TomBall Leaderboard 2009

Points - The Beast/The Best (39), AKA (27), The Horror/Pearl White (19)
Boards - The Best (52), DFA (27), The Beast/The Horror (23)
Dimes - DFA (12), The Best (11), The Horror (10)
Cookies - The Best (13), DFA (12), Litigator (8)
Swats - The Best (7), AKA (6), The Horror/DFA (4)
TOs - The Beast/DFA (10), The Best (9), Thief/The Business (7)
FG Attempted - The Beast/The Best (63), AKA (51), DFA (48)
FG% - The Beast/The Best (.619), Sooooo Good (.571), AKA (.529)
Dunks - The Best (10), The Beast (7), FX (5)

Awards for TomBall 2009

Below are the Awards I have handed out. I'm the commissioner, so what I say goes. The stats back me up too.

Most Valuable Player - The Best
Best Defensive Player - The Best
Best Player Ever - The Best
All-TomBall First Team - The Best, The Beast, AKA
All-TomBall Second Team - Pearl White, DFA, Litigator
All-TomBall Third Team - The Horror, Pasties, FX
All-Defensive First Team - The Best, DFA, AKA
All-Defensive Second Team - Litigator, Pasties, The Horror

TOTAL STATS AND AVERAGES

Round Robin (TOTALS)

Round Robin (AVERAGES)

Playoffs (TOTALS)

Playoffs (AVERAGES)

Overall (TOTALS)

Overall (AVERAGES)

CHAMPIONSHIP: Team 2 v Team 4

Dio and the Novas vs Dev and the Wild Things

Championship

No need to say it, but I will anyways. $150 to the winning team. Largest cash prize in TomBall history. Who wanted it more. With both teams tired and running on fumes, it was sure to be a battle. Dio and the Novas came out literally on fire, hitting their first 5 shots en route to a 5-1 lead. Each baller had a point with The Best providing a thunderous rebounding dunk at one point. The Beast calmed his team down and eventually battled back to tie it 9-9. The Best finished with 6 points, 5 boards, 2 dimes and a tournament high 5 cookies. FX helped out with 5 points and two massive cookies that I will get to in a minute. The Business and FX each took turns guarding The Beast, trying to throw off his offensive game. He finished with 5 points on 5-6 shooting and 5 boards. DFA had an outstanding offensive game finishing with 3 points, 3 boards and 4 dimes. The Horror added 3 points and 2 swats. With the game tied 11-11, FX stole the ball from DFA and dribbled down the court and threw down a monstrous lefty dunk to take the lead. Two defensive possessions later, FX tipped a pass by DFA and chased the ball down, beating DFA to the ball. His basketball instincts probably alerted him to the fact that The Best was running down court with him, as he grabbed the ball and in a continuous motion threw it behind his back to The Best who layed it in for the victory and the championship. Throwing his arms in the air, The Best had finally added that elusive championship trophy to his list of accolades. Dio and the Novas took the championship, proving that a bunch of out of towners are just what TomBall needs to spice things up.

After all of this, the ballers ate food. A lot of food. And it was good. Real good. Another tournament by the end of the summer...? Possibly. Wait and find out. Come back soon, to The Corner.

Playoffs: Series 1 v 4

Dev and the Wild Things (2) vs Todd and the Bens (3)

Game 1

Nothing new here. Todd and the Bens win a hard fought Game 1 with a 9-7 victory. AKA goes 6-8 from the field while Thief added 2 points and 2 boards. The Beast had 5 points while DFA added 3 boards. Todd and the Bens by far have the best team chemistry. They really understand each other and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. That comes from years and years of playing together. That can't be taught, that's earned. Series: Todd and the Bens lead 1-0.

Game 2

AKA put in probably his best overall effort ever into this TomBall game. He really wanted to win. He really wanted it. Unfortunately, his team fell short 15-13 in what was the game of the tournament. AKA had 5 points, 7 boards, 4 dimes, and played stellar defense on The Beast which included 3 swats. The Beast did have 8 points, but they came on 20 shots. The Horror played a great game, going 4-7 with 6 boards. When he gets in the post he's tough to stop. DFA had another great all around game with 3 points, 3 boards, 3 dimes and 3 cookies. The Thief and The Litigator each had 4 points, 3 boards and 1 dime. This was definitely the game of the tournament. The level of play was outstanding. AKA had two chances at the end of the game to win it, with both shots hitting every part of the hoop except for the bottom of the net. The defensive pressure he was putting on The Beast was taking its toll. Series Tied 1-1.

Game 3

The winner of this game would meet Dio and the Novas in the championship. Both teams knew what was on the line. Both teams fought hard. Unfortunately, only one team could win. The Horror had his best offensive game scoring 5 points and adding 4 boards. DFA had 3 boards and 4 big dimes. AKA had 4 points and The Litigator had 3 points and 4 boards. When it came down to the end, the game plan for Dev and the Wild Things was simple: get the ball to The Beast. Let him do his thing. And that he did. Scoring two late baskets to win the game 10-8. Dev and the Wild Things advance.

Playoffs: Series 2 v 3

Commissioner's Note: There was a three way tie for first place. So to decide the three best shooters on teams shot to decide the seedings. The results were: 1-Dio and the Novas, 2-Dev and the Wild Things, 3-Todd and the Bens, 4-Johnny and the Rockets. The games alternated but the two series will be presented in total in two posts.

Dio and the Novas (1) vs Johnny and the Rockets (4)

Game 1

The Best was held without a dunk in a TomBall game for the first time ever. Pasties played great straight up defense not letting him get anything easy. The result: 4-9 shooting with 5 boards and 3 swats. FX had a rough shooting game going 0-5. 8 Bottles added a point on a nice stepback jumper. Pasties went 2-2 with 6 boards, 2 dimes and 2 cookies. Pearl White and Sooooo Good each had 3 points, 2 boards and 1 dime. Rosetta Stone had another tough shooting performance going 0-6. Game 1 went to Johnny and the Rockets, earning their first tournament win, 8-6 (there was a scoring error in this game). Series: Johnny and the Rockets lead 1-0.

Game 2

After being held without a dunk in Game 1, The Best sent a message in Game 2, grabbing a near record 16 boards (he holds the record with 17 made back in 2005 at the Thanksgiving Special. He took 14 shots and made 7 of them while adding 2 dimes and 2 swats. FX added 3 points and 2 boards. Pearl White had 4 points while Rosetta Stone added 2 points. The 1 seed needed to make a statement after losing Game 1, and they did with a 10-6 victory (there was a scoring error in this game as well). Note: the shooting was pretty horrendous in this game. Series Tied 1-1.

Game 3

You want pressure? How about this? The winner of this game goes to the TomBall championship to compete for $150. Now that's pressure. Who came out frazzled and who came out to play? Well The Best sure did not want to go home (upstairs to his room). He shot 7-8 and added 7 boards. The Business came alive at the right time. Adding 2 points, 3 boards and 2 huge cookies, he helped Dio and the Novas throughout the game. Pearl White had 3 points and 2 boards, Pasties went 2-2 from the field and Sooooo Good added 2 points. But the upset was not meant to be. Dio and the Novas took control late and won 9-7, advancing to the finals to play the winner of Todd and the Bens and Dev and the Wild Things.

Round Robin: Team 3 v Team 4

Johnny and the Rockets vs Dev and the Wild Things

In what was the game of the tournament to that point, Dev and the Wild Things won a very close game 14-12. Team 3 had an incredibly balanced offensive attack. Rosetta Stone looked deadly from deep going 4-6, along with 2 boards and 2 dimes. Pasties and Pearl White each had 3 points, with the latter also providing 4 dimes. Sooooo Good went 2-2 from the field but was still relatively quiet. The Beast went 8-10 along with 3 dimes. DFA had 3 points and added 7 boards. The Horror had his breakout game of the tournament scoring 3 points (3-4 shooting) and adding 3 boards and 5 huge dimes. This game provided an unprecedented 15 dimes, the highest combined recorded total in TomBall history. Johnny and the Rockets 0-3, Dev and the Wild Things 2-1.

Round Robin: Team 1 v Team 2

Todd and the Bens vs Dio and the Novas

Very closely contested game with great competitors, Todd and the Bens did not want to quit but they fell to Dio and the Novas 9-7. The Best contributed on all 9 of his teams points, going 7-8 from the field along with 2 dimes. He also added 8 boards and 2 swats. FX added 2 points. The Business looked a little shook up out there on offense, but he provided stellar shutdown defense on The Thief, who went 2-7 from the field. AKA had a rough shooting night as well going 2-8. Litigator shot a little better with a 3-8 performance, but he hadded 7 big boards, 2 dimes and 2 cookies. 8 Bottles looked drunk again. Todd and the Bens 2-1, Dio and the Novas 2-1.

Round Robin: Team 1 v Team 4

Todd and the Bens vs Dev and the Wild Things

Surprising? Not after this win. Todd and the Bens took down the Beast with a balanced team effort 9-7. AKA didn't shoot great, but he ended up with 4 points, 6 boards and 3 dimes, all of which were to The Litigator who ended up shooting 5-6, with 2 boards and 2 cookies. The Beast shot 4-6 and had 6 boards but had two costly 2 turnovers. DFA had a rough shooting performance going 2-14. The Horror didn't shoot well either, but he also had 6 boards. Todd and the Bens 2-0, Dev and the Wild Things 1-1.

Round Robin: Team 2 v Team 3

Dio and the Novas vs Johnny and the Rockets

After a career worst shooting game, The Best came out with one of his better games in a while going 5-7 (4 dunks), with 5 boards and 2 swats. FX added a 3-4 performance while 8 Bottles began showing some life, recording 1 point along with 2 sweet dimes. Rosetta Stone had a tough game, going 0-4. Pasties had 3 points and 3 boards while Pearl White had 2 points, 2 boards and 1 dime. Sooooo Good had a tough time getting into rhythm after coming straight in from NYC. Dio and the Novas 1-1, Johnny and the Rockets 0-2.

Round Robin: Team 2 v Team 4

Dio and the Novas vs Dev and the Wild Things

Arguably the worst performance of his TomBall career, The Best was helpless against The Beast. Shooting a career worst .385 from the field, he was hardpressed for any offense. The Beast put up 5 points and 3 boards while DFA contributed with 3 points and 3 boards. The Novas looked a bit shaky. FX looked solid with 3 points and 3 boards, and The Business added 2 points and 2 cookies. 8 Bottles seemed a bit out of it, possibly drunk after his 8th bottle. Dio and the Novas 0-1, Dev and the Wild Things 1-0.

Round Robin: Team 1 v Team 3

Todd and the Bens vs Johnny and the Rockets

AKA came out to play, to prove that he was a #1 seed. Shooting a perfect 6-6 from the field, he led Todd and the Bens to a 9-7, albeit somewhat surprising, victory. Pearl White played great shooting 4-5. The big talk was about Rosetta Stone. After two early turnovers, he hit an outside shot, and his name was born. The "translation" was occurring. His 2 points were accompanied by 4 boards and 2 dimes, including one of the greatest no-look passes in TomBall history. He came to ball. Todd and the Bens 1-0, Johnny and the Rockets 0-1 (note: Sooooo Good did NOT play in this game).

TomBall 2009

This past Saturday we had the first real TomBall tournament of 2009. The biggest tournament since 2007 (that one didn't even finish). But that wasn't the big news. The big news was that for the second time (first time in tournament play), outsiders came to ball at The Corner. Four ballers heard about the comp at The Corner, and wanted to test their game. FX and 8 Bottles from Jersey, The Business from Cincinnati, and Rosetta Stone from LI all came to see what the big deal was about. Boy were they in for a surprise. 14 ballers came together to vie not only for the recognition of winning the 2009 TomBall tournament, but to win a cash prize of $150 promised by the owner of The Corner, Dom the Great. Let's break down the teams, then I'll be providing stats along with a tiny summary of the games.

Team 1: Todd and the Bens (AKA, Thief, The Litagator)

Team 2: Dio and the Novas (The Best, FX, The Business, 8 Bottles)

Team 3: Johnny and the Rockets (Rosetta Stone, Pasties, Pearl White, Sooooo Good)

Team 4: Dev and the Wild Things (The Beast, The Horror, DFA/O'DonnellMONSTER)

The format was as follows: Round Robin where every team played the other teams once. Games were to 9 win by two, straight to 15. Then that record determined the seeding in the playoffs. The first round was a best of three series. The championship game was one game to 11 points.

Let's get to it.