The George C. Goodman Summer Basketball League had a good day on Aug. 16 with the playoffs in full swing, along with NBA guard Victor Oladipo’s celebrity game. The Goodman League also showcased an Amateur Athletic Union matchup between D.C. Blue Devils and Team Takeover, two of the top teams in the country, along with a faceoff between the Goodman League All-Stars and the Watts League, another popular street basketball league in Washington, D.C., located in the Northeast section of the District.
Team Takeover defeated the Blue Devils, 78-77, thanks to a go-ahead three-pointer with two seconds remaining. Both AAU teams are ranked top-seven in the country; Takeover is sponsored by Nike and the Blue Devils are sponsored by Under Armour. It was great exposure for both squads to be on the under card of a pro-level event that included some star players.
The Goodman/Watts battle turned out to be a real chippy one, with Goodman walking away with the victory, 91-88. This game was initially supposed to be Chicago against Goodman, but Chicago backed out and Goodman’s Commissioner Miles Rawls made a call to Watts’s Commissioner Jeff Johnson (aka Big Jeff) to set up an all-star game with some of the best players in the DMV area.
Goodman League controlled the game early with some great highlights; Derek Cooke Jr., also known as “Big Daddy Kane,” put a couple dudes on posters with big dunks. Cooke has been a highlight reel since making his Goodman debut mid-July. Despite all the Goodman highlights, Watts still kept it close, capturing its first lead with 6:50 remaining in the first half. Watts led, 44-41, at halftime.
Former Indiana Hoosier Maurice Creek was one of the main reasons Watts was leading at the half, scoring 12 points. He put on a shooting clinic leading his team with 22 points, knocking down five trey balls. J-Dubb was also instrumental in Watts’ halftime lead; he finished the game with 15 points.
Many of the players that participate in the Goodman League also play in the Watts League, including J-Dubb, Justin Black, Brian of Team Ariyuan and Jeff Allen. They all decided to suit up with Watts, instead of Goodman, this time around, which helped create an intense basketball environment. Goodman’s Baby Shaq and Jeff Allen were going at it in the paint, trash-talking each other along with some pushing and shoving, but it was nothing but good competition.
Watts extended its lead to 12 points at one point in the second half, but the Goodman All-Stars were not about to disappoint Commissioner Miles in his own classic.
With two minutes remaining, Goodman’s Corey “Everything” Allmond hit back-to-back threes to tie the score at 81. Allmond later hit a free throw that would give Goodman a lead they would never lose. J-Dubb and Mo Creek did their best to put the pressure on the Goodman team with a couple of late treys, but Allmond closed out the game with two free throws.
Allmond was pretty much the star of the day, scoring 25 points, including seven three-pointers against Watts. He would hit another 15 threes in Oladipo’s Celebrity Game, finishing with 46 points.
“I feel good to do it on this type of stage,” Allmond said. “It feels great for somebody that plays down in the Goodman every day, every game, and these guys come in and put this on, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
Allmond broke former NBA shooting guard Dennis Scott’s record for most threes in a Goodman celebrity game. Most of Allmond’s trey balls were made with Oladipo guarding him. Oladipo, a Prince George’s County native and former DeMatha High School star, currently plays for the NBA’s Orlando Magic, the same team Scott played for during the 1990s.
DeMatha was represented well in Oladipo’s Celebrity Game with five former players hooping on the court, all of which played together before embarking on a journey to the NBA.
Here are a list of players from the DMV region that participated in the game: Quinn Cook (DeMatha), Josh Selby (Lake Clifton/DeMatha), Jerian Grant (DeMatha), Jerimi Grant (DeMatha), Chris Wright (St. Johns), Marcus Thornton (Bishop McNamera), Aquille Carr (Patterson), Maurice Creek (Oxon Hill) and a few Goodman League player such as Ojo, Allmond, and Cooke.