Game Notes, Knights vs. Surf
March 21, 2002 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Kansas City Knights News Release
Thursday, March 21, 2002 â 7:15 p.m.
Kemper Arena â Kansas City, MO
THE GAME: The Knights go for consecutive victory number 17 tonight against the tough Southern California Surf, who trail Kansas City in the ABA standings by seven games. The Surf were the last team to defeat the Knights, posting a 122-120 decision on Feb. 2 in Anaheim. The Knights, however, have wiped out the Surf the last four times the clubs have met. The Knights 16 straight wins are just two shy of the Kansas City modern professional sports team record. Indoor soccer's Kansas City Attack won 18 straight games in '95-96. The Knights have been dominant at Kemper Arena this year, winning all 17 games played in the building so far this year. The Knights and Surf will tussle again tomorrow night at Kemper.
THE LAST GAME: The Kansas City Knights returned from a five-game, 10-day road trip at 11:00 a.m., but showed little signs of fatigue just eight hours later. Pete Mickeal was simply unstoppable in the team's return to Kansas City, leading the Knights to a 120-115 win over the Las Vegas Slam last Saturday (March 16).
Mickeal's 42 points broke Maurice Carter's old scoring mark of 37, set earlier this year. He made 14 of 19 from the field and 12 of 14 from the line. Mickeal's big game was needed with Carter, the Knights leading scorer, sidelined with a knee injury and starting center Doug Smith shelved with a back ailment. Rex Walters has a solid outing, adding 20 points and six assists. Cedric Ceballos led the Slam with 30 points and 10 rebounds. THE KNIGHTS: The sizzling Knights have won 16 in a row and 19 of their last 20 after starting the season with a 7-5 record. They have scored at least 110 points in 20 of their last 22 games. Kansas City is outscoring the opposition, 118.5 to 106.3, a difference of 12.2 points per game, during its league-record 16-game winning streak. The Knights play at Kemper has been nothing short of spectacular. Seventeen teams have come in and 17 have been dispatched with a loss. Few games have been close. The Knights average victory margin at Kemper has been a whopping 20.8 points per game. Only three times has an opponent escaped Kemper without a double-digit loss, but two have come in then past two games (Indiana lost by just one on March 2 and Las Vegas came within five points on March 16).
Doug Smith suffered a back injury at Southern California on March 10 and will be out the remainder of the season. Center Kevin Salvadori has left the team to play professionally in Europe. Tonight Derek Grimm (back) and Rex Walters (hand) are listed as questionable. Maurice Carter, who missed the Knights last game with an ankle injury, is expected to play this evening.
This week the Knights signed free agent forward Rick Hughes, a 6-9, 235-pounder from Thomas More College. Hughes averaged 25.8 points per game during his four years at Thomas More. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native played in 21 games for the Dallas Mavericks during the '99-00 season, averaging 3.9 point per game. In '98 he averaged 36.3 ppg for a pro team in Lebanon. He was in the Golden State Warriors training camp in '00.
Former University of Cincinnati star Pete Mickeal has been a force the past week. He has scored at least 30 points in his last three games, and registered a Knights-record 42 points in the team's most recent outing (March 16 vs. Las Vegas). Mickeal is the team's second-leading scorer (23.1 ppg) and leads the club in field-goal percentage (59.5%, 184-309).
Rex Walters and Derek Grimm have made important contributions since returning to the Knights. In eight games since returning from the Canary Islands, Walters is averaging 14.6 points and 5.1 assists, while drilling 20 of 44 three-point attempts (45.5%). After returning from the Philippines, Derek Grimm saw his first action last Saturday night and responded with 13 points and eight rebounds in a Knights victory. THE SURF: The Surf have won just two of their last six games and enter tonight's contest with the ABA's second-best record (17-10). The Surf have assembled one of the finest offensive teams in the league. Former New Jersey Net and San Antonio Spur guard Derrick Dial is one of the ABA's top players. Dial is the ABA's top scorer (26.9 ppg) and play-maker (7.0 apg). The Surf are also getting solid efforts from G Brandon Williams (19.3 ppg), G Fred Vinson (19.9 ppg), G/F Corey Benjamin (13.7 ppg) and F Juaquin Hawkins (12.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg).
THE SERIES: The Knights own a 4-1 record against the Surf, including wins in the last four meetings. Southern California defeated the Knights on Feb. 2 (122-120) in Anaheim in the last loss Kansas City has suffered. The Knights upended the Surf, 116-104, on Feb. 27 in the only game played at Kemper. Here is a breakdown of the season series:
Date Score KC Leading Scorer SC Leading Scorer
2/2 @SC 122, KC 120 Vanterpool 22 Dial 36
2/6 KC 137, @SC 126 Mickeal/Vanterpool 29 Dial 43
2/27 @KC 116, SC 104 Mickeal 31 Williams 22
3/10 KC 118, @SC 113 (ot) Mickeal 27 Dial 34
3/13 KC 126, @SC 124 Carter 32 Dial/Williams 27
POST GAME CONCERT: Tonight is Kansas City Knights, KCWJ and KEXS "Christian Family Night." Following tonight's game the band Under the Influence will perform a free concert.
REBOUNDING FOR HARRIS YOUTH FOUNDATION: When Kansas City Knights players pull down rebounds, the Harris Youth Foundation is a big beneficiary. So far this year over $16,000 as been raised for this worthy charity.
THE COACHES: Kevin Pritchard, who was a starting point guard on the University of Kansas' 1988 NCAA Championship team, returns for his second season as the Knights head coach and his first as the team's general manager. Last season, Pritchard's Knights overcame the loss of seven players to the NBA to finish with a 24-17 overall record, third best in the ABA. Under his direction, Kansas City was the league's second-highest scoring team with an average of 112 points per game. Because of the seven NBA defections, the Knights were forced to use 23 different players in games during the 2000-2001 campaign, yet remained one of the league's best teams.
The 34-year-old Pritchard has an outstanding basketball pedigree. During his college playing days at the University of Kansas, he was coached by both Larry Brown, now the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, and current Jayhawks head coach Roy Williams. His first head coach as an NBA player was Don Nelson, who now directs the Dallas Mavericks fortunes. He ranks seventh on KU's career scoring list with 1,692 points. He was an All-Big Eight pick as a senior and a three-time All-Big Eight Academic Team selection. Following his distinguished college career, he was chosen in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He played in 94 games during his four years in the NBA, making stops at Golden State, San Antonio, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Vancouver. Pritchard has a 50-22 (.694) record as the Knights head coach.
Scott Brooks enjoyed an 11-year NBA playing career with teams that included the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks. He was a key member of the Rockets '94 NBA Championship squad. Last season, he served as a player/assistant coach with the ABA's Los Angeles Stars. He was a collegiate star at the University of California-Irvine. He has a 17-10 (.630) record as the Surf head coach.
NEXT GAME: The Knights will play the Surf here at Kemper tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. The Knights close out the regular season by hitting the road for seven of their final nine games. The remaining Knights home games are April 3 vs. Kentucky and April 14 vs. Southern California. KNIGHTS ON RADIO: All 21 of the Knights home games can be heard live on KCXL Radio (1140 AM) and on the Internet at www.kcxl.com.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
American Basketball Association Stories from March 21, 2002
- Game Notes, Knights vs. Surf - Kansas City Knights
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