You know Coleman Collins. He's the Mad Ants' 6-9 power forward from Virgina Tech. He's averaging 11 PPG and 6 boards a game (mostly) off the bench this season for the Ants. Last summer he spent some time with the Phoenix Suns. And yes, I know what you're thinking. The above picture makes him look like a frog. But I promise, he doesn't always look like a frog. Coleman was kind enough to answer 27 awesome questions about life, basketball, and pizza, and I must say this: Man has some taste. Check it after the jump!"

Even though it's generally considered poor etiquette to speak ill of the departed, I am the best dunker on the Mad Ants, and was always, even when those two guys (Eric Smith and Shawn Hawkins) were here on the team. Ask anyone." - Coleman Collins

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• Colorado 113, Austin 106  -  This was a goody. Two of the top teams in the league grinding it out and it didn't disappoint, but in the end Colorado managed to capitalize off the 22 Toros turnovers (that has a nice ring to it). I'm giving one Dominique Coleman my NOD OF THE NIGHT. Coleman had 17 points (7 for 10 shooting), 7 boards, 10 dimes, 2 steals, and just one turnover in 36 minutes. I've been really impressed with this guy lately. He's becoming the go-to guy for the 14ers and there aren't many leaders more able in this league. Josh Davis had a usual impressive game with 29 minutes and 7 rebounds and Trey Gilder came off the bench for the 14ers to add 10 boards and 2 blocks (his 3 for 11 shooting isn't quite as positive, however). The Toros did put up a fight though. Marcus Williams was just as brilliant as ever with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks (tell me why this guy is still in the D-League). Despite his 7 turnovers (funny), Ezra Williams looked good with 23 and 11 boards and Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson had a solid night with 19 points, 6 dimes and 4 nice robberies. I'd love to see more matchups like this one. Both teams came to play, but Austin could have easily won this one if they had just toned down the turnovers.
• Anaheim 112, Fort Wayne 107  -  Fort Wayne continues their losing ways, and to a team they have the talent to beat no less (the "Flight"-less Arsenal). The Ants shot  a paltry 42% and were outrebounded 57-35 along with not being able to capitalize on the 17 Anaheim TO's. Cedric Bozeman had a near trip-dub with 22 points, 16 boards and 8 assists. Kedrick Brown was close as well with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 6 dimes. The Arsenal's Marcus Campbell also had 20 and 9 boards in the win. Chris Hunter had a decent game for the Ants, with 32 points (14 from FT, perfect from the line - nice to see from the big guy) but Bozeman bossed him around on the glass and he only picked up half of what Bozey pulled down. Carl Elliott was a mess. This kid's in a slump and it's a damn shame. It took Elliott 7 shots to get 2 points and this performance didn't get coach Jaren Jackson to pull him out and stick in seldom used guard Jarred Axon. Jackson needs to shake up this rotation (I think he's been shaking it up plenty already! No one seems to even have an idea of how many minutes they'll get each night... Interesting coaching strategy from JJ -- Scott). Walker Russell was his normal self with 18 points and 8 assists, but it wasn't enough, and the Ants lost yet another one to a mediocre team.

• Los Angeles 123, Fort Wayne 116  -  If Fort Wayne wants to get out of the bottom of the barrel, losing to teams with a worse record isn't a good start. Granted though, the D-Fenders are the best awful team in the D-League. Joe Crawford is a star and Dwayne Mitchell had a monster game last night with 27 points and 9 rebounds. Brandon Heath is continuing his tear with 25 of his own and 9 dimes to boot. Fort Wayne lost this one by allowing LA to net 43 in the 2nd quarter alone. The lack of Coleman Collins sure didn't help the Ants, and Chris Hunter being held to 21 minutes is a shame. Walker Russell continues impressing however, with 24 points, 14 assists and 7 boards. LA shot 59% in the win and I've come to like this team, and come to dislike the Ants more.
• Iowa 100, Sioux Falls 95  -  Here we had my game of the night, and I was actually right in guessing the outcome! So I celebrated this morning with some fruit snacks. JamesOn Curry got 26 minutes off the bench in his first game back with the Energy, and boy oh boy was he a non-factor. 8 points, 3 fouls, 2 steals. JamesOff. Courtney Sims sent a message with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Cheikh Samb to the Knicks? No fellas. Courtney Sims is the better big man. Othyus Jeffers was a beast with 28 points and the little guy grabbed 12 boards while he was at it. Sioux Falls' Kasib Powell had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 dimes in the loss and Chris Ellis pulled down 10 boards, but shot an unfortunate 2 for 9 from the field. The Skyforce played good team ball in this one, but were outscored by 10 in the 3rd and never really recovered.
• Rio Grande Valley 133, Albuquerque 119  -  The Vipes never trailed in this one and Kurt Looby is getting my NOD OF THE NIGHT with his 11 points, 17 rebounds 5 blocks. Loob's got talent. I've been impressed with his play for a long time. Great game from him. Trent Strickland also had a brilliant game for Rio with 27 and 9 boards to add. The Thunderbirds' just couldn't execute in this one despite Keith McLeod's 34 points, but Mark Walters did have a solid individual game with 15 points, 10 boards and 6 robberies. Too bad it wasn't enough. Albuquerque drops a winnable one to the underachieving Vipers. I feel like this has happened before...

Colorado 124, Dakota 112  -  Well it looks like I was wrong on this one. The Wizards are slipping. They've lost 3 straight and have won only 4 of their last 10. And I look at their roster and I just don't understand it. The Wizards magically turned the ball over 26 times in this one. Maurice Baker ended with more turnovers (6) than field goals (5). Even Blake Ahearn had 5 of his own. However Blake was a saving grace as usual with 22 points and 6 dimes. Rod Benson and Richard Hendrix had their usual awesome games in tow. Rod with 12 and 12 and Richard Hendrix with 21 and 11 (again, Golden State has the most flawed decision making skills in basketball - and this is coming from a league that includes a team that agreed to trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol). Dakota was without Hamed Haddadi and Renaldo Major and it showed as the Wiz didn't have the heart for this one. Colorado snapped their two game skid and looked as great as ever. Dominique Coleman is getting my NOD OF THE NIGHT with a near triple double of 24 points, 9 boards, 8 dimes, and 3 steals for good measure. Coleman's been putting up nice numbers this season. Hint hint. Newcomer John Lucas led all scorers with 29 and had 3 robberies in the win and Josh Davis and Billy Thomas both picked up 19 points a piece and succeeded in having the most boring names on the court. Nice win for the 14ers. HEY COLORADIANS (that can't be right), GO SEE THE 14ERS PLAY. You people have it so good.

So last night we had three tight games in the D-League, all worth watching. Patrick Ewing Jr. got my Nod of the Night with his 19 points, 14 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in Reno's win over the Defenders last night in a game that saw 16 lead changes. Patrick's been looking great lately, and he's putting up numbers like this nightly OFF THE BENCH. He may not be his daddy, but we love him the way he is.

• Albuquerque 99, Bakersfield 94  -  Bakersfield lost this one with their 20 turnovers. It took Derrick Byars 21 shots to get his 20 points and his 5 turnovers contributed (just in the wrong sort of way). Justin Reed had a good game for the Jam though with 16 points 10 boards. Jasper Johnson was the real story for the night however. The kid's been putting up great numbers this season and his 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals last night continued that beautiful trend. Keep an eye on Jasper [to go overseas, as his body just isn't suited for the NBA -- Scott]. David Noel played all but 30 seconds for the Birds and put up 21 points, 16 boards, and dished 5 dimes. Wonderful. Nice win for Albuquerque. Bakersfield is slipping ladies and gents.
• Fort Wayne 119, Rio Grande Valley 114  -  In this one we saw nearly half the Viper team receive techs, and each team managed to turn the ball over 19 times a piece. But the Ants home fans sure got a show, as the team shot 60% from the field even though the Vipers outrebounded the angrier than usual Ants 47-31. It doesn't help, however, when over half (24) of a teams total rebounds are offensive. Walker Russell looked great last night with 26 points (7 for 10 shooting), 11 assists, and 4 robberies. He needs to watch those 5 TO's however. Chris Hunter looked as good as ever with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 swats. Rio Grande had their bright spots however. Trent Strickland put in 31 and 9 (28 in the first half) and Jawad Williams had 22 and 7 (and 2 blocks to go along with it). Let's just keep down the turnovers fellas.
• Reno 125, LA 115  -  So yes, Ewing won this one for Reno. Reno's Russell Robinson showed just what he can do last night. He's averaging 10.5 points on the season, and put up 25 last night. I'm betting he has a smile on his face today. Though it wasn't all smiles for Reno. They had to stop Joe Crawford and they did what they could, Crawford still erupting for 32 points and teammate Brandon Heath adding 26. In the end, LA was outrebounded 50 to 34 and that just doesn't do the trick

via www.famouschicken.com

Well hey hey D-League fans! It was a fun, fun All-Star weekend that saw Daequan Cook taking home the NBA 3-Point Shootout title (former D-Leaguer!), Dwight Howard stealing Keith Clark's side of the board dunk, Will Conroy winning one of the most boring events in the history of the game, Blake Ahearn and Courtney Sims ever-so deservingly taking home co-MVP honors at the All-Star game (the NBA copied us again and chose two MVPs as well), and James White proving that he would easily win the NBA Dunk contest as well. Needless to say, it was a good one.

But all that fun is over. And the rest of the season will be absolutely zero fun here on out. The Erie Bayhawks have won five straight and I doubt they plan on breaking that streak any time soon so the rest of the league better be looking out for that. Austin and Colorado are on top of the League, both with their pretty 19-8 records leaving the rest of the fellas in the Southwest Division without a prayer. And let's not forget that Idaho has lost four straight. Ah, I bet they're missing Coby Karl about now (hell, I'm missing Coby Karl right now). Courtney Sims is back in Phoenix. No surprise here, but we'll see what happens to Iowa as their lineup starting the season looks much different than the lineup they're using now. Me? I'm betting they'll be just fine.

As for Iowa, we'll get a look at them in just a couple of hours, as they have a terribly timed game today agains the Mad Ants at 1 PM. I want to say the Ants can pull off a win here, but let's be honest for a sec; they probably won't. Did I mention they cut Shawn Hawkins? Who I, a few weeks ago, claimed to be the most talented all-around player on that team? Either I don't know basketball (which is definitely possible) or Shawn was a grumpy gus. I bet Hawkins' is a pleasant guy though. So I must not know this game. If you're still reading this, you can stop now. I know very little about this game.

Next up we have Austin taking on Anaheim, and any baby enjoying Skittles could tell you the winner of this one. The game time was moved up to 3 PM because of President's Day. I don't understand this move, thus making it the second, and final game of the day that I do not get to watch because of the ridiculous (the bad way) time. Also, the Famous Chicken may or may not be there. Also, James White should try to do a free-throw line dunk during game action. Over Pops Menshah-Bonsu. How impressed would we all be then?

Erie Bayhawks 125,  Iowa Energy 115

So here's a shocker. The Energy were within 2 points with 35 seconds left in the game, but couldn't stop the Erie run that soon followed. So essentially, the Energy pulled what I like to call "a Mad Ant." So Erie is back at .500 (16-16). Most people say certain teams are better than their record. I see Erie as worse than their record. Which sounds mean, of course, but every time I see them play I'm usually unimpressed. But no foul, as they manage to win games and a decent amount of them. They shot 57% tonight and Maureece Rice was a big part of that, going 11 for 17 on his way to 28 points. Erik Daniels had a solid game, especially when you factor in Courtney Sims as his opposition. 24 points, 9 boards, and 7 dimes for Daniels (congrats to him for the All-Star nod!). Oliver Lafayette played just 7 minutes (couldn't tell you why, I'm so informative, right?) but managed 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 dimes. Nice.

Speaking of Sims (I mentioned him up there, you can even go back and check if you want - power of the internet!), he was nothing less than spectacular again, but who wouldn't expect him to be? Court had 30 points (13 for 17), 14 boards, and 3 blocks. He knows this game so well. Curtis Stinson had a solid game outside of his 4 TOs (15 points, 14 dimes) and Demetris Nichols did his damage with 23 points, however the Iowa dropped what should have been an easy win for them. But this happens.

Sioux Falls Skyforce 103,  Bakersfield Jam 96

And continuing the trend, here's another upset from last night. There were 33 turnovers in this one, 5 of these from the Skyforce's Frank Williams, who also managed to shoot 4 for 14 (1 for 7 from trey) on the night. Thumbs up Frank. Luckily Chris Ellis was so wonderful off the bench with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. David Bailey did some things I only dreamt he could do in Fort Wayne, putting up 26 points and dishing 6 dimes (also, ten free throws - this guy gets to the line with the best of them).

The Jam shot 43% on the night and that's really what sunk 'em. Justin Reed was a bright spot for Bakersfield with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and status as the sole Jammer with ONLY ONE TURNOVER. Terrance Thomas had 18 boards (I love this kid - that's why they call him the Glass Man) and Derrick Byars was so bad it almost made me throw up the entire bag of Goldfish Crackers I ate last night (they tasted like pizza! Just as advertised!)! Byars shot 3 for 14. Let's hope they don't come up. So Bakersfield drop one they should have won. A trend that will end here; at least for today.

Colorado 14ers 138, Tulsa 66ers 128

Yes, here it was ladies and gentlemen. The battle of the silly numbered teams. You missed it again this year. But that's okay, I've got you covered. OFFENSE OFFENSE OFFENSE. That's all you need to know. Tulsa lost this one on the glass as the 14ers out-boarded them 50 to 34 (scary face!). 43 turnovers total in this one. This was a fun one to watch, but afterwards you felt like you feel after you eat 100 Triple Pepporoni Pizza Rolls. So much fun at the time, but a very bad decision in retrospect. Colorado played nice ball however, with Vernon Hamilton starting (it's nice to see Vern back; he's a very solid baller) and dishing in his own 10 of 38 assists (on 52 field goals). Josh Davis had 38 points and 9 rebounds in just 28 minutes. Yeah. No typo there. But the true star of the night was Dominique Coleman and the Tale of the Trip-Dub. Coleman had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 dimes. Ridiculous. AND if he had just 4 more turnovers it would have been a Quad-Dub! Maybe next time! However, I was always far more impressed with the Double-Triple. Think about it. Now THAT'S impressive.

Tulsa had no Chris Richard and as he's the team's only talent, that's gonna hurt. Jeremy Kelly had 23 points, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers in the loss to go along with center Keith Clark's 14 points and 8 boards. A rare bright spot for Tulsa last night was Gary Ervin, netting 10 points and dishing 6 assists in his 14 minutes off the bench. I can blame this one on Paul Woolpert. Play Gary Ervin. You might win some games and not be sitting nasty at 7-22. No cute sports star is gonna ask you to dance with that record. Push up your glasses. Sit up straight. Go get some punch. Relax. Dances are supposed to be fun.

113 Utah Flash, 100 Fort Wayne Mad Ants

It's hard to be mad. Yes, I'm an Ants fan. Why wouldn't I be? I live in Fort Wayne. And yes, the Ants ended up disappointing (once again) and leaving their Tuesday night crowd with a loss. But it was nice to be watching some D-League basketball that wasn't on FutureCast. I love FutureCast, but I can only stand watching basketball on a small square so much. It's good to see the Ants back home.

There's really a lot to say about this game. Carl Elliott looks a lot like Baron Davis (and the headband was icing on the cake). The Mad Ants announcer stopped yelling "MAD ANT BASKETBALL" after every single Flash turnover (I always wish he would stop doing this, and it seems he has for now). I finally opened my ears to what the Bailey Bunch are saying, and I was amused to no end. I can pretty much guarantee that some old guy is going to give me free tickets to every Ants' home game (this is why I don't buy season tickets - that and I'm a poor college boy). The Pistons' half-time trampoline dunk team consists of a lot of very young white kids and a middle-aged black man (it was Pistons' affiliate night, and I was hoping for the Ants to don some Pistons jerseys, but it wasn't meant to be). Chris Brown is a sleazebag. I had some really good pizza prior to the game. Dontell Jefferson had me in awe. And as for Steve Newman? But a simple postal worker...

The Bailey Bunch loved to pick on Newman. As well as J.R. Giddens. I can't remember too much of what was said but I did notice a J.R. baseline dunk, afterwards he ran down court and looked over at the hecklers, however I was on the other side of the court...and saw no mouth moving. Awesome information, right? Anyways, the Bailey Bunch are a clever group. I laughed on a few occasions. And I don't laugh. Just ask my parents.

But back to Mr. Newman. He had a really crazy nice jump shot for a big white guy. Gavin Grant put a few really nice looks and Ryan Diggs has a motor implanted in him somewhere. Wowza, that kid is fast. Giddens was very solid. Off the bench to shoot 9 for 13? Beautiful. Countless dunks by the rook, and you knew when his shot went up that it was gonna fall. I've always been iffy on Giddens, but he sold me last night. He seemed pretty happy to be back with the Flash and I like seeing that. Carlos Wheeler impressed me too. Lots of atheliticism for the 30 year old forward.

The box score claims Andre Ingram was on the court for 27 minutes. I'm not believing it. He did so much nothing out there, though it's hard to fault him as Utah escaped with the win. Not to mention the team shot 60% from the field. But you can chalk that up more to Giddens and the three other starters that aren't Bennet Davis.

Dontell Jefferson. Oh wow. This guy easily has the prettiest shot I have ever seen in my life. He put up just 8 during the game but I gasped every single time. Not to mention he's a great floor general who plays really solid defense. He's also long to boot, and with just one simple step he can get in front of his man. Yes, I love Walker Russell, but Jefferson is a beastly NBA ready point guard, moreso than anyone else in the league. So quick and with a great jumper, he can also pilfer like Carl Weathers in church (this joke will probably go over your heads as it's really stupid, but the video concerns "change" - which people often donate to churches during the collection portion of the mass, and Carl Weathers plays a very cheap version of himself  in my favorite TV show, Arrested Development- very funny stuff here at Ridiculous Upside).

Despite his 5 turnovers, James Lang was a force. He put up 21 points and grabbed 7 boards and seemed to dominate in the paint all night. Ronald Dupree was as good as ever, putting his fair share of 20 points. Utah is a team. They pass well, they execute well, and they can shoot your lights out if you give them too much, and that's exactly what they did last night on the Mad Ants. And they are solid at the point and center positions, and that's what wins games.

As for the Ants, they shot 52% - they just didn't want to play defense, I suppose. Coleman Collins was visibly frustrated most of the game, Carl Elliott could never get his shot going, Dewitt Scott pulled a Andre Ingram and managed to blend into the court during his 20 minutes, and Walker Russell's scoring hasn't gotten any more accurate. But on the positive (up)side, Chris Hunter had a great double-double on the night with 23 and 10 and missed only 4 shots. Hunter has progressed so much since the season started. He's much more powerful when he goes up to the basket now. Countless times last night he would explode from down low, plowing through three Flash big men, and going up for a huge slam and getting the crowd off their feet. "Big Game" Hunter had a big game indeed. NBA ready? I'd say so. I'm looking at you, Kevin McHale.

Ron Howard was great offensively on his way to 26 points. This guy cuts to the basket so well. So many textbook lay ups for Mr. Howard. He's a great fundamental basketball player. He is indeed the leader of this team and it's a shame he takes a backseat (middle, his feet on the hump) to Russell and Hunter most of the time. Taj McCullough had a solid game off the bench for 20 points in 30 minutes, but for a PF to not grab a single rebound in that time? Taj loves to score, and I love to see him score, but he needs to develop his game beyond just that one area.

Overall, it's nice to be back in the Memorial Coliseum watching some solid NBADL action. It would have been nice to see the Ants pull out the W, but Utah is simply the better team. Even my girlfriend, who knows nothing about basketball and tunes me off when I go on and on about it, mentioned how well they move the ball. And Dontell Jefferson should be in the NBA. I know here at RU we've been praising this man left and right lately, but for good reason. I saw him in person for the first time tonight and he is indeed the real deal. The Orlando Magic could have used his services as anyone under 6'5" has more upside as a point guard than Tyronn Lue (I also hear from absolutely nobody that Jefferson is a mean chef with a specialty for sauces). Then again, this team also passed up Russell and Will Conroy so when it comes to decision making abilities with Orlando....well, let's just say you shouldn't leave things like that up to "magic."

But I'll stop yelling at NBA teams now. Also, J.R. Giddens' new nickname is "the Mayor." I made it up. And it's very good. But that's all I have today. Have a wonderful day DL fans, and please, eat well.

P.S. How AWESOME would it have been for the Magic to call up Majic Dorsey? Oh man, that would have made my life that much better.

Blake's future's so bright you have to squint when you look at this picture.

108 Bakersfield Jam, 100 Dakota Wizards

The Jam ended up coming out on top in this matchup that easily could have gone either way for two very even teams (though, on paper Dakota should never lose a game). Bakersfield's Derrick Byars led the Jam with 31 points on a 13 for 20 night. I'm sure he'll wake up with a smile this morning along with Terrance Thomas (yay for alliteration!) who pulled down a ridiculous 18 rebounds, however Thomas' shot was off as he went just 3 for 11 from the field. Thanks to solid free-throw shooting all-around, the Jam won this as they were able to go 91% from the charity strike. Your fifth-grade coached harped on and on about it. Free throws win games. Also, Mateen Cleaves managed to sneak back onto the Jam without me even realizing he was back in the League. However, I'm not the most attentive guy either so who knows?

Blake Ahearn is a man and the rest of us are toddler boys who scream too much when we receive Christmas gifts. It's hard for me to understand how just having Ahearn, by himself, on your team doesn't automatically win you games. Who says basketball's a team sport? He shot 15 for 24 (inluding 5 of 9) from deep on his way to 41 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds on the night. Yes, his team still lost by eight, but it'd still be hard to feel bad with those numbers. There was no Renaldo Major in this one for the Wizards, which could definitely explain the Dakota loss as he contributes so much to this team. Richard Hendrix had 17 boards in just 29 minutes (Golden State is a joke of an organization). Too bad basketball is a team sport, right? Ahearn couldn't do it all for the Wizards as the rest of the team really stunk it up for Dakota offensively, and when Will Frisby is turning the ball over at a rate that could threaten the stability of many small countries, you will probably lose the game.

Look for my loooong Flash-Mad Ants recap real soon. I've missed basketball.

Colorado 121, Austin 119

Ah, this is the type of game that all basketball fans live for. Solid performances from two of the top teams in the league and a "oh- please-three-ball, go-in-so-my-team-can-win-this-game-and-I-can-look-good-to-NBA-franchises-who-are-recently-in-need-of-a-solid-big-man-with-NBA-experience, just-go-in, please, I-never-do-anything-wrong." Both teams kept it pretty even, though 39 turnoevers split evenly between the two? Come on fellas! I can forgive this though. Austin had two great individual performances by Pops Mensah-Bonsu (who missed a trey at the buzzer that would have won it - but this cannot be blamed on him; great game for Pops) and Marcus Williams. Williams had a game on par with Courney Sims' monster season debut. 30 points, 13 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks for good measure. Just missed the trouble-double but the two good blocks are easily worth 7 assists (roughly). Pops put in 31, grabbed 8 rebounds, and swatted three shots. These guys are great. Austin is solid. Gotta have my Pops.

The real story here is Colorado. These guys just flat out brought it tonight. Eddie Gill was my MVP for the team with his 18 points and 12 dimes (I love good passers; they are priceless) but Josh Davis put up a ridiculous performance (in his attempt to silence the naysayers - proving he deserves that All-Star spot) with 23 points, 11 boards, and 3 steals (5 for 7 behind the arc). Joe Dabbert was ejected in the 4th after his second tech, but in his 29 minutes he put in 23 points, 8 rebounds, and robbed it 3 times. Great game between these two powerhouses and you expect to see this matchup in the playoffs.

Erie 111, Idaho 85

Erie's got their swagger back. Idaho...not so much. Their 17 turnovers just added to the gift of letting Erie shoot 56% on the night, just handing Erie their third straight win. Erie's Erik Daniels had a game on par with Williams, putting up his own ALMOST trip-dub with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 9 dimes and 2 steals. I cannot understand why this guy isn't an All-Star (don't I say this too much? Hell, I should be an All-Star - put me in the dunk contest; I'll take everyone out with a solid lay up where I may or may not get one foot off the ground). No Erie player is represented. Daniels puts up numbers like these consistently and is one of the best overall players in the league. Talk about a snub. Also for Erie, Maureece Rice looked great with 22 points and six boards not to mention Ivan Harris' nice 15 points and 9 rebounds. Great overall game by Erie. Put Oliver Lafayette in here and any of these four Erie guys could hold their own against any All-Star this year.

Can't say the same about Idaho (the good game thing - not the All-Star thing; this team has some solid talent as well). No player was in the game for more than 29 minutes and everyone had around 20 minutes of playing time. I don't really understand what Bryan Gates was trying to do here. I can see him wanting to give solid playing time to everybody on the team, but what about winning games? I understand he's been doing things like this all season but when you're down 26 points at the end of 48 you've done something wrong (I'll blame it on only playing Luke Jackson for 26 minutes). Kevin Burleson (who? THIS GUY) came off the bench and looked nice for Idaho however, with 17 points and 5 assists in his own 28 minutes. Dwayne Jones snagged 8 boards in the loss. What an odd way to lose...

Will Conroy and Dontell Jefferson were named co-Players of the Month, and this is one decision I agree with 100%. Both have been great for their respective teams, and Jefferson not being an All-Star (like I said yesterday) is a travesty. Also, little Willie should be getting a call-up pretty soon. I can feel it. What a great scorer. This Thursday night we've got three games, my favorite of which is the Sioux Falls - Dakota matchup. This is a rivalry and always a good one, but I'm gonna go with Dakota on this one. I don't understand how they even lose a single game with that stacked roster. Hope everyone has a Thursday on par with Erik Daniels. I'm sure he's feeling pretty good about himself. Erie fans need to vote more next year. But that goes without saying. Sound off with your favorite All-Star snub this year in the comments!

I must admit, I am counting down the days until February 10^th, when the Mad Ants return to Fort Wayne after their month long road trip. I haven’t seen a live basketball game in a good deal of time. Yes, FutureCast is wonderful to have, but I miss actually being at the game. I’ve never been one for television (I don’t even like YouTube – which seems to be the obsession of most people my age), so FutureCast is never my first option. I want to be at the game. And as I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I don’t have too many options for D-League viewing other than the home of the Ants at the Memorial Coliseum. The game’s against the Flash, and it should be a good one as I haven’t gotten a good look at Utah this season. I’m counting down the days. Just six now. Just six.

 So, the Spurs recalled Malik Hairston and Courtney Sims is back with Iowa. I suppose this is just information I missed, as it all happened on the 31^st and the 29^th of January, respectively. If Courtney Sims is back in this league there really is no justice in this world. He’s better than most NBA team’s second options at the center. No doubt in my mind about this. As for Hairston, the Toros are going to miss him, but with the addition of Pops Mensah-Bonsu I’m pretty sure they’re going to be alright.

 Bonsu was acquired on January 28^th and is currently sitting at third in the league in scoring with an average of 24 after just two games and averaging just 33 minutes (not to mention 10 boards). Earlier this year he was with Spain’s DKV Joventut (Ricky Rubio’s team) but was waived after playing just two games because of a shoulder injury (two games in which he averaged 18 points). He played in Italyduring the 2007-2008 season, but is no stranger to the D-League, as he played with the Fort Worth Flyers during the 06-07 season, being sent down by the Dallas Mavericks. And with all this All-Star talk it should be noted he was the All-Star game MVP that season. I’d say he’s goinna have a good year with Austin. Bonsu is a 6-9 PF/C from London. He’s 25 years old and attended George Washington and is well known for his crazy dunks.

 Joe Crawford was recently named the D-League Performer of the Week and for good reason. The 58^th pick in the 2008 draft by the Lakers has been a force for the recently surging D-Fenders, playing a pivotal role in their two upsets against the Stampede. Another big news item is Trey Johnson’s signing with the Cavs (something I’m sure you’ve all heard about by now). The Jam dropped a winnable one last night without him, but I think they’ll be able to bounce back.

 Tonight we have two games, the first being the Stampede heading to Erie to take on the Bayhawks. Erie is beginning to regroup as they’ve once two straight, but Idaho’s going to (again) be looking to redeem the loss against LA this weekend. I think Erie has a good chance to take this once home however. The big game of the night is the Toros in Colorado. Both are 1 and 2 in the Southwest Division. Both have won three straight. Austin is 8-1 on the road. The 14ers are 8-3 at home. Both are in the 7 Loss Club (along with Iowa). This is gonna be the matchup of the year. Make sure you tune in to FutureCast for this one. And if you are lucky enough to live in Colorado, you aren’t going to wanna miss this one.

Utah Flash 100, Bakersfield Jam 95

 The Jam are falling fast. Derrick Byars hasn’t played in all of February (this is slightly funny because Black History Month is just four days old), they’ve lost four straight (4-6 in their last 10), and the Flash have taken their place as the 2^nd best in the West. Last night was more of the same for the Jam of 2009. They did manage to rally back from an 11 point deficit, but they couldn’t make it happen at the end and shot just 38% and were out muscled on the boards 46-37.

 Dontell Jefferson needs to be an All Star. Last night he had 26 points, 7 dimes, 7 boards and 3 steals (6 forgivable turnovers). His season averages are just below these numbers too. That’s an All-Star. As for the only Utah to make the team? Ronald Dupree didn’t look so good on 4 for 12 shooting. He finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks though. Solid contribution. James Lang looked great in his 20 minutes for Utah, as he put in 15 points and 8 boards on 6 for 7 shooting.

 The Jam’s Nick Lewis is another should-be All-Star. He’s been having a great season and in a league that only has a few solid centers (Sims, Hunter, and Lewis are in this class) he needs to be represented here. Last night he was brilliant for a team that didn’t really deserve him, with 27 points (including 9 for 9 from the charity strike – for a center!) and 8 rebounds. The real star last night for the Jam, however, was Terrance Thomas. MONSTER. 17 rebounds, 22 points, 6 dimes, 4 robberies. This all looks so good, but it should be noted that he turned it over 7 times, shot 7 for 19, and shot an embarrassing 1 for 7 from three territory. Eek! Good game last night between these two.

Dakota Wizards 106, Fort Wayne Mad Ants 98

 The Wizards snapped their two game win streak and the Ants weren’t able to repeat their win on Saturday. The wizards outshot the Ants 50% to 40% and there were a good deal of rebounds available in this one (three Wizards had double-figure boards) as Fort Wayne took 93 shots in the game that saw no Shawn Hawkins (head-scratching). The Ants were just 26% from behind the arc in a game that saw Dewitt Scott not put up a single deep ball. Odd. Taj McCullough didn’t help matters with his 2 for 10.

 Dakota’s All-Star Blake Ahearn had a game high 29 points and also dished 6 dimes (5 turnovers). Another Wizard All-Star, Richard Hendrix had just 6 points but went nuts for 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. Rod Benson was 6 for 8 from the field on his way to 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. And speaking of Benson, can someone explain to me what the hell “Boom Tho” means? Ah, yes I realize it’s ridiculous that I do not know this, especially as a faithful reader of his, but I suppose I just missed this explanation. So yeah, a comment explaining this would be lovely and you can laugh at me all you please!

 Ron Howard led the Mad Ants with 27 points. It’s nice to see Ron emerge as the leader of this team once again. He’s been playing really solid basketball lately. Walker Russell struggled tonight with his 3 for 9 shooting and 4 turnovers. He had 7 dimes, but this is well below his usual average. All-Star Chris Hunter had a wonderful night however, besides his limited 31 minutes due to foul trouble. He had 17 points, 17 boards, and 2 blocks. Beastly.

It's been a long drought for me, and it's been a long drought for the League. We've gone two days without any games whatsoever. Probably not a bad idea, as all the guys had a chance to watch one of the more exciting Super Bowl games in recent memory. And then they could watch the Office afterwards, which has sort of lost its thunder. And I have failed to make some sort of thunder-related Albuquerque joke here. And that is probably for the best. Anyway, I took the weekend (and monday it seems) off from basketball. I stayed away from anything related to it outside of seeing the very end to a Pacers loss in New York. It would figure I stay away the weekend that Andrew Bynum goes down for the count and the Mad Ants end their skid against the Dakota Wizards. Not to mention ANOTHER D-Fenders upset against the Stampede, who are 6-7 on the road this year. That's not a championship team. I think I'll be changing my bid for the team to win it all this year again from Idaho to Austin. 8-1 on the road? Sign me up. Not to mention they've won three straight. On their team website, the latest news is "Toros Take Down 66ers Again." Oh, yeah...we beat them again. By a lot. This season has been nuts though. You can't take anything at all for granted.

We have two games tonight, the Ants try and defeat the Wizards again on the road. I see it as another winnable game, but Dakota has deep talent and any time coming in there is going to need to play all 48 minutes. Next up on the night is Utah at Bakersfield and again I'm going for the underdog. The Jam have lost three straight, and the Flash are 7-3 in their last 10. Fesenko is gone, but Dontell Jefferson and Ronald Dupree are having ridiculous seasons and this team is going places, whereas Bakesfield seems to be losing what made them contenders earlier on in the season.

That's really all I have today, as things have been pretty uneventful as of late. I'll be here tomorrow for tonight's recap (how confusing was that?) and this is the sound of throwing pennies on the ground.

Idaho 79   Erie 76

Ladies and gents, we've got another stinker of a game in the D-League. The Erie Bayhawks have lost 8 straight and let a 13 point lead slip away from them last night as the Stampede were allowed to pull it off despite 34% shooting and 18 turnovers. Erie didn't do much better, as they too shot 35%. Ah, those poor poor Idaho fans last night. I spent my night studying for a test I could probably pass if I hadn't slept for days (translation: easy test), and that still sounds more exciting than this game was.

Idaho's Roberto Bergerson came off the bench, shot 4 for 8 from behind the arc for 18 points and grabbed 3 steals while he was at it as one of the few bright spots for the team. The Stampede's Dwayne Jones had 14 boards and 17 points in 20 minutes of playing time, which are extremely good numbers (and Jones and Brent Petway were the only guys on the court who shot 50% or over on the night). Luke Jackson had his struggles. He played just 18 minutes, turned the ball over seven times, and shot 1 for 6. I suppose we all have our off nights. Idaho's Jason Ellis grabbed 13 boards and blocked 5 shots, but his shooting was on par with Luke's.

Erie's Ivan Harris and Oliver Lafayette both had 18 points, but Harris' 9 for 21 shooting is cringeworthy at best. Erik Daniels had 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 dimes, but his 33%....well you get the idea. Everyone shot bad. Just assume that everyone shot bad. No reason to go into that any further. Darian Townes had 3 blocks. I love a good block.

That was our only game last night. A night in the D-League on par with this movie. Idaho's new acquisition, and former Iowa Energy standout, Demetris Nichols didn't play with Idaho last night. We'll see what happens with him in the future. With Cartier Martin moving out of Iowa and Nichols coming into Idaho, I'm going to go back on my "Iowa is the best" claim and pass the torch to Idaho. However, if they keep playing like they have been lately that won't last all too long. But enough of the negativity. I'm sure that's annoying. Like this movie.

Los Angeles beat Idaho, huh? I really didn't see that one coming. Iowa cruised to an easy win against Tulsa to win their fourth straight, and Erie have lost straight with their defeat at the hands of Colorado last night. The D-League is alive, and we have a new five inches of snow on the ground here in Fort Wayne. Boomshakalaka.

Recaps of each game; just click right down there. Ya know you wanna.

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Good afternoon D-League fans. Sorry I didn't get my morning post up - the perfect storm occured. I went to bed early last night as I felt terrible (like "Robocop getting his hand shot off" terrible) after my workout. I fell asleep watching Arrested Development (this made me sad because I would do anything for new episodes of this show; and I know, I know, but I don't actually think that movie will ever happen). Then my alarm never went off. So I was late for class. No breakfast. No time to warm up my car (I'm getting sick of winter - it's snowing as I type this). All this = no morning recap. But I'm on it now. We had just the one game last night and let's run it down (and as usual, since it's an Ants game I'll always go into a bit more detail).

Utah Flash (13-9) Knock Off the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (9-14) 123 - 114

This was a goody that went into overtime and saw the Ants blowing a ten point 4th quarter lead and getting lucky off a Taj McCullough layup to even force the overtime (in which, they were obviously outscored quite a bit). The game saw 19 lead changes and 15 ties and boy oh boy do I wish I was in Utah to see this one in person (well, maybe not; I probably would have cursed often). Dontell Jefferson went nuts. He had 38 points in the game and 18 of those came in the fourth (and 5 coming in OT). On top of that monstrous total he managed 5 dimes and 2 steals. Ouch.

You can chalk this one up to bad rebounding, as the Ants were outmuscled on the glass 47-32. Ain't gonna do the trick. Utah's 53% FG percentage also helped a great deal (no way!) and they shot 47% from long-range. But hey, when a team turns the ball over 27 times in a game you should be able to walk away with a win. But oh yeah...there was that rebounding thing....

The Ants also shot 17% from Treytah (that's trey+ utah; which oddly enough equals "Ben's out of ideas and isn't very funny"). Dewitt Scott is back into his slump. He shot 1 for 6 from beyond the arc; scoring just 5 points and not much else in 32 minutes of play. And speaking of insignificant minutes, what happened to Carl Elliott? He was out there for 43 minutes and managed just 8 points, 5 boards, and 3 turnovers. I suppose, in their defense, the Flash do have some attractive dancers. Eh, not particularly. I don't know what to blame this one on.

Walker Russell had another beast of a night in more ways than one. 29 points and 13 boards are the one way. And the 8 turnovers go the other way. Again, a beast of a night for WRJ. Chris Hunter fouled out in just 33 minutes of play, but put up 21 points and grabbed 9 boards and Ron Howard had 25 in the loss. Taj McCullough had 20 points...sadly it took him 20 shots to get there. His 9 boards tried to make up for it however. And Shawn Hawkins didn't play. I'm hoping he's injured, because there's no reason he shouldn't be the go-to sixth man on this team. And let me clarify: I never hope anyone is injured (except maybe Chris Paul when he's playing the Pacers), I'm just looking for a reason as to why Hawk didn't play last night. I'm not evil. Though that cheap shot at the Flash dancers was uncalled for.

Utah's Carlos Wheeler had 12 points and 12 boards off the bench but also 5 turnovers (there are always "buts" in this league - I guess that explains a lot though *shrugs shoulders* *promises to never use asterisks again to explain a physical reaction on a blog*). And though forward Bennet Davis shot just 4 for 11 last night, he had 4 blocks. And 4 blocks is always worth noting. Andrew Ingram had 21, 6 boards, and 3 steals in the Utah win. Woot woot. Mad Ants losing again. Now this is more like it!

The Prospect Watch has a new article up concerning the top 5 potential call ups - a list that of course is missing Walker Russell. He's out-assisting everyone in the league by a mile. Having Will Conroy on this list, and not Russell just blows my mind. Isn't the job of the point guard to distribute the ball well? It's easy to see which of these two players does that better. Not to say that Will doesn't deserve to be on this list. We could probably knock Ronald Dupree off (no offense to Ron, as he'd probably be my number 6 guy anyway) and add WRJ. Russell's the most NBA-ready point guard you're going to find who's not already in the NBA (because yes, you can be an NBA-ready point guard who's already in the NBA, stupid). There's also an interesting comment in the blog talking about James White's bad attitude on the court. Sounds pretty nasty. This could be a big reason why he's not with the Spurs as we speak. I've always like White, but if this happens to be true, I cannot support someone like that (if anyone knows more on this please let loose in the comments; I'd love to know more about it). Though it's always been a battle with me - seperating the basketball player from his personality - as I'm convinced most NBA players are the type of people I would not get along with. I'm sure our values are just a tad different. ANYWAY, read the blog. It's a good one and who doesn't love blogging on the D-League?    :)    (no asterisks!)   PS. This video is awesome.

And on an end note, I saw that the 14ers acquired Vernon Hamilton yesterday, which is a great pickup for them. Hamilton was with the Ants for four games this season and he shows a lot of promise. He's the all-time steals leader over at Clemson and he's got a good future ahead of him. Three games tonight! I'll see you guys in the morning.

Make sure you check out Sirhossalot's recap to a Sioux Falls loss to Dakota in the fan posts. It's a solid read.

The Iowa Energy pulled off a win against the quickly slipping Erie Bayhawks last night, 88 - 86. Othyus Jeffers scored 21 on a dismal 8 for 22 shooting and dismal is really the best way to describe the shooting overall this game. Iowa was 44% from the field and Erie was 39%. It's easy to see why though, as both teams were working with basically a seven man roster. With so many missed shots, it make sense to see how Erie had three guys in double-figure rebounding, and Iowa still managed to pull off the W despite their 18 turnovers. Iowa's Marvin Phillips and Erie's Jackie Manuel were really the only bright spots in this game, as they...ya know, didn't miss so many damn shots. Erie's lost five straight. But ya know, they can always fall on the excuse that they are an expansion team. That's what I'd do.

Two bad teams took the court last night; the difference between the two? James White. Anaheim and Los Angeles went head-to-head in a matchup that saw the Arsenal walking away with a win, 103 - 91. White had 30 in this one. This guy is not slowing down at all. He really is carrying this team on his back. All five Arsenal starters scored in double figures and the team shot 53% on the night. D-Fenders? Eh, so many jokes could be made. LA continued on the dismal tradition, shooting just 37%. Not a single guy shot over 50%. All of LA's starters would have scored in double figures too, but mister Darren Cooper shot 3 for 12. That's really not deserving of much. LA's still the worst team in the league.

Also, it's about time, but we finally got a player blogging (despite Rod Benson, who's always a good read as well) this season. That player would be Brent Petway and his first post is a nice read. So make sure you check that out.

The Mad Ants have followed up their four game win streak with two losses, which is something I've gotten used to. My teams losing is what's comfortable for me. I can accept that. However, I was thinking about the team in a way other than a "oh please stop losing" way. I was thinking of the most solid, all-around player on the team, and I'd definitely have to go with Shawn Hawkins. He's easily the best lock-down defender on the team, and he has a very consistent shot. Not to mention he's probably the most athletic guy on the team as well (his dunks during warm-ups are always the most entertaining). His stats don't show it, but when do they ever?

Tonight's only game is the Ants going up against the Utah Flash. The Flash have won two straight and are still looking good despite Bill Walker and JR Giddens being called up. I still think Fort Wayne is capable of pulling away with the win here however. We'll see, as Ronald Dupree is looking great for the team right now.

This picture rules.

NBDL.com has a new "Week Ahead" article; a good read that covers Courtney Sims' departure to the Suns, the odd-talent filled trades made recently, and James White's continued dominance. In other news, Anthony Tolliver has been called up again, this time to the New Orleans Hornets. In other news, seven other Iowa Energy players have been called up. The NBA hates Iowa. Also, I'm not sure if anyone reads The Prospect Watch, but it's a great blog by Matthew Brennan that has some great coverage on this beautiful league we all love so dearly, so definitely check that out if you haven't (though I'm sure all you have, right?).

Now, there have been a lot of very talented D-Leaguers moving around in the past couple of days. So much that I hardly know where to start. Well, Kasib Powell is back in Sioux Falls, which should frighten all 15 other teams. Powell was last year's D-League MVP. Nough said. Bakersfield's Mateen Cleaves has been waived due to a hamstring injury. It's odd to me how some star college (or high school) players just cannot make the transition to the NBA. Cleaves did have his run-ins with the law, but he did spend a fair amount of time in the NBA, including being drafted 14th overall to the Pistons in 2000. But all of this aside, in his defense, he is stronger than all of us. And therefore better. Sioux Falls sent Gary Forbes to Tulsa for Chris Ellis, a move I don't quite understand as Forbes has been more than great for the Skyforce this season (he came off the bench for Tulsa in last night's win).

The 66ers took on the Vipers last night and went on to a 113 - 103 win that saw Keith Clark come off the bench to score 25 points and grab 17 boards. That is nuts. Austin edged the Arsenal in a close 101 - 95 matchup. James White just won't quit, as he put up 31 points but it's simply not going to be enough against the Toros. The Thunderbirds upset the Stampede last night 105 - 98 despite 28 points from Coby Karl. WIll Conroy was a major factor for Albuquerque, as he scored a game high 29 points, dished 7 dimes, and robbed the ball 6 times. This is a NBDL MVP type player right here.

In Mad Ants news, I managed to somehow forget that Shawn Hawkins is the grandson of ABA great Connie Hawkins. I don't know how I forgot this, because it's one of those facts I remember reading about at the beginning of the season; I suppose it went away with my knowledge of "Songs played in Space Jam." Well, it's certainly hard to fill those shoes. If my grandfather was Connie Hawkins I would probably have trouble even getting out of bed in the morning. I suppose Shawn could use that fact to get some ladies, but do young women in this day and age know of Connie, let alone the ABA? This is something I should know, as I'm 19, myself. I don't know that many young women though...there's my girlfriend, and my sister. There are friend's girlfriends, of course, but I don't bother asking them basketball related questions. I mostly just give them cruel stares for stealing my friends from me. I'm a really cool guy, right? Also, my aforementioned girlfriend happened to be surprised at work last night, as she ended up serving the Mad Ants themselves. She described them as "funny and polite" and can you think of a higher honor? However, she did refer to one guy as "overly polite." She doesn't know names however I've come to understand that Sean Sonderleiter is "High School Musical Guy" and she often is baffled by the skinny legs of Anthony Kent.. This is useless information. The restaurant was Biaggis and I've never eaten there, however I hear it's very good. See, this is why you come to Ridiculous Upside. To hear about how I heard about Mad Ants players dining at Italian Restaurants.

We've got four games tonight, my favorite of which is the Skyforce - Bayhawks matchup. Powell is back and I think Sioux Falls will pick up a win tonight. Well, I'm off to go find out where the Utah Flash plan on eating tonight. You'll know when I know. I'll bet Ryan Diggs digs onion rings.

We had just one game yesterday in the D-League, and oh dear was it a goody. The Mad Ants took on the Energy, going for their fourth straight win and they pulled it off in quite a ridiculous fashion; this being a Chris Hunter alley-oop with .7 seconds left in the game. To think I missed the end of this to watch the Pacers-Hornets game (in which, really, the opposite situation ended up occuring with CP3's buzzer beater)...awful.

108 Mad Ants - 106 Energy

Iowa's Cartier Martin led all scorers with 32 on just 21 shots, also grabbing seven boards in the process. Recent Phoenix Suns call up, Courtney Sims, played what was likely his last game in Iowa, finishing with 12 boards and 15 points despite some foul trouble limiting his minutes a tad. The Energy's Curtis Stinson and Anthony Tolliver were just OFF yesterday. Between the two they shot just 9 for 26. Tolliver did finish with 10 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals however. However Stinson's five turnovers obviously outshine Tolliver's other accomplishments.

It's difficult to lose to a team that shoots just 38% on the night (it was really during the day; but "on the day" sounds a little odd to me, so I went with "night"), which the Iowa Energy managed to do. Fort Wayne's Carl Elliott simply didn't have it going tonight and finished his night 6 for 22, which would make anyone want to crawl up in a ball for the rest of eternity. Taj McCullough simply seemed to just be crawled up into a ball the entire game. Going 1 for 6, grabbing just one rebound, in nearly 19 minutes of PT. How does that happen? But enough negativity for the Ant's starters, as the other three guys BROUGHT IT.

Chris Hunter - Yeah, well I already mentioned how he sealed the deal tonigh for the Ants. His monster 18 boards and 23 points certainly didn't hurt. This kid is just getting better and better.

Walker Russell Jr - You can pretty much count on a great game from Walker every night he takes the court. 17 assists, 16 points, and 6 steals for Russ. It wasn't all fun for him tonight however as he shot just 5 for 16 from the field and turned the ball over five times. But when you dish out 17 dimes you can pretty much be forgiven for murder. Now if Walker can just kick up the offense a knotch he could be a VERY solid back up PG in the NBA; no doubt in my mind.

Ron Howard - scored a team high 25 points in just over 31 minutes of PT and grabbing 7 boards in the process. Ron Howard IS the Mad Ants and it's great to see him back and playing well.

I really don't understand Coleman Collins' recent cut in playing time. I know the team has picked up Taj, but I don't think one is better than the other, however Coleman has the height advantage (6-7 and 6-9) as well as the rebounding advantage (3.9 to 6). That's enough for me. I'm no Jaren Jackson, but this seems like a no brainer to me. Taj seems to be a bit more athletic than Coleman, but athleticism isn't the whole game. Don't get me wrong, I love Taj. He's a great addition to our team and I hope he's with us for a long time, but these two should be splitting time at the position (much like Shawn Hawkins and Dewitt Scott have been doing).

Great game for the Ants. It's great to see these guys on a winning streak after a rough start to the season. And as for Courtney Sims? I wish him the greatest luck with Suns. And the Energy without him? I think they'll manage with talent like Tolliver and Cartier. Not to mention Othyus Jeffers. Find me another guy who's been shot in the league and still manages to be that ridiculously fast. And speaking of fast. Brian Evans is hands down the fastest and most fun player to watch in the D-League. I would use this kid much more than just 15.7 minutes a game. Iowa's gonna be fine.

Last night gave us five of the better D-League games this season. Fort Wayne wins their first road game of the season and gets the better of the first post-Elliott/Bailey trade matchup (you may have heard me talk about this before). The Flash have a four game win streak ruined by the Wizards in a blowout that saw the Flash only scoring SIX POINTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER. Now that's clutch. Reno see their six game win streak come to an end by the hands of Idaho as Albuquerque increase their lead to six after a comfortable win over the number one ranked Jam. Courtney Sims and James White went head to head in Iowa, with the Energy taking home the win over the Arsenal.

Click for some more recaps and some of my thoughts on the Ants-Skyforce matchup!

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New power rankings were put up yesterday. The Jam are back at the #1 spot, edging out Idaho. I still don't think the Jam are as good as they are being touted as (is tout the right word? It's a terrible word in the first place. "Tout" Come on. Who came up with that one?). Iowa is at number three, but to me they'll be number one as long as Courtney Sims is on the team. And even without Sims, that team is solid. The Mad Ants have been sitting pretty at 12 (0-5 on the road; this fact keeps jumping out at me everywhere especially in nightmares that may or may not include my mother turning into Ragedy Anne). LA rounds off the list at 16 and there's no arguing there. Brandon Heath has been looking especially wonderful however. Keep an eye on him.

Erie (11-9) dropped what should have been an easy win to Anaheim (6-13) last night in a ridiculously low scoring game: 79 - 75 (Anaheim had 13 in the third quarter and STILL managed to pull off a W). Ronald Allen managed to miss 8 shots in just 14 minutes. Both teams shot around the 39% mark. That shouldn't happen. I would have asked for my money back after this game. Yes, Kedrick Brown grabbing 16 rebounds looks good on paper, but when there are 99 opportunites, any 6-7 forward could do this (this sounds unnecessarily mean towards Brown; he did outrebound everyone on the court). Erie got only eleven free-throw opportunities in the game, and since they made just five of those, maybe that was a good thing. Erie's Ivan Harris and Anaheim's beastly James White were really the only bright spots in this stinker. Harris dropped 17 points and White put in a game high 25 points and grabbed seven boards and sent back two Erie shots in the win (however, his 7-17 shooting is a downer). Erik Daniels managed a double-double but this kid cannot be shooting that terribly (5-17). Erie put up 16 more shots than the Arsenal, made six less turnovers, and made a nice comeback in the second-half, but couldn't make the shots down the stretch and lost a very winnable game. Anaheim snaps a five game skid and the Bayhawks are in a bad stretch. Erie Times News has a good recap of the game that isn't nearly as negative as I.

The Colorado 14ers (11-6) and Rio Grande Valley Vipers (7-14) must have felt bad for D-League fans, as the scoring was plentiful in the 14ers 129 - 110 win. It's easy to see what happened here. 62.5% shooting for Colorado. That is ridiculous. Sean Williams shot 12-14 (wow) and finished with 27 points, 16 boards, and 2 blocked shots. His five fouls and five turnovers didn't help I'm sure, but it's nice to see Sean dominating here in the D-League. Now, I don't like Sean's attitude (we all know that story), but I see him as a player who can turn it around. Now if he can do that, stop turning the damn ball over, and watch the fouls, he won't be in Colorado (come on, the 14ers have gotten enough NBAers this season - really not fair at all) all too long (however probably not with the Nets all too long). Joe Dabbert had a very similar game (but with 6 turnovers) and the 14ers big men put this one away. And oh yeah, Eddie Gill dished out 14 dimes. We'll ignore his six turnovers though. Did I mention Josh Davis' 31 points? Colorado owned Wednesday. Alpha Bangura had 26 points for the Vipers, but his name still manages to outshine all of his accomplishments on the court (he has a cool name - along with Kurt Looby). Eh, I could mention some other Viper player's solid games, but it hardly seems worth the effort. I'll just say this. STICK A HAND IN THEIR FACE. It works. It' called defense. It's chanted at games sometimes. Sometimes people come up with clever uses of the word to be obnoxious and wildly original at sporting events. It's awesome. My seventh grade Catholic school basketball coach couldn't get enough of it. I thought I'd share it with you guys. I can keep going with this. But I won't.

There were two games yesterday, but really only one winner. We've got five games tonight, and the Ants are taking on Sioux Falls for the first time since the Carl Elliott - David Bailey swap. Should be interesting... Bailey had a solid night in Tuesday's loss to Utah with 10 points, 7 boards (how!?), and 5 assists off the bench.

So yesterday the Mad Ants and the Sioux Falls Skyforce swapped point guards; David Bailey for Carl Elliott. A trade, that as Scott pointed out last night, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for Sioux Falls. The trade definitely favors Fort Wayne, as they are getting a very solid backup to (my pick for) the best PG in the D-League, Walker Russell Jr, for a (very) small point who doesn’t fit into their offense at all.

Elliott has started all 19 games for the Skyforce this season and trails only Frank Williams in minutes played this season. Elliott is bringing the Ants some nice scoring potential as well, as he’s averaging 15.9 on the season. Also his 2.58 steals per game won’t hurt (just behind Russell’s 2.59). Why would the Skyforce want to give up all of that for little 5-8 David Bailey, with his cringe-worthy 36% shooting mark? Frankly, David Bailey fits in Sioux Falls a lot more than he does here in Fort Wayne. He’s played for the team twice on two different stints, and when you’re 5-8 with a strange (but very awesome) walk, and crazy hair to go along with it, you’re going to become a fan-favorite wherever you go. Plus, he averaged numbers very close to what Elliott has been averaging this season. So it sounds like a solid trade. We gave Sioux Falls a point who has proven he can fit in their starting five, and in return the Ants get a solid guard who puts the “point” in point guard (how lame was that?). So what’s the problem?

Well, the Skyforce could have easily gotten Bailey a few weeks back and not had to give up Elliott (they could have possibly waived Milone Clark, who averages just an assist and barely five points a game and not much else in near 19 minutes a game). Bailey was playing in Poland earlier this season, it wasn’t working out for him, and went back home to Chicago before he started the next chapter in his basketball career. This is information you think a team like Sioux Falls, who had a pretty good relationship with Bailey, would know about. But who can complain? Bailey will most likely get a significant increase in minutes, as he saw limited time (just five minutes in Sunday’s win over Anaheim) off Jaren Jackson’s bench.

Skyforce fans get one of their favorites back (plus, the kid is a natural in Skyforce blue!) and Elliott shouldn’t be too missed with Bailey likely to put up similar numbers for the team, just like he has in the past. The Mad Ants move on from a failed experiment with a big smile on their face as they’ve acquired one of the better scoring guards in the league.

So in the end, what I’m saying in a very long, very rambling, very ridiculous sort of way, is that Bailey belongs in Sioux Falls and Carl Elliott can only help the Mad Ants (even if it sort of hurts Elliott at the same time). Bailey is out of Fort Wayne and all is right in the world. You may now go back to living your regular life, in your average sized home, with your average looking wife/husband.

And the title of my post would be really awful if it wasn't a Smiths reference now wouldn't it?  Continue on to read the rest of my breakdown of this (interesting?) trade...

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Yes, it has been a while since I last posted about the wonderful closers that are the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, but that can be blamed on a number of reasons, most of which concern the friends that I won’t see for a few months and the aforementioned Mad Ants’ ability to close a basketball game. But I digress. I don’t want to down my Ants, because I’m sure they thrive on my every criticism. I’m sure they know they can’t close a game. I’m positive Jaren Jackson cries himself to sleep over this fact, which results in his players getting a very similar speech after every game. A speech that I’m sure gets more venomous with time. And the Ants’ record sits at 5-11, which simply doesn’t look very nice. Neither does the four game losing streak. Me? I’m going to blame it on Alex Acker and Walter Sharpe. They were sent down for four games; all of which the Mad Ants lost. The Ants need a scapegoat and that scapegoat is the Detroit Pistons (I’m still kind of upset the Pistons beat the Nuggets the other night; I’m a big Billups fan so obviously the Pistons are not my favorite team right now).

Now, in roster news, the Ants have waived Toree Morris and brought Sean Sonderleiter back on board. I can’t say I’m too happy with this move. When I think of Toree and Sean, I definitely see Toree as a player with much more potential. Toree is nearly twice Sean’s size (I’m really just guestimating here; Toree is a big guy) and is nearly twice as fast. Speed is a big thing in basketball (it’s true; I’m sure you haven’t heard that before) and so is something I call size. Toree wins the battle in these two key categories. Now, I can relate more with Sean (besides the fact that we’re both white guys with stupid hair) simply because he appears to be more of the timid type of basketball player. And I know just as well as anyone that “timid” just doesn’t get it done on the basketball court. Sean’s shot is nicer than Toree’s, but Toree is a player. He hustles and he gets it done in his limited minutes on the court. For a split second I was quite pleased with the Mad Ants’ ever-changing lineup (though the addition of 1993 Charles Barkley would be welcome), but that changed with the waiving of Toree. I like you Sean, I do, but I personally believe Toree is a more valuable player.  I listened to some of the pregame talk on FutureCast, and it seems like Toree left the team on his own volition due to the lack of playing time he was receiving. I wish him the best, but I don’t really see a better opportunity for him than right here in Fort Wayne.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it out to tonight’s home game. Yes, it is the last for nearly a month, but the weather is pretty lousy over here (I’m positive that it only snows hard the four hours leading up to a Mad Ants home game) and I have a huge problem that starts with having no one to go to the game with and ends with me not wanting to scream at the refs while sitting all by myself and scribbling notes furiously on my legs. (yes, I have plenty of friends, just not the type of friends who like going to basketball games -- this realization eats at me every single day). It will be a FutureCast game and I will eat a three dollar frozen pizza (this is an entire pizza; not a $6 dollar slice of old pizza, so I am winning here) and watch the Buck’s dance team from the comfort of my own bedroom (it’s Milwaukee Buck’s affiliation night; so I’m obviously crazy not to go to the game).

Continue reading to see my preview and review of tonight's game!

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Hello you wonderful D-League fans. Tonight the Mad Ants are taking on the Colorado 14ers in Colorado for the first time this season. Sadly, this will be a game I have chosen to not watch on Futurecast. The reasons you may wonder? Could it be the baffling absence of a scoreboard in the Futurecast games I’ve watched this season? No no no. That’s not it. Could I possibly be afraid of not seeing David Bailey whatsoever on the court? Yes. That’s a short joke. And quite a stretch as well. Really I’ll be going to Indy with my girlfriend to visit her sister, and I’ll be at tonight’s Pacers-Hawks matchup instead. You see, as I love the Mad Ants, I also have a love for the Indiana Pacers that I cannot ignore, and plus I haven’t been to a single Pacers game this regular season, so I figure it’s as good a time as any. I’m decked out in my Pacers gear and I’ll be leaving within the hour. I’m pretty excited to see my guys in action, however 10-20 isn’t the greatest record to look at, and the Hawks have been looking great this season. Oh well. I’ll hope for the best!

Josh Davis of the 14ers was named this week’s Player of the Week (I think someone should sponsor every little thing in the D-League; We have Gatorade Call-Ups, why not Barq’s Red Cream Soda Player of the Weeks?) so we’ll have to watch out for this guy. Not to mention that Sean Williams for the Nets was just sent down to the 14ers (who have probably the worst name in the D-League; the best? The Mad Ants of course! You knew that!) to join forces with Sonny Weems and Cheikh Samb on assignment from Denver, so the team has plenty of talent, not to mention a perfect week last week. The team is sitting pretty at 7-3 so this is gonna be another tough game.

But don’t forget, Samb played for us last season for a stretch, including one painful game where he got his two front teeth knocked out (like Danny Granger) and one where he about threw a hissy fit and seemingly alienated his teammates (like Stephon Marbury), so our guys are gonna wanna take his team down. Also we need to watch out for James Mays, the 6-9 forward from Clemson who’s leading the team with 19.8 points a game to go along with an impressive 9.2 boards a game. This team has talent all across the board so tonight is gonna be a rough 48 minutes (however I would welcome our first win in overtime to finally arrive this season).

Coleman Collins was a “notable performer” in the Player of the Week of this week, so that is very nice to see him there. Tonight’s our last game till Saturday so the guys need to go all out in this one. Hopefully I’ll catch some of this game as it doesn’t start till 9 PM EST and I’ll get my game summary up as soon as possible. Also Jeff Potter has a great new entry up in his blog. Make sure you check that out, including a mention of a certain Ben. Let’s go Ants!

One Of Those Losses That Doesn’t Feel So Bad

Anyone hates to lose. There’s no way around that. But when it’s a close, comeback loss to the top ranked team in the league, it’s not nearly as bad as it would be to lose to, say, Reno (who we thankfully beat last week). I was hoping the Jam didn’t deserve that number one spot. I was hoping that spot belonged to Golden State’s Richard Hendrix (who sadly was waived by the team) and DeMarcus Nelson. I was thinking I would come back after the game and rant and rant about how they aren’t nearly as good without those two guys. From what I saw last night that’s really not true.

Before I get into my game rant, I’ll talk a little about some things in the league that have happened recently. I don’t know how I didn’t mention this in my last post, but I saw Toree Morris at the local Target a few days before Christmas while I was out with the lady. What aisle was he in? The sport aisle! Of course! And a message to Jeff Potter (or as my girlfriend affectionately refers to him: “Tall Guy”): UPDATE YOUR DAMN BLOG! It was a good read! I can name plenty of people who agree and would love to see something new up there. Just take five minutes and write something up!

I thought it was interesting to find out that the Bakersfield used to belong to the new ABA (which I just found out has no affiliation with the original ABA) as the Long Beach Jam, and during the 2003-2004 won a championship on a team that included one Dennis Rodman. He was trying to make a comeback into the league after all of his crazy wrestling exploits and ridiculously embarrassing tenure on the Mavs. Interesting tidbit. Now, the Jam, as I mentioned above, are the number one team in the league according to power rankings, with just two losses in twelve games. 6-1 on the road always looks nice. However, they did have two Golden State draft picks on the team: Nelson and Hendrix. Nelson was leading the team in PPG and Hendrix in rebounds. Obviously important parts of the time. Well, Golden State recalled those guys, and from what I can tell this doesn’t bother the rest of the Jam at all. Center Nick Lewis was averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.3 boards a game coming into last night’s game and Trey Johnson followed closely behind with 15.2 ppg. Johnson was briefly signed to the Suns over the summer with our very own Coleman Colins. The teams’ starting point guard is former Michigan State star Mateen Cleaves, leading the team with just under 8 assists a game. His number was retired at MSU; sadly his success didn’t translate over to the NBA and he’s been a journeyman ever since. Derrick Byars is averaging 14.8 ppg, and was cut by the Thunder this preseason.

The Toros picked up our former point guard, Brian Morrison on Christmas day. That’s nice to see. I wish Brian the best. Chris Alexander left Sioux Falls, which I find odd. Alexander was a key ingredient to that team, one of my favorite D-League teams to watch. Now BIG NEWS. The Mad Ants waived Vernon Hamilton and signed DAVID BAILEY! This came as news to me. No official news was released, but apparently this all happened on Christmas Eve. Now, I must admit that I’m kinda sad that Hamilton never really got a fair chance with the team, but Bailey is simply a better point guard. I loved watching the 5-8 beast play for the Skyforce last season, and seeing him in yellow last night was just lovely. Also, Hamed Haddadi was recalled from the Wizards by Memphis. This baffled me as it didn’t look like Haddadi was getting too much playing time with the Wizards. I’d probably expect him to be waived by the Griz soon. Poor guy. I saw him play a preseason game in Indy with the Griz and he didn’t look all too bad. I was expecting him to be a star for Dakota. Also, the News Sentinel (local newspaper) reported that when the Pistons send down Ackers and Sharpe to the Ants in January, that they’re only expected to play four games for us. Anyone got any more word on this? That’s kinda disappointing. Oh well, I suppose the Pistons can do what they want haha.

Okay, now onto the game! I took a lot of notes on this one as I was trying not to talk all too much (wisdom teeth still bothering me, haven’t eaten solid foods in a long time – I’ve been living on milkshakes and soup!). I’ve never seen such a big crowd at a Mad Ants game before. That was nice to see. Bailey was looking really glad to be here before the game. He just seems like a really pleasant guy. I’m very glad to have him on our team and he didn’t disappoint last night. Hawkins started over Scott, a decision I’m starting to come around to. Hawkins is a great defender when he locks down, and Scott not so much. He shocked me to find that Nick Lewis was a white guy haha. I just wasn’t expecting that. Chris Hunter had a great first quarter but was in foul trouble early and ended the game with 12 points and seven boards. Trey Johnson didn’t let up the entire game. This kid can play. He moves very well without the ball and he’s ridiculously athletic. He dropped 33 points on us and sealed the win with a deep 2 with just four seconds left on the shot clock to increase their lead to 5.

There were a lot of bad calls in this game. Yes, it may just be because I’m a huge Ants fan, but I feel that our team gets shafted a lot. There are always moments when you wonder if the refs are watching the same game you are, and I found myself wondering this quite often last night. We had 30 fouls called against us. There’s a point where these guys just need to play basketball. Constant fouls really subtracts from the enjoyment of a game. I know a foul when a foul’s due, and there were many instances when they just weren’t due. Some of the officiating in this league is maddening. I see bad calls called on the other teams as well. It goes both ways, but I especially notice it when it’s in our direction.

I was watching Bailey closely tonight (and it’s hard not to – he’s the 5-8 guy with crazy hair) and he came in with about two minutes left in the first quarter and provided immediate energy. This guy can draw fouls like nobody’s business and it’s great to see that. He’s a great passer and cut the Jam’s lead down to 6 at the end of the first. Byars had 10 on the quarter. One example of the fouls getting out of control: 13/15 FT for the Jam. Nearly half of the Jam’s first quarter points came from free throws. Ridiculous. Johnson had 15 of his 33 from the charity strike.

Both Bailey and Walker Russell started the second quarter, and we saw this lineup a few other times throughout the game. Jackson was playing small tonight, and I liked what I saw out there. Sonderleiter was in for the second quarter, but we never saw him again after quite a productive five minutes off the bench. The game was within four points with 50 seconds left, but Terrance Thomas drained a three, we turned it over, and Thomas drains a drop two from nearly the same spot to increase the lead to 9 at the half.

We came out in the second half playing really tight D. Both teams were defending really well last night, but it looks like the Jam got the best of it. The Jam increased their lead to 16 with six minutes left in the quarter, but the Ants are known for a good rally or two and they didn’t disappoint. Ron Howard was having a pretty off night, but managed to score 16 on 12 shots. Chris Hunter was getting noticeably frustrated with all the fouls against him; fouls that he definitely did not deserve. All of our big guys were in foul trouble yet we only see Anthony Kent come in for 30 seconds (a half minute where he missed a shot and called for a foul). I would have liked to see some more Kent out there. Just 30 seconds? Third quarter just wasn’t our quarter. We weren’t getting good looks and Nick Lewis was starting to show his stuff (he finished with 21 and 10). Russell was missing lots of layups during this stretch and Scott wasn’t hitting for a while. However, we manage to make a run for it and get their lead down to 6 at the end of the third.

The fourth quarter was the best basketball I’ve seen all season thus far. We came out with Bailey, Russell, CC, Scott, and Hawkins all playing really tough D. Nothing was falling early for Russell. CC dunks over Lewis to bring the game within one point with 10 minutes left in the game. The Jam were starting to look worn out at this time, and Russell even got us a one point lead at one point. Scott looked great in the 4th and tied the game at 101 with a deep trey from the corner. The Jam then go on to score seven straight led by Johnson. Russell really started playing at the end of the fourth, bringing the game back within five at 1:46 left. Russell is at the foul line; we’re down by 5. He makes the first. Misses the second, but CC rebounds it and puts it back up and gets the bucket AND 1. Beautiful to see. Just like that it’s a one point game with 50 seconds left. Here is where Johnson drains that deep two to get the jam up three and put us away. We bring the ball down the court and Russell puts up a three but it’s not a good look and it just doesn’t go. 117-115 Final score. Jam win.

And of course I’m sad over the loss, but there’s a big part of me that’s happy with the way this one turned out. We played some great ball and gave the Jam a run for their money. But I do have some complaints (I’ll stop whining about the refs for now haha). The Jam had 18 turnover to our 12. How did we not capitalize on this? Also, the Jam had 48 boards to our 38. I understand we had a small lineup out there, but I saw many instances where no one even bothered to TRY. You’ve got to box out and go for the boards. You can say we lost the game just looking at that statistic.

Cleaves shot just 33% but managed to get 15 pts and 8 dimes. Collins had an off shooting night, getting 18 pts on 18 shots; but grabbed nine nice boards. Scott was a beast tonight, going 6-11 from treyland for 22 points. Bailey and Russell finished with 8 dimes apiece and I love the one-two punch these two points provide. I’m really looking forward to seeing them out there together more often. Overall great game. And I need a better way to be more concise in my writing and note taking. This is ridiculous! Have a great New Year everybody.

My name's Ben and I'm gonna be writing about the Mad Ants throughout this year over here in the Fan Posts when I have some free time (which is usually the case). I meant to get a post up here much earlier than this, but the weather over here in Indiana has been pretty nasty lately. We lost power for about a whole week and that was a pretty big bummer. Plus, due to the weather and having to deal with my dogs and other things I missed the last two Ants home games (something I always hate doing). I've only missed one other game this season but I had a perfectly valid excuse (I was seeing Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine in Akron; totally worth it). Really, that's three too many games. I'm excited to see the Jam play tomorrow. Only in the D-League can a team go from being the best to the worst in ONE SINGLE SEASON. Haha I love it. Okay, well I'm gonna just go over the Mad Ants' season thus far and just talk about the team and whatever else pops into my head. I'm a very scattered writer and tend to get off topic pretty fast, but that's all in the fun of reading it! Also, I just got my wisdom teeth out this morning so I'm not all there, but I shall do my best!

My Ants have started off this season pretty much exactly as I expected them to and almost exactly how last year went as well. We're working our way back to .500 and a win tomorrow against the Jam would be huge for us (a man can dream). It's nice to see two of my favorite Ants back from last season: Walker Russel Jr. and Ron Howard. Howard was a nice surprise last season. He never saw much playing time in the beginning of the season due to the beast that is Jeremy Richardson (currently playing with the Magic; he was waived about a month ago but since then have resigned him, which is great for him but it would have been amazing to see him back in yellow), but once given his chance he became Fort Wayne's guy. When most people think of the Mad Ants, they think of Ron Howard. I hear nothing but good things about him as a person and he seems like a very genuinely nice guy. Plus he does a lot out on the court and a quick look at his numbers can tell you that. Walker Russell is leading the league in assists by a large margin and is a great gift to have on this team. I was really rooting for him to get the back-up PG spot in Phoenix but the team went with Dee Brown (just one of the many bad decisions the Suns have made recently haha), however it's really nice to still have Walker around. This guy is nearly always out on the court and is a great playmaker. I can see him being a call-up real soon. It's great to have him back after playing overseas for half of last season.

The team waived Brian Morrison a few weeks ago, which I was a bit upset to see. Morrisson has a load of talent, and was just never given enough time to show it. We picked up Vernon Hamilton, the all-time steals leader over at Clemson, and I love what I see from him, however I think Morrisson should have been given more time. Morrisson was a true point-guard, a very unselfish player and who I personally thought was a perfect back up to Walker Russel. But I suppose I gotta trust Jaren Jackson (or whoever made that decision), and Hamilton has looked really good in the few games I saw on Futurecast. I'm really gonna be watching him tomorrow as I've yet to see him play at home in the Coliseum.

Another guy we waived was another last season player, Eric Smith. I liked Smith, but there were little things about him that irked me a bit. He seemed to go for the "flashy" plays a lot. He participated in last season's dunk contest and he seemed to go for a lot of fancy dunks and whatnot last season during games as well, which is always entertaining to no end, but it seemed like he missed most of these dunks and the crowd was just left with an "Aw...." Though entertaining players like this are always fun to watch, when they don't offer much more than that it kind of bums you out, and Eric Smith was this guy. I hated to see him go, as he was one of the original Ants, but I see why he lost the roster spot, and he was replaced by Anthony Kent, a very capable PF out of Ball State (where I'll be at next year!). I loved what I saw from Kent in the preseason game against the Bayhawks. He was quick and looked very focused out there. I was disappointed when I saw that he didn't make the team, but again, I can see why he didn't. Now he's back and though he's averaging just twelve minutes a game behind Coleman Collins, his 4.6 boards per game are very helpful and efficient.

The Ants got another big guy in Sean Sonderleiter whose playing time has dropped significantly. I don’t think he’s injured as nothing’s been reported, but though he’s been with the team all season he’s played only 5 games and averages eleven minutes off the bench. However, this is no surprise to me. I like Sean’s game, but he’s outplayed at his position by nearly every D-League power forward. He struggles out there and simply doesn’t match up with his man all too well. His numbers aren’t terrible but they aren’t very impressive either. If the Ants are thinking about making a change, I can see it being done at Sean’s expense. To be honest I was quite surprised when he wasn’t cut at the beginning of the season. I always thought Kent was a much better ball player; Smith too But I do like Sean quite a bit and he has his share of “WOW” moments out there. I’d hate to see him go. Another big is Toree Morris, 6-10 and 275 lbs. out of Pittsburgh. The guy is a beast and one of my favorites to watch. He’s missed one game this season due to a minor injury, where we missed his 53% shooting. He gives us 7 helpful points per game in just under 16 minutes off the bench. However, he needs to be rebounding the ball better, but I am impressed for how quickly he gets down the court for a bigger guy.

Next we have Shawn Hawkins, who’s been splitting the starting small forward spot with fellow IPFW product Dewitt Scott. Hawkins, struggling with his cringe-worthy 38% field goal percentage, does much more good than bad however. He averages 6.2 boards a game to go along 9.3 PPG. Hawkins manages to do a lot without attracting a lot attention (I’ve found myself on many occasions being shocked to all of a sudden see him in the game, only to find he’s been in the whole last five minutes or so-and I like to think I’ve very perceptive haha). He’s a great asset on this team. However, IPFW bias aside, I think the aforementioned Dewitt Scott should be starting at small forward every night (as he usually does, Scott has 5 starts to Hawkins’ 4). The kid can shoot. It seems like nearly every shot he puts up goes in and when he gets in his usual corner spot and is handed the ball you know he’s gonna throw up the trey where he’s shooting 47% on the season. Averaging just under 12 points on the season, this guy has one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. Definitely keep an eye on him this season.

Now to finish up this (lengthy!) post, we’ve got our two starting big men. First off is Coleman Colllins, our first round pick from Virginia Tech, the 6-9 power forward just continues to impress me more and more with every game. I was left underwhelmed with him after the pre-season, but he has definitely exceeded all expectations. Averaging 16 points and 7.7 rebounds a game, he’s a great big man to have out there (a spot we were really weak on last season). Not nearly as foul prone as you’d expect (1.78 per game) for the minutes (31.8) he plays every night, CC (nickname coined by my dad, however it’s very likely plenty of people have called him this in his life haha) always provides a nice 1.33 blocks per game to go along with it. He has an ugly mid-range jumper that tends to go in nearly every time he throws it up; so I forgive him. His free throw shot is just as ugly but still he shoots decently from the charity strike for a big guy. It’s really nice to have two reliable big men this season. I call them the Twin Towers, and I know that nickname has been done to death, but I simply do not care. Chris “Big Game” Hunter (another dad nickname) is a 6-11 monster from Michigan, leading the team with his 17.8 points per game and 11.4 boards a game, just looking at his numbers anyone can tell what he means to this team. Big Game is also leading the team in field goal percentage (53%) and blocks (1.9 per game). He is very foul prone with an average of 4.56 per game, but it’s expected for a big guy, though I’d really like to see him attack the basket more. The guy baffles me, as sometimes he looks extremely lost on the court, and then the next second he makes a great cut to the basket for a nice bucket. He also beholds a beastly dunk. Great guy to watch, and a guy very likely to get called up sometime this season.

Well, there are the ten Mad Ants this season. I’ll be taking some notes at tomorrow’s game and writing in depth about that, and I plan on doing so with all Mad Ant games from here on out! Except if something terrible happens of course (like a famine, or tests). This isn’t some of my best writing as I’m still a little woozy from the surgery today, but I’ll be honing my skills over the next few months and I hope you enjoyed reading this article! I have literally zero experience writing about sports, but hopefully this is something I get better at over the months as well. I know this was a long one, but thanks for reading it and I hope you enjoyed it! Go Ants!

I'm Ben Renz and I'm a huge Pacer and Mad Ants fan. I spend nearly all my free time reading about basketball or listening to music (of which I'm also a huge fan-dabbling in lots of genres). I'm 19 years old and currently attending IPFW in Fort Wayne, IN.