The Prime Time League tipped off at a peculiar time on Father’s Day, with the second day of league games starting at 3:30 p.m. in Waterloo. Despite the “holiday,” the Cedar Valley Sportsplex filled up with witnesses for an afternoon of hoops.
With more teams participating in the Prime Time League this summer, league Commissioner Randy Larson had to find a way to fit in more games and byes in the same amount of time. The solution: play on Sundays.
“That was Fran [McCaffery’s] and Ben Jacobson’s idea,” Larson said. “We had a few more players they wanted to get action for.”
If any attendees had complaints, they likely disappeared following a pair of stellar contests.
Former Hawkeye Jess Settles — whose team had a bye on opening night, June 18, found himself on the opposite bench of coach Kevin Sanders, giving Iowa fans a rare look at several newcomers.
Junior-college transfer Dale Jones and freshman Brandon Hutton played on June 18, and it was the summer début for both freshman Andrew Fleming and redshirt freshman Brady Ellingson, who is still very much an unknown to the Hawkeyes.
Sanders’ squad was without Melsahn Basabe, so despite three stellar scoring performances from Paul Jesperson, Jones, and Hutton, his group was simply undermanned in the talent department. Iowa fans will be delighted to hear about Jones’ 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Hutton’s 29 points and 14 rebounds, but another Hawkeye newcomer got the last laugh.
Settles’ guard-heavy team shared the ball admirably, finishing with five players in double figures, including Ellingson. Fleming, however, poured in 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and was 3-of-6 from the 3 zone.
Paired with Wes Washpun and Matt Gatens, Sunday’s 102-87 victory proves this sharpshooting squad will be as dangerous as the league has to offer.
Jarrod Uthoff was sidelined again for Larson’s team, and while Dom Uhl appeared ready to shoulder the load in the early going, it was not enough to handle Peter Jok and Ted Friedman for coach Ray Swetalla.
Jok followed a strong shooting performance on June 18 by showing his abilities elsewhere on the floor and led a team-oriented effort that infected the rest of his squad.
“We like Peter [Jok] taking shots, off the dribble or coming off screens,” Swetalla said. “It’s summer-league offense, so [we look for] any way we can get him to make plays. And he did a good job rebounding tonight; he gave good effort on that end.”
Jok was fourth on his team with 12 points, and his 10 rebounds tied with Ahmad Wagner, who had 13 points. Friedman led the way with 17 points and also had the dunk of the evening, which sent the crowd into a roar.
Without Uthoff, Larson’s team simply didn’t have the shot makers to win. As well as Swetalla’s team played, it won with only 82 points, largely a result of nobody for Larson scoring more than 11 points.
Uhl grabbed 12 rebounds, but he was looked upon to score and finished with only 9 points on 4-of-17 shooting. Larson’s team has been trounced in its first two games sans Uthoff, but expect the first-overall pick back next week.
The final game of the afternoon pitted Adam Woodbury versus Anthony Clemmons, and that game was about as close as the height differential between the two.
The 7-foot Woodbury finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 108-89 victory, and the 6-2 Clemmons scored 17.
“I missed a couple of shots I should make and a couple of tough, contested looks, but I thought I played all right,” Woodbury said. “Our team played well; this is a fun group of guys to play with.”