The Future is Now...... Sort of

The future of the University of Iowa basketball program is now.  Well, sort of.  The future, or at least future players, are NOW playing in the Prime Time League in North Liberty.  Three of the four recruits signed for the 2010 class are playing in the league, with Bryce Cartwirght of Paris Junior College in Texas being the lone exception.  Cartwright is in Texas for the summer finishing up some classes before joining his new teammates in Iowa City. 

As for those teammates, well they have been pretty busy getting ready to turn things around.  All are enrolled in summer courses and have been working out and playing a lot of basketball together.  Not to mention living together.  My guess is, by the time basketball season rolls around, the three-some of Roy Marble Jr. (Devyn Marble), Zach McCabe and Melsahn Basabe will be ready to see some new faces. 

In the meantime, they have been getting to know each other, adjusting to life in Iowa City and developing their games.  As things kicked off last night in North Liberty, hundreds of Hawkeye fans showed up to the rec center to get a sneak peak at this year's crop of talent.  And believe me folks, they didn't leave disappointed.

As I sat in the "old gym" watching the likes of Brennan Cougill, Matt Gatens, Andrew Brommer and Devyn Marble warming up, I heard the crowd in the "new gym" erupt. Come to find out, that was their first impression of Melsahn Basabe.  the 6'7" soon-to-be freshmen had ripped through the lane following a teammate's jump-shot and snared the rebound with one hand, reared back and threw it down with a tomahawk dunk all in one motion.  Welcome to Iowa big fella, good to have you on board. 

Meanwhile, in the "old gym," Marble did his best to steal the show early.  He nabbed four steals in the first half and sunk four three-balls.  He didn't dominate by any means, but he showed some very good stuff.  He penetrated well and wasn't afraid to attack the hoop against ex-Drake big man Aliou Keita.  Well all was said and done, Marble racked up a game-high 26 points, including a break-away dunk following yet another steal. 

Marble's performance, however, was in a losing effort as fellow Iowa teammate Matt Gatens did his part to lock up a win (boy am I looking forward to saying that next winter).  Gatens had 24 points of his own, including some crazy-deep threes that have to give Hawk fans hope for next year.  Gatens was also in noticeably better shape.  He and teammate Eric May are reported to have lost 15 lbs. in the offseason and it certainly showed.  Both were getting up and down very well and I must say, I think the two will be great in White Magic's new system.

Speaking of May, how about 27 points from the sophomore-to-be?  The Bettendorf grad seemed to do it all.  He led the break and drained three-balls. He rebounded and had a few robberies.  May was joined by incoming freshmen Zach McCabe.  McCabe, also at 6'7", played a solid game with twelve points and six boards.  He looked pretty good on defense and showedthat he can hang with the bigs he is likely to face next year.  All-in-all, May and McCabe did their part to lead their squad past Basabe's team.  But Basabe certainly stole the show.

Melsahn grabbed the fans' attention with his opening put-back dunk, but he kept it by doing everything else.  At times, he brought the ball up the court, both setting up the offense and leading the break.  Other times, he hauled in a pass at the top of the key and took his man to the hoop, where he finished stong in traffic.  He showed excellent ball-handling skills for someone his size and displayed nice range, dropping two thre-balls of his own.  When all was said and done, Melsahn Basabe dropped 36 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in his PTL debut.  A lot to get Hawk fans excited.

But what gets me most excited are the comments made by Basabe after the game.  After the game, The Daily Iowa quoted Basabe as saying:

“I play aggressive, but obviously, I need to build more strength because the guys are bigger.  I got the most [points], but that is not impressive to me, having a good performance, if you do not win. I am a little out of shape, so I am trying to come back and rebound a little more.”

That's what I like to hear.  The Iowa City Press-Citizen also got this gem out of Mel:

"I know you're all tired of losing around here. So I've got to work on that."

Melsahn, take me to bed, or lose me forever.  I think I'm in love.  The kid dropped 36 points, displayed more athleticism than anyone we've got and then talks afterward about how it's all about winning games, not his stats.  He talks about how he wants to do it for the program and the fans, not just his numbers.  I think I need to go take a cold shower. 

And this is just the beginning folks.  Yesterday was game one.  Games take place every Tuesday and Sunday from now until the end of July.  You can check out the rosters and schedule here.  The whole area is buzzing this morning about last night's performances and what they mean to the program.  The DI ran two articles, be sure the read about Gatens and Cougill here, and more on Basabe's play here.  The Press-Citizen also has some good discussion with Mel regarding his transition to life in Iowa City here.  And finally, a little blip in the Quad City Times last week about Cully Payne's first impressions of the new big man here.  Be sure to check in frequently as we cover the PTL all summer long.  It's going to be a good one Hawk fans.