Vancouver Volcanoes Selected to Host 2014 IBL Playoffs
June 13, 2014 - International Basketball League (IBL) News Release
At top of his game, Andre Murray gets a second nod for POTW award
It seems as though five time veteran of the Volcanoes is hard to stop, at the top of his game and top of the In The Game Watch List, 6'2" G Andre Murray is the POTW for a second time this season with outstanding efficiency leading the league in points at 33.2ppg, assists at 8.2 per game and 3.8 steals to go with it.
A four time All Star and 2012 IBL MVP, so far 2014 has produced the best performance from Murray yet, perhaps of his career. "I think I am driven this season, my main goal is to get back overseas this fall, I worked hard in the off season and making sure I have the right mind set conditioning, and eating better."
Murray got his start after attending an open tryout encouraged by a former college teammate, and speaks highly of the team owner and Assistant Coach Bryan Hunter whom he plays for. "I have grown to like the team and the community; there is no place I would rather play for than Vancouver. The league provides exposure and I like the competition, I saw it moving forward in a good direction, so I continue to play in the league."
At the top of the watch list all season, the player wearing MJ's number stays humble as a part of a team on a quest for a championship. "It means a lot to be at the top of the list, I think I am just working hard, staying dedicated to my craft. The guys push me hard in practice and so do the coaches, I can thank them for the efforts for what I have been doing so far," Murray acknowledged.
Higher averages than when he got the nod the first time this season, and against tougher opponents, it was a clear decision. In the last two, back to back games for Murray,he produced 43 points and 11 assists in the win against the Sabres, followed up by 36 total points and 10 assists in another win versus the Chinooks, impressive to say the least from the Portland State University Alumni.
"I think at this point after losing four out of five, my mentality switched gears, I just leave everything on the court. I am in constant attack mode and when I am not hitting my shots I am looking for other guys inside or outside to make the shot.
"Andre is really hard to guard, he is really good with the ball and he does a great job defensively as well. In our sets he gets a lot off on ball screens, but he's also out in space, we put him away from the ball a lot so defense has to rotate on to him. He's so good east to west with his dribble, and when he finishes the way he does he scores at will. I wouldn't want to play against us because we can really score the ball, and Murray is just one of our ways." Navarro says about his star player and the feeling seems to be mutual.
"I think when you have a Coach that puts you in a position to succeed as well have faith in you it makes the job really easy. I have been playing with him (Coach Navarro) for years now, as the assistant and now Head Coach for a second season, I understand most of his schemes and what he expects of me. I think I am just enjoying playing the game, and trying to get these wins."
The Volcanoes will try for two more this weekend as they see the Sabres and then take on Houston, the Lone Star Strikers, where Murray will look to continue his reign as the number one player to watch, gaining momentum into the post season.
IBL Playoffs to be hosted by Vancouver Volcanoes June 28 & 29
The last time the Volcanoes hosted the IBL Playoffs they won the title in 2011 and are hoping this season will be the same. Sharing the 10 year anniversary with the league, the home team will see a total of four games played on their home court at Clark College over the two day event June 28 and 29, with the Bellingham Slam looking to make a 3-peat happen just like the Miami Heat currently in the NBA Finals.
Saturday, June 28 will be action packed starting at 2pm with the Seattle Flight and Salem Sabres battling it out. Next up will be the second and third seed meet up with a 5pm tip off and the winner from the first game facing the number one seeded team at 7:30pm. The winner from the 5pm and 7:30pm games will meet up for the Championship on Sunday, June 29 at 5pm at O'Connell Sports Complex.
Currently the Slam are in the number one spot, a familiar place for the team that is referred to as the Spurs of the IBL, with a team that plays together and has familiar longevity on their side with many on the roster from Western Washington University. With just a few games left for the first year Head Coach Tyler Amaya, he and the Slam remain on a quest for a third title in three seasons, fourth overall for the club. With standouts and consistent performers like 6'3" G Mo Anderson, 6'4" G Jacob Stevenson and 6'5" C Blake Poole, as well as newcomers like 6'3" G Sam Freeman, this is a tough squad to beat and their record shows it.
The Chinooks have not won a title in their 10 years in the IBL and with such talent as the ever improving 6'6" F Germain Jordan and 6'9" F Jared Cunningham, both 2014 Players of the Week, look to make a run for the title this season again. They came close in 2012 as the 2nd place team to the Bellingham Slam
With the intent to move to a full season in 2015 the Seattle Flight lead by Coach Rob Brown, have put together quite a competitive squad, coming close to many wins and still fighting with consistent scorer 6'5" F Marcellus Kemp and new additions like 6'2" G Will Conroy. Down south, the Sabres Joe Becerra have taken a couple of wins from the Chinooks so far with familiar faces like 2013 IBL Rookie of the Year 6'7" F Joe Burton and new ones including standout 6'7" G Tyrone White Jr.
Joe Navarro and his Volcanoes are back in the win column, lead by the number one to watch in the league this season so far, performing this best he has in five seasons, 6'2" G Andre Murray. The home team has a roster of talent, but can they play both sides of the floor the rest of the season and into the post-season remains to be seen. Adding new talent like 6'6" F Adam Herman to take the place of missing MVP Chehales Tapscott who is overseas putting up his double doubles, with returnees from previous seasons including 6'9" F Brian Morris and 6'10" C Calvin Hampton, the Volcanoes faithful can count on a run by the host at the end of June. Tickets for the IBL Playoffs are now available online.
IBL week seven game recaps
Through seven weeks of the IBL schedule, the Bellingham Slam stayed red-hot with two wins last weekend to solidify their hold on first place in the standings, while the Vancouver Volcanoes maintained their grasp on second.
On June 6, the Slam hosted the IBL All-Stars and rolled to 136-118 win, paced by a 26 point, 15 rebound double-double from 6'5" C Blake Poole. A big third quarter helped the Slam pull away for the win, and the team was aided by a great performance from rookie 6'3" G Sam Freeman who added 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
The next night, Bellingham kept their win streak intact with a hard-fought 115-106 win over the Seattle Flight, which featured former NBA 6'2" G Will Conroy on the roster. But on this night, 6'2" G Morris Anderson and the Slam got the best of the stacked Flight roster. Bellingham started the game hot, but the talented Seattle squad staged a big comeback in the fourth quarter, getting within four points in the final two minutes before Poole and Anderson connected on a couple big buckets off turnovers to pull away.
Also on Saturday, Andre Murray poured in a season-high 43 points as the Volcanoes trounced the Salem Sabres at home, 140-126. Murray also added 11 assists, many to 6'0" G Dominique Watson who finished with 33 points, as he continued what could be another MVP season for Vancouver. The Sabres got a fine performance out of IBL veteran 6'6" G Jeff Dunn who matched Murray's 43 points in a losing effort, thanks to 8 three-pointers.
On Sunday, the Volcanoes concluded their two-game home set with a win over the rival Portland Chinooks in another Battle of the Bridge, by a score of 122-115. The Volcanoes raced out to a 53-35 lead in the second quarter before the Chinooks were able to heat up and make the game more competitive. They got within 6 points late in the game, but Vancouver was able to hold them off. Murray finished with 36 points to finish with nearly 80 on the weekend, while 6'9" F Jared Cunningham had 31 for Portland.
Things got worse for the Chinooks on Tuesday, as they were shocked by the Salem Sabres for the second straight meeting, losing 110-99. 5'10" G Vinnie McGhee led the Sabres with 32 points in his second game with the team, while 6'6" F Germain Jordan returned from an injury to lead Portland with 20 points. The loss was the Chinooks' third in a row and sent them a game behind Vancouver in third place in the standings with a 7-5 record.
International Basketball League Stories from June 13, 2014
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