Class of '66 Old Fart

5/13 - Beat Team United 60 - 57. 9 pts on 4 of 10 from the field; 1 of 3 on 3's; 0 for 2 FT's; 7 reb; 1 assist; 3 TO's; 1 stl. 5/14 – Lost to The RENS 80 – 71. 15 pts. on 7 of 17 from the field 0 for 7 on 3’s; 1 of 2 FT’s; 6 reb; 1 assist; 2 TO’s; 1 stl; 1 blk. 5/14 – Lost to Expressions Elite 77 – 63. 6 pts. on 2 of 10 from the field; 1 of 7 on 3’s; 1 of 2 FT’s; 1 reb; 0 TO’s; 0 stl; 1 blk. In 10 games on the EYBL circuit, his shooting percentage has been consistently poor.

5/13 - Beat Team Griffin 80 – 78 in OT. 22 pts.on 6 of 17 from the field; 1 of 4 on 3’s; 9 of 10 FT’s; 9 reb; 6 assists; 1 TO's; 4 stls. 5/14 - Lost to Howard Pulley 85 – 82. 19 pts. on 4 of 13 from the field; 2 of 4 on 3’s; 9 of 14 FT’s; 8 reb; 5 assists; 1 TO’s; 0 stls. 5/14 – Beat Boo Williams 72 -65. 19 pts. on 6 of 12 from the field; 2 of 4 on 3’s; 5 of 6 FT’s; 4 reb; 1 assist; 4 TO’s; 1 stl; 1 blk. And yet another 30 pts. game from his teammate Collin Sexton: 30 pts. on 7 of 13 from the field; 3 of 5 on 3’s; 13 of 14 FT’s; 7 reb; 3 assists; 5 TO’s 2 stls.

Not intentionally derailing the Durham thread, but his teammate Collin Sexton is tearing it up. Lots of points from the field and he's getting to the line so he's a slasher. Collin Sexton - Southern Stampede Date Pts. FGM FGA 3PM 3PA FTM FTA Reb Assts. TO's Stls. 4/16 25 8 21 0 2 9 11 4 0 3 1 4/16 35 10 26 6 14 9 12 5 9 3 1 4/17 32 12 30 1 4 7 8 6 2 0 1 4/22 37 12 25 0 3 13 19 9 4/23 29 9 24 0 4 11 12 5 4/23 17 5 15 0 3 7 8 4 4/24 36 11 15 1 2 13 14 3 5/13 30 11 24 2 5 6 6 1 4 5/14 33 10 18 3 5 19 12 3 1 3 1

Oh yes! Collin Sexton (30.4 PPG) has scored 30+ in 6/9 games this year. The Stampede guard has 85 free throws made, next closest has 51.

5/13 - Beat Phoenix Phamily 68 - 67. Garland with 14 pts. on 5 of 10 from the field 3 of 6 on 3’s; 1 of 2 FT’s; 1 reb; 2 assists; 0 TO’s 1 stl. 5/14 – Beat LV Prospects 70 – 68. 13 pts. on 4 of 10 from the field; 3 of 7 on 3’s; 2 of 2 FT’s; 6 reb; 3 assists; 4 TO’s.

5/13 - Beat Team Griffin 80 – 78 in OT. 22 pts.on 6 of 17 from the field; 1 of 4 on 3’s; 9 of 10 FT’s; 9 reb; 6 assists; 1 TO; 4 stls. 5/14 - Lost to Howard Pulley 85 – 82. 19 pts. on 4 of 13 from the field; 2 of 4 on 3’s; 9 of 14 FT’s; 8 reb; 5 assists; 1 TO’’ 0 stls. His teammate, Collin Sexton, continues to be a scoring machine with 30 and 33 pts. respectively. As an added note, Gary Trent, Jr. scored 46 pts., for Howard Pulley in its loss.

5/13 - Beat Team United 60 - 57. 9 pts on 4 of 10 from the field; 1 of 3 on 3's; 0 for 2 FT's; 7 reb; 1 assist; 3 TO's; 1 stl. 5/14 – Lost to The RENS 80 – 71. 15 pts. on 7 of 17 from the field 0 for 7 on 3’s; 1 of 2 FT’s; 6 reb; 1 assist; 2 TO’s; 1 stl; 1 blk.

5/13 – Lost to All Ohio Red 81- 57. 20 pts. on 8 of 9 from the field; 3 of 4 on 3’s; 1 of 3 FT’s; 5 reb; 0 assists; 4 TO’s; 1 stl. 5/14 - Beat Houston Hoops 76 – 66. Played 17 minutes but box score doesn’t reflect that he took a single shot; 7 reb; 1 assist; 1 TO; 1 stl.

EYBL in Hampton, VA this weekend. Alabama Challenge beat Team United 60 - 57. 9 pts on 4 of 10 from the field; 1 of 3 on 3's; 0 for 2 FT's; 7 reb; 1 assist; 3 TO's; 1 stl.

EYBL in Hampton, VA this weekend. Garland and his St. Louis Eagles defeated Phoenix Phamily 68 - 67. Garland with 14 pts. on 5 of 10 from the field 3 of 6 on 3’s; 1 of 2 FT’s; 1 reb; 2 assists; 0 TO’s 1 stl.

EYBL is in Hampton, VA this weekend. Jeff Rabjohns ‏@JeffRabjohns Indiana 2017 commit Al Durham 22 points, 8 rebs, 6 assists, 4 steals in an 80-78 OT win. Was even better than those numbers suggest. Jeff Rabjohns ‏@JeffRabjohns Al Durham made a number of hustle plays, diving on the floor for a late loose ball that led to a key score. Led his team well tonight.

EYBL in Hampton, VA this weekend. 5/13 – Smith and his Mac Irvin team lost to All Ohio Red 81- 57. Smith with 20 pts. on 8 of 9 from the field; 3 of 4 on 3’s; 1 of 3 FT’s; 5 reb; 0 assists; 4 TO’s; 1 stl.

From Chad Ford: The All-Go-Back-To-School Team: Melo Trimble, Nigel Hayes, Caleb Swanigan, Marcus Lee, Dedric Lawson, Troy Williams, Justin Jackson.

From dleaguedigest.com Verdell Jones Bounces Back From The Brink of Retirement Sitting on an operating table four years ago, Verdell Jones pondered the thought of giving the game of basketball up for good. After a torn ACL took him out of one of the most important games of his college career, Jones was faced with a decision that would change the course of the rest of his life. Coming off of a season in the NBA D-League in which he scored more than 16 points per game, it’s clear that the resiliency in working his way back to basketball is paying off. That trait is something that he’s managed to develop well over the years, dating all the way back to his days in college at Indiana. Though the school had won 25 games in the year before his arrival, star guards Eric Gordon and Jordan Crawford both left the program and opened up an opportunity for Jones to start as a freshman. As he tells D-League Digest, it was a bit of an unexpected opportunity. “Starting my freshman year was a big jump. When I first committed and the plan was to redshirt or maybe sit on the bench for a while, but when Jordan Crawford left I was put in and it was an eye-opening experience that forced me to grow and mature much quicker. The speed and physicality was so different and it definitely made me learn and shortened the learning curve,” Jones said. Jones was one of ten freshman on a team that was led by a first-year head coach in Tom Crean. The collective lack of experience showed on the court, too, with only six wins throughout the course of the season. It was a trying time and one of the most difficult challenges of Jones’ career, but he stayed the course. While still holding down his spot as the lead guard, Indiana jump to 10 wins, then 12, then 27 during his senior year. “At the time it was tough and it was frustrating, but my dad always told me to not quit on things and just ride them out and in my senior it worked out. Beating all of these top teams that had been dominating us years before was such an extraordinary feeling.” After overcoming so many obstacles and pushing through the adversity throughout his first few years with the program, Jones’ hard work was set to pay off as the Hoosiers entered the Big 10 Conference Tournament. As they squared off with Penn State, Jones was riding a hot streak that was punctuated with a 15-point win over #5 Michigan State just a few weeks prior. The clock rolled on and Indiana had control of the game, when Jones entered the game as a substitute. Six minutes into his time on the court, his career would substantially change. With the Hoosiers on offense, Jones jump stopped like he had done so many times in his career to that point, but this time his right knee gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground. His worst fears were realized the following day when doctors determined that he had torn his ACL and would be forced to take a year off from basketball. If the four years at Indiana hadn’t tested him, the surgery and rehab from the injury certainly did. “There were moments when I thought about walking away from basketball. I tore my ACL during a game that I had been working towards my entire career, so it was definitely one of the hardest experiences of my life. It just felt unfair and it was really discouraging and made me think about if I wanted to do it anymore.” Once he had determined that he wanted to be able to go out on his own terms, Jones continued his rehabilitation and was able to return to the court eight months later. With that time from the game though, the NBA wasn’t going to be calling anytime soon so Jones made the jump to play in Greece. “I loved Greece. I was playing in the top division in Greece and they weren’t sure that I could play a lot of minutes with my knee, but it was a great experience and I loved the passion that the fans have.” With re-gained confidence, Jones moved on to Japan to play for the Oita HeatDevils and the Fukushima Firebonds. In his year with the Firebirds, he was the league’s sixth leading scorer and second in assists, all while helping the team reach the playoffs. “The bj-league in Japan is a very underrated league in my opinion. My first year there it really gave me a chance to get back to my old playing ways now that my knee was finally at 100%. It was great to be able to lead the team there.” His reputation around international basketball was growing and he had begun to receive offers from across the globe, but a connection to the NBA D-League was strong enough to reel him in. “I had offers in Japan and Europe, but I decided to take the risk and go all in to play with the D-League. We had a connection with the Santa Cruz Warriors and they didn’t plan on keeping me, but I did enough to make the roster and get quite a bit of playing time.” In his previous years as a professional he had done well against all of the top competition that was thrown at him, but entering the D-League he knew that he was in for a different beast. “I had heard about the league before I came, but when you get there you see the speed and size of everybody; it’s by far the second best league behind the NBA. Playing as a guard, night in and night out you’re playing against the best players in the league so there’s no days off. It was definitely a mental and physical grind.” It took him a few weeks to get into the swing of things, but by the end of the season Jones was playing a key role for the Warriors. Scoring 20 points per game throughout the back half of the season, Jones was able to prove that he had come a long way since his college days. “You can sometimes get away with being more athletic and bigger than everyone overseas, but in the D-League you have to be more cerebral if you want to score. Everyone here is athletic, so you have to outthink your opponents so as far as making moves and countermoves to get around players and I used that a bit more this year.” With the outstanding finish to his season in mind, Jones has once again popped up on the radar from teams around the world. Just a few years after he was sitting on the operating table and contemplating calling it a career, he never could have imagined being in the position that he’s in today. “I didn’t I’d be where I am now. I was on the line of not wanting to play basketball anymore and I was down and out about it. Now I’m possibly one call away from a life changing experience and I’m working out in front NBA GM’s and scouts and teams overseas. I never doubted myself along the way, but I still never thought that it would come this quick.” Playing in the D-League Elite Mini Camp recently, Jones had the opportunity to show teams around the league the type of player that he is, and the type of player that he can become. Just one step away from the NBA, Verdell Jones is ready for the call. “It would mean everything. With all of the sacrifices, time, money and effort that me and my parents have made, it would be a goal that is reached not just me but by my whole community. It would truly be a blessing.”

Friday box score.

What the box score doesn't tell us is did Troy exhibit an awareness of what his role was to be and where he was to be on the offensive end and what kind of defensive effort he demonstrated. We know he shot poorly but only had 1 TO so based on multiple tweets that his performance was sub-par, I have to assume that he didn't sparkle with overall basketball IQ. One day of poor shooting isn't that big of a deal. The NBA has 3-years worth of shooting stats for Troy from probably every square foot on the court. Poor shooting isn't that big of a deal unless his missed shots were from double teams or lower the head, drive and throw the ball in the general direction and hope for the best. In most cases, the latter is nothing more than a TO. Did he box out or did he get boxed out when rebounding? What kind of defense did he play; did he get beaten routinely off the drive? Did he always know where his man was? This is the IQ part of it.

Nice piece by Eamonn Brennan of ESPN. http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/115028/looking-ahead-thomas-bryants-return-could-fuel-promising-indiana

I have seen several tweets from different individuals that Troy was less than impressive today and he'll need to step it up on Friday.

His comment on being a leader next season was the most interesting to me because I don't think he's ever been a leader. He was a scorer in high school but just scoring points doesn't make him a leader. His court demeanor in high school (and I saw many of his games) and college has never been what I consider as leadership. I don't think it's in his DNA to get in someone's face in the huddle, function as an on-court coach or get into practice time scrapes. I think he's had a 'me first' attitude for a very long time. My personal opinion and I would very much like to have to admit I was badly mistaken come next March.

I reported info from 247; yours is from the ESPN site. Who knows how accurate these kinds of stats actually are.

Blessed to receive an offer from Indiana University. 6' 4" 215 lbs. http://247sports.com/Player/Jordan-Wright-85509 http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/evaluation/_/id/212158/jordan-wright

In addition to having a program in chaos, Little Ricky's got some internal audit problems as well related to some pretty serious overspending - a trick he probably learned from daddy. Pitino far exceeded budget for private jet travel, University of Minnesota audit finds http://www.startribune.com/pitino-far-exceeded-budget-for-private-jet-travel-university-of-minnesota-audit-finds/378906491/

High octane talent announced for the Forum Credit Union Tip Off Classic set for Dec. 10, at Southport H.S. Loaded high school basketball event set Kyle Neddenriep, kyle.neddenriep@indystar.com 11:59 a.m. EDT May 10, 2016 The fourth annual high school boys basketball Forum Credit Union Tip Off Classic is set for Dec. 10 at Southport with an enticing six-game lineup. Highlighting the event is a nightcap between New Albany and star junior-to-be Romeo Langford against North Central and potential IndyStar Mr. Basketball candidate Kris Wilkes. Here’s a look at the complete lineup: • Hamilton Southeastern vs. South Bend Riley, 11:30 a.m. – Hamilton Southeastern is coming off a 14-12 season and will be led by Zach Gunn (17.2 ppg, 8.6 rebounds), an Indiana Junior All-Star. HSE also has some talented underclassmen, including Brennan Scofield (averaged 6.6 points as a sophomore), Noah Smith (4.1 points as a freshman) and Aaron Etherington (4.1 points as a freshman). Jack Davidson, a senior-to-be, averaged 6.1 points last season. South Bend Riley, 22-6 last season and sectional champion, returns a talented core led by Damezi Anderson (18.1 points, 7.4 rebounds as a sophomore) and Shamar Dillard (9.5 points as a sophomore). • Mt. Vernon vs. Cloverdale, 1:15 p.m. – Mt. Vernon returns the core of a team that finished 18-5 last season, including Michael Ertel (15.8 ppg, 3.7 assists), Erick Shepherd (13.3 ppg, 5.8 rebounds) and James McCloud (8.3 ppg), all seniors next season. Cloverdale was 19-8 last season and won a Class 2A sectional. The Clovers will be led by senior and Butler recruit Cooper Neese (29.5 ppg, 9.5 rebounds last season). Lawrence North vs. Fort Wayne North Side, 3 p.m. – Lawrence North is loaded again coming off a 19-6 season under Jack Keefer. The Wildcats bring back 6-8 senior Ra Kpedi and highly-touted junior Kevin Easley, as well as several others. North Side, 18-7 last season, will be led by 6-8 senior Jaylen Butz and highly-regarded sophomore Keion Brooks. • Park Tudor vs. Fort Wayne Snider, 5 p.m. – This is another matchup of potential Mr. Basketball candidates as Park Tudor’s 6-10 senior-to-be Jaren Jackson Jr. (16.1 ppg, 7.8 rebounds) squares off against Snider 6-10 senior-to-be Malik Williams. Both are highly-recruited players. Park Tudor, which was 20-5 last season and won a 3A sectional, also brings back Kobe Webster (14.5 ppg, 3.7 assists) and Isaiah Rice (10.8 ppg) as seniors. Snider was 14-9 last season.

I don't know the reputation of this outfit but it's posted its ranking of 2019 recruits. Names of note include: #7 - Trendon Watford #12 - Keion Brooks #18 - Tyger Campbell http://www.theprepinsiders.com/player-rankings/?srch_rank_class=6

Michelle Huber tallied 3 homers, 7 runs & 7 RBI to earn Player of the Week honors! Congrats to Michelle.