Previewing 6/15 Prime Time League games
Posted on 14. Jun, 2010 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
On Tuesday, the Prime Time League kicks off its 24th summer of existence with three games inside the Old and New Gyms at the North Liberty Community Center.
This year features some changes, perhaps the biggest being the dates of games. In the past, the PTL would play its games on Mondays and Wednesday nights. This year, it will be conducted Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. In addition, for every two days of games, there is one day off. For example, there will be PTL games Tuesday night, and this coming Sunday (June 20), but then the next set of games won’t take place until June 27, which is the following Sunday.
Originally, there were only going to be four teams in the PTL this summer, but the number has since gone back up to six teams, meaning there will be three games taking place each day leading up to the playoffs.
There will be two games that both start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The first one of note takes place inside the Old Gym, featuring Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors and Goodfellow Printing/Iowa City Ready Mix. For those not familiar, the team names are simply the names of local businesses that sponsor teams.
Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors vs. Goodfellow Printing/Iowa City Ready Mix
6 p.m., Old Gym
The Goodfellow/Ready Mix squad had the first overall pick in last week’s draft and used it on sophomore Brennan Cougill. The Sioux City native started seven games for the Hawkeyes last season as a true freshman, and he averaged four points and three rebounds per game.
Joining the 6-9 Cougill on Goodfellow/Ready Mix are incoming freshman Devyn Marble and former Hawkeye star Duez Henderson, who has been a regular in the PTL even beyond his playing days at Iowa. Marble is a name Hawkeye fans should be familiar with, as his father, Roy Marble, played for Iowa during the 1980s. As a senior at Lathrup High School in Southfield, Mich., Marble averaged 24.5 points per game.
Cougill, Marble, and Goodfellow/Ready Mix will face a Jill Armstrong squad on Tuesday that features three Hawkeyes in juniors Matt Gatens and Andrew Brommer, and Branden Stubbs, who recently opted to walk-on at Iowa. Gatens, who was the second overall pick in the June 9 draft, averaged 12.3 points per game for the Hawkeyes last season, leading the team in scoring. As for Brommer, he appeared in 22 games for Iowa last season, and with new head coach Fran McCaffery in the mix, there’s talk that the 6-9 forward might be the biggest beneficiary of the new style of play being brought in.
L.L. Pelling Company vs. Culver’s of Coralville
6 p.m., New Gym
The L.L. Pelling squad is led by sophomore Eric May, who avergaed nine points per game for the Hawkeyes last season while starting in 23 of 32 contests. Also on L.L. Pelling will be incoming freshman Zach McCabe, as well as walk-ons Khirey Floyd and Darius Stokes, the son of former Hawkeye great Greg Stokes. McCabe, a 6-6 forward from Sioux City, averaged 15.9 points and nine rebounds per game as a senior at Heelan High School last year.
Meanwhile, Culver’s features incoming freshman Melsahn Basabe, and Andre Murphy, a senior who hopes to make it on the team as a walk-on (Murphy was profiled last month in The Daily Iowan). Basabe signed on with the Hawkeyes last month after he originally intented to play at Siena for McCaffery before he was hired as Iowa’s replacement for Todd Lickliter on March 28.
McCurrys/Mike Gatens Real Estate vs. Vinton Merchants
7:30 p.m., New Gym
The final game of the evening takes place at 7:30 p.m., inside the new gym when McCurrys/Mike Gatens Real Estate takes on Vinton Merchants.
McCurrys/Gatens is led by sophomore Cully Payne and also features incoming walk-on Jordan Stoermer. Payne started all 32 games for Iowa at point guard last season as a true freshman, and posted a career-high 25 points in a 59-52 loss to Michigan in the opening round of the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.
Vinton Merchants only has one Hawkeye on its squad in Devon Archie, who missed all of last season to injury after transferring from Vincennes Community College in Indiana. Vinton Merchants also features former Hawkeye Darryl Moore, as well as former UNI player Ali Farokhmanesh, a name many remember from last March when UNI upset Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
*HawkeyeDrive.com will be in North Liberty throughout the summer to keep you up-to-date on everything happening in the 2010 Prime Time League.*
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