April 2012
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The @Audman Reflects on the NBL’s Inaugural All Star Weekend!
Posted by Audley Stephenson
As I sit here on a half full flight with an empty seat next to me and several other ones sprinkled throughout the plane headed back home to Toronto, I realize that I’m in the midst of one of the more peaceful moments ( I mean that in a good way) since Friday morning when this NBL All Star Whirlwind Weekend got started.
It’s my first moment to really reflect and collect my thoughts on what turned out to be a very busy weekend. You see, when my man, Mic Boogie, his son Michael Jr. and I were initially making the trip from Toronto to Halifax to be a part of the NBL’s inaugural All Star Weekend, we really didn’t know what to expect. It would be my first time visiting Halifax and I figured that if things didn’t go well I could at least say that I got to visit somewhere new.
I was slated to assist with the weekend’s festivities by hosting the 3 Point and Slam Dunk competitions, conduct some player interviews and help with a bunch of on court promotions while Mic was the All Star game half time show and also was going to open up the game by performing the NBL theme song, “How We Ball”.
As I thought more about the weekend, I figured that being a part of an event like this certainly would make for good bragging rights at the very least. It’s not often that you can say that you played a role in the “Inaugural” All Star Weekend of a blossoming basketball league.
It was a very cool experience and I’m glad that I was able to be a part of it.
The moment we stepped off the plane into the cool Halifax breeze, you could just feel the excitement and buzz in the air and we knew we were in store for a great weekend.
The weekend itself was filled with a ton of great fan friendly events designed to showcase the great talent throughout the league. Things got kicked off on Saturday morning when onehalf of the All Stars representing Team Haywood made a hospital visit to kids at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. The rest of the All Stars, Team Smith hosted a free basketball clinic at the Halifax Metro Centre that both the kids and their parents enjoyed.
Later that afternoon, the NBL All Stars held an open practice and gave fans a chance to see the type of drills and exercises they use to help prepare be ready for game time. This was followed by an autograph session which created more opportunities for fans to interact with their favourite NBL player.
The Legends game was up next and it featured basketball legends from across the country who were on hand to celebrate their talent. It included the likes of NBA All-Star and Head Coach of the London Lightning, Micheal Ray Richardson, former NBA player and head coach Sam Mitchell, Les Berry, past Rainmen Head Coach and Will Njoku, Moncton Miracles Assistant Coach and 1994 NBA Draft Pick plus many many more.
As they day moved on, the Eastlink 3 Point Shoot Out and the Rogers Slam Dunk Competition took center stage and fans at the Metro Centre were treated to a fine display of basketball talent. It turned out to be a London sweep as both events were won by Lightning players. DeAnthony Bowden narrowly edged out home town favourite, Tyrone Levitt in the Eastlink 3 Point Shoot Out and Jamar Abrams threw down a thrilling dunk that brought the whole building out of their seats to capture the Rogers Slam Dunk Contest.
It was a perfect way to conclude the day’s events.
The All-Star Breakfast kicked off the events on Sunday and end of the season awards were handed out to the worthy recipients.
Visit the link below to see the full list of winners.
NBL Canada All Star Awards Handed Out
There was lots of anticipation and excitement around Sunday’s Inaugural All Star Game because that’s when the league would showcase its talent and fans in attendance get the chance to watch players they may not normally have a chance to see on a regular basis in action. As a hoop junkie myself, it was thrilling to watch the best players from around the league show what they can do and the fans were certainly entertained.
The combined total from the final score saw over 300 points up on the scoreboard so there was a non-stop flurry of highlight reel dunks, slick passes and exciting plays that kept the energy in the building up.
It might have been Team Haywood who walked away with the victory but in reality the final score really didn’t matter as it was the fans in attendance who were the real winners as they can now boastfully brag and say that they were a part of the NBL’s Inaugural All Star Weekend.
To see more photos from the weekend’s events, please visit the link below to view them.
Photos from NBL All Star Weekend
THAT’S HOW WE BALL!!
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Audley Stephenson AKA The Audman is one of the founders of the popular NBA podcast,The Breakdown with Dave & Audley.The fun, informative and high energy talk show has featured interviews with top quality athletes and celebrities such as 2011 Slam Dunk Champion, Blake Griffin, 2006 NBA Champion, Gary Payton and comedian, George Lopez. Audley is also the co-author of “Basketball Talk, The Way It Should Be!” Follow TheAudman on Twitter.
NBL Canada All-Star 2012: Team Haywood takes the All-Star Win
posted by Romy Aquino
(Photo via Halifax Rainmen / stkPhoto.com)
Team Haywood had one goal at this NBL Canada All-Star game: Do not let Team Smith aka Team London take home another victory.
Since the Lightning took home a championship last weekend and then swept all of the All-Star Saturday events, Team Haywood and Coach Rob Spon weren’t going to let them take another victory. Team Haywood, who was led by team captain and NBL Canada Canadian Player of the Year, Joey Haywood, got the job done with the 164-155 victory over Team Smith in Halifax. In true All-Star game fashion, it was a high-scoring affair with 17 of the 20 all-star participants scoring in double figures.
The Quebec Kebs’ Ralphy Holmes, who was a member of Team Haywood, said it was a good win over Team Smith (led by London’s Eddie Smith). ”It felt good man. We were talking all weekend amongst each other and Team Smith was talking a lot of trash,” said Holmes. “Saying that we were gonna get beat by 20 pts, we the champs, stuff like that.”
Team Haywood’s Brandon Robinson of the Oshawa Power, who led the league in regular season scoring and was named the NBL Canada Rookie of the Year, put on a show for the 2,600 fans in attendance. The 6’5” Florida native put up an impressive game-high 38 points. ”It was a great experience out there,” said Robinson who was named NBL Canada All-Star MVP. “We had a great team, it was a great atmosphere. I had a great time out there today.”
Trayvon Lathan of the Moncton Miracles finished with 27 points for Team Haywood and the Rainmen’s Tyrone Levett put up 24 points in front of his hometown Halifax fans. Levett’s Rainmen teammate, Lawrence Wright, put up 29 points for the opposing Team Smith in the loss.
Head Coach Rob Spon of Team Haywood had a game plan from the start. ”We were going to have fun the first half. But in the third and fourth quarter, we were going for the win,” said Coach Spon. “We’re going to tough it out, play defence, we’re going to rebound and get after it. They wanted to win just like I did. We didn’t want the London Lightning to win everything.”
Coach Spon enjoyed his time coaching some of the best talent in the National Basketball League of Canada on Sunday afternoon. ”I told our guys that we were going to win this game and have MVP from our team and they responded. Great group of guys, that was a lot of fun.”
The All-Star game capped an end for the inaugural NBL Canada season which many believe to be a successful season for this Canadian basketball league. The league moves into its offseason where it will look to continue to grow off the first season’s success.
What would you like to see differently in the next NBL Canada season? Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino
Romy Aquino covers the the National Basketball League of Canada including his hometown Halifax Rainmen. He also can be found at pro hoops blog, Hip Hoop Junkies (covering the Toronto Raptors/NBA) and liveblogging at Halifax Rainmen home games for Sportstream.ca Follow him on Twitter: @romyaquino
NBL Canada All-Star 2012: London Keeps it Rollin' at All-Star Weekend
posted by Romy Aquino
(Photo via Halifax Rainmen /stkPhoto.com)
The London Lightning are just unstoppable this week.
After taking home the first NBL Canada championship just last Sunday, the London Lightning continued their success on NBL Canada All-Star Saturday taking home both the three-point competition and the All-Star dunk off in Halifax.
In the All-Star dunk competition, it was all “black and yellow” in the final round with London’s Jamar Abrams and Gabe Freeman going head-to-head in the final. Abrams stole the show and the win with a Vince-Carter-esque between the legs windmill jam that got the Halifax fans on their feet. Abrams got a perfect score from dunk judges: Desmond “Moneyball” Ferguson, former Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell and CTV’s Cyril Lunney.
The Rainmen’s Eric Crookshank got the building buzzing early in the opening round of the dunk competition, sporting a Captain America costume and throwing down a slam off a backboard pass from teammate Justin Johnson. It wasn’t enough for Crookshank, as judges gave the Rainmen veteran 26 points out of a possible 30 score.
The opening event of All-Star Saturday began with the Legends game with Team Black victorious in the tight 84-82 win. Team Black included talents like Sam Mitchell, Desmond “Moneyball” Ferguson, Andre Levingston and Jad Crogorac. London head coach, Michael Ray Richardson did his best to get Team White back into the game by nailing some long threes but his squad just came up short.
The NBL Canada All-Star game is scheduled for 1pm AST/12pm EST today in Halifax with Team Haywood taking on Team Smith.
For more information on this All-Star weekend, visit nblallstar.ca.
Who’s taking this All-Star Game? Team Haywood or Team Smith? Send me a tweet and let me know! @romyaquino
Romy Aquino covers the the National Basketball League of Canada including his hometown Halifax Rainmen. He also can be found at pro hoops blog, Hip Hoop Junkies (covering the Toronto Raptors/NBA) and liveblogging at Halifax Rainmen home games for Sportstream.ca Follow him on Twitter: @romyaquino
