Tuesday marked the beginning of this year’s Metro Summer Basketball League at the Omaha Sports Academy. If you showed up to watch, you likely saw new Bluejays Will Artino and Doug McDermott for the first time, as well as former Jays like Dane Watts and Nick Bahe and Rodney Buford. There was plenty of entertaining basketball all evening.
And if you didn’t make it out Tuesday, don’t worry. The league has a quick turnaround this week for its next set of games, which start tonight at 7:30 p.m. And don’t forget, White & Blue Review is the exclusive home for the Metro Summer Basketball League, so check our Metro Summer Basketball League site on Friday for recaps of the night’s action.
With up to four games going at once, it can be a lot to keep track of. Here is some information to consider upon your visit to the Metro’s summer basketball Mecca Thursday night.
Will all the Creighton players be playing? Just like Tuesday evening, we will not see Darryl Ashford, Josh Jones, and Greg Echenique due to class. You may not see them yet for a couple of weeks as they finish their summer session. Meanwhile, Grant Gibbs is still recovering from injury and hopes to get in a few games toward the end of the league’s schedule. Kody Ingle and former Bluejay Josh Dotzler were scheduled to be there on Tuesday, but were not. It is unknown if they will be playing on Thursday.
Game of the Night:
7:30 p.m. (Court 1) Bellevue University vs. Narmi Group
Bluejays to watch: Kenny Lawson, Jahenns Manigat, Ross Ferrarini, Doug McDermott
If you watched the games on Tuesday night the Bellevue University team used their teammates to their advantage to pull out a thrilling win, while the Narmi Group full of new Bluejays are still getting used to playing each other. Manigat and McDermott look like they could contribute this winter so get a good look at them in this game.
Other Games of Interest:
7:30 p.m. (Court 3) State Farm vs. EQ School of Hair Design
Bluejays to watch: Kaleb Korver, Wayne Runnels, Antoine Young, Dane Watts
If you want to see Watts be sure to get to the Omaha Sports Academy for this game, as you will not see him back in the league for a couple of weeks. Despite getting blown out by 40 points Tuesday night, Antoine Young had some nice drives to the basket and some flashy moves, but former Colorado Buffalo Martane Freeman may put on some moves of his own. Korver and Runnels were kind of quiet in their game Tuesday night but again play against some teammates, which could bring out their competitiveness.
7:30 p.m. (Court 4) UNO vs. Shanks Law
Bluejays to watch: Casey Harriman, Matt Dorwart, Kody Ingle, Will Artino
Harriman and Artino looked pretty comfortable playing together on the court Tuesday night. Although Kody Ingle is listed, he was not there on Tuesday, so it is possible he won’t be playing this week. But if UNO brings their full roster again to play, it will be a war of conditioning to see who wins this matchup. Having Nebraska’s Drake Beranek will be of great help to Shanks.
8:30 p.m. (Court 3) Heartland Properties vs. ABIDE Ministries
Bluejays to watch: Ethan Wragge, Taylor Stormberg, Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma, Josh Dotzler
I’m sure Ethan Wragge wishes Gibbs and Jones would be playing with him for this one. Wragge tried to carry the Heartland Properties team on Tuesday, but it was not enough. If you want to see Bluejays past and present on the court for both teams, then stick with Court 3 through the night.
Court 2 Interests:
Over at Court 2 throughout the evening, you will be able to watch former Bluejays in action. During the 7:30 p.m. game you can see Brody Deren share his skills with the UNO Alumni team as they take on the Bellevue University Alumni. During the 8:30 p.m. game, Rodney Buford will try to help lead his Go Gettaz team against Barley’s, which picked up a win on Tuesday.
Remember: admission to these games is free. Enjoy!