| The Best Charlotte Player of All-Time – Part 2: The Kannapolis Bracket Authored by David Mosley - March 27, 2005 - 11:20 pm
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(1)Glen Rice vs. (16)Greg Sutton
(2)Eddie Jones vs. (15)Stacey Augmon
(3)Kelly Tripucka vs. (14)Robert Parish
(4)Emeka Okafor vs. (13)Randolph Keys
(5)Kurt Rambis vs. (12)Frank Brickowski
(6)PJ Brown vs. (11)Chucky Brown
(7)Gerald Wallace vs. (10)David Wingate
(8)Mike Gminksi vs. (9)Lee Nailon
Glen Rice’s fluid offense vs. Greg Sutton’s tough defense seemed to personify the Kannapolis Bracket, which featured numerous players known for either great defense or great offense but not much in between. In this battle, Rice’s offense was overwhelming leading him to an 11-3 victory. Sorry Sutton. No Cinderella story for you.
A glassy eyed Robert Parish, a.k.a. the Chief, looked disinterested from the beginning against another former All-Star and the hero from the Hornets inaugural season, Kelly Tripucka. Chief kept mumbling something about wanting Cheetos and Ding Dongs. What’s that all about? This game was over in 3 minutes as Tripucka burned past Parish 11-1.
We couldn’t have a tournament without a 5-12 upset and Frank Brickowski had all the tools to send Kurt Rambis home early. Brickowski quickly got out to an early lead and the upset was in the air. Then, Rambis, who was sporting new contacts, called a timeout and pulled out the old school glasses that made him famous. It’s gotta be the glasses. Rambis came back to win the game 11-8.
In the battle of who could score less, the game between Gerald Wallace and David Wingate had to be shortened to 5 instead of 11. After playing for 35 minutes the two players had only managed to score 6 points combined. Every time Wallace would drive to the basket Wingate would steal the ball and every time Wingate would drive to the basket Wallace would send the shot into the stands. In the end, Wallace’s was able to knock down enough jumpers to win the game 5-3. Wallace finished the game shooting 5-41 from the field with 17 blocks and 15 turnovers. Now that’s ugly.
In the most bizarre game of the day Lee Nailon defeated Mike Gminski 11-5. Gminski showed up to the game with a microphone clipped to his jersey. He seemed to be broadcasting play-by-play of his own game, even referring to himself in third person. “G-Man needs to rebound the ball.” “G-Man needs to play better defense” “G-Man’s getting angry.” (Pan camera to unplugged cord sticking out from underneath Gminski’s jersey.)
Other first round winners included Eddie Jones, Emeka Okafor and PJ Brown.
Second Round Highlights:
(1)Glen Rice vs. (9)Lee Nailon
(2)Eddie Jones vs. (7)Gerald Wallace
(3)Kelly Tripucka vs. (6)PJ Brown
(4)Emeka Okafor vs. (5)Kurt Rambis
Glen Rice remained on fire and torched Lee Nailon 12-6. Rice, trying to be like Dell Curry, won the game by shooting nothing by 2 pointers.
Eddie Jones can’t seem to catch a break. First he had to play Stacey Augmon, and then Gerald Wallace, two superb defenders, only Wallace is much quicker and more athletic than the aging Augmon. Eddie struggled early with his jumper and every time he came near the rim Wallace was there to send the shot back in his face. Wallace on the other hand found his jumper at the end of his game with David Wingate and he carried it over to his matchup with Jones. In a surprising upset Wallace hung on to knock off Jones 11-9…Poor Eddie.
It looks like Kelly Tripucka has attracted a legion of old Hornets fans wearing teal #7 jerseys and they are getting louder with each shot. Kelly has also attracted a legion of haters who are desperate to see him fail, booing his every move. This is the life of Kelly Tripucka and his love/hate relationship with the fans of Charlotte. For now, the haters will have to wait as Tripucka disposed of PJ Brown 11-5. Hate, hate, hate, hate!
That Superman routine isn’t going to help Kurt Rambis against Emeka Okafor. Glasses or no glasses, if Rambis wants to beat Okafor it’s going to be with sheer determination. The only problem for Rambis is Okafor is just as determined and has twice the talent. Today the talent prevailed and Okafor was able to topple Clark Kent 11-8.
Regional Semifinal Highlights:
(1)Glen Rice vs. (4)Emeka Okafor
(3)Kelly Tripucka vs. (7)Gerald Wallace
This is what we expected from this bracket, two matchups featuring offense vs. defense. Apparently, today was all about the offense. In the first game Glen Rice continued his torrid shooting hitting 2’s from all over the court. Rice proved too much for Emeka Okafor and won the game 12-7.
The underdog run for Gerald Wallace came to an end when he ran into a buzz saw named Kelly Tripucka. Tripucka, like Rice, remained hot and his experience was just too much for Wallace. Tripucka won the game 11-6.
Regional Final Highlights:
(1)Glen Rice vs. (3)Kelly Tripucka
This game featured two of the most prolific scorers in Charlotte’s history. Both players live and die with a variety of jump shots. The once loud contingent of Tripucka fans has dwindled in number and the Tripucka haters have gained force. Its clear Tripucka is taking on the villain role in this tournament; a role he reluctantly accepts. The anti-Tripucka chants grew with every basket he made but so did the massive ego hidden beneath that ridiculous perm of his. Glen Rice could only watch in amazement because Tripucka was in a zone. Inside, outside, it didn’t matter. He could not be stopped. Tripucka was on a mission to silence the haters winning 11-7. It was the greatest performance by a guy named Kelly since the Bad News Bears went to the Astrodome. After the game, Tripucka, who could no longer hold his tears back, grabbed a microphone and addressed the crowd asking “What have I done to deserve this? All I ever wanted was to be the first white guy to play basketball with a giant afro and a 70’s alternative lifestyle cowboy moustache. Is that too much to ask?”
Winner: Kelly Tripucka |
