Cardinal Fanatic @ The Gee-Gee Brown Tournament Summation 2012

Last years tournament was the first for the statistical animated Cardinal Fanatic.  Mike Gordon of Bada Bing was the Cardinal Fanatic Captain Efficiency as he led his team to its 2^nd consecutive Gee Gee Brown Tournament Championship.  Bada Bing received a stiff challenge from the up and coming Rush Hour but was able to hold off the younger team on its way to the 2011 title.  Bada Bing defeated the Blazin Bums in last years final.

Rush Hour grew up this year, handing Bada Bing its first defeat in 2 years at the Gee-Gee Brown Tournament.  The guards of Anthony Nelson, Jerrel Thompson, and Andre Dabney along with former Bloomfield College stand out, Omari Knox, proved to be a formidable backcourt. 6’9” Rodney Tucker Jr., 6’8” John Strickland and 6’5 Kevin Womack all gave an outstanding effort in the paint to counter the powerful Ian Wilson and Big Reggie of Bada Bing.  Bada Bing could argue the absence of Derrick Gordon on the last day of the tournament was a factor.

Rush Hour after defeating County Line (Philadelphia/Jersey City) and 2-time champion Bada Bing, came up short in the rematch with County Line led by former Temple guard Semaj Inge in the championship round.  Nick Leon was near perfect from the floor to earn MVP for the Championship game.  Semaj Inge was the most consistent player for the entire tournament and de-thrown Mike Gordon as Mr. Efficiency player for his all around performance leading County Line to the title.

Sherman Brittingham put on a scoring exhibition and gave the tournament most outstanding performance in a single game.  Sherman dropped the most points in a single game at the Gee Gee Brown Tournament (since the Cardinal Fanatic started keeping statistical information).  Sherman dropped 37 points on 67% shooting below the arc and a sizzling 62% from beyond the arc.  Sherman connected on a record 8 3-pointers.  What made this even more impressive, Brittingham was a scoring machine against the eventual champion County Line.  Brittingham should have hit the 40-point mark but shot a dismal 33% from the free thrown line.

The tournament was entertaining with a feature “BATTLE OF THE BACK COURT” which was an unofficial exclusive challenge for the former standout guards of the 21^st century of Plainfield High School.  The Cardinal Fanatic analyzed his statistical charts for each player in this challenge and will rank the top backcourt players with the #1 player being crowned, “PLAINFIELD – KING OF THE BACK COURT”.

The 2010-2011 & 2011-2012 back to back Plainfield High School team (3z PleaZe) came up short against Country Line in an elimination game.  Dr. Dunkadelic did not disappoint the crowd where he went baseline and posterized 2 talented big men from Country Line.   http://www.plainfieldsportsnews.com/viewnews.php?newsid=1318&id=4 (See Day 2 of the Gee Gee Brown Tournament for the poster!)  By the way it was an “AND – 1” to boot!

3z PleaZe had one former high school teammate playing for another team.  Justin Sears teamed up with one of the “BATTLE OF THE BACK COURT” combatant, Tyrone Johnson.  Sears benefited from the 2^nd all-time leading scorer in Plainfield High School History as Johnson fed Sears in the post.  Sears gave an impressive performance on the last day scoring 47 points in 2-games.  This was even more impressive considering that the 18 year old Sears (1^st Team All-State) went against former division 1 players standing 6-9 and bigger and former semi-pro players that were at their maturity peak in muscle mass and athletic ability. 

JB promoted this years tournament as the "Battle of the Back Court". The tournament lived up to the billing as the best guards since the turn of the century that played at Plainfield went head to head. The Cardinal Fanatic was hoping to see others like Jihad Muhammad, Miles Davis, and Isaiah Epps in the mix which would have made the tournament just that more exciting but were absent from the tournament.

Who won the "Battle of the Back Court"? The Cardinal Fanatic will put on his analytical hat and review every game. Each game will get summarize and each back court player will be allotted points in how influential they were in there teams success. At the end of the day, the Cardinal Fanatic will replace his hat with a judges robe and a "Battle of the Back Court" champion will be crowned!

The Cardinal Fanatic will also take a look at the top players in each statistical category (see last years tournament top players stat's (http://plainfield-basketball.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html).

The Cardinal Fanatic will also review every player's statistical effort and announce an All Gee-Gee Brown Tournament Team. Last years best overall player, Mike Gordon, will have some heavy competition looking to take the Best Overall Player Crown.


NOTE:

"Battle of the Back Court" participants

Sekou Harris (2012)
Allen Brown (2011)
Tyrone Johnson (2011)
Mike Gordon (2004)
Derrick Gordon (2011)
Antoine Patterson (2004)
Anthony Nelson (2007)
Jerrel Thompson (2007)
Andre Dabney (2002)
Anthony Baskerville (2009)
Mike Price (2010)

Stay Tune....

Next up:  The crowning of the King of the “BATTLE OF THE BACK COURT”