ISU basketball players enjoy Center Court League

Brandon Belisle

During the summer many of the Iowa State basketball players get a chance to play in a recreational league in Ames.

The Center Court basketball league and tournament is set up by Ames Parks and Recreation and sponsored by assorted businesses in Ames.

The league is a compilation of current and former high school and college players who get a chance to compete on the same level.

This summer six athletes from last season’s Big Eight Tournament championship team are competing in the league.

The starting five from the Cyclone ’95-’96 team are all competing in the league, as well as back-up forward Klay Edwards.

The league provides the athletes a chance to stay in shape, as well as compete on a less strenuous level. However, since the ISU athletes are split up among the six teams of the league, the competition becomes fierce with bragging rights at stake.

Cyclone forward Kenny Pratt considers the league a great chance to stay in shape and have fun with some friends.

“It’s a chance to just have fun with the guys, and it keeps us in shape and playing ball,” Pratt said.

Pratt confesses that there is much joking and taunting between all the athletes during the games. “There is a whole lot of trash talking,” Pratt said.

Being a Chicago native, Pratt claims he can talk the most “trash” after the recent Bulls championship, but also points out all the taunting that ISU guard Dedric Willoughby dishes out due to his team’s 3-0 start in the league. Sunday night’s games posted some fairly high scores. The first game of the evening featured Willoughby against ISU guard Jacy Holloway.

Munn’s Building Center, the team Willoughby plays for, defeated Sigler Printing and Publishing by a score of 98-94.

The high scorers of the game were Willoughby with 38 points and David Otte with 22 points for Munn’s, and for Sigler, Fred Brown poured in 29 points and Kevin Sams added 21.

The second game was between HyVee/Drugtown/Save-U-More and Coca Cola/ Powerade.

The game featured ISU center Kelvin Cato for HyVee and Pratt for Coca Cola. The HyVee team prevailed by a score of 108-103.

Team highs for HyVee were 34 points by Donnell Bivens and Cato with 28. Pratt added 44 points for his team.

The final game of the night was between Happy Joe’s and George White Chevrolet. George White came up with a 104-82 victory.

Jamal Mosley racked up 24 points and Klay Edwards added 21 for George White, while Shawn Bankhead threw 34 points on the boards for Happy Joe’s.