With the NBA Lockout in effect and both the owners and the players seemingly very far apart on forming a new collective bargaining agreement, the entire 2011-2012 NBA season may be in jeopardy. This may turn out to be a good thing for some local hoops fans in LA, NYC, and Washington DC, as some top flight NBA talent has been showing up to compete in Summer League action.
Just last week, OKC Thunder shooting guard James Harden topped the 50 point mark in LA’s famed Drew League, which has also seen the likes of Kevin Durant, Demar Derozan, and Tyreke Evans participate in Summer League action.
About this time last Summer, former Villanova guard Corey Fisher dropped 105 points in the Dyckman League in New York while former Wizards and current Magic player Gilbert Arenas has been known to regularly put in work by testing out his oft injured knees in DC’s Goodman League for a number of years now.
While not many Summer Leagues can compete with the star power and sheer number of NBA players that take part in the Drew League, the Goodman League at Barry Farms in Southeastern DC has been known as the place to be for NBA level talent to earn some street cred and local fans’ respect in the Mid Atlantic region.
After a scintillating rookie season in the Association, Wizards PG John Wall was recently urged by DC natives Kevin Durant and Baby Shack, of And 1 mixtape fame, to take his talents to Barry Farms this Summer, even if it’s just for one game. With the Goodman League adding an indoor league this season in addition to their customary outdoor tilt on the blacktop, Wall decided just prior to July 4th to put in some work, playing on a team called “Baltimore’s Finest.”
Earlier this Summer, the Goodman has already seen Nuggets speedy PG Ty Lawson score 45 points in one contest, in addition to getting great individual performances out of Kevin Durant, former Syracuse standout and the Big East’s all time leading scorer Lawrence Moten, along with University of Maryland super soph Pe’shon Howard.
Wall enlisted the help of Spurs rookie Gary Neal and former University of Kentucky alum Demarcus Cousins in taking on Baby Shack’s “Roc Boys” squad. As you can imagine, attendance was at standing room only capacity with a chance to catch an up close and personal view of Wall in Summer League action. Similarly to how he impressed everyone upon his arrival into the NBA, Wall was spectacular, dropping 41 points in his Goodman debut.
Here’s a description of Wall’s play in DC’s Goodman League:
Wall, 20, showed off the freak athleticism that made him the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft, speeding up and down the court to score a game-high 41 points. He even showed off a long-range jumper that he’s been working on this offseason, one of his weaker areas that needed improvement. A few three-pointers in the first half helped Baltimore’s Finest leap out to a 74-56 lead at halftime.
“I’ve been working on it, so I’m getting more comfortable [shooting from range],” Wall told the AFRO. “I just have to keep working and working.”
Looks like the rest of the NBA is being put on notice. If Wall continues to improve his outside shooting, a la reigning 2011 MVP Derrick Rose did in recent seasons, the Wizards may see Wall get some MVP talk as well once the Association gets back to business.
Source: AFRO.com
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
