Summer League Micro-Site
Omaha is getting ready for the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park, the Olympic Swimming Trials over at the CenturyLink Center…and the Metro Basketball Summer League. That’s right: Omahans annual college basketball fix tips off Thursday, June 16th at the Omaha Sports Academy.
Once again, WBR is proud to be your home for summer league for the seventh consecutive year hosting a micro-site that will have everything you need including schedules, rosters, previews, game results and recaps. Games will be played mainly on Thursday nights with a couple of Monday nights in July. Games will be played at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.
The league has 16 teams this summer and includes players from local D-1 schools Creighton and Omaha (UNO) as well as players from other local colleges, former players from the area, and even a few local players from the professional ranks. There are always a few surprises each summer as well. For example, boxing champ Terrence “Bud” Crawford has played on occasion over the years, and former Bluejay and current NBA player Anthony Tolliver has been added to a team in past years during the week he has his basketball camp in Omaha. Those last-minute surprise appearances definitely keep things interesting.
New to the league this year is a team from Offutt Air Force Base. As in the past, Nebraska-Kearney (DII) and Peru State (NAIA) are able to field their whole team on one roster, while Division I schools like Creighton and UNO have restrictions. Per NCAA rules, only two current players on their rosters can play together on one team. Here are the pairings for the Bluejays this summer:
- Davion Mintz & Toby Hegner (OFWF)
- Kaleb Joseph & Marcus Foster (Judd Knispel)
- Ronnie Harrell & Tyler Clement (Narmi Group)
- Justin Patton & Khyri Thomas (NE HS Hoops)
- Maurice Watson, Jr., & Zach Hanson (EQ School of Hair)
- Isaiah Zierden (shoulder), Cole Huff (knee), and Martin Krampelj (knee) are recovering from injuries and will not be playing this summer.
This will likely be the first time fans will get a first-hand look at incoming transfer Kaleb Joseph from Syracuse. Joseph will sit out next season for the Bluejays, but the summer games will be a good opportunity to see what’s in store, similar to the excitement for Mo Watson’s debut that began with his electrifying summer league performances two summers ago. It will also be interesting to see Justin Patton on the court after redshirting last season, as many are curious to see how his game (and his physique) evolved in his year off. While summer league isn’t known for its defense or as a true indication of how players might perform in the regular season, it does give an opportunity to see individual players’ games and what they can bring.
Also, a reminder that just because a player appears on a roster, there is never a guarantee that every player will play each week; as a result, most rosters will change from week to week. We’ll do our best to be on top of that through site updates and by following @whitebluereview on Twitter.
As always, admission is free, but programs will be available for purchase to match up jersey numbers and players and to help defray the costs of the league.
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Now that you have all the basic information, here is a preview of the opening games on Thursday night and some background on the teams playing this summer.
Game of the Night:
7:45 p.m. Court 2: Judd Knispel Insurance vs. Shanks Law Firm
Bluejays to Watch: Marcus Foster, Kaleb Joseph
Honestly, this game gets the feature because if both Marcus and Kaleb are playing, then it should be fun to watch them play, bar none, as a part of the Judd Knispel team. This team is full of current college players, including Justin Patton’s brother Kendall, but Foster and Joseph will be the leaders of this team.
On the other side, a bunch of cohesive veteran players will be with Shanks this season as the roster is full of recent Nebraska Wesleyan graduates. These full roster teams of players that have played on the same team in the past are always tough outs in summer league. They could be the surprise of the summer.
Other Bluejay games:
7:45 p.m. Court 3: Going Vertical vs. NebraskaHSSports.com
Bluejays to Watch: Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas, Justin Carter (alumni)
Many eyes will be darting between court 2 and court 3 so they can see this game as well. It was a big decision for Justin Patton to decide to redshirt last season for Creighton, especially after being tabbed as a top player in the nation coming out of high school. However, I think in the long run this will turn out to be a bigger benefit to the success of Creighton in 2016-17 and possibly beyond. The growth of fellow Omaha native Khyri Thomas from his freshman season into his sophomore season could be huge, and both could play a big role next season for the Bluejays. This team is really young and they will look to recent South Dakota graduate Duol Mayot to be a big contributor as well.
On the other side Going Vertical is a team with a lot of veteran players and pros that have won in summer league in the past and could be big favorites this summer. Former Bluejay Justin Carter, who has made a big impact overseas, joins back up with Ben Holling, Cody Levinson, Klaye Rowe, and Derek Paben this summer along with Omaha superstars TraDeon Hollins and TreShawn Thurman. The combination of veteran leadership and athleticism could provide trouble for summer league teams.
8:45 p.m. Court 1: Bank of Nebraska vs. OFWF
Bluejays to Watch: Davion Mintz, Toby Hegner
Another Bluejay that will likely see the court right away in 2016-17 is Davion Mintz. If you have followed him at all during his senior year in high school, he was a huge contributor to his team and a deadly 3-point shooter. Coach McDermott is looking to get him on the court early to spell Mo Watson and Marcus Foster at both guard positions and get his feet wet quickly. He appears ready to take on the challenge. Toby Hegner has always been impressive at Summer League in the past and plays a little differently than when he is on the court with the Bluejays. This is a big season for him to find his role and know where to contribute the most. UNO’s JT Gibson and Daniel Norl join this group.
Bank of Nebraska is taking on a new look this season with a mix of small college veterans Dane Bacon and Jake Hamburger as well as some other current players that are Omaha/Lincoln natives that play at far away schools in Florida and Canada.
8:45 p.m. Court 3: UNO Alumni vs. Narmi Group @ Baird
Bluejays to Watch: Ronnie Harrell, Tyler Clement, Matt Dorwart (alumni), Taylor Stormberg (alumni), Jahenns Manigat (alumni)
Narmi Group @ Baird is your Creighton heavy team featuring current and former players. Ronnie Harrell is looking to be a bigger contributor on the court this season as he had some impressive games as a redshirt freshman when he was able to play extended minutes. He has also been a great performer in the summer league. Former Bluejay Jahenns Manigat will join the team when he is in town while the rest of the team features current and former Creighton walk-ons with Tyler Clement, Matt Dorwart, and Taylor Stormberg. Current UNO players Zach Pirog and Kyler Erickson are on the team as well.
Your MBL defending champs are the UNO Alumni team, but they will have a really different look this season. There are several new players that make up this team this year, plus current players Renard Suggs and Marcus Tyus. This will still be a tough team as most of these players have been on the same team before.
8:45 p.m. Court 4: EQ School of Hair Design vs. Rooferees
Bluejays to Watch: Maurice Watson, Jr., Zach Hanson
If you have gone to summer league the past two summers, then you have seen Maurice Watson, Jr., slice up opponents and be a star performer on the court. You may have also noticed improvement in his college game as well as he has progressed during his redshirt year after his transfer from Boston University as well as his first season as a Bluejay on the court. There is a lot of drive within him to be successful and he is going to lead the Bluejays this next season to the next step in their progression within the Big East. You can write that down now. As seniors both he and Zach Hanson will look to be on the same page. Hanson will be looked to build on last season where he emerged as a great complement to Geoffrey Groselle in the post. Hopefully summer league this year will help Watson and Hanson continue to build their leadership on and off the court.
The Rooferees on the other hand will be tough as usual with their veteran team all coming back. Former Husker and professional John Turek leads this group along with mainstays Derek Fletcher, a Hastings College grad, and league organizer Jason Isaacson. They have been in contention to win the league each summer and will continue to do so this year.
The Others:
7:45 p.m. Court 1: Regulators vs. Air Force
The Regulators are all Bellevue University graduates and have played together for the past few summers. The Air Force team is somewhat unknown at this time and new to the league. They are a team based out of Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue and this game will be a great first week matchup for all of Bellevue.
7:45 p.m. Court 4: BD vs. Winning Mentality
BD will be fun to watch if you ever kept track of Bellevue University and Midland University over the past several years as players on this team played for both of those schools during their college career. The high flying James Parrott and constant force Jelani Johnson lead this team full of those graduates along with former Samford player and current OSA 15U National head coach Andy King joining the group.
Winning Mentality is a wild mix of players ranging from Deverell Biggs to Steffon Bradford to Peru State’s Josh Horton.
8:45 p.m. Court 2: Lopers vs. Apex Foster Care
This is a great matchup between two Nebraska colleges that are fielding their full rosters for summer play. The Lopers are made up mostly of current University of Nebraska-Kearney players while Apex Foster Care is made up of current Peru State players.
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Here is a more in-depth preview of teams and players in this summer’s Metro Basketball League courtesy of NebHSSports.com