| The Best Charlotte Players Of All-Time – Part 4: The Gastonia Bracket Authored by David Mosley - April 15, 2005 - 12:42 am
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(1)Baron Davis vs. (16)Tony Bennett
(2)Jamal Mashburn vs. (15)Khalid Reeves
(3)Kendall Gill vs. (14)Ricky Davis
(4)Vlade Divac vs. (13)Chuck Person
(5)Rex Chapman vs. (12)Keith Bogans
(6)Hersey Hawkins vs. (11)Earl Cureton
(7)Jamal Magloire vs. (10)Brad Miller
(8)JR Reid vs. (9)Kenny Anderson
In the history of the NCAA Tournament no 16 seed has ever won a game. Granted this tournament isn’t quite the same thing but it sure is close. Tony Bennett was on a mission to shock the world. Yeah! Whatever. This game was a joke. Baron Davis skunked Bennett 11-0. That’s just nasty.
It seems like each bracket has that truly bizarre game that can hardly be put into words; Kendall Gill against Ricky Davis was the Gastonia Bracket’s foray into the Twilight Zone. Not since the melee in Detroit has there been a game so affected by hecklers. The game was knotted up at 9 a piece when some dude in a Cavs jersey screamed at Davis, “Hey Ricky, you only need 3 more rebounds for a triple-double”. The crowd erupted in laugher. Apparently, Davis didn’t get the joke because he grabbed a ball from a kid on the sidelines and sprinted to the other end of the court and started throwing the ball off the backboard shouting “That’s 8 rebounds… that’s 9 rebounds… that’s 10 rebounds.” Meanwhile, a stunned Gill realized nobody was guarding him as he stood 25 feet from the basket. Sound familiar? Then another heckler yelled, “Hey Kendall, I bet you can’t make a 2 pointer to win the game” and like a stubborn mule Gill decided to take the man up on his bet. Now we have an idiot race on our hands. Can Kendall Gill make an uncontested 2 pointer before Ricky Davis realizes there’s no such thing as a triple-double in a game of one on one? A sequence that should have lasted a mere 3 seconds dragged on for 8 minutes…”That’s 32 rebounds…that’s 33 rebounds…” Finally, after 51 consecutive misses, Gill hit a 2 pointer ending the most preposterous game in the history of sports. Touché hecklers, touché.
Never has there been a game that featured two stellar athletes like Vlade Divac and Chuck Person. Ok, you got me. That was sarcasm. Vlade Divac couldn’t outrun a cement block and Chuck Person is older than Jesus. Sarcasm again…sorry. You get the picture. Person got off to a hot start with the long range shooting that made him famous but Vlade was able to match him early with an assortment of post moves, which included the one-handed, up and under, spinning, hook, fadeaway, complete with cigarette to boot. Late in the game, Person had the ball with the game tied at 10. He started to drive towards the basket when an untouched Divac jumped backwards 8 feet landing flat on his back. Divac started screaming, “That’s a charge!” A baffled Person stepped back and calmly hit a 2 pointer to win the game 12-10. Divac was livid and ran around the court for 10 minutes complaining to anyone who would listen, including the poor guy selling boiled peanuts. (Does anyone actually eat boiled peanuts?)
We should just re-name this bracket the Wildcat Bracket. They say the selection committee doesn’t look at matchups. Come on! How can you explain five former Wildcats (four from Kentucky and one from Arizona) in the same regional? That’s just crazy. Rex Chapman versus Keith Bogans pitted two of Kentucky’s best shooting guards against each other. This game had nothing to do with Bogans and everything to do with Chapman. Let’s face it. There are two distinct Chapman’s. There’s the Chapman who can go an entire quarter without missing a shot despite ever squaring up to the basket and there’s the Chapman who can go an entire week without making a shot, like say…Kendall Gill. Chapman is the definition of streaky and when he is on a guy like Bogans doesn’t have a chance. Today Bogans was just watching because King Rex was on fire. Chapman won easily 11-4.
Other first round winners included Jamal Mashburn, Hersey Hawkins, Kenny Anderson and Brad Miller.
Second Round Highlights:
(1)Baron Davis vs. (9)Kenny Anderson
(2)Jamal Mashburn vs. (10)Brad Miller
(3)Kendall Gill vs. (6)Hersey Hawkins
(5)Rex Chapman vs. (13)Chuck Person
Baron Davis vs. Kenny Anderson was a classic matchup of West Coast vs. East Coast. Davis grew up in Los Angeles and Anderson grew up in New York City and both players brought their respective styles to the court. Davis tried to overpower Kenny with his strength and superior athleticism and Kenny tried to beat Davis with his amazing ball-handling skills that made him a legend on the playgrounds of New York. The two players battled back and forth with each spin move more impressive than the last. In the end, Davis was too much for Anderson winning 11-9. West side!
Watch out folks. Jamal Mashburn is back from the dead….again. Every time someone writes him off as a lazy, injury prone, uninspired, heartless quitter he rises from the ashes like a bad horror movie and plays like a superstar. Monster Mash is taking no prisoners. He killed Brad Miller 11-3 on his way to the semi-finals.
In the first round Kendall Gill set out to prove his critics wrong and he failed, despite barely winning the game. The knock against Gill has always been his awful jumpshot. True to form, Gill laid enough bricks in round one to build the first level of the new coliseum. Hersey Hawkins, on the other hand, can shoot with the best of them. In round two it appeared Gill finally got the message and took the ball straight to rim all game long and won the game 11-8. What took you so long Gill?
Rex Chapman vs. Chuck Person, are you kidding me? Can we put in a 4 point line for these guys? How about the 25 point spot on the floor like they used in the MTV Rock and Jock games? Timeout! I say these two play a game of HORSE instead. Presto! Chapman started off with a shot he used in the dunk contest. He flipped the ball behind his back, over his shoulder and caught it for a reverse dunk. That’s an H for Person. Then Person drained one from half court. That’s an H for Chapman. Chapman climbed up the 15th row and called glass…money. That’s an O for Person. Person then moved back to the other 3 point line and drained one. That’s an O for Chapman. These two went at for at least half an hour and wowed the crowed with such gems as Chapman’s game winning one-handed, hook from the tunnel wearing Super Hugo’s costume while whistling the theme to Silver Spoons (Here we are, face to face, a couple silver….sorry, just having an Erin Gray moment). Chapman defeated Person S to E. (When is David Stern going to add HORSE to All-Star Saturday?)
Regional Semifinal Highlights:
(1)Baron Davis vs. (5)Rex Chapman
(2)Jamal Mashburn vs. (3)Kendall Gill
Remember when I said there’s a Rex Chapman that can go a week without hitting a shot. I think we’ve found him. Chapman must have used up all his shots in the game of HORSE. He could barely hit the backboard in his game against Baron Davis. That’s good new for Davis who seemed to be hobbling a bit (we better keep and eye on that). It didn’t matter. Davis could have chopped off one of his arms, dipped it in 24 karat gold and sold it to Larry Johnson and still won this game. The glorious ride for Chapman came to an end as he lost 11-5.
This is getting long. Jamal Mashburn beat Kendall Gill….um…let’s say… 11-7. Sounds good! Now let’s get on to the finals.
Regional Final Highlights:
(1)Baron Davis vs. (2)Jamal Mashburn
I think these two guys have wanted a piece of each other for a while. “I’m the star.” “No, I’m the star.” This game had all the makings of an instant classic. Both players had that look in their eyes (no not that look, the other one). Baron Davis started off with a tomahawk jam followed by a 2 pointer. Mashburn followed with several baseline fadeaways. It was punch, counter-punch. Then, in a career defining moment, with the game tied up at 7-7, Mashburn walked off the court and into the locker-room. Everyone was running around trying to figure out what happened. “Where’s Mashburn? Is he injured?” “He quit.” “He what?” “He quit. He said he didn’t feel like playing anymore” “He can’t quit” “Well he just did” Dirty quitter. And just like the game was over. Davis won by forfeit.
Winner: Baron Davis |
