4 from behind the arc) in the 1st half was a big lift when you figure they were going against one of the biggest and best defensive teams in the league. With a team effort they only went into halftime down by 3 points.

The 2nd half for Who Dat should be labeled the implosion from how they’ve conducted themselves so far this season. Last night would be no different as the fans in UHA (Ultimate Hoops Arena) watched their team fall apart at the seams. Reggie Small would disappear in the 2nd half turning into a jump shooter (3-11fg, 1-6 from deep) leaving the comfortable confines of the post finishing with 17pts, but only 38% from the field. Geoff Page would try to make up for it by taking 15 shots, but was only able to connect on 3 leaving him with 18 points for the game (33% shooting). Lack of conditioning, patience and chemistry would be the difference in this game. All I can say to Who Dat for the rest of the season is Carpe Diem!!!

The floor general of the Hooligans was in his purest form on uhlife.com earlier in the week stating, “Anything less than a 20 point lead would be a failure.” I’ve been getting the vibe that Michael “The Surgeon” Harper is just as cocky and competitive as I am and wants his team to play at a high level every game (getting better and being consistent). That isn’t asking too much is it? Or is it?

The Hooligans are going the route of making things harder than they need to be. Maybe they should study that phrase, “Hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard.” The talent is there but the lack of focus is starting to become an underlying issue. Tim Kohere would be the leading player in the lack of focus category missing enough bunnies to cancel Easter bunny appearances for a couple of years. Tim (12pts, 8rebs, 3stls & 4blks) shot an unbelievable 2-6 from the field against an undersized Who Dat team and 1-4 from the free throw line in the 1st half. Sam McKenzie (10pts, 4rebs) would go from the game we all had been waiting for last week to a shadow of himself picking up a 1st half technical in frustration. Michael “The Surgeon” Harper (7rebs, 2asst, 1stl & 1blk) would have to step it up on the offensive end and become a scorer. Not a shooting night like last week, but all 9 of his 1st half points would be needed to stop the bleeding. With the hecklers laughing and thinking this game could be the upset of the week Mike said, “It’s only the 1st half…weren’t you guys (Downtown) only up by a few points against them at the half…we have the whole 2nd half to play.” Technically we were up by 9, but 3 is in the same category of a few.

The 2nd half wouldn’t be that much better than the 1st if you glanced at the stats. The difference here would be the hustle and those 50/50 balls. Tim and James Elton (6pts, 3rebs, 1asst & 3stls) would establish their presence in the paint changing and blocking shots. Getting out and running allowed the Hooligans to get some easy baskets and push their lead up to 12 points at one point. Not able to convert from the stripe (15-28) as a team would leave the door open for Who Dat who only trailed by 4 points with under 2 minutes left in the game. With defensive pressure and not allowing open looks from Who Dat sealed this close game which was intended to be a 20 point blowout. This would be the 1st game where sharpshooting Dan Jordahl (1reb & 2asst) went without a field goal (0-3)A win is a win, but at some point not being consistent will come back to haunt them.
Final: Who Dat 51 – Hooligans 60
Up Next: (0-4) Who Dat vs. (0-4) Medico Legal May 3rd @8:30pm; (4-0) Hooligans vs. (3-1) Team Flight May 3rd @7:30pm

Game#2 (2-1) Team Flight vs. (2-1) Pull The Trigger
There are only a few players in the history of the game I know of that could make a bold prediction and come through…Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson & Kobe Bryant (you can insert whomever you think could do it). Sorry Rachel you do not make that list, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind as long as you get the victory. Guaranteeing 56 individual points might have put a bigger target on Team Flights back than they already needed. Team Flight was looking to take off and separate themselves from the middle of the pack and stay within the top three if possible with a win over Pull The Trigger Thursday night. Would the angels come through for them or come up short like they did for Who Dat.

This game would be very interesting, because they were undersized in every position except the shooting guard position held down by 6’0” Malcolm “Kobe” Robertson. In the early going Khalil “Handles” Hicks (11pts, 5rebs, 1asst & 1stl) would prove he isn’t as easy as you would think it is to guard dipping in and out of PTT’s defense. Coming off the bench to provide some extra athleticism was Malcolm Robertson (5rebs, 1asst & 1blk) who had no problem getting his shot off shooting 3-8 in the 1st half. With Team Flight having a few dry spells here and there they were unable to pull away from PTT going into the half up by only 5 points.

Going into halftime with a lead should have a team thinking positive thoughts, but when Khalil Hicks hit the wall on a drive late in the 1st there was a possibility he might not return putting a possible upset in jeopardy. A certified EMT in the stands was able to assess Khalil and cleared him to continue playing in this pivotal early season game. Like in most of the 1st half this game would go back and forth with no clear cut edge for either team. Early in the 2nd half Khalil Hicks checked back in the game giving his team a much needed boost. The team was a plus 5 with him in the game and a -4 with him out. With the team back full force Forrest Dyer (17pts, 2asst, 4stls & 1blk) caught his second wind and put his team on his back grabbing any and every rebound that did not go in finishing with 17 rebounds. Even though Ben Matthewson (0-6, 1asst, 4rebs & 1blk) and Brock Wilson (0-2, 5rebs & 1asst) were unable to score they came up with huge rebounds in the later part of the 2nd half with under 3 minutes left in the game. With PTT clamping down on Khalil and Malcolm, Kent Waugh (5rebs, 1asst & 1blk) was left open to knock down some big shots on his way to 8 points. With less than 50 seconds left in the game and the lead in hand Team Flight was forced to the stripe where Khalil Hicks (3-4), Kent Waugh (2-2) and Forrest Dyer (5-8) were able to seal the deal. The basketball angels were definitely with Team Flight on this huge upset…singing… Send Me An Angel, Send Me An Angel, Right Now, Right Now, Send Me An Angel, Send Me Angel, Right Now, Right Now!!!!!

Can I get a hand count on how many people thought Pulling The Trigger was going to have more issues than they thought? One, two, three, four, five…3,000 (hey where did all these extra hands come from...ha ha ha). Earlier in the week one of my inside reporters found out Mike Danielson dislocated his thumb and was not sure if he would be able to play. Also in the report was the frustration mounting because the team was not gelling the way they thought it would. Could this be the beginning stages of a M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N!?

After being served up some humble pie last week against the Hooligans Pull The Trigger was looking to get back on track. Who would of thought their leading scorer Ben Feilmileier (14.5ppg) and leading rebounder Noah Garguile (6.7rpg) would end up missing the same game (a pivotal one at that). These are the kind of games that show how players play when they are out of their comfort zone and boy was this an uncomfortable one for PTT. CEO/GM Mike Danielson (9rebs, 3asst, 1stl & 1blk) would struggle in the 1st half shooting 2-10 trying to adjust to playing with one hand. David Jones (3rebs, 2asst & 2stls) would have his worst shooting night of his career going 2-13 and 0-5 from behind the arc. His frustrations would only boil over as he received his 1st technical of the season. Tevin “T.J.” Holt would provide the spark to keep PTT in the game by pulling a few robberies (3 steals) for 6 points in the 1st half (8pts, 2asst & 2blks for the game). PTT would find themselves in unfamiliar territory for the 2nd time this season down by 5 points at halftime.

With players from PTT calling each other out and showing frustration on their faces had Ultimate Hoop Arena fans thinking upset in the making. After a quick breather PTT was able to settle down and find a little rhythm with a few easy layups. Corey “The Beast” Brown (4-11) was able to get a couple of bunnies and find his way to the charity stripe where he was able to go 4-6 finishing the game with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assist, 4 steals and 1 block. Mike Danielson was finally able to find his stride shooting 9-19 from the field finishing with 22 points. Even though Jason Rojas (9rebs & 1asst) was unable to find the center of the rim (2-7) that often he was able to score a big basket late in the 2nd half to pull them within 5 points with under a minute left in the game. Unable to convert after Team Flights free throws Pull The Trigger drops to the 4th seed if the playoffs started today. Say what you will….THIS CLASSIFIES AS AN UPSET.
Final: Team Flight 55 – Pulling The Trigger 50
Up Next: (3-1) Team Flight vs. (4-0) Hooligans May 3rd @7:30pm; (2-2) Pulling The Trigger vs. (3-1) Downtown TBA- Postponed Until Further Notice...Stay Tunedd

Game#3 (0-3) Medico Legal vs. (2-1) Downtown
Not able to suit up enough players last week Medico Legal looked to put together a team effort and provide the UHA fans with another upset game on the night against reigning champs Downtown. Anything is possible if a team overlooks their opponent…so they say!

This game would not start in Medico Legals favor as they found themselves in a 15 point hole in the first 4 minutes of play. Finally able to get the ball into Joshua Bevans (6rebs, 2asst, 1 stl & 7blks) hands allowed a glimpse of hope as he put on a show scoring 14 of his 33 points in the 1st half. Unable to get some help from his counterparts made it that much more difficult to stop the bleeding going into the half down by 38 points.

The 2nd half was much of the same results for everyone not named Joshua. Bryan Wyeth (3-13fg, 2 rebs, 1asst & 1blk), Jonathan Harvey (2-4fg, 3rebs, 2asst & 1stl) & Maxwell Abbott (1-10fg, 4rebs, 2asst & 2stls) were able to contribute with a combined 12 points, but it would not be enough to come back as they go down swinging in a 46 point loss.

Downtown suited up focused and united as a team knowing this would be their last tune up game before heading to Las Vegas for the national tournament. Brian “Hard Work” Smith would lead the way going 10-16 from the field and 4-9 from behind the arc finishing with a double double (24pts, 10rebs, 5asst, 2stls & 1blk). Neal Robinson (2rebs, 3asst & 1stl) found his touch from deep burning up the net going 4 for 7 to finish up with 18 points. Sharp Shooter Phillip Valdez was next in line burning a hole on the scoreboard adding 18 points on 4 of 8 shooting from long range. Marcus Curry (3rebs, 4asst & 1stl) and Israel “Fig” Figueroa (8rebs, 3asst, 1stl & 2blks) were able to add 6 and points respectively. Bryan Yaninek (8rebs & 1asst) and Kenny Lewter (3rebs) provided defensive pressure and score 6 points. Jasmin Williams was on pace for a triple double, but came up short on his stat line with 10 points, 7rebs, 7asst & 7stls). Hopefully Downtown will take this kind game to Las Vegas and come back with a national championship.
Final: Medico Legal 45 – Downtown 91
Up Next: (0-4) Medico Legal vs. (0-4) Who Dat May 3rd @8:30pm; (3-1) Downtown vs. Las Vegas Tourney (Game versus Pull The Trigger has been postponed until further notice).

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