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A little 'gamesmanship' does in River Raiders

June 4, 2004 - United States Basketball League (USBL)
Cedar Rapids River Raiders News Release


Cedar Rapids, IA- Winners laugh. Losers scowl.

Brooklyn Kings Coach Kenny Charles was full of mirth Thursday night after his team drubbed the Cedar Rapids River Raiders, 113-96, in the U.S. Cellular Center.

River Raiders Coach Dave Joerger, meanwhile, expressed no appreciation for Charles.

Charles rode United States Basketball League game officials John Beasley and Casey Degutis hard and relentlessly. The Charles comment to the refs that particularly rubbed Joerger wrong came in the second quarter when the Kings' coach shouted "This is gonna be another St. Louis."

The May 8 second-quarter walkout of the St. Louis Skyhawks in Cedar Rapids is now part of USBL lore. Skyhawks Coach Floyd Irons thought the officiating was biased toward the Raiders. He removed his team from the court and forfeited.

"I think it's pretty classless that their coach is talking about 'It's gonna be another St. Louis in here,' " Joerger said. "(Brooklyn) is a league-run franchise pretty much.

"I guess that speaks more to their personality and their style if they're going to side with St. Louis."

Charles, who played in the NBA for several years in the 1970s, only laughed after the game when reminded of his remark. He had no intention of copying Irons' walk-out.

"Gamesmanship," he said with a wink. "I wasn't going anywhere.

"You do your best to get an edge. If it was worth one call, fine. Gamesmanship."

Leaving the court at halftime with his team trailing, 55-53, Charles pumped his fists with clear happiness.

"You get a feel for your team," he said. "We were playing hard. I just had a good feeling."

The officials called nine of the first 12 second-half fouls on Cedar Rapids, after Charles' first-half work on their heads. But the Kings, not the refs, ravaged the Raiders.

"There's not a lot you can say when you get beat by 17 points," said Joerger, whose team is now 8-1 at home.

In the second half, the Raiders (13-9) simply stunk. They looked like a team that had just gotten home the day before from a seven-game, 13-day trip across the USBL and had to play a Brooklyn squad that is now 15-8.

"We're exhausted," Joerger said. "This schedule . . . we are absolutely worn out."

It wasn't as if the Kings shouldn't have been gassed, too. They lost by a point Tuesday night to Oklahoma in Brooklyn, flew to the Midwest Wednesday and lost to the Kansas Cagerz in Salina that night, then bused 500 miles Thursday to Cedar Rapids.

"We left Salina at 7:10 this morning," Charles said. "We stopped at the Kansas City airport to pick up a player (Kyle Williams) who missed his flight the day before.

"At 11:30 we stopped to eat in a beautiful little town called Cameron, Missouri. We found out we had to get the alternator in our bus replaced. We were there three hours."

The Kings got to the arena 45 minutes before game time.

Chudney Gray, one of three former St. John's players on the Kings, dropped 32 points on the Raiders. He showed an impressive array of dribbling skills and offensive moves. His point guard counterpart on the Raiders, Dean Oliver, showed the effects of fatigue and a sore ankle with a 3-for-15 shooting game.

"Chudney Gray is the best point guard right now in the league," Joerger said.

"No one's playing as well as him right now," Charles said.

So the coaches had a little common ground.

In other USBL news, the Adirondack Wildcats have been sold to businessman Carlos Moore, who said he plans to move the team to Kilgore, Texas, at season's end. Jim Phillips, a business partner of Moore's, has acquired the Florence Flyers and says they'll stay in South Carolina.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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