SlamBall on One Tree Hill Teaser

For those of you who want a sneak peak of what it was like to shoot SlamBall on One Tree Hill, check out this video, courtesy of Mason Gordon and IMG Media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhBEi0gl9es

SlamBall and Hit Television Series "One Tree Hill"

As most of you know by now, SlamBall is making an impact on the hit television series, "One Tree Hill". The company I own, "SportsArc" was asked to do the SlamBall choreography and coordination for the storyline and after the SlamBall semi-finals and finals, I will publish a detailed post about the experience, and how well James Lafferty (who trained to become a SlamBall player) did on the court. Thanks to Sophia Bush, who took about a thousand pictures over the weeks SlamBall was filming, you will get a first hand look at what it took to make SlamBall happen on OTH. Coming November 7th.

Until then, enjoy the blogs and watch the SlamBall Semi-Finals on Versus this Sunday (October 26th) at 3pm and the SlamBall World Championship on CBS next Sunday (November 2nd) right after the NFL.

Coach Kirsch's Blog for SlamBall Website - Semi-Finals

It seems like years since we first stepped foot in training camp down in Bradenton, Florida. All of the players and coaches put in hundreds and hundreds of hours of work over the span of months to find ourselves one game away from where we are now. After a roller coaster season, and our first semi-final playoff game in the books, there are 3 teams left standing. The Rumble, the Slashers, and us. The Mob.

After a slow start, we finally got it going heading into the last part of the season and fought our way past a tough, tough Maulers team to earn a semi-final berth. This is the second straight season we've been in this position. Last time, we lost to the Riders, who went on to eventually win the world championship. We don't want to be in that position again. After the draft and beginning of team practices, I said in every interview that I thought the Slashers were the team to beat this year. I still do. They kept their core group intact and have one of the best two stoppers in the league. Coach Stapleton is a tremendous coach and has done a great job getting the Slashers ready for championship caliber slamball.

For us to have success, we need to try to keep Adam Hooker off balance. (Which is a tough thing to do.) In our two meetings with the Slashers this year we lost by a grand total of 7 points. So we know we can compete. It's going to be a close, close game, there's not a doubt in my mind about that. And the winner is going to be decided by Stopper play and LBR's. We have to do a good job of tramp denial on their guys, because if the Slashers get two guys in the slamzone at once, we are going to be in big, big trouble. And on the opposite side, we can't rely too heavily on LaMonica Garrett. Hooker tends to play just him, even on the lobs, so we have to get some offensive production out of stopper reads going into the zone. In this game, our guys need to look to attack first and throw the lob second.

It's going to be a "war" and I know both teams are going to be ready. I'm sure defense will be prevalent, especially early on, with stoppers trying to take control of the game and both offenses trying to feel each other out. In the end, it will be a one or two possession game. Our goal this season was to win the world championship. Anything less will be considered a failure. So here we go. Buckle your seat belts and get ready for the semi's.

Coach Kirsch's Blog for SlamBall Website - Week Six

The Game:

The game of the week this week is Mob vs. Maulers... And what a showdown it's proven to be. Heading into this season, I knew we had some problems to address. We started off slow, but really came together as a team in the final moments of the season... Now everything is on the line with a "win or go home" game in which the winner will clinch the semi-final berth and the loser's season is over. For this week's blog, I just wanted to re-cap my thought process for six questions that arose during the course of the season. Maybe it will give you some insight into coaching slamball or maybe it will just let you have an idea of the private failures and success I had as a coach and we had as a team this season. In any case, it will prove to be interesting reading, as the Mob faced a lot of challenges this year...

Question 1: Who Do We Freeze?

Heading into training camp, the first question on all of the coaches' minds was "How many players will we get to freeze in the draft?" At the beginning of each year we are able to "freeze" a certain amount of players and keep them on the roster. However, each "freeze" counts as a draft pick. During Season II, each team could freeze up to four players. I decided to freeze four. LaMonica Garrett, Sean Jackson, Chris Robbins and Rodney Patrick. Those counted as our first four picks of the draft that year, so our first draft pick was really in round 5. You can see the risks a coach takes in deciding on old players vs. new talent. We were lucky that year and picked up Trevor Anderson in round 5, Noah Ballou in round 6 and Kevin Cassidy in round 7, all of which ended up being phenomenal players. Add them to an already impressive roster, and you have a team that finished 8-2 during the regular season. We really had a shot at going undefeated, but I decided to rest our starters for the semi-final game and we dropped the final two of the year.

Going into this season, it was obvious we weren't going to be able to keep our core team intact. Chris Robbins decided to retire and although he was greatly missed, it helped me a little bit. Kevin Cassidy (our stopper) decided to not come back and that really hurt because it's so hard to find a great stopper. We were only able to freeze three players this year, and my decision was going to prove difficult. I had to decide who to let go: LaMonica, Sean, Trevor or Noah. I knew that passing was the future of the game, and I wanted to run a system called "Razor" in which a lot more of our scoring would come on the bottom bed and through one tramp lobs to the top tramp. Knowing that, I wanted to keep LaMonica Garrett, and then the two guys I think of as two of the best handlers in the game, Sean Jackson and Noah Ballou. That way we could draft firepower and stoppers. But Noah was injured for most of camp, and I wasn't sure if he'd be ready to go for the season. So it was between freezing a proven scorer in a healthy Trevor Anderson or a guy who I thought would fit better with our offense in the injured Noah Ballou. I lost sleep over it, but in the end, I decided to take a risk with Noah. Trevor was a great leader and a hard worker and ended up having a great year with the Hombres.

Question #2: Who Do We Draft?

Knowing we were going to freeze three guys and not have a pick until round 4, I looked at the new talent in camp and started preparing for who would be around. We needed two stoppers, two gunners and a back-up handler. I fell in love with rookies like Myree Bowden, Matt Cummings, Mike Banks, Jamal Barnes, Darren Chavis, and Chris Campbell. The stopper pool this season was weak, but I felt like Jeff Morgan and Delmonte Blackwell were my top two favorites and I thought I had a chance at picking them up because so many other teams were freezing their stoppers.

In the end, we got Mike Banks, Chirs Campbell, Jeff Morgan and Delmonte Blackwell. We also used our last pick for a kid named Noah Sanderson. He was the equivalent of "Rudy Ruttiger" in the movie "Rudy". A guy with a heart of gold that overachieved on a daily basis. The team loved him and he was great for morale. He was also good on the tramps, and I thought he might be able to help us run "Razor".

Question 3: Noah Sanderson or John Thomas?

Midway through the Mob's camp, we came across a situation in which John Thomas was going to be traded. We had an opportunity to take him straight up but in order to do so, we'd have to cut Noah Sanderson. With Noah Ballou's injury not looking any better, and Mike Banks not looking to attack as much as I would have liked, I thought John Thomas might be a great fit for our team. He was tough and hard-nosed and although he did a lot of talking, I liked him. However, I also have a loyalty to my team and my players. And no one wanted to cut Noah Sanderson. I usually run the team like it's a dictatorship. but because this was such a big decision halfway through camp and because emotions were so heavily involved, I did something I've never done before and we put it to a team vote. John Thomas was out and Noah Sanderson was staying. SlamBall execs thought we were crazy. And we probably were. Noah played a grand total of 4 minutes all year and John Thomas went on to become one of the greatest rookie standouts of the year under head coach Kenny Anderson.

Question #4: Who to Play At Stopper?

Because we were the only team that didn't have a veteran stopper, I was trying to develop Jeff and Delmonte quickly. Both showed signs of greatness, but neither was incredibly consistent. One game Jeff would lock down a team and only allow 3 points in a quarter, but then the next we'd allow 85 in a game. The same was true with Monte. As the season progressed and we were losing games by 1 or 2 points, our stopper play was examined under a magnifying glass. Our assistant coach, Thaddeus Hill and I started looking at match-ups and who played well against certain teams. It became a game day decision every time. Coach Hill and I would discuss it at length the day before the game and again at shootaround on the day. Heading into this "Must Win" game with the Maulers, stopper play was going to prove the difference maker and I knew it.

Question #5: How Much Time To Give the Rookies?

To be perfectly honest, I was disappointed in the development of our rookies. Mike Banks was playing out of his mind in training camp, but his game changed when there was a stopper back there. He was one of my favorites and I still think he can be a great player, but he didn't help us as much as I thought he would during the season. One thing he always did though, was play TOUGH defense. He was not scared to hit. His tramp cutting was average and with guys like Ray Ross, LaMonica Garrett, Sean Jackson, and Noah Ballou, he lost some of his time.

Chris Campbell was a great handler, but suffered from a leg injury all year that really limited his time. He never complained about it and played through pain in a lot of games. He was a good passer, and great at cutting in the slamzone, but he wouldn't attack enough. I truly believe that if he had attacked more and kept the stopper honest, we would have won the 4 games we lost by a grand total of 7 points. Chris did a good job for us, and he started a few games when we got some guys banged up.

Noah Sanderson was our 8th man. He was good on the tramps, and played hard, but slightly out of control. He loved to hit and suffered a lot of penalties because of it. At times I was scared to put him out there because I thought he'd hurt us with penalties, but he helped our team in a lot of ways, not just on the court. He embodied what the Mob was all about. He got limited time all season.

Question #6: How Do We Manage Injuries?

The style of play that we embrace is very physical. It resembles the intensity of football and asking the guys to go out and play that way every game took a toll. Heading into this week's game with the Maulers, every player on our team was banged up. Ray Ross actually played through a knee injury. Chris Campbell had a slight leg injury. Noah Ballou had never recovered from the injury he suffered in training camp. LaMonica Garrett was playing on a sprained ankle. Sean Jackson is a warrior but was starting to wear down.

At first, we tried to rest guys. But when all of our starters and then some of the bench started to get banged up, we went to quicker rotations. I wanted the guys give me 2 minutes at a time rather than 3 or 4. And then, in the end, they just had to play through it. We always draft tough tough guys. And this year was no exception. I was truly proud of what the guys gave me on the court and if there is one thing you can be sure of, it's that they left everything they had out there in every game.

So there you go. Six questions is nothing and I could go on for another 4 hours, but this is already way too long. The Mob faced a lot of tough challenges this year. I have never been more proud of the effort a Mob team gave (during any season), and I love our guys with all my heart. As this week's game draws near, I feel confident they will continue to fight like the warriors they are.

As always hit me with questions at brendankirsch@gmail.com

Coach Kirsch's Blog for SlamBall Website - Week Five

Defense:

I receive a lot of e-mails from people asking about specific strategy and X's and O's as it pertains to SlamBall. If you're reading this blog, then you obviously watch the sport and have some kind of base knowledge of the game. Passing, accurate cuts, mis-direction, stopper reads, springbed reads, play-action, secondary breaks, and lane assignments are all necessary offensive principles. But what about defense? It's so easy to get caught watching the ball in SlamBall. (So easy, in fact, that even my players do it on occasion during the game.) The offense of SlamBall is exciting, it's fast, it's sleek and it usually ends with some really cool carnage in mid-air. BUT trust me when I say, defense exists in SlamBall. And not just with the stopper position.

I was a very defensive minded coach when I coached college basketball. I was brought up at Ball State University under a defensive minded genius in head coach, Ray McCallum, and it didn't take long for me to realize that on a bad night you may not have a high scoring percentage - but you can always keep the other team from having a high scoring percentage and still come away with a "W". Offense will fluctuate but defense (and rebounding) will never fluctuate because it's mainly based on effort not skill. (Don't get me wrong, the way Dennis Rodman rebounded in the NBA was skill - and there are very skilled defensive players. Kobe, Michael, Chris Paul - but in a team atmosphere, defense can be extremely successful with no real skill on the floor. As long as there is effort.)

I carried that defensive minded philosophy over to SlamBall because now not only could my team LOCK down an offense, they could KNOCK down an offense. And I loved it. but I learned quickly that just because you can lay big hits on defense, doesn't mean you should. If you look at our Mob team in Season 1, we took too many risks and tried to lay too many big hits. When we'd miss, our defense was at a dis-advantage and we'd shift only to have the ball handler make a pass to the very open man streaking down the sideline and he'd get a great look at the attack. When you allow that to happen, and you allow your stopper to get attacked with no bumping or slowing of the offensive player of any kind, your stopper is not going to be very successful. Nor should he be. You've left him hanging out to dry. And more times than not, in a wide open floor scenario where it's one on one with an attacker and a stopper - the attacker has the advantage.

During season 2, we had a great year. We finished the regular season 9-2 and won our division. The reason for that is because we switched our defensive philosophy. We developed a system that I call "tramp denial defense". It became about keeping players out of the SlamZone repeatedly, rather than laying the big hit. And it works. During the off-season after Season 1, I tried to find something that would give us a defensive edge. What I found was an offensive line in football. : ) Weird, I know. But here is the basis of "tramp denial defense". Your stopper is the quarterback. The attacking team is the defense and your defense is your offense. An offensive line in football will not try to pancake or blow up the defensive line. All they want to do is hit and release. Hit and release. To keep the defender away from the quarterback. I wanted our defense to do the same. If one guy gets into the SlamZone on offense, it's not going to kill us. But if we allow two guys in at once, we're going to get scored on. And if we allow an attacker to get a free look at the rim without being slowed or hit, our stopper is going to have trouble making stops. (If you have a great stopper and he can make big stops -like Kevin Cassidy did for us in Season 2 or Ivan Lattimore did for the Rumble this season - that's great -- but you should not EXPECT him to have to do so. It's just an added bonus.) All I teach is denying the SlamZone. Deny. If there is an opportunity to lay a big hit on the ball, then uncoil and do it. But don't take risks. Keep the offense in front of you.

Obviously the offense is going to get one player in the SlamZone. but if we can deny the other two, we've got a great shot as disrupting their offense. We want to allow one player in the SlamZone at any given time. With a 20 second shot clock, we look at each defensive "possession" as a war for 20 seconds. Keep guys out. Hit and release. Don't leave our stopper hanging out to dry. And then get out and run our break on offense.

There's a lot that goes into the defensive positioning and switching in SlamBall, because once a guy cuts through the SlamZone, it's tough to follow him. So we play that start of each possession in ZONE, quickly matching up with whoever is closest after a score. Then we lock that man and play MAN defense in the open floor. When an offensive player we're guarding makes a cut through the SlamZone, we either follow or call for a SWITCH with another defender. Because no defender is allowed to hold position on the island, I send our defenders to the "bed corners" when their offensive player gets into the Zone. There, they can make a switch, or decide to cut and follow their man. Or quickly cut to the island on an attack for rebounding position.

Thus far in Season 3, we've not done a great job of "tramp denial defense". But this is the point in which we start to focus and work and realize that defense is our backbone. And that it will lead to a much more successful offense. And I think you'll see a different Mob team from here on out.

As always, hit me with anything you got at brendankirsch@gmail.com

Coach Kirsch's Blog for SlamBall Website - Week Four

Mis-Direction and Stopper Reads

This Sunday's game of the week is Mob vs. Hombres. It's impossible to look at the match-up without noting Hombres stopper George Byrd. He and Adam Hooker (Slashers) are the two best stoppers in the league, hands down. And at 6'9", 300 lbs, figuring out how to get around George Byrd is something coaches spend a LOT of time on before heading into a game with the Hombres. That's why this week I'm going back to specific offensive principles in my blog. The two we're focusing on are "mis-direction" and "stopper reads". I have compared the stopper position to a pitcher in baseball. A stopper has the ability to win or lose a SlamBall game completely on his own. If he has a great game, even if his team struggles, his team will most likely win. If he has a poor game, even if his team plays well and executes, his team will most likely lose. It's the most important position in SlamBall. And to attack that position, coaches teach mis-direction and reads.

Mis-Direction:

When I develop our team's offensive system each year, one of the top priorities when it comes to teaching is "play action". Much like in football, when a quarterback shows the ball to the defense to sell the run, before dropping back and throwing; I teach our attackers to sell the "attack" before bailing out and throwing a lob. When you're facing a great stopper (and there are plenty in our league), it's important to draw them into the scoring tramp. When the stopper commits to the bed, his timing has been compromised a bit. Especially when he commits to playing an attack and there is a secondary attack coming through to catch a lob right after the "play action" sell takes place.

To sell the attack, the ball handler must enter the slamzone hard and make eye contact with the stopper. Getting a hard entry into one of the outside tramps almost assures the stopper will get in to make a stop on the ball. Instead of attacking, I teach the ball handler to cut to the island (so that we have a margin for error to make the pass rather than have to get rid of the ball) and there will be a secondary and third option to attack flying in off the top tramp and the side tramp. This is where you see us throwing a lot of one tramp lobs. (LaMonica makes a living off of this.)

Often you'd see this work, but sometimes, when we didn't do a great job of selling the play action, you'd see the unsuccessful results. Chris Campbell (one of our handlers this year) was a great player. But too often he'd enter the side tramp not looking at the stopper at all. He'd be looking to the top tramp secondary cutter to make sure he was there for the lob. When the stopper sees this, he doesn't even enter the bed and waits to make a stop on the lob. Why? Because Chris never made eye contact to sell the attack. Watch this weekend against the Hombres and see if you can identify a good play action sell and one that may not be.

Stopper Reads:

This is the next part of mis-direction. Reading the stopper is one of the toughest things to do in SlamBall because you have to make that read in a matter of tenths of a second. In continuing with our illustration above, let's say while one of our players (Chris Campbell) is going hard into the side tramp, he notices the stopper isn't committing. (The stopper is just waiting on the wood, not playing the attack, but instead waiting for the lob.) While still in the air, Chris would have to make this read and rather than cutting to the island, he would go hard to the rim. The reason this is difficult at times is because when a player is thinking about cutting to the island as he goes hard into the SlamZone he may not have a great dig coming down to actually get to the rim. That's why we teach making decisions in the air. If we ran an offense where we'd throw the lob every single trip down the floor, it wouldn't take long for opposing stoppers or defenses to stop us. To keep the stopper honest and to make great reads, players must be able to make decisions quickly and have the ability to react to those decisions. All in a matter of a tenth of a second.

The next part of reads is stopper's popcorn. You'll notice that a lot of the lobs finished are done so while receiving them from the scoring tramp (the bottom tramp bed). This is a high percentage lob WHEN the stopper doesn't have the timing. For example, let's say Chris Campbell cuts to the island and the one tramp lob isn't there. We will have a third cutter coming side tramp, top tramp and then over the island into the scoring bed. The pass Chris makes to the cutter over the island is designed to allow the cutter to hit the scoring tramp and go up on the stopper to score. If the stopper's bounce or timing is off, this works regularly. But with a great stopper (like George Byrd) he will use his weight to take any bounce away from a cutter. So if our man cutting over the island tried to go up and dunk, he'd be popcorned and the ball would probably be loose and secured by the defense. To avoid this happening, the cutter has to feel the scoring bed when he enters. If he knows he can get a bounce and go up, he should. But if he feels like the stopper has his timing and is taking away the juice of the bed, he needs to instantly cut out of the tramp with the ball and look for another player. (Preferably one outside since if the stopper is popcorning cutters it means he might not be as apt to quickly get up on an outside attack.)

These are two examples of mis-direction and stopper reads. Check out the game of the week Sunday and see if you can point them out. Mob vs. Hombres. 3pm. Versus. As always, you can reach me anytime at coachkirsch@gmail.com

Coach Kirsch's Blog for SlamBall Website - Week Three

As a young coach with old school values, the most important thing I ask of my players is that they play with all their heart. That they play with passion and truly leave whatever they can on the floor. I believe that is the measure of a champion. To do all things with passion. Live, love, work and play. Passion inspires people. And in sports, which is a huge part of our culture, there are moments that can inspire players AND fans for a lifetime. That's why we play. And that's why we watch. There is passion in that.

Rivalries have the ability to magnify the passion in sports.

Mob vs. Rumble. The game of the week that airs Sunday on Versus is one that runs a lot deeper than fans may realize. In 2001, the Mob and the Rumble were the first two teams created to play the first game in slamball history. This game tested the initial rules and fluidity of the game. Each team was comprised of original slamball players, many of which play for teams in the league to this day. Sean Jackson, Dion Mays, Stan Fletcher, David Redmond, Michael Goldman, James Willis, Rob Wilson and Mason Gordon to name a few. The Rumble won that initial match-up. And the sport was born.

In 2002, the official league was formed and the first two teams to hire coaches were the Rumble, (Ken Carter) and the Mob, (myself). Since that day, the Rumble and Mob have been the greatest rivalry in the sport of slamball. Two teams that couldn't differ more in philosophy, coaching style, system, players, or personalities. But two teams that couldn't have more respect for one another. Coach Carter and I speak candidly about the annual bloodbath the match-up has become. As do the players. Whitney White still tells me he can't wait to play the Mob because he "doesn't feel anything" in that game, he's so amped to play. LaMonica Garrett looks like he could rip a tree out of the ground before he jogs out for pre-game warm-ups. In a young sport, it's a great feeling when we play a game that feels as though it has historical significance.

And truly, those games "feel" historic. It's something that just can't be explained unless you're part of them, but on the night the Mob plays the Rumble - both teams play well above their talent levels. It's one of those rare games that just rises above coaching, above execution and is decided by pure heart, determination, passion and defense. I know when I'm talking to my players in the locker room before the game I don't have to say much to get them motivated and ready to play. And I know the same is true for the Rumble. It's truly an electric atmosphere.

As the head coach of the Mob, there is NO team I prepare more for than the Rumble. I watch all their films and scout all their games. I do detailed player reports and we hold more team meetings about this game than usual. The winner each year has bragging rights for the next season and I'm not embarrassed to say that a win against the Rumble means a lot to me, personally. And that a loss hurts deeply. The Rumble is a very very talented and well coached team. And we use them as a measuring stick each year to see if we're where we need to be to win a championship.

Both of these teams were born in the early fire of SlamBall, and both play with tremendous passion. It's a match-up that is always worth watching. Enjoy. Hit me up at brendankirsch@gmail.com with questions or comments. Go Mob.

Coach Kirsch's Blog for SlamBall Website - Week Two

(again, this is the blog post from the official site that i write weekly.)

Coach Kirsch’s Blog – Week Two

If week one was any indication of how the season is going to go, we are all in for one heck of a ride. The game of the week was truly that. Stan Fletcher proved difficult to stop scoring 30 of his teams 42 points in the Maulers win over the heavily favored Rumble. When the game ends up being that close, Coaches scour over stats and game film hoping to find solace in a clear cut reason for the 2 point loss. But the truth of the matter is that those games can be won or lost a hundred times along the way. That’s why coaches preach limiting mistakes and turnovers; offensive and defensive execution; making hustle plays; and in slamball, above all, securing LBR’s. (loose ball rebounds)

LBR’s are a statistic I look very deeply into. It tells a coach how hard their team fought for a possession that was up for grabs. And amazingly, this lone statistic almost always ends up being the difference in a win and a loss. If you look at the box scores from week one you will notice that the team that ended up with more LBR’s won every single game. Every single one.

In the game of the week that aired on Versus, the Maulers won by 2 points and secured only 2 more LBR’s than the Rumble. (28-26) Those 2 LBR’s led to 2 extra possessions. And those 2 possessions quite frankly determined the outcome of the game. No more evident than the last play in which Michael Goldman threw a long lob to Fletcher who dunked it as time expired, leading to the win.

In the Mob’s two losses in week one, I remember being extremely disappointed in our hustle play. The Hombres beat us handedly with their powerful attacks on the rim and our poor stopper play, but even with their scoring percentage being as high as it was, (and thus less of a chance for there to be LBR’s), they still outdid us in the category by 1. The Slashers was a very close game throughout, but we came up short in the end. In that game, the Slashers secured 33 LBR’s to our 22.

Defensive positioning is critical in securing LBR’s. The Bouncers and Slashers did a better job of any team in the league of defensive positioning once the attacking offense was in the slam zone. It’s important to send defensive players to the short corner and to the island when an attack on the rim is eminent. Most LBR’s are secured in these two areas of the floor after a Stopper makes a stop, but the ball is loose. Securing LBR’s also take a lot of pressure off a team’s stopper. The law of averages tells us the more attacks a team gets on a stopper; the higher their score is going to be. When a defense doesn’t secure a LBR after a stop, the offense does. And that means another attack which the stopper must thwart. Any team that leaves their stopper hanging out to dry is not going to have a lot of success.

The game of the week this week is the Slashers and the Maulers. Keep an eye on hustle plays and LBR’s.

Feel free to e-mail me with questions or comments. brendankirsch@gmail.com

Coach Kirsch's Blog for Slamball Website - Week One

(slamball execs asked me to post a weekly blog on the official website, so i will be posting it here as well.)

i've been the head coach of slamball's "Mob" since the sport's inception in 2002. i can honestly say that since that time i have thought about the development of this sport every single day. if you're on here, reading these blogs, you've seen it. it has moved you like it did the hundreds of people who first saw it in 2002. the hundred of thousands that saw it's first season. the millions that saw it's second. and the hundred of millions that will see this one. it's the most poetically played war in sports. the contact of football, the flow of hockey, the speed and explosiveness of track and the finesse of basketball... it's as close to perfect as i could imagine a sport being.

my job on this blog is to give you my view on the games, the teams, the strategy and the state of the sport as a veteran head coach. i will hit on a number of topics throughout the season as well as answer your questions. i'm not going to slow it down or dumb it down so consider reading my blog being part of the advanced school of slamball. i am passionate and i believe with all my heart in my team, these players, this sport and the people behind this sport. more blood, sweat and tears have gone into this sport than you will ever know - more than i can ever convey. and after it all we are still here, standing... growing... developing a game that is the future.

season three airs this sunday, august 31st at 3:00pm (eastern time) on "Versus". each week "Versus" will air the game of the week along with highlights from around the league and features. i'll touch on game strategy, x's and o's, and recap the games that air as well as be the voice for our circle of coaches around the league. so without further ado, i give you week one...

Week One:

Maulers vs. Rumble

The Maulers have three of the most prolific threats in slamball, each at their respective positions. Stan "Shakes" Fletcher is the most incredible scoring gunner in the league. He is the future of the sport and creates new ways to score every week. He is quick, agile, athletic, and explosive. He can attack like a traditional gunner and go over a stopper, but he's more of a threat at getting around the stopper. Tramp transfers, catching lobs and reading the stopper's bounce to avoid being popcorned are a few of the ways he scores nearly 30 points a game. Michael Goldman is a handler who can throw the lob and find attackers 50 feet from the rim. He court vision and passing ability make him the absolute threat at the position. David Redmond was one of the original slamball players at stopper and is still back there taking hits today. He is long, lean and athletic. And his timing in the position is as perfect as it gets. He deflects passes and lobs with his arms, but can make a play at the rim to deny oncoming attackers as well. All in all, this is a very dangerous team. Their head coach, John Starks, is a gritty NBA All-Star with the ability to will determination into the team.

The Rumble is coached by the legendary "Coach Carter". Ken Carter has coached this team as long as I've coached the Mob, but he has a championship ring from Season I. His teams are always tough as nails and they really don't care who you are. Many teams who take the floor against them are intimidated from the start and end up losing tight games. Their floor leader is Jelanni Janesse, a product of Kansas basketball in college, Janesse is the best overall player in SlamBall. A team guy, he looks to pass first, even though he could score at will. He also makes his presence known on the defensive end of the floor, laying wood on any of his unsuspecting offensive counterparts. Whitney White adds explosiveness at the gunner spot. These guys are always ready to play.

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Preparation for the Maulers is all defensive oriented. You have to stop Stan Fletcher from easily gaining access to the slamzone by hitting him up the floor and slowing his route. Your handler has to keep a body on Goldman and directly affect his passing. And your stopper had better be ready to come off the wood and get into the scoring tramp early and often. A stopper preparing for the Maulers needs to be on his game or he's going to be embarrassed.

Preparation for the Rumble is different. I always tell my guys to hit first and hit hard against them. They are not easily deterred and for a team to have a shot at them they have to make the game a gutter war. Stopping Janesse in the open floor is critical and chasing down loose ball rebounds (LBR's) is key. This team is talented and they hustle. Teams on offense should look to attack Redmond from the side tramps and throw lobs to the top tramp, away from his reach. Throwing lobs across the island or into the scoring tramp is a lost cause. He has great timing and length.

It should be a great game. if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at brendankirsch@gmail.com and I'll see you again next week.

Signing Off.

The New Season Premier!

sorry it's been a couple months. the end of the slamball season always puts those of us involved in a downward spiral that takes months to snap out of. : ) it's difficult to be so immersed in a sport of that nature, where development is made every single day and then to have to put it all on hold for an eight month off-season.

but the good news is our new season premiers on "Versus" starting this Sunday, August 31st at 3:00pm (eastern time). from then on, "versus" will air the game of the week every sunday at that time. along with the actual game, there will be highlights and features from around the league.

in november, CBS will air the semi-final game and the championship.

my blog will stay very active during this time and i would love to hear your questions throughout. i get a good number of e-mails everyday from people wondering about the sport, the mob, or with blog ideas. all are welcome.

along with my blog here, i will be blogging once a week throughout the season on the official slamball website, http://www.slamball.net/ - this begins this weekend. so stay tuned. and go mob.

Season Three - Airing Soon

so season three of slamball is underway and will certainly be a tremendous success. although everyone associated with slamball signed confidentiality agreements and cannot discuss game results, etc, you can rest assured knowing that the season will air very soon. please continue to check with slamball nation often, as i'll still blog on players, teams and everything slamball as we head into the air dates. i'll also be blogging each day after a game is aired, reviewing the game - what went right, what went wrong, and all the calls the refs blew. : ) and on a final note of what's to come, the recruitment for slamball players for next season will begin very soon. check back for details. and as always, you can e-mail me at brendankirsch@gmail.com and e-mail slamball on the official website, http://www.slamball.net/

Training Camp Ends - Here Comes the Season

the league:

the court has been packed into trucks and is currently on the highway headed for los angeles. training camp officially comes to a close tomorrow, (may 30th), but it feels like it ended on tuesday when they began dismantling the tramps. the teams are now running through basketball skills development sessions, strength and conditioning and as much film as the coaches can squeeze in.



all in all it was a successful camp, but that success will mean nothing if we can't carry it over into the season in la. players and coaches will travel to la on thursday, june5th. the slamball court should be ready to go on friday, june 6th at 3pm (pacific). we will practice that day and get used to the venue again - (we are at the same venue as season II - universal citywalk). i have a copy of the schedule but cannot release it online yet. i can tell you that the first game of season III will be played on saturday, june 7th at 2:00pm. MOB vs. BOUNCERS


update on networks:

right now slamball has signed a deal that will give a national network the rights to air our playoffs. a regular season contract is still being negotiated with multiple networks. (don't worry, spike tv isn't in the running). the season and the playoffs will also be aired on major networks all over the world. this year proves the biggest audience slamball will ever have and much of it's success depends on the reaction of that audience.


players/teams:

this season is so much ahead of the development of previous seasons, it's difficult to explain. the best way to do it is to compare the passing as it's the measuring stick of the league. during season one, 1/4 of the players could throw or catch a scoring tramp lob. thus the one on one situations every time down the floor. during season two, 1/4 of the league could throw or catch a one tramp lob from the outside. during this season, every player in camp can throw and catch a one tramp lob. the game has progressed dramatically and strategy, (above all), is going to be very prevalent this year.

the two conferences are broken down as such:
mob
bouncers
hombres

slashers
rumble
maulers

if the mob is still the worst team on paper (and they are) the best team on paper is the hombres. with george byrd at stopper, trevor anderson, myree bowden and john thomas at gunner, and calvin patterson and marcus reed at handler, they are a ridiculous talent. however the maulers and the slashers are probably the two early favorites for world champions. the maulers boast a starting lineup of michael goldman, stan fletcher, bryce arledge and dave redmond. backups include craig johnson, matt cummings, and al jones. the slashers who were runner ups during season two start scotty campbell, corey beezehold, tarron williams and adam hooker. they might be the hands down league favorite. and for good reason.

every team has a chance this week, but midway through the week of the 7th, the playoffs will be shaping up. and right now, it's anybody's ring.


the mob:

we are a dangerous team when we're healthy. the question is, will we be healthy...

the guys are motivated. we finished up camp with a team meeting at which we watched the last game the mob ever played. (a loss in the semi-finals to the riders in 2003). they are ready to go, and although we are constantly called the worst team in the league, the players have embraced that accusation and are excited about proving people wrong. the guys are blue collar workers, defensive specialists and play with a lot of heart.

the season is imminent. for more info go to http://www.slamball.net/ or email me at brendankirsch@gmail.com

State of the League Report - May 22nd, 2008

quite a lot has happened since the last update a week ago. i'll do my best to give you a complete update of the league. as always, if i miss anything, please feel free to e-mail me at brendankirsch@gmail.com and i'll get back to you as soon as time permits.

the league:

slamball executives made a few changes as we head into season 3. most notably, the league dissolved two teams heading into the final week of camp. the rousties and the riders ceased to operate as of friday, may 16th. injuries to many players on both rosters left the teams in peril and executives made the tough decision to dissolve the teams for the upcoming season.

this means that the league layout is now six teams. the mob, rumble, maulers, slashers, bouncers, and hombres will all participate. there will be no divisions, but a round robin format instead. each team will play every other team twice. the top four teams will advance to a semi-final game and the winner of each semi-final will advance to the world championship on june 14th.

the season will be played at citywalk in los angeles. it's the same venue that hosted us during season 2, and everyone is excited about it. games will begin on june 5th, 2008. for tickets, check back to http://www.slamball.net/

updated rosters:

the following are the updated rosters after the dissolution of teams and the free agent pickups.

mob:

head coach: brendan kirsch

asst. coach: thaddeus hill

sean jackson

noah ballou

lamonica garrett

mike banks

chris campbell

delmonte blackwell

noah sanderson

jeff morgan

ray ross

rumble:

head coach: ken carter

asst. coach: mark berakoff

dion mays

anthony meyers

jelani janiesse

ivan lattimore

rodney patrick

keith mobray-lee

james willis

whitney white

albert robinson

bouncers:

head coach: raghib ismail

asst. coach: hernando plannells

james lee

josh carlson

jamal barnes

rodney bond

sandy fletcher

martice moore

anthony white

chris young

duane lightfoot

slashers:

head coach: kevin stapleton

asst. coach: tony fritz

ramone floyd

adam hooker

corey beezhold

scott campbell

brandon harrison

diandre faison

tarron williams

damien speranza

jason forte

hombres:

head coach: kenny anderson

asst. coach: lamont moreno

trevor anderson

george byrd

jenero hemphill

myree bowden

nick schwaery

marcus reed

amir ismail

calvin patterson

john thomas

maulers:

head coach: john starks

asst. coach: derrick rowland

stan fletcher

mike goldman

bryce arledge

dave redmond

matt cummings

al jones

craig johnson

trent eager

anthony drejaj

the mob:

we have participated in scrimmages throughout training camp and results have been good. thus far we're 4 - 1 in scrimmage games with the maulers and the hombres. (combined). our rookies have really started to develop and i feel confident in our depth and rotation. we have installed all of our offense and are concentrating on defense (our staple) during the last week of camp. expect us to be a solid defensive team, as always. the league is loaded, though, and more than a few executives have called us the "worst team in the league on paper", so it's bulletin board material for the guys and they are more than motivated to prove the naysayers wrong.

our personnel has pros and cons. pros of late have been rookies, chris campbell, monte blackwell, mike banks, jeff morgan as well as vets sean jackson, ray ross and lamonica garrett. cons have been injuries to noah ballou who is still not back full speed after his miniscus surgery and a recent back surgery and an injury to the wrist of jeff morgan, our starting stopper. hopefully both will be back soon.

closing:

we leave the img academy for la on june 4th, so stay tuned and email me with any questions. we are very close to signing a contract with "cbs" for the playoff games and "versus" for the regular season games or "cbs" for all the games. the major networks worldwide will also broadcast the games and league in italy and israel are now being formed. slamball is very much progressing on a daily basis and the sport is headed in a great direction. please stay tuned with the blog, the website and the season. you are our backbone.

Update From Training Camp - BOUNCERS

(A special thank you to Coach Hernando Plannells for his update with the Bouncers as they continue training camp.)

I am proud to announce to the world that BOUNCER NATION is back!!! Its been 5 years since I coached Slamball and honestly its great to be back. This week we started practice and our time slot is from 7pm to 9pm and we practice with the Rousties who are coached by Mark Berokoff, who I consider to be one of the best coaching minds in sports today.

Looking at our roster I am very happy with our new addition and I am positive that they will make B-NATION better than ever. We have Chris Young, James Lee and Rodney Bond returning from Bouncers season 2… we have added a true handler in Josh Carlson who helped led his Slashers team to the Championship game during season 2. I am proud to announce that we have added 4 excellent players to join B-NATION… they are 6’3 gunner Sandy Fletcher who played football and basketball at USC, we have 6’3 gunner Jamal Barnes who played at Cal State Dominguez hills and has a MMA (mixed martial arts) background, Darren Lightfoot who was a starter at Butler University and we Nick Scherny who is a tough as nails stopper who played at Rutgers.

The B-NATION has been hard at work with strength and conditioning 3 days a week with Coach HJ who was the former strength coach of the New Orleans Saints. It’s a schedule that starts at 8am and ends well after 9pm. I am really impressed with our players work ethic… looking at other teams there aren’t many teams that give maximum effort, Coach Berokoff and I are very lucky that our teams practice hard and take pride in what we do.

In Coach Berokoff’s blog you probably read something that spoke about FIP – Future in Progress… for both of our teams this simple acronym summarizes what we do… We have all heard sayings such as “the future is now” and “Keep working toward the future”. But our progress is the future – we are driven to move this sport forward like no other and we have another opportunity to make it happen.

FORMER BOUNCERS

Many fans of B-Nation may be wondering where our former members are doing since they didn’t return. Here are some updates.

Rob Wilson – Stopper – season 1 & 2Rob is currently the Director of Player Personnel and works with the creator mastermind of Slamball Mason Gordon as they put season 3 on the map.

Rick Maiden – Gunner- Season 1 & 2Rick is currently in China coaching youth basketball and enjoying every minute of it.

Dion Bailey – Handler – Season 1 & 2Dion has gotten married and has a great job with benefits – he was the most improved player from season 1& 2 and there is talk that he may return.

Check back here for future updates on BOUNCER NATION and if you need to contact me feel free to at coachh@hotmail.com and visit my website at http://www.hernandoplanells.com/

Training Camp Continues - MOB

training camp continued this week and is reaching a grueling paces for coaches and players alike. this pace is a major reason as to why it's been difficult to update the blog daily. but i will do my best to keep you updated on as close to a daily basis as possible. with the schedule we are honoring, we only have 15 days left on the court here at IMG. (15 training camp days, these do not include off days.) all in all, teams are starting to feel the pressure because there is a very good chance that the 2008 slamball world champions will be named through the hard work, execution and preparation made in this camp. by the time we all board planes to travel to the season site, some teams will be prepared and some teams will not. right now, it's unclear which teams are which.

players on our team continue to develop. here is a brief update on each.

Sean "Inches" Jackson:

sean is a veteran of immeasurable value. his passing, and offensive attack have not dwindled, even after a 5 year hiatus. his defense, which was much improved during season 2, is even better. he is doing a very good job of helping our rookies with their development, and will continue to do so. as always, his temper flares occasionally, but his passion and competitiveness never wavers.

Noah Ballou:

noah is recovering from his meniscus surgery well. he is doing rehab twice a day and is already trying to sneak on the tramps, just two weeks after. he is learning the offense from the court as an honorary assistant coach as we continue practice and has also done a great job with the other players. another guy you can expect to have a great year.

LaMonica Garrett:

lamonica is better than ever. his attack this year is more versatile and he has become a better defender. our assistant coach, thaddeus hill, works on lamonica's ball handling and passing on a daily basis in the basketball skills development sessions. lamonica is a warrior and you can bet he will be ready to play in june.

Jeff Morgan:

a rookie stopper, jeff has big shoes to fill in taking over for kevin cassidy. but he is improving steadily, and has been the biggest surprise thus far. he watches game film religiously and is working on his timing. he is fearless and is starting to develop into a guy that very much resembles the all-star, cassidy.

Chris Campbell:

chris is a guy who has showed improvement on a daily basis. he is coachable, dedicated and a quiet warrior. his presence at gunner is going to compliment our roster immeasurably. we feel the loss of chris robbins immensely, but chris is making sure we continue our depth at gunner in 2008.

Mike Banks:

a steal in the draft, mike shows more potential than any other player on our team. he is progressing, but we are still waiting for him to "flip the switch". when he does, he will be unstoppable. a younger trevor anderson with quite possibly more explosiveness, this kid is the real deal.

Noah Sanderson:

"rudy" as the team calls him, has brought a lot to the team. he never stops working and his attitude has not only won him favor with the team and the league, but he has greatly improved himself. he is one of the best tramp cutters we have, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. his role with the team is critical and thus far he has stepped up to the challenge.

LaMonte Blackwell:

monte suffered through some minor injuries at the beginning of training camp, but has come back strong. he is slightly behind jeff morgan in reaching his potential, but i expect him to be there soon. one thing the mob has never had before is a solid two stopper combo, and with monte and jeff's talent, i feel comfortable in their ability to protect the rim for us this year.

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all in all, we have installed much of our offense and are now trying to create some situational breakdown work. as a team, our decision making and passing need improvement. our defense and attack will be as potent as ever, but we are definitely a different looking team this season and are still struggling to find our identity. i have a feeling we will peak at the opportune time and shine heading into the post-season.

the rest of the league also looks phenomenal. there will not be a weak team in it. this year's championship is truly up for grabs and it is going to be a war to decide who wants it more.

for more info, as always, go to http://www.slamball.net/

Day Three of Training Camp - ROUSTIES

(a special thank you to mark berokoff for his post on training camp. note: the "rousties" is the new team name for the "bandits" of past seasons.)

A Day in the Life of a Roustie:

A day in the life of a Roustie can be described in one word: “Tough.” From early morning strength and conditioning work outs to basketball skill development to our late evening practices for two hours, you can see something is going on all the time.

Today the Rousties and Bouncers, who practice together, started the basketball skills development which is done on a basketball court right beside the slamball court from noon till 1:30. We did drills that worked on footwork and passing. Coach Planells and I have stressed some brand new techniques that we are trying to use, one of which is the power hop. We are stressing this so our guys will be geared to taking big steps and trying to simulate what it would be like to getting into the tramp beds. We have also been working on two-ball dribbling and passing with either hand. Practice has been sharp and the guys have worked very hard.

After lunch and a brief nap, Coach Planells and I sat down and designed a practice plan we call “FIP,” which stands for Future In Progress. We are trying to develop Slamball techniques that will catapult our guys ahead of the rest of the league. We stress simple fundamental plays, sharp passing, and perfect footwork inside and out of the tramps. One of the main things we use at the start of each practice is a speed ladder, which works on foot speed. The Bouncers and the Rousties are the only Slamball teams in the world using this exercise. Tonight we put in some basic defense sets that we both will use this season. The guys on both teams worked very hard and looked very sharp for the first time putting in any defensive stuff.

Some Rousties observations on players:

Albert “Memphis” Robinson looks very good at the Handler spot, amazing explosiveness in the tramps.

Anthony White is a blessing from God at the Stopper spot, experienced and an incredibly hard worker. He drives the team each day to work hard and his experience has been of incredible value.

Damien Speranaza is coming along very well. He is a steal as an eighth round pick. Tough nosed and a great team guy.

Martice Moore has battled some injury bugs with his shoulder, but is prime to be a breakout performer this season.

Donald Harrison is a long lanky athlete who has a passion to get better and could be a huge surprise this year.

Ameer Ismail, who led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss as a senior at Western Michigan, has gotten better each day on the tramps and will be a guy that can physically match up with a Lamonica Garrett type.

I would love to hear from the Slamball fans out there, send me a email at mberokoff@yahoo.com

As always GO ROUSTIES!

Day One of Training Camp

today was the first day of training camp. my day started at 7am, but it was difficult to sleep, as i knew we had a long day ahead of us. every slamball team now has 36 days to perfect their system and philosophy - to prepare their players for battle - to test the limits of their ability again and again in an attempt to push the sport into the next phase.

we started out the day with a team meeting, the first time the mob sat down and discussed the upcoming season. we welcomed our new rookies and our veterans shared their experiences over the past season(s). all in all it was a great meeting, and on day one, the team already felt like a family. you can tell our rookies are anxious to get out on the court to test themselves. i really like the guys too. having worked with lamonica, sean and noah before, we drafted true character guys who have unlimited potential. there are a lot of guys in the league i'd still love to have on my roster, but being limited to only 8 players, i feel very lucky to have the guys i do.

after the meeting coach hill and i made our way to the court while the guys got taped and pre-practice treatment. we practiced with the maulers today in the first official slamball practice of the season. it began at 10:15am. after doing the "bouncer lay-up drill" (patented by hernando plannells) we immediately got into full contact break drills. it didn't take long to see which players were ready for contact and which were not.

i spent much of the practice working with our two new stoppers, jeff morgan and delmonte blackwell. having lost one of the best stoppers in the league (kevin cassidy) we need one or both of these guys to develop and to do so quickly. i can't tell you how quick the improvement was on their timing from the beginning of practice to the end.

after an hour of full court practice, we went to the halfcourt and did some slamzone passing drills. as expected, our passing is an early sign of concern as many of our guys have football backgrounds and aren;t used to the finesse of distributing the ball, especially on a number of different axis. we will continue to work on our passing and limiting turnovers as camp progresses this week.

after a 2 hour practice, we had lunch. post lunch was a 2 hour basketball skills session in which we ran the team through basketball drills that would translate to the slamball court. lots of ball handling, passing and defensive slide drills were incorporated. as always, the highlight was watching 3 football players trying to perform a 3 man weave. i believe it took us 20 minutes to perfect it. all in all the guys did a great job and were in good spirits as we broke.

coach hill and i then had an afternoon coaches meeting and film session to prep for film later in the night and grabbed dinner. after dinner i had an opportunity to watch some of the bouncers-rousties practice and it was impressive. so many players on both teams look dangerous and i can't believe how much parity there will be in the league this year. for the first time in slamball's short history, ANY one of the 8 teams could truly take home the hardware.

we ended the day with a team film session and broke down one of the mob - riders games from season 2. it was surreal to watch kevin (cassidy) and chris (robbins) play sitting in a room without them. we will miss their heart tremendously but pick up where they left off. and they'll always be part of the mob family. our passing during that game was suspect but our defense was incredible as we came storming back late to claim victory within the last 30 seconds. sean jackson showed his defensive prowess with two big hits on george byrd in the open floor. kevin cassidy had the game of his life with 25 stops after only 3 quarters. the new mob took in the film and after it was over, i could tell they were one step closer to understanding what it's like on the floor during the war that is slamball.

it all starts again tomorrow. so tune in for day two, and as always go to http://www.slamball.net/ for more info.

2008 SlamBall Draft Results

the 2008 slamball draft took place a little over 3 hours ago and the season is now officially underway. the following are the results from the draft...

Maulers (1st pick - former team name: steal)
Head Coach: John Starks
Asst. Coach: Derek Rolland
1) stan fletcher
2) michael goldman
3) david redmond
4) ray ross
5) craig johnson
6) al jones
7) matt cummings
8) todd christian

Rousties (2nd pick - former team name: bandits)
Head Coach: Contract Being Signed
Asst. Coach: Mark Berokoff
1) martice moore
2) anthony white
3) albert robinson
4) demetrius bonier
5) donald harrison
6) ameer ismal
7) gerrie herring
8) damien speranza

Hombres (3rd pick - former team name: diablos)
Head Coach: Kenny Anderson
Asst. Coach: Lamont Moreno
1) george byrd
2) trevor anderson
3) myree bowden
4) anthony drejaj
5) marwan gaines
6) dwight anglade
7) jenero hemphill
8) ramall goodrich

Bouncers (4th pick)
Head Coach: Raghib Ismael
Asst. Coach: Hernando Plannells
1) james lee
2) chris young
3) rodney bond
4) josh carlson
5) jamal barnes
6) nick shwaery
7) sandy fletcher
8) duane lightfoot

Mob (5th pick)
Head Coach: Brendan Kirsch
Asst. Coach: Thaddeus Hill
1) lamonica garrett
2) sean jackson
3) noah ballou
4) mike banks
5) jeff morgan
6) delmarr blackwell
7) chris campbell
8) noah sanderson

Rumble (6th pick)
Head Coach: Ken Carter
Asst. Coach: Conract Being Signed
1) jelani janisse
2) dion mays
3) whitney white
4) keith mobray
5) anthony meyers
6) john thomas
7) ivan lattimore
8) eian daniels

Slashers (7th pick)
Head Coach: Contract Being Signed
Asst. Coach: Kevin Stapleton
1) adam hooker
2) scott campbell
3) corey beezhold
4) tarron williams
5) brandon harrison
6) d'andre faison
7) chad brown
8) darren chavis

Riders (8th pick)
Head Coach: Contract Being Signed
Asst. Coach: TBD
1) calvin patterson
2) bryce arledge
3) robert wilson
4) rodney patrick
5) marcus reed
6) jonathan jackson
7) sheggy obebe
8) tavi battle

stay tuned as we begin training camp with our teams on monday, april 28th. and as always, go to http://www.slamball.net/ for more information.

Notes from the Combine - Thursday, April 24th

it was a tough day today for slamball. as the draft approaches (saturday) many of the rookies and vets are on edge because their futures are up in the air. the coaches have done a number of mock drafts and the rosters end up differently everytime. due to a lot of this stress tempers flared in both vet practices. tommie davis (rumble) became the first veteran cut. guys in the rookie squads are playing through tight hamstrings, sore backs and tweaked ankles as a last push to show the coaches what they need to see before draft day. all in all, it's time for the combine to end and the training camp to begin. and we have one day left.

on the mob's draft board, i have a list of favorites by position that changes daily. guys that i like start leveling off at practices and other guys pass them up. some players i thought were behind are peaking at the right time and surpassing others who peaked early. it's no secret that we need a stopper. badly. in my opinion this draft is extremely stopper weak. with my freezes early, our first pick might not come until the 3rd, or 4th round. the young man we draft at stopper is going to be critical to our team's success. we also need a back-up handler. our starting handler noah ballou goes under the knife tomorrow to fix a torn meniscus. we need a guy to fill a role for us in training camp until noah gets healthy and for 5-7 minutes a game afterwards.

there is a rumor that george byrd (riders) is going to request that he not be frozen. if this is the case, i can assure you he will be the first pick in the 2008 draft. there is still some discussion as to whether or not the league will allow a player to request a change. much of this should be cleared up tomorrow.

stay tuned as the draft results from this coming saturday will be posted hours after it occurs. this will be the first site on the internet to announce the teams for 2008. the draft begins at 4pm eastern. as always, go to http://www.slamball.net/ for more information.

Note from the Combine - Tuesday April 22nd, 2008

NOTES ON:



the rookies:

the combine continued today with the rookie groups (a & b) going hard in the morning sessions. you can tell for the first time that these guys are realizing that their futures with this sport are very much on the line. not only did they continue full contact drills, but they also were introduced to stopper drills for the first time since they arrived at the academy. the highlight of the day came when a rookie made a perfect stop on an attacking offensive player at the rim. it nearly brought the house down and that's how they ended practice.



along with the rookies in groups a & b, the league developed an accelerated group (group e) that practices at the end of the day (7-9pm). it is filled with players who have been recruited and arrived extremely late and don't have much time to catch up with rookie groups a & b. among the players in this group are antonio davis (not THE antonio davis, but good nontheless), paul arthur, dwight anglade (mountain state university), kitus witherspoon, jonathan jackson, robert wilson (aka: "flight" from the and one tour), mike banks (also from the and one tour), ameer ismail (was in the kansas city chiefs camp), and albert robinson (one of the top scorers in the cba this season). this group is made of of guys who have been here no longer than 3 days... every one of them is attacking the rim from well above it. each one of them has a strong basketball and/or football ground... and each one of them may now be putting many of the "bubble" rookies out of a job. they are improving quickly. they will join the "a" group with the guys who have been here since the beginning of the combine on thursday. the 2008 slamball draft is saturday.



the vets:

the vets continued to work hard today for the most part. we are starting to see the guys who have stayed in great shape surpass the guys who are not. the practices are solid with less energy than the rookie practices, but these are also all guys who have already been battle tested. still, it saddens me that some of the veteran players who might have made impacts in season two may not be good enough to make the cut this year. the top five rookies in camp will surpass the last five veterans. the vets still continue to teach at the rookie practices. among veteran guys who have really put in time instructing rookies are tarron williams, george byrd, adam hooker, noah ballou, jenero hemphill, scott campbell, anthony white, trevor anderson, bryce alredge, josh carlson, michael goldman, calvin patterson, marcus reed and gerrie herring. it's becoming quite obvious that a lot of these guys are going to be great coaches when they're done playing and it excites me to see that slamball is starting to feel the tradition of guys who have "been there".



the teams:

the team names have been finalized. mason gordon fought hard to keep many of the original team names intact and succeeded. of the eight teams, only three will be replaced with new names. the five teams that will retain their names are the MOB, RUMBLE, SLASHERS, RIDERS and the BOUNCERS. the three teams that will be re-named are the diablos, bandits and steal. the new names are ROUSTIES, MAULERS, and HOMBRES. (not sure yet which team will represent the original teams). will have that info for you soon.

the draft:
as the draft approaches on saturday, check back on saturday night for the results. i will post the new teams hours after the draft ends.

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that's it for today. e-mail me with questions and as always check http://www.slamball.net/ for more info.