WS Chronicle

The Adult basketball league being played at the W.R. Anderson Community Center has panned out to be just as good if not better than first imagined.  There has been high level of play from the teams and no incidents or altercations to speak of.

The league is winding down and the playoffs are right around the corner (at the time the story was written).  No team has separated themselves at the top and according to W.R. Anderson Director Bryant McCorkle, every team has a fighting chance to win.

“I thought the games continue to be pretty good and the guys are bringing their A-game,” said McCorkle.  “We wanted to have the top talent from throughout the area come and play, and that’s exactly what we got.”

McCorkle said he and the Josh Howard Foundation have been talking about putting this league together for several years and because of the positive turnout, they are pleased with the results thus far.

Several teams were in action last Wednesday.  Team Truth and the Elite All-Stars faced off and in the end Team Truth clawed out a 59-42 victory behind solid defensive play.  Elite All-Stars head coach Bennie Oates said he and his team have really enjoyed playing in the league.

“The league is very organized and we have a lot of college kids and former college players that have come back to play in the league,” Oates said.  “With people like Josh Howard and Steve Nivens, giving back to the community is great.  As the years go on, this league will continue to get better and better.

Oates says he feels his team has a great chance to bring home the championship in the end.  He said if they decide to have a league in the fall, his team will definitely compete.

Team Nothing Easy went into their game against Team Us very shorthanded, only dressing five players.  With no substitutes and missing key players, they were dominated by the score of 70-29.  After leading by 30 points at the half, Team Us continued their onslaught in the second half, never letting Nothing Easy get into the game.  Team Us was led in scoring by Will Tibbs with 14 and Aaron Adair with 15.

Rise Above and W.U.P.U.G.B competed in a fast paced up and down game.  W.U.P.U.G.B actually held a slim 26-22 lead at the half but could not hold on and lost 63-52.  Rez Young led Rise Above in scoring once again as he dropped 17 points.

Steve Nivens of the Josh Howard Foundation says the games continue to get better and better each day.  He said the teams are aware the playoffs are coming soon and everyone wants to position themselves to have the best seed possible.

“The league is going really well, and I don’t see any changes it should have made in the beginning,” Nivens said.  “It is good to see our vision come to light and it makes me feel good that the players are really enjoying and competing in the league.  The phone calls and texts I receive about the league has really made me feel good.”

For Nivens, he says Dem Boyz are a good looking team and have a great chance to win it all.  But he doesn’t want to count out any other team because all of the teams are playing hard. 

Nivens said Josh Howard plans to attend the playoffs and championship game.

Jawaun Griffin of Finesse Game said he wanted to compete in the league because of his long-standing relationship with McCorkle.  He said once he received the phone call about the league, he immediately said yes.

“The competition is great because you have a lot of guys from college and overseas playing, so you have to bring it to every game, which I like,” Griffin said. 

“I am thankful for the league because as we get older, we are still trying to live out our dreams of playing basketball.  I am glad they were able to put something together for us old guys.”=