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Pilot Rocky Top League to have summer encore
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Are you ready for some basketball?
The Pilot Rocky Top League's second season is still a couple of months away, but time seems to fly where Tennessee men's basketball is concerned.
Wasn't it just three years ago that the Vols' men's basketball program was mired in mediocrity?
Back then, it would have been hard to imagine UT being ranked No. 1 in the country, as they were for a week this season, much less a Bearden High School gymnasium packed with 2,000 fans watching glorified pick-up basketball in 90-degree heat.
Pilot has told league commissioner Andre Whitehead that it will return as the main sponsor, and the HT Group and First Tennessee are back on board as the first two of six sponsors.
Whitehead said this summer's season begins June 16 and 18. There will be three games the following week, the 23rd, 25th and 26th. The season concludes with games on June 30 and a playoff round on July 2.
The games again will take place at Bearden High School, and the season will be shortened a week, from eight games to six games.
"We did that so that all the Tennessee players will be able to play the whole season,'' Whitehead said. "We'll have numbers on both sides of the jerseys, another statistician and we've also added a security guard because of the number of people at the games."
Whitehead said the league draft has yet to be scheduled, but it will take place sometime between June 9 and 13, and player applications will be taken until the start of June.
All of the returning Vols, with the exception of J.P. Prince, who underwent recent shoulder surgery, will play in the league. So will signees Daniel West, Renaldo Woolridge and Phillip Jurick. Scotty Hopson, who is expected to sign with UT at a press conference in Hopkinsville, Ky., on Wednesday, has said he will play in the league after enrolling on June 2.
Whitehead said he has had talks with former Maryville High School and Florida standout Lee Humphrey, and that Humphrey has said he will play if he's not enrolled in graduate school.
Former UT fan favorite Dane Bradshaw is expected to take part, and former UT standout Damon Johnson, last year's league MVP, also will return.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by yemmusdarb on April 20, 2008 at 11:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"UT standout" and "Damon Johnson" in the same sentence has to be some sort of typo.
Posted by bricker865 on April 21, 2008 at 12:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
D. Johnson was ok. Not a star or anything but a solid player.
Posted by bamacheats on April 21, 2008 at 12:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Damon Johnson was a great player. He unfortunately played for a rediculously overrated Kevin Oneil. How that loser keeps getting jobs is beyond me!
Posted by 02champs on April 21, 2008 at 12:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Any chance of having this at an air-conditioned gym..we are in the new century, right.?..hard to catch your breath as a player in Bearden's "gym"...how about Oak Ridge's new place...i know it would be hard to put up with that Oak Ridge attitude, but just looking for a bigger gym. As I recall,they don't even sweat there.
Posted by IBleedOrange444 on April 21, 2008 at 12:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
On antoher subject, did anyone ever see a box score for the Jordan All-American game? I haven't seen the official numbers, but I know Hopson had at least 21 pts, a block, a steal and a few rebounds in what seemed like 12 minutes. He was the 2nd leading scorer in the game and he barely saw the court. They never put him on the court at the same time as that bada$$ PG, Brandon Jennings, that's going to Arizona. If they had he might have really gone off!
I'm glad they got this league going. It is going to be a great tool to help our teams gel and mature for years to come!
Posted by IBleedOrange444 on April 21, 2008 at 12:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
02champs-
That musky sweatbox of a gym gets them ready to go stomp the gay-ters on the own court!
Posted by bricker865 on April 21, 2008 at 3:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The hot gym builds character....or something...lol
Posted by bricker865 on April 21, 2008 at 3:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
OMG!!...almost 24 hours and not a single post from a gaytor or a mempiss B.H.....pretty amazing.
Posted by voljkelley on April 21, 2008 at 6:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I want to go see some games this summer at bearden Rocky Top Leauge, does anyone know how to obtain tickets for the games or how much each ticket cost?
When are the games usually played?
any info would be great, Thanks
Posted by johnlg00 on April 21, 2008 at 8:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Voljkelley, unless they do it differently this year, all you have to do is show up! No admission charge, no reserved seats. I don't think the league would pass with the NCAA if admission were charged. Game times will probably be posted on this site as the time approaches. I will warn you that the RTL is quite popular and the gym only seats a couple thousand, so some of the games get crowded. It is also REALLY hot in the gym, but you can get water and soft drinks there. Games are in the evenings but the heat lingers in the gym. It is very entertaining, some of the best "street ball" you will ever see, but it is not an infallible guide to who will excel in the season--it's run-n-gun-n-slam-n-jam from one end to the other all game long. LOTS of athleticism on display and fun to watch.
Posted by WorkinLikeHeck on April 21, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ashley, can we a countdown for the Rocky Top League going and then one for basketball season?
Posted by TurboFan on April 21, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
02chump, can think of two words to describe your postings: victim mentality.
Posted by voljkelley on April 21, 2008 at 5:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
johnlg00 thanks for the info
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