WS Chronicle

The Josh Howard Foundation in conjunction with the W.R. Anderson Community Center brought together an adult summer league last year.  It was a complete success, so instead of waiting until the summer the foundation decided to bring The League back for the spring. The action kicked off last week.

Tuesday, April 10, was the first night of action for league play, with three games on tap.  There are quite a few new teams included in this year’s league, so some games were very competitive while others were not.

The Block Boyz faced off against Ball Don’t Lie.  Ball Don’t Lie had a tough time offensively only mustering a total of 33 points on the night.  The same could not be said for Block Boyz, as they were clicking on all cylinders, racking up 88 points in total.  Block Boyz also had five players score in double figures, so it was really a team effort Tuesday night.

The game between Team Truth and Finesse Game was a much closer contest.  Finesse Game seemed to wear down Team Truth with their deep bench as the night progressed.  With Team Truth only having six players, fatigue was more than likely an issue down the stretch, leading to their 75-64 defeat.  Former Tar Heel great Rayshawn Terry led Finesse Game with 21 points.

Arguably the most entertaining game of the night was when Bad Hombres took on Blue Chips.  This back and forth battle went down to the wire, with Bad Hombres squeaking out a two-point victory by the score of 101-99.  Both teams had five players score in double figures on the evening.

Steve Nivens of the Josh Howard Foundation says he feels like the first night went very well.  He says with so many new teams in the league, some did not know what to expect, which may have led to the blowout and the close games because teams may have underestimated their opponents.

“I was highly impressed with the play last night and I am also excited to see what the other new teams have to offer,” Nivens said.  “From what I saw from the teams last nigh I think the league will be pretty competitive all season.”

Nivens stated he fully expects the league this spring should bring as much intrigue as the one last summer.  He says he is still fielding calls from teams interested in entering the league, which should make for an even more dynamic summer league.

“By us having 12 teams in the league, it’s making it more interesting by bringing more diversity,” he continued.  “The guys are so serious about winning, they come out on the days they are not playing to scout some of the new teams in the league.”