I went to the Baker League All Stars vs. the Philadelphia 76ers game yesterday at the Community College of Philadelphia.
I had a great time watching some very good professional and amateur players battle it out in an overtime win for the Baker League All Stars. One individual battle I enjoyed watching was Temple alum and Seattle Supersonic's guard Rick Brunson vs. Louis Williams the Sixers 2005 second round draft pick. Rick took Louis to (summer) school. Patiently backing him down and either passing (14 assists) to a teammate or scoring over him. It was old school vs. new school right there on the court. Old school won this battle, as Louis constantly complained to the refs with gestures indicating that he thought Brunson was hooking him. Louis appears to be headed for D.C. as a lobbyist after his pro days are done.
As soon as I entered the gym someone shouted, "Hey old man." I looked over and saw Fred Stokes. Fred was on the first Sonny Hill Summer League All Star team in 1968 and played for West Philadelphia High School in the late sixties. He started guard on the their 1968 city championship team. Their tallest player that year was 6'4" Ernie Jones. They could run and shoot all day long and epitomized their school's mascot "the Speedboys." We sat and talked about how the ballplayers in our day were more fundamentally sound than today's players. A conversation that I'm sure has been carried on by older players, of all sports, forever. It was good to see some ball during the summer and great to talk with an old friend.
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