Hoops Reflect on Wild Season
April 7, 2003 - Continental Basketball Association 2 (CBA 2)
Grand Rapids Hoops News Release
Entering the 2002-03 Continental Basketball Association season, first-year head coach Rod Baker was unsure of what to expect. Not only was he beginning his first campaign with the team, Baker was also replacing a local legend in former Hoops head coach and player, Mark Hughes, who had been swooped up by the NBA's Orlando Magic during the off-season.
In his first year of coaching at the professional level, the former Cincinnati assistant would never have predicted the roller coaster ride that would ensue, as the new-look Hoops were able to battle each and every night all the way to the CBA Championship Game.
After arriving in Grand Rapids, Baker's first task was building a coaching staff and roster from scratch. The 2002-03 version of the Hoops contained no holdovers from the previous year, in which the team fell just short of qualifying for the playoffs with a 30-26 record.
The first step Baker took was recruiting former St. Anthony's High School assistant coach George Canda to head up his assistant coaches. In ten seasons at the high school juggernaut, Canda worked alongside legendary head coach Bob Hurley, Sr. and had his hand in the development of nearly 30 NCAA Division I players including Rodrick Rhodes and Terry Dehere.
With a quality teaching coach in place, Baker now turned his focus to finding a former player that could provide his experiences in directing the squad of players. His search ended when he found former NBA Draft pick and former Missouri standout Doug Smith. The Detroit native brought with him a laundry list of professional basketball experience and a reputation as a winner, reflected by the fact that he has won a championship at each stop in his minor-league career after leaving the NBA in 1996. His success includes a victory over the Hoops in the 2001 IBL championship as a member of the St. Louis Swarm.
It was now time to find players.
With the departure of Hughes, many former Hoops players decided against returning to Grand Rapids, leaving Baker and his coaching staff with the difficult task of bringing in a set of ten new faces. Although it was a challenge, the staff did a brilliant job in bringing together one of the more experienced rosters in the entire CBA when training camp dismissed in mid-November.
Former NBA standouts Eric Murdock, Jerald Honeycutt, and Ira Bowman led Grand Rapids opening night roster, which also included three-point specialist Larry Ayuso, who had a wealth of professional experience in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The big story of the early part of the 2002-03 season for the Hoops was injuries. Honeycutt, who was expected to be the focal point of the team's offense, missed the season's first four games due to a foot injury as Grand Rapids stumbled out to a 1-4 start. To compound things, in the team's home opener, Bowman suffered a severe knee injury that would sideline him for the next two months.
While the injury to Bowman was a huge setback for the team, it also opened the door for the acquisition of local hoopster Tim Kisner. The former Central Michigan and Hopkins High School point guard had made a lasting impression in the Hoops' free agent camps over the summer but fell victim to the numbers crunch at the end of training camp. While he had been devastated by his original release, Kisner welcomed the opportunity to join the team once again, regardless of the circumstances.
Despite the disappointing start to the season, Grand Rapids was excited by the return of Honeycutt, as well as the emergence of rookie sensation Kei Madison. The first-round draft choice of the Seattle Supersonics had already proven that he was among the most talented athletes in the league just five games into his first season.
Behind the scoring of Honeycutt and Ayuso and the court leadership of Murdock, the Hoops quickly righted the ship, winning five of their next six contests, including a 148-95 thrashing of the Gary Steelheads on December 12. The 148-point outburst stands as the most points scored in a game in franchise history. This victory also marked the team's first seven to zero quarter point win of the year.
The joy surrounding the easy victory was short-lived, however, as small forward Madison suffered an ACL injury in the first half that would ultimately end his season. While the setback was devastating for the team, it was even harder on the athletic rookie, who was already making giant strides toward the NBA. In 11 games of action as a Hoop, Madison averaged 14.8 points and 7.7 rebounds.
After then dropping two games on the road to the American Conference leading Rockford Lightning and defeating the defending CBA champion Dakota Wizards in back-to-back games at the DeltaPlex Arena in mid-December, the Hoops record stood at 8-7.
The foursome of Honeycutt, Ayuso, Murdock, and former UNLV-standout Kevin Simmons were the main contributors for the Hoops success thus far. While Honeycutt and Ayuso ranked second and third in the league in scoring, the nine-year NBA veteran Murdock led the league in assists and Simmons provided consistent contributions in the team's frontcourt. The team also relied heavily on the three-point shot, easily outdistancing the rest of the league in both attempts and makes.
Despite all of this, the Hoops struggled mightily throughout the next two weeks, losing seven of their next nine games to drop their record to 10-14. The final two loses of the stretch came despite the addition of former NBA-veteran Olden Polynice, who joined the team on January 7. While he was a welcomed addition to the Hoops frontcourt, Polynice had not played in game action in some time and took several weeks to get back into peak playing form.
After defeating the Yakima Sun Kings in a 107-103 overtime thriller, Grand Rapids headed into the All-Star break and what ultimately would be the turning point of the season. In voting early in January, Honeycutt, Murdock, and Ayuso each received All-Star nominations by the league's coaches and media representatives. However, just days before the All-Star classic, Murdock decided to accept an offer to join the Virtus Bologna squad in Italy. At the same time, the foot injury that limited Honeycutt early in the season prevented him from making the trip as well. However, the league then offered an invitation to the Hoops consistent leader Simmons, thus Ayuso and Simmons traveled to Sioux Falls as the Hoops representatives. Unfortunately, it was in a losing cause as the American Conference dropped the game 140-125.
Immediately after the All-Star break, the sharp shooting Ayuso also decided to pursue his professional career overseas, joining a squad in Greece. The recent departures left the team without two of their three leading scorers and their floor-leader in Murdock. The roster shuffling was reflected on the floor as the Hoops dropped their first two games after the mid-January break, leaving them with a season worst 11-16 record. To compound the problems, Bowman suffered a season-ending ACL injury in his second game back and just his fifth game of the season.
Now without four major components of their opening night roster, Baker and his coaching staff were forced to scramble to find a solution to their roster woes. While also adding Jack Hartman, CBA-veteran Lazarus Sims and former Harlem Globetrotter and Arkansas Razorback Kareem Reid, the Hoops staff found that their best remedies were right under their nose.
Alex Scales, Immanuel McElroy and Tim Kisner had spent the majority of the season with the team, however they had seen only limited minutes as the team's offense was focused on half-court execution and three-point shooting. However, with the recent changes, Baker entered each of them into the starting line-up along side Simmons and Polynice. Also, Honeycutt agreed to come off the bench, where his instant offense could be a nightly sparkplug for Grand Rapids.
Despite their lack of experience, the new-look starting five was an instant hit, leading Grand Rapids to six wins in their next seven games, raising their record back to .500 (17-17). Scales stepped right in to become the team's offensive leader, along with Honeycutt. The duo combined to either lead the team or tie for the lead in scoring in all but one game the remainder of the season.
Included in that incredible stretch, Scales scored a CBA season-high 52 points in the Hoops' 141-125 triumph over Rockford on February 2. That night, the Oregon alum connected on 17-28 field goal attempts, while also hitting on a team season-high eight three pointers. In an outstanding all-around performance, Scales also added eight assists and six rebounds on the night.
While the Hoops roller coaster swung into high gear over the final month of the season, the Gary Steelheads caught fire and attempted to make a run at the final American Conference playoff spot that was currently in Grand Rapids' possession.
After Scales led the Hoops to a 133-123 overtime victory over Yakima with a 34-point effort on March 1, the Hoops stood four quarter points behind the Steelheads with just three games remaining. Grand Rapids received a gigantic break when the Sun Kings were delayed in their travels to Grand Rapids for a rematch on March 5. After delaying the game an hour to allow Yakima to make it to town, the Hoops proceeded to spank the road-weary squad 116-91, taking all seven quarter points to give them a three point advantage.
The next to last game of the season was a grudge match between the Hoops and Steelheads with the final CBA playoff berth hanging in the balance. Grand Rapids came out of the gates sluggish and was not able to recover as Gary took the game 111-102, including five of seven quarter points. The loss left Grand Rapids tied for the final playoff spot heading into their season finale against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
At the same time Grand Rapids was hosting the Skyforce, Gary faced off with the Dakota Wizards. Although the Hoops easily thrashed Sioux Falls 141-104, they were able to collect just 5.5 quarter points, opening the door for the Stealheads. However, Gary took just five points of their own as they downed the Wizards, and they fell just one quarter point from the playoffs.
Grand Rapids had secured the final playoff berth of the 2002-03 regular season, despite finishing the season with a 23-25 record, and now they looked forward to the challenge of knocking off the American Conference regular season champions, the Rockford Lighting.
In one of the most exciting playoff races in CBA history, Grand Rapids was able to win three of their final four games after reviving their season mid-way through January. Baker was rewarded for his confidence in the former role players he inserted into starting roles as the team built on its cohesiveness and headed into the playoffs playing with a lot of confidence.
Along with Scales, another player that stepped up with the additional playing time in the season's second half was Cincinnati rookie Immanuel McElroy. The first-year guard waited patiently for his chance to shine for the first half of the season, and when he was handed that opportunity he made the most of it. In starting the team's final 23 games, McElroy averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. While also performing well on the offensive end, the Texas native was also given the responsibility to guard the opponent's best offensive weapon on each night, a job he thrived on. McElroy was rewarded for his efforts in the post-season, as he received the CBA Rookie of the Year award.
In a unique scheduling quirk, Grand Rapids held the home-court advantage over the Lighting in the American Conference Finals best-of-five series. In the National Conference, the Yakima Sun Kings squared off with the defending champion Dakota Wizards.
The Hoops began the series in Rockford for Game One. In one of the most entertaining games of the entire 2002-03 season, the Hoops fell in dramatic fashion, 149-146, in an overtime heartbreaker. Honeycutt came off the bench to score 38 points to lead Grand Rapids, but it was not enough as Rockford had a trio of players score 30-plus points, while former Hoop Reggie Jordan recorded 24 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. The loss dropped Grand Rapids' record to 2-9 against Rockford in 2002-03.
Game Two saw a reverse of fortunes as the Hoops used a dominating third quarter to secure a 128-120 road victory. The Lightning overcame a double-digit Hoops' lead late in the fourth quarter, but solid free throw shooting down the stretch by Kareem Reid secured the important win. Scales led Grand Rapids with 26 points and nine rebounds while Polynice added 25 points and eight boards. Rookie sensation McElroy also recorded 22 points and 12 rebounds as Grand Rapids evened up the series after two games.
The two teams returned to Grand Rapids the following week to resume the series. Grand Rapids continued to rely on veteran big man Polynice, as they routinely fed the ball to the low post taking advantage of their size advantage over the Lightning. The NBA veteran responded, registering game-highs of 22 points and 18 rebounds en route to leading Grand Rapids to a 116-108 victory. In all, eight Hoops' players scored in double-figures on the night.
Grand Rapids was able to reach the CBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history as they defeated Rockford 127-124 in Game Four to win the series three games to one. Scales and Honeycutt led the way, combining for 61 points as the Hoops were able to defeat the Lighting for the third straight game after winning just twice in their first eleven meetings. Grand Rapids moved on to face Yakima, who had defeated the Wizards in four games as well, for the CBA championship.
In the CBA Championship Game on Monday, March 24, Grand Rapids made the long road trip to the mountains of Yakima, Wash. to square off with a talented and experienced Sun King squad. Overall, Yakima was led to the finals by former NBA veterans Anthony Goldwire, Darrick Martin, Mitchell Butler, and Benton Harbor native Anthony Miller.
While Grand Rapids was able to hold a 57-56 advantage at the half, the Sun Kings star-power proved to be too much down the stretch as CBA Playoff MVP Martin scored 33 points to lead Yakima to a 117-107 victory and their record-breaking third CBA title. Scales was the bright spot once again for Grand Rapids as he registered a game-high 34 points on 12-18 shooting.
Just as in the regular season, Grand Rapids had several role players make key contributions in leading the team to their improbable run at the Jay Ramsdell Championship trophy. Along with Scales and Honeycutt, three other players played large roles in the team's post-season success. Polynice averaged 17.6 points and 10.4 rebounds, while McElroy added 17.4 points and nine rebounds per game. Also, at point guard, Reid recorded an impressive 14.2 points and 6.2 assists per game, while Kisner chipped in eight points a game, including a season-high 19 points in Game One.
Although Baker and the rest of the Hoops organization is highly disappointed by their loss in the championship game, he also is very proud of the way his team battled all season long. No one could have anticipated the Grand Rapids Hoops success in 2002-03 and despite all of the injuries and roster moves, Baker was able to keep the entire team on the same page and focused on winning. With the help of veteran leadership from players like Polynice, Sims, and others, Grand Rapids came within inches of the CBA crown and is poised to make another run in 2003-04.
Stay tuned.
Continental Basketball Association 2 Stories from April 7, 2003
- Hoops Reflect on Wild Season - Grand Rapids Hoops
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