Ball Up’s Million Dollar Summer Challenge has come to an end in Indianapolis after six weekends of intense, hard-fought games. The event was hosted at Northwest High School and saw appearances from Ball Up All-Stars and NBA athletes Jeff Teague and Marquis Teague. Each weekend brought a large crowd.
The market games between 13th floor All-Stars, Diesle, Heavy, Indy Run & Gun, Indy Blaze, Indy Running Wild, Kenny Kings and the Naptown All-Stars battled it out each weekend to see who would compete in the local playoffs.
Of these teams, six were selected and two teams had a bye round, Team Heavy (6-0) and Naptown All-Stars (5-1). The first round of games played by Diesle and Kenny Kings resulted in a loss for the Kings with a final score of 77-65. They would go on to play Team Heavy, the number one team in the tournament. The second game played in the first round was between Running Wild and Run & Gun. Running Wild took the win 83-72 to move on to the next round to play Naptown All-Stars.
In the second round of the local playoffs, Diesle faced off against Team Heavy where the final possessions came down to the wire. The final score was 69-64 with Heavy winning and advancing to the championship. The second game of the day between Running Wild and the Naptown All-Stars was well fought but in the end the well-rested All-Stars were able to pull out the win, advancing to face off against Heavy.
This game was set from the start to be a good one. Both teams, similar in many ways battled it out from the first half to the second. Naptown controlled an 8-point lead by the end of the first half due to key contributions from guard, Kyree Jones, who also lead his team in scoring throughout the tournament with 17 ppg. Although Naptown controlled this lead Heavy struggled in the first half with turnovers but the game was still close. In the second half Gary McGhee, who averaged nearly a double-double with 14.8 ppg and 9.3 rebounds, turned his game around. He became more aggressive and began to search for his shot more. As the half went along Naptown fell behind and Heavy was able to control the lead for the remainder of the game, though Naptown left it all on the court they were unable to regain control losing 70-54.
McGhee would go onto win playoff MVP with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game.
When asked about his performance in the second half compared to the first he responded, “In the first half I was thinking too much, making too many passes. In the second half I told myself and my teammates that I just need to come out play my game, rebound and stay aggressive.”
Team Heavy will now travel to LA where they will play team Danny Rumph, from Philadelphia, on July 29.
“Our mentality is to play the way we’ve been playing, that’s what has gotten us here; Team basketball, defense and rebounding. If we keep up with that, going to LA I think we have a really good chance to win,” said McGhee.
Shawn Teague, director of the tournament in Indianapolis had a few things to say about the championship team as well as the tournament.
“I was really impressed with how they (Heavy and Naptown) came out, sometimes you get concerned with players taking on the approach of I have to score 30 or more to let everyone know I’m a player. These two teams here played together, it wasn’t about the individual status it was all about team. I was really impressed and proud with how they competed,” said Shawn.
Shawn will be traveling with Team Heavy to LA for the national playoffs.
“It’s going to be a blast. One good piece about it is that as much as I love watching all the players that competed here in Indianapolis play but I have a sentimental favorite because I’m originally from Anderson, so it was really good to see them be successful,” he said. “I know they are going to compete, they play hard, together and for each other.”
Tip-off for the first round of national playoffs begins July 29 where four teams will compete to advance one step closer to the big championship.
For more information about the progression of the tournament visit Ballupmdsc.com.
