View from 315A

MPW, his father ROW, and I attended the fourth night of the Rocky Top Basketball League at Bearden High School. Though the crowd was still substantial, attendance was at its lowest of the four nights of the league thus far.

The first game of the night was a 108-60 blowout win from Ray’s ESG (2-2) over the News-Sentinel (1-3). My notes:

• The News-Sentinel team had many no-shows. They began the game with only six players and were so shorthanded that 6'4" guard Keith Bauer (Roane State) tipped against 6'10" Brian Williams. He lost.
  
• Five minutes into the game, Chattanooga’s 7'1" Jeremy Saffore and Dontay Hampton arrived. Saffore did no better defending Brian Williams than the guards.
  
• Williams scored a game-high 20 points (on 10-of-14 shooting) against his heavily outmanned opponents. He also added ten rebounds.
  
• Williams’ nicknames of “Big Baby” and “Da Neighborhood” seem to be sticking.
  
• Damon Johnson arrived very late. A timeout was taken to insert him into the game with 6:47 left in the first half. His team already trailed 44-15 at that point. By halftime it was 56-23.
  
• For the second consecutive game, Ron Slay did not play for the News-Sentinel squad.
  
• Philip Jurick failed to show up for the second time in four games. He has scored only 12 points combined in the two games he has played.
  
• In my opinion, Bobby Maze was the most impressive player on the court. His relentless defense, vocal leadership, and court management dominated the moments he was in. I would say that he “put it on for Tennessee” if I had any idea what that meant.
  
• Scotty Hopson showed flashes of brilliance, having the three most exciting plays of the game - two blocks and a tomahawk windmill dunk 4:07 into the second half .
  
• Everything Hopson does seems so effortless. His grace coupled with his deadpan facial expressions make him appear lazy.
  
• You would think that the News-Sentinel, which has countless sportswriters paid to cover area basketball, could field a better team with “experts” involved.
  
• As always the most important stat of the game was that Steven Pearl did not attempt to take a charge. I can only hope that the lax officiating in these games does not hurt one of the all-time greatest floppers.
  
• His father, Bruce (pictured with freshman point guard Daniel West), did attend the game.

The next game saw Tyler Smith’s HT Group defeat Cameron Tatum’s First Tennessee squad, 96-94. My notes:

• The HT Group remained undefeated. It was their third straight win by three or fewer points.
  
• Michael Jenkins hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds to seal the win.
  
• Jon Higgins kept his team close with great second half shooting but two critical turnovers in the game’s closing seconds lost the game. He led his team with 24 points.
  
• Until this game, First Tennessee had been Cameron Tatum vs. The World but an injury derailed this pattern. Tatum was shaken after a dunk and eventually left the game. Evidently he suffered a strained groin. His team stayed close without him. Tatum scored all thirteen of his points in the first half before sitting out most of the second half.
  
• Tatum’s hang time may be his best asset.
  
• The usual suspects led the HT Group: Tyler Smith (23 points, pictured) and Courtney Pigram (31 points).

I left before the last game as it held little interest for me. What is Josh Tabb’s bigger indignity - being on the Richardson Construction Team or his present hair cut?

The best aspect of the night was that the sound system was down for the first half and the first 2:35 of the second half. The person who remedied this "problem" is now on “my list.”

Evidently, my crew is not the only one appalled by the commentating. The league commissioner is well aware and hoping for more subdued performances. This criticism is evidently not lost on the announcer either as he instructed, “If I’m doing a bad job commentating send all complaints tohttp://www.idontcare.com/. The site does exist, but there is nowhere to lodge a compliant. We may complain about that.

YouTube should give the announcer an endorsement deal and Charles Barkley should sue for character defamation due to his oft repeated impressions.

Note: Images were taken from “The View from the Hill” blog. Check out his accounts of the game here. He actually stayed for all three games.