In a defensive contest, Nice Try! defeated SDP 36-20 to advance to the finals of the Intramural Double A Basketball playoffs. SDP is an acronym for “Subverting the Dominant Paradigm.”
Nice Try! was led by Brandon Wiese. Wiese, a transfer from Doane College, played on his former college’s varsity team and was named a first team All-Conference player. SDP had no answer for Wiese who promised, “Total domination” and “3 dunks- minimum” before the game. While Wiese was unable to fulfill his pre-game promise, he did manage to help lead his team to victory. One member of SDP lamented the team’s luck to be matched against a team featuring a player of Wiese’s caliber.
“They had a big man,” he noted. “What can you do?”
While both teams employed a man-to-man defense, SDP also had help from a fan. One fan stood behind Nice Try!’s basket and waved his fingers to distract them on their free throw attempts. Later, he shifted to making devil fingers above his head. The devil fingers were precipitated by a wind up motion to add extra emphasis.
Several players were disappointed with the officiating. At one point, Aki Garrett of SDP urged the referees to allow for a more physical game.
“C’mon ref, you got to allow some contact,” Garrett said.
Not surprisingly, Garrett’s call for extending greater leniency in the officiating came shortly after he had committed a foul of his own. Garrett and the other players’ calls for improved (or at least more partial) officiating fell on deaf ears.
As one official rightly noted, “I’m not giving you anything. Last week, you guys said I sucked.”
SDP’s downfall was not in the officiating, however, but probably had more to do with its shot selection. SDP made only two of 10 three-point attempts. Nice Try!, in contrast, took only six three-pointers and made two of them. SDP’s primary three-point shooter was Michael George, nicknamed “Snowflake.” Unfortunately for SDP though, George was just as cold from outside as his moniker. Instead of settling for outside shots, Nice Try! pounded the ball inside and frequently drew fouls. Nice Try! made eight of 14 free throw attempts while SDP drew only six attempts, making four.
While SDP will have to wait till next year to compete again, Nice Try! will move on to the finals of the Double A tournament. For Weise, the intramural season is an entirely new and educational experience. When asked how his past experience at Doane College prepared him for the rigors of an intramural season, Doane said, “I don’t think it did much.”