Game Thoughts: Allan Cunanan, GM of West Coast Ronin, guest contributor.
Team Arkansas vs Fort Worth Funk
What’s that smell? Stinky cheese? Oh that was just Fort Worth as they Stunk up the court at the beginning of the 1st quarter. The Funk were held scoreless over the first 3 minutes of the game. Dusty Hannah of Team Arkansas doing his best Jimmer Fredette impersonation pacing his Alumni team in the first half with 11 points. Not to mention Jaylen Barford having a Hot start. One of the few bright spots for the TCU Alums was the play of JD Miller in the first half. However, a 33% shooting percentage by Fort Worth just won’t cut it and resulted in a 10 point half time deficit.
But like a fine camembert cheese that needs to ripen over time, the Fort Worth squad started to find their Funk as the second half wore on. Point Guard Alex Robinson Jr got funky as he showed why he’s arguably one of the best guards in TBT this summer with his steady play. Barford, after a stellar first half performance started to get really Cold, forcing up some bad threes. Arkansas allowed the Funk to get back into the game. However, CJ Jones provided Arkansas with the spark they needed. Hitting key 3 pointers throughout the second half. Coach Patel’s strategy to play 5 out during the ELAM allowed CJ Jones to be open to hit the game winner.
Purple and Black vs Omaha Blue Crew
Best defensive teams in the tourney, or worst offenses? Just like game one this matchup started off just as bad. Sloppy offensive play all around. Bad passing, Missed shots and turnover galore. Or was it just good defense from both clubs? You kind of expect this to happen to a first year team like the Blue Crew who looked like they were trying to find their legs under them. But it’s no excuse for a veteran TBT team like the Purple and Black. This game was starting to be hard to watch. K States Thomas Gipson was really the only notable player in the first half who ended up with a team and game high of 19 points at the end of the contest.
Both teams continued their bad offensive play into the second half with nobody scoring a bucket in the first minute and half of the 3rd quarter. Missing shot after shot. Even point blank ones. There was even a 10 second violation. But what looked to be a snoozer of a game, the play of Omaha’s Deverell Biggs in the 2nd half was just like his name, BIG! It wasn’t until the ELAM when this game ended up being the most exciting game of the day. Biggs’ ESPN highlight worthy game winner bank 3 is right up there as being one of the top ELAM winning shots in TBT tournament history. How bad was the offense in this game? K State shot 36 percent from the field, 23 percent from 3 point land. To top that, the Blue Crew shot just 26 percent from the field and 13 percent from downtown despite the win. Brick city. There was 27 total steals and 18 of them from Blue Crew.
Team Challenge ALS vs We are D3
Most would say that a team of Division 1 players going up against a team of Division 3 talent would result in an easy blowout by the Division 1 team. The fine line between top D3 talent and Division 1 players in this game was a bit blurry. If you didn’t know each players college background you would have thought this was just another top matchup of Division 1 teams. The reality of Division 3 vs Division 1 programs really is just that one bench is deeper than the other when it comes to overall talent. Or the play of the bigs. Usually if you’re over 6’7 and can play, you are going to be recruited by a Division 1 team. And The only real difference that I saw between the two teams tonight was that ALS was a bit stronger in their Post play. Evident of D3 being out rebounded 52 to 30. But talent is talent. And D3 proved that’s all that really matters by bringing some of the best D3 talent in the country. Each one of them could very well matchup well at Division 1 schools.
It actually looked like at times that D3 was the better team. D3’s Eric Demers 3 point range is that of Steph Curry’s. He was definitely the first half Hero for D3, but just ran out of gas in the second half. D3 actually relied a little too much on the 3s in my opinion. Excellent point guard play from Daquan Brooks stood out. Overall D3’s scrappy play definitely helped them almost pull off the upset especially when Justin Dentmon was nowhere to be found. Veteran play from Dom Johnson was actually what helped keep ALS from being the day’s big upset. Not to mention Marvelle Harris’ second half performance was the huge spark ALS needed to pull off the win finishing with a team high 21.
Wichita Aftershocks vs Ex-Pats
Not sure if it was the Aftershocks performance or the outstanding Wichita Fan support that helped Aftershock slide by with a win. The atmosphere in the stadium seemed amazing. Despite a lackluster first half, the Aftershocks Conner Frankamp gave the crowd a memorable homecoming performance. His “Ice in his veins” Shooting willed this win for Wichita over the Ex Pats. Rashard Kelly had the most solid performance for Wichita with a double double. Fred Vanvleet cameo talking to the team and coaches seemed to have motivated the turnaround in the second half.
However, I feel the real star of the game was the Ex Pat’s guard Prentiss Nixon despite the loss. He showed he should be on some NBA teams summer league roster at the least. He’s a combo guard that knows how to get his shot off against good defense. The type of player that could thrive at the end of an NBA bench. The Ex Pats gave a respectable performance, even leading at the half, but just didn’t have enough firepower to help Nixon close it out for an upset.
Best game of the day?
Wichita vs Ex Pats. Seeing the Crowd so hyped and the Ex Pat’s respectable performance. It was closer than the score.
Biggest surprise of the day?
Where was Justin Dentmon?
Moment worth remembering?
It had to be Deverell Biggs bank shot heard around the world.
What player earned his trip to the E&J Brandy Lounge?
Has to be Deverell Biggs with the ELAM shot
One big thing looking ahead?
If the Blue Crew’s defense is for real? If so, there could be an upset against Wichita.
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Allan Cunanan is the GM of West Coast Ronin, a veteran team in The Basketball Tournament. While we look forward to the Ronin playing in TBT 2022, we at thematchupzone.com are pleased to have him on board for TBT 2021 as a guest analyst.