I’ll lead this post with the vital information, the little nugget of hope for hoops junkies throughout Omaha looking to get their basketball fix this summer: White & Blue Review is proud to be the home of the 2010 Metro Summer Basketball League. Well, the online home, at least. We won’t be hosting the games in our driveways or anything like that. But I digress.
WBR is partnering with league founder and director (and participant) Jason Isaacson to promote what promises to be an exciting few months of summer hoops. We are hosting a website —http://metrobball.whiteandbluereview.com— where you can find the league’s schedule, results, rosters, recaps, and photos. Some of the Creighton-specific content will spill onto the pages of White & Blue Review, but you get the gist.
NOTE: The league begins play with games on Tuesday, June 29 and Thursday, July 1. League organizers are still finalizing rosters and schedules, and once that information is ready we’ll post it to the website.
What is the Metro Summer Basketball League, you might say? In 2006, Isaacson organized a summer league featuring various members of local college basketball teams of all divisions. Former players at these schools joined the current college athletes, creating a competitive and entertaining league. Open to the public, games gave Creighton fans the first glimpses of some Bluejays newcomers. They had to travel across the river to watch, though, as games took place at Iowa Western Community College and a Council Bluffs high school gym.
The league hit its stride in 2007, when Isaacson and his fellow organizers moved games to Omaha’s South High School gym and rebranded the league. With the rapid roster turnover at Creighton and Nebraska between the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, there were enough new players on both squads to form an all-Creighton and all-Nebraska past-present teams.
Why don’t they always do that? NCAA rules mandate that each Division I school participating in a summer league of this kind can place only two current players on its roster on any one team. Any number of newcomers can be on a select squad, but current teammates are limited to two per side.
ANYWAY, The Creighton-Nebraska summer game in 2007 was epic, even garnering coverage on the front page of the Omaha World-Herald’s sports section.
Needless to say when the two teams matched up with each other, the gym drew a pretty rowdy crowd and as the game went on, the rivalry of the regular season moved to the summer league.
Nebraska didn’t participate during the next summer (2008), but the Bluejays did. In 2009, Dana Altman decided it would be best if his players bowed out, too.
The Omaha Sports Academy will host the league this summer, for the second consecutive year, and crowds will likely be larger thanks to Creighton’s renewed participation. New CU head coach Greg McDermott told his players they can take part in the league if they do not have a conflicting class, so look for a bunch of Bluejays to play.
But the most intriguing part of the league for many fans is the inclusion of former D-I players (and, many times, current professionals). Isaacson says Creighton legends (and guys with NBA experience) Rodney Buford, Kyle Korver, and Anthony Tolliver will join other CU grads Brody Deren, Josh Dotzler, Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma, and Dane Watts during parts of the league’s schedule.
What Creighton players will be playing together?
Rosters are still being finalized, but as of right now, here are the Bluejays that will be on the same teams:
- Antoine Young and Greg Echinique
- Wayne Runnels and Kaleb Korver
- Josh Jones and Ethan Wragge
- Kenny Lawson, Ross Ferranini, Doug McDermott, and Jahenns Manigat
- Kody Ingle, Casey Harriman, Matt Dorwart, and Will Artino
- Grant Gibbs will join former Bluejays Josh Dotzler, Dane Watts, Pierce Hibma, and Nick Bahe
Again, this league is open to the public. For many fans, it offers a unique opportunity to interact with the community’s best basketball players. But it isn’t cheap. So, if you can help out financially, kick some money to the League by donating via a Paypal donation link we will be setting up.
The Metro Summer Basketball League will start with a double dose of games on Tuesday, June 29th and Thursday, July 1st. Then games will be played every Thursday throughout the month of July. We look forward to seeing you there.