Saturday, January 29, 2011

Reignmakers Involved in Car Accident

News coming in from Reignmaker camp and the surrounding city of Cleveland is that six players from the Reignmaker team were involved in a three car accident late last night in Cleveland, Ohio.

Coach Jason Hunter, Brandon Hunter, Chad Dobson, Ryan Stuver, Andy Kempf, and Mike Petrilli were all involved in tha accident around 11:30 last night heading towards Cleveland. No one was seriously injured.

The Reignmakers organization released a statement to the press:

All six memebers of the team have been checked and released with only Coach Hunter suffering minor cuts and bruises. The events were as follows: Jason and Chad Dobson's taxi was struck by a vehicle running a red light through an intersection. The car being driven by Ryan Stuver, carrying Brandon Hunter, Andy Kempf, and Mike Petrilli then struck the taxi as well, being unable to stop, as the taxi spun in the intersection. Charges were not filed against any of the Reignmaker players and we are happy to report that all that were involved were not injured and will be suited up for this weeks game against Skully Jaxx.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A Different Game - Same Outcome

The Reignmakers improved their record this past week after defeating Firehouse 49-43.

It was the lowest scoring game of the Reignmakers season and probably the most different of all the games this year.

The Reignmakers only totaled 50 shots, not including free throws, which was the lowest of the season as well. By far the biggest team the good guys have face, Firehouse made it difficult to get the buckets inside, which led the Reignmakers to shoot nearly as many three's, 23, as they did two's, 27.

Firehouses's height and girth inside also showed up in the stat column as the team only shot 30% from inside the arc, while shooting 35% from beyond it. The Reignmakers capitalized on free throw attempts however, hitting nine (60%).

The Reignmakers were once again led by scorer Brandon Hunter (24 points) and sixth man Jason Hunter (12 points, 3/4 free throws), who got the start as the Reignmakers only dressed six men.

Firehouse put up another unique challenge by being the tallest and heaviest team that the Reignmakers had seen this year. The rebounding total of only 18 for the home team, shows this once again in the stat book.

"It was hard on us, even with a good zone defense," Coach Jason Hunter said afterward, "even with a good first defense, their big guys would rumble inside and could just out reach us. Me and Mike struggled keeping them away from the paint up top as well, we could've done a better job at that."

Kerry Hunter was the only one who seemed to have any effect on the glass as he grabbed a solid 7 rebounds. But the big man was held scoreless from the floor for the first time all year. He did score from the line however, hitting five of seven free throws.

The seasons final three games may be the toughest road the Reignmakers face yet. Skully Jaxx, winners of the 2009-2010 league come up next. They had a 5-2 record of this writing, but score the second most points in the league behind the Reignmakers. They follow up that game with Buckeye Super Wash (4-3) and Your Carpenter (3-4). A good run into the playoffs would be a great momentum swing heading towards post season.

"One game at a time," Mike Petrilli said during a call yesterday, "we have our eyes set on our next opponent and we have to play better next week if we want a chance to go 3-0 the rest of the way."

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Reignmakers: A Global Organization

Some of you may not know that the Reignmakers are not only a Brunswick Men's League basketball team, but have affiliates in the WRBA (Women's Rec Basketball Association), RDBL (Rec Developmental Basketball League), and even have players reaching out overseas.

We have kept you up to date on the Reignmakers season, 8-1 atop the division leader board, but there are other areas of which we have yet to cover. Mainly the RMaker Ladies and other players who have contracts under the Reignmakers organization.

We have briefly mentioned Brent Hunter, playing for the Reignmakers D-League affiliate, The Driving Drizzle.

The Drizzle have recently made it to the second round of the playoffs with Brent Hunter leading the way. Hunter finished second in the MVP voting, while averaging 23 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1 block per game. He is currently making his mark in the playoffs by scoring game high's of 33, 37, and 42 in consecutive playoff games. A playoff MVP is definitely in the bag as long as Hunter can carry his team to the D-League Championship next week in Austin, Texas.

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The RMaker Ladies, coached by former D-Leaguer Kyle Knapik, are in their first year of exsistance in the WRBA. Knapik, a former Drizzle player, averaged 10.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in six seasons in the Developmental League and played five games with the big boys during his last of those six years. He retired early and was quickly involved in the team's management and high brass. He was never the greatest player on the floor, but was most certainly the brightest, which helped him to quickly rise the ranks in the Reignmaker organization.

Knapik petition the WRBA and the Reignmakers themselves to organize a women's team, one which he wanted to coach himself. Within two years and company approval, the Lady RMakers are already seeing success in their short tenure. The team currently sits at 4-7 after starting the year losing five straight games. Knapik's coaching style, much like Jason Hunter's style with the Reignmakers, involves and up-tempo attack on offense and defense.

"We will be the most conditioned...well we are the most conditioned team in the league I believe," Knapik said in a phone interview yesterday. "We have some great talent. Ladies who want to work, who want to run...and that's what we do."

The Lady RMakers are lead by a grouping of four ladies, who gather most of the minutes per night. The remainder of the team has consisted of women's D-Leaguers on most nights and has even had the team only dressing 4 players on one night.

The four-way tadem of Jenny Rohn, Ashley Bukach, Kathy Higgins, and Maegen Sands combines for about 60 points a night, on every given night. Here is a look at some season stats:

Jenny Rohn, G
12 ppg, 7.8 assist-g, 87% FT

Ashley Bukach F
16.3 ppg, 4.5 assist-g, 5.4 reb-g, 43% 3P

Kathy Higgins G/F
13.3 ppg, 4 assist-g, 4 reb-g, 50% FG%

Maegen Sands G/F
15.8 ppg, 3 assist-g, 1.8 steals-g, 44% 3P

The ladies work hard every night and have begun a season turnaround as the playoffs are not out of the question.

"We are young and hungry now after winning our last three...four out of five," Coach Knapik said, "With an organization such as the one we are in, it can only be better things to come."

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The final link in the Reignmakers organization come from across the sea, on the other side of the world, in the Middle East.

Michael Giardina is currently playing overseas in Afghanistan for the US Division 67 team in the World Classic Basketball Champions League.

Michael was signed to a new "diplomatic contract" three seasons ago ($3 million over four years), which actually does not affect the Reignmakers salary cap here in the States. As long as Giardina is playing overseas, he earns his contract tax-free along with being eligible to return to the team at any time.

Giardina is currently averaging 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals a game for Division 67 in his "sixth-man" role off the bench. He was awarded "Player of the Week" honors after he rolled off two 15 point games in a back-to-back, and recorded a triple-double (the first in the young Champions League) after grabbing 10 rebounds and having 10 steals.

Giardina will soon return home and may be quite an addition come summer if the Reignmakers choose to play consecutive seasons.

"I've played with Mike and what he brings in defensive intensity, on the glass, and all-around effort is second to none," Coach Hunter said. "We would definitely welcome him with open arms if the team had him back. Any time you get another stopper like him...it's a good thing."

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In Reignmakers news, the team plays this Monday night, 8:50 start time, against the 1-6 Firehouse. The team may be without Jason Hunter as he attends to a family issue, but they hope to have him suited up throughout the night.

Brandon Hunter also surpased the 200 point total after last weeks 25 points, as he currently stands at 207 points. He is also only 22 rebounds away from 100.

Kerry Hunter, 87 points - 69 rebounds, and Jason Hunter, 99 points, are next in line to reach statistical milestones.

The team has totaled 536 points (59.6/game) and 293 rebounds (32.6/game) this year.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Another Week Off

The Reignmakers have another week off after another win last week versus Sidelines.

The game once again took a turn in the second half where the good guys seem to make the opposition pay with the up-tempo style that they run.

"It seems to be where we play our best basketball," Coach Jason Hunter said afterwards. "We wear our opponents down in the first half. The game is usually close, but we can pull away by continuing to run and gun and step up our defensive intensity on the other end."

A couple of solid games from leading scorer Brandon Hunter (25 points, season high 15 rebounds) and veteran big man Kerry Hunter (17 points, 7 rebounds), who may of had his best game of the year. Kerry hit all five of his free throws and missed on only one attempt from the inside three point range, going five of six.

The Reignmakers shot a season high in free throws, 14, and also made a season high, 10. It was something that helped the offense down the stretch as the team only shot 23% (5/22) from three point range.

Everyone added their own mark to the game. Jason Hunter (9 points, 3 rebounds) came off the bench for the second week in a row and hit two straight three pointers. Andy Kempf (1 rebound) battled inside against the once again taller opposition and had a huge momentum swinging tip to Kerry for a bucket. Mike Petrilli (4 rebounds) grabbed a key late rebound inside while being the smallest man on the floor. Clinton Weigel (2 points, 2 rebounds) got to the basket with a late second half bucket to move the lead to double digits. And Chad Dobson (2 points) finally got off the schnide offensively and hit a bank shot from the corner.

The game, as stated earlier, followed the Reignmakers season to a tee. A close first half, followed by outscoring the opponent the rest of the way. The team has off this week due to the holiday but will be back next week on Monday when they face off against Firehouse who was 1-6 as of this writing.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Half-Way Point

Here's a look at some statistics from the Reignmaker season so far. We are at the halfway point and the team is riding high on a 5-1 record...

Team Stats (8 games total)
60.1 points per game
32.6 rebounds/game
115/266 field goals (43%)
67/118 3-point field goals (35%)
50/80 free throws (63%)
182/455 total field goals (40%)

Individual Highlights
Jason Hunter
11.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg
16/37 fg (43%)
18/49 3p (37%)

Brandon Hunter
22.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg
29/77 fg (38%)
33/84 3p (39%)
25/33 ft (76%)
8 points away from 200 total

Brent Hunter (3 games)
17.3 ppg, 6 rpg
20/30 fg (67%)

Kerry Hunter
8.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg
25/46 fg (54%)
15/22 ft (68%)

Chad Dobson (5 games)
1.2 rpg

Andy Kempf (6 games)
2 ppg, 3.2 rpg
2/2 3p (100%)

Mike Petrilli (7 games)
3.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg

Clinton Weigel
5.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg
15/24 fg (63%)
3/4 3p (75%)

Ryan Stuver (6 games)
1.3 ppg, 3 rpg

Winded and Winning

The only problem the two week layoff had on the Reignmakers was in their cardiovascular fitness.

It affected the Dream Team more however as the good guys rolled to a 74-51 victory, in a game that blew up in the second half.

With a different look in the starting lineup and having captain Jason Hunter come off the bench for more of a scoring punch, the Reignmakers battled with the Dream Team 34-31 at the half.

Play was dictated by a more physical presence and getting to the basket. For the first time this year, the Reignmakers Kerry Hunter was the tallest man on the floor.

"It was a confidence booster right off the bat," Coach Jason Hunter said after the game, "Starting off the game knowing you have the biggest man out there, it makes it easier defensively. A couple of us got a little lazy on the defensive end, the layoff hurt us in the lung capacity department tonight, but we kept getting to the hoop. It was good to see Brent have a huge game after his underwhelming last game. We needed that punch from him tonight."

Brent Hunter was huge. He was more aggressive in taking the ball to the basket and it showed in his shooting percentage. He was 12 of 16 from the floor total and only three of his shots (one made) came from the outside. He added two free throws to boot. Getting his second call-up in two games he finished with 27 points leading the Reignmakers on that end.

Jason and his other brother Brandon combined for 28 points (14 a piece) and Jason made all three of his attempts from deep. It looked smooth everytime he seemed to release the ball.

"I felt it. It felt good. It's a great feeling to know when you release the ball it has a great chance of going in. When everyone else is hitting shots, it makes it easier for them to come to you," Hunter said after the game.

The Reignmakers were hitting their shots. The team combined for a 55% shooting night from the field and 47% from deep. Ryan Stuver bested his season scoring margin with four points on 100% shooting, Kerry Hunter (9 rebounds) went 4 for 8 on the night, and Mike Petrilli got into the key offensively which led to open looks from the outside..

Some winded defensive efforts led to some movement in the middle of the 2-3 zone, but the Reignmakers collapsed and forced tough shots and contested threes for all of the second half, which is where they usually put teams away. Clintion Weigel and Andy Kempf provided more hustle on defense and strength in the zone, which allowed the big men underneath to grab defensive rebound after rebound.

It was a great rebound win for the Reignmakers after the loss to Fighting Fancus two weeks earlier. With the team coming into the season looking to survive around .500 ball, the way the team has jelled as a unit is a promising site going into the second half of the season.

"It's the best shooting team I've been a part of," Coach Hunter said during the local radio interview. "As crazy as that sounds to me...I mean there is no way you could have told me at the beginning of the year that this group would be the best offensive team I have ever been on. It's incredible, it has to continue."

If there was a negative going forward it's that Brent Hunter may of played his last game for the Reignmakers. He was sent back to the developmental league yesterday and is looking to continue his dominance down there. The team has already used its three-time call-up rule on Brent and it is highly unlikely he will get another chance. The only way he would be allowed back is if an injury became of one roster member on the full-time Reignmakers squad.

"It looks good for the future," big man Kerry Hunter was quoted, "I am not sure how much longer I have here and Brent will bring some more length to this team when I'm gone. It's good to see him play well tonight."

The Reignmakers will get back on the Monday schedule next week when they face the Sidelines team, which was 1-3 as of this writing.