During-game entertainment brightens RB basketball

The boy’s basketball season is underway, but the boys are not all that  people come out to see on Friday nights. The Poms team, the Cheerleaders and the Hip Hop Dance team are all part of the entertainment.

 Free gif maker

Bulls playoff run begins

The NBA’s best team during the regular season certainly waited 45 minutes into their first postseason game to show up. Derrick Rose’s career playoff high 39 points helped lead the top seeded Bulls past the Indiana Pacers 104-99 late in game one of the best-of-seven conference quarterfinals series.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 24 points, while former University of North Carolina standout Tyler Hansbrough scored 22. The Pacers led the entire game until Rose found Kyle Korver who hit a wide open three-pointer with 48 seconds left to put the Bulls ahead 102-99.

It was a sloppy performance for the Bulls, while it may have been the best possible performance all year for the Pacers. The Bulls’ tenacious defense didn’t rise to the occasion until the final minutes of the game. Joakim Noah ended the game with two straight key blocks of Josh McRoberts, and the Bulls were able to pull out the victory against a scrappy underdog.

Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau will have his gang ready to go for round two. Game two is tonight at 8:30 at the United Center.

Basketballer Ryan Jackson commits to Lewis

Not many student athletes in high school continue to play sports at the collegiate level. North Riverside’s very own Ryan Jackson has committed to play basketball at Lewis University located in Romeoville, Illinois. He plans to study aviation while playing at Lewis.

The 6’2” senior point guard turned downed several Division 1 offers from Chicago State, North Dakota, South Dakota State, West Point, and Utah Valley. When asked why he chose a division 2 school over the schools, Jackson said, “The location, it’s close to home. Also I really like the coaching staff and the general atmosphere of Lewis.” 

Jackson has been on the varsity basketball team since his sophomore year. He recently led the team against the Lyons Township Lions having a huge game dropping 33 points last Saturday. When asked how he felt after the game, he said “My finger tips were burning after the game. I had to put my hand in bucket of ice immediately after.”

Jackson is a court leader and a valuable asset to the Bulldog’s season this year.  His swagger and court presence are unmatched to most players. The team hopes to win the conference for the tenth year in a row with the help of Jackson.

Team USA and Derrick Rose shine

The USA men’s national basketball team is currently undefeated with a record of 6-0 in the FIBA World Championship Quarterfinals.  Team USA has defeated Croatia, Slovenia, Brazil, Iran, and Tunisia.  Out of these opponents, Brazil was the toughest as Team USA won 70-68.  Team USA has blown out all of the other teams they have played, so they are in need of some competition down the road.  The team will continue their run in the FIBA World Championship against Russia on September 9^th.  The winner will play the winner of Lithuania and Argentina.

The National team is without many of their top players from the NBA including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Jason Kidd who were all members of the 2008 men’s team which won Olympic gold medals.  However, in the FIBA World Championship this year, USA’s team shows no sign of need for these players as they have yet to lose.  Players that have stepped up this year for the team include Kevin Durant, Lamar Odom, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, and Tyson Chandler.

Mike Krzyzewski, head men’s basketball coach at Duke University, has coached USA’s National team for some time now.  Krzyzewski does not lack any experience at all as he coached the 2008 gold medalist team.  He looks to coach this year’s team to another championship.

Will King James rule Chicago?

On May 11, Lebron James was dealt a strong blow by the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers lost by an astounding thirty two Points, 122-88. The Celtics just dominated like they did in the postseason last year against the Chicago Bulls.  How did James and the Cavs follow up in Game Six?  They lost 94-85, even when James had a tripe double.  It wasn’t enough to lead the team to success.

The playoff defeat raises questions about Lebron James’ future. The current speculation is that the Cavs loss in Game Six has placed James’ future in Cleveland in doubt.  ESPN analyst Chris Broussard raised eyebrows by suggesting that James’ number one free agent destination might be Chicago.

But what does Jamesmean to Cleveland organization?  Right now he is their top scorer, so the Cavaliers need him and they want him. They can throw around enough money at him if he wants it. If he should leave, the Cavaliers will have hard decisions trying to fill his slot in the line up.

However, what else can you expect from a high caliber player like Lebron James? He still has a whole career left in the NBA.  Several years ago people said he was the next Michael Jordan, but what do the Cavaliers think now?  Lebron James has done wonders for the Cavaliers, bringing them to the NBA Finals. He’s been with the Cavaliers for seven years. He was drafted when he was only 19 years old and has shown his tremendous ability to make plays and to make his teammates even better.

But the whole story is where Lebron “The King” James will be next year. Will he be a Cavalier still or will he be in a different uniform, in a different city?

Heartbreaking loss ends Boys Basketball

Shooting guard Ryan Jackson’s heroics could not save the Bulldog Boys Basketball season.  The Dogs were dealt a tough loss by ranked Marshall, 56-54, on Tuesday, March 9th. Every Bulldog fan at the game was probably in disbelief.

First a miraculous half court shot by Marshall’s Marlon Sykes tied the game to send it into overtime with three seconds left.  Then, Marshall’s Kiefer Sykes hit a game winning shot with four seconds left.

I can’t imagine what the players were thinking. Before the game, most people you would talk to would say that Marshall would win in a blow out, but our own Bulldogs weren’t going to let that happen.

The Bulldogs were led by Jackson with a outstanding 29 points and 7 rebounds. Some more top scores were senior point guard Sean McGonagill with 14 points, 4 rebounds, and guard Watoris Slater with 8 points, 7 rebounds.  

By all means this was the best high school basketball game I have ever seen. That game meant so much to the RB community. Even if you don’t like the game of basketball, you would have felt for the team. The Bulldogs showed that they could go into a game as an underdog and stay in it no matter what. 

RB can play with the top ranked teams. Despite the loss, we should still be happy.  The Dogs put up a fight until the last second.

RB basketball sensation goes Division 1

Ivy League hoops will be seeing a new level of the talent in the coming years. Riverside-Brookfield athlete Sean McGonagill recently committed to play college basketball for Brown University. While the Ivy League does not technically distribute athletic scholarships due to their outstanding academics, Brown provided McGonagill with a generous amount of financial aid which rivals most athletic scholarships.

“[Brown] couldn’t give me a full scholarship, but they wanted me to play basketball for them,” said McGonagill. “Plus when I get a job in college, I’ll be able to take care of any other costs.”

Brown certainly has good reason to so desperately want a standout hoops star like McGonagill on campus. Last season, McGonagill averaged 16.7 points per game, 5.2 assists, 2.3 steals per, made a total of 58 3-point shots and 76.4% of his free throws. He was the team leader in each of the categories mentioned.

“[Sean] got to Brown through hard work,” stated Coach Mike Reingruber. “And it’s great when you see a kid work as hard as him and achieve success. It’s a great honor for him to compete at the Division 1 level.”

“I’m happy for him,” he added. “I’m very happy for him.”

In addition to Brown, several colleges expressed interest in McGonagill’s basketball talent, including other Ivy League schools Columbia and Cornell, Loyola and North Dakota. The latter offered him a full scholarship, but McGonagill had his future in mind in addition to basketball.

“It’s hard to pass up an education like Brown,” stated McGonagill. “They showed the most interest in me, and I was interested in them as well. When I went to visit there recently, I needed questions answered: How hard is the workload there with basketball? How does travel impact my workload? Obviously, they gave me good answers.”

Like most Ivy League schools, Brown has not had much success with basketball. In over 70 NCAA Division 1 basketball tournaments, Brown has only made the tournament two times (in 1939 and 1986). They did not win the tournament either time. They are relying heavily on incoming talent like McGonagill to take the team to the tournament for the first time in over 20 years. It’s a stretch, but when you have a player like McGonagill on the court, anything is possible regardless of the team he’s on.