Tag: Drew League

Along with his wife Stephanie, daughter …

Along with his wife Stephanie, daughter Chaniel and other leaders from the community, the Smiley family has operated the Drew League for more than 30 years, hosting games for the past decade at King/Drew Magnet High School in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. “We’ve been in the community pretty much all of our life,” Smiley said. “We noticed that with Adidas, they were supporting quite a few inner-city programs, and we were really intrigued by it.”

Warriors’ Kevon Looney named MVP, helps I-Can All-Stars win Drew League championship

Warriors center Kevon Looney dropped 25 points and 14 rebounds on the way to helping the I-Can All-Stars win the Drew League championship.

During the offseason, Golden State Warriors big man Kevon Looney has been putting up numbers in the 2021 edition of the Drew League in Los Angeles.

Following a win over win over the Nationwide Blue Devils in the semis, Looney and the I-Can All-Stars met Public Enemy in the Drew League championship game.

The UCLA product dropped a dominant 25 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double against Public Enemy. Along with leading the I-Can All-Stars in the boxscore, Looney came up clutch in the game’s final seconds.

After a pair of misses, Looney tipped in a heroic shot to send the game into overtime.

Via @TheWarriorsTalk on Twitter:

In overtime, Looney and the I-Can All-Stars were able to close out Public Enemy and win the Drew League title, 92-91. After the gritty win, Looney was named Most Valuable Player for the I-Can All-Stars.

Via @DrewLeague on Twitter:

Via @GSWReddit on Twitter:

Coming off an offseason that includes a run to the Drew League championship, Looney is expected to play a key role in Golden State’s frontcourt. During training camp, Looney will likely battle with 2020 No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman for the starting spot next to Draymond Green in the Warriors frontcourt.

During the 2020-21 season, the 25-year-old started 34 games, averaging 4.1 points on 54.8% shooting from the field with 5.3 rebounds and three assists per contest.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Watch: Warriors’ Jordan Poole drops 26 points in Drew League debut

In his Drew League debut, Warriors guard Jordan Poole showed off, dropping 26 points for Redemption.

Following an impressive stretch run to end his sophomore campaign with the Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole has stayed busy over the offseason. After getting buckets at Jamal Crawford’s pro-am run in Seattle, Poole took his talents to the legendary Drew League in Hollywood.

The 22-year-old didn’t disappoint in his Drew League debut. Instead of his Golden State No. 3, Poole suited up in a No. 12 jersey for his first appearance in the Drew League.

While lining up for Team Redemption, Poole notched 26 points. Along with some long-range jumpers from beyond the arc and crafty layups, the Michigan product showed off his bounce. During a quick one-minute highlight video the Drew League shared on Twitter, Poole flew to the rim for a flurry of dunks.

Via @DrewLeague on Twitter:

Many star NBA players have appeared in the Drew League over the years, including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George and John Wall.

Following a stint in the G League, Poole averaged 14.7 points on 43.3% shooting from the floor with 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per contest for Steve Kerr’s squad down the stretch.

After a solid run to end his second season, Poole will enter year three as a key contributor for the Warriors alongside Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook! 

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WATCH: Former Celtics floor general Isaiah Thomas drops 37 points in the Drew League

The King in the Fourth was cooking on the West Coast.

Fan-favorite Boston Celtics alumnus Isaiah Thomas made a point of stopping by the famous annual Los Angeles pro-am summer basketball league known as the Drew League on July 24, invited by his friend and former NBAer Barron Davis to compete in it.

The former Celtic floor general lit up the game he appeared in, scoring 37 points and looked good doing it, tweeting his thanks to Davis after the tilt. “Appreciate the (Drew League) for showing love to me! Thanks (Baron Davis) for letting me hoop on the squad,” wrote IT of his time in the popular pro-am. “I’ll be back Fa sho!”

So, if you want to see the King in the Fourth back in action with your own eyes, or just want to see what all the hubbub is about concerning the La-la land pro-am, check the clip embedded below to see IT going off at the Drew League.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPyEbhb31oY

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Lonzo, LiAngelo, LaMelo Ball likely to team up in Drew League contest

For the first time since their Chino Hills days, Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo may be teaming up together in the Drew League this summer.

The 2015-16 Chino Hills basketball team will likely go down as one of the best high school teams ever. On top of a perfect 35-0 season and a state title in California, the lineup featured three future top-6 NBA draft picks in Lonzo and LaMelo Ball and Onyeka Okongwu as well as Eli Scott and LiAngelo Ball, both who received Division I scholarships.

That group of players, though, only played together for one season with Lonzo graduating following the unbeaten season. A chance to reunite that group, then, is an exciting proposition that may come to fruition this summer.

During his house tour for SLAM, LiAngelo revealed the potential plan to team up with his brothers, and potentially Scott and Okongwu, in the Drew League this summer.

“I’m going to be playing in the Drew League with my brothers. That’s going to be exciting. That’s going to be a show. Damn near our whole high school team, for real. Me, Melo, Zo, Eli (Scott). (Onyeka Okongwu) might play. It’s going to be fun, just all grown up now and coming back together so I’m excited to see what’s going to happen but I know it’s going to be a show for sure.”

Big Baller Brand does have a team in the Drew League this season which is comprised at least partly of players from the now-defunct JBA. LaMelo and Lonzo were spotted in attendance during last week’s games.

Having the three brothers play together seems like a very plausible scenario, especially considering LaVar has spent time as the coach of the BBB team. Scott, who is entering his final season at Loyola Marymount, could also rather easily get clearance.

The one hangup would be Okongwu, who is currently playing in the Eastern Conference finals. The Drew League season typically runs into August, which means the NBA season would end but the turnaround would be quick for Okongwu to join a Drew League contest.

Having all three brothers team up again would be a fun proposition regardless whether Scott and Okongwu join. After a year off, the Drew League could really be heating up again.

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Onyeka Okongwu on former teammate LaMelo Ball: ‘He is a once-in-a-lifetime-player’

A former Chino Hills teammate, Onyeka Okongwu had some strong words to describe LaMelo Ball as both are set for the 2020 NBA Draft.

While their routes to the 2020 NBA Draft have been vastly different, draft classmates LaMelo Ball and Onyeka Okongwu’s paths have long been intertwined. Dating back even prior to their multiple seasons together at Chino Hills, Ball and Okongwu’s relationship on the court, which helped produce one state title, is only surpassed by their relationship away from the court.

The childhood friends are both set to be lottery picks in November’s draft, serving as the two NBA products from the unbeaten 2015-16 Chino Hills side. While Ball’s unusual path included stops all over the globe, Okongwu took a fair more traditional route, capping off his career with back-to-back state titles before a breakout one-and-done season at USC.

Still, despite all the success, Okongwu still hasn’t had a teammate or friend quite like Ball.

Here is what he told HoopsHype’s Bryan Kalbrosky during an interview that will be released later this week:

“He is confident and he is creative. I’ve never seen anyone as confident as him. He is tall, he is about 6-foot-7, pushing 6-foot-8. He can handle the ball and he can shoot. He just has it all. He is talented. He is a once-in-a-lifetime player. I’m telling people that he is going to amount to a star. He has been my friend since I was a little kid. We have been doing this for a long time. We have always told each other we were going to see each other in the league and it’s about to become a reality. I just keep telling people, Melo, he’s very talented”

While their playing careers diverted from one another, the friendship between the two never wavered. Both are a part of a text group along with the other members of the 2015-16 Chino Hills side.

After his season was cut short in Australia, Ball returned stateside and sat courtside at a USC-UCLA game to cheer on Okongwu. The duo also teamed up again last summer in the Drew League, where Ball had a breakout performance.

The two are unlikely to team up again in the NBA, at least not as rookies, considering both are projected lottery picks. But as they’ve already shown, that will have no effect on the bond they’ve created.

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WATCH: SLAM’s top 50 plays of LaMelo Ball’s career at Spire, Drew League

SLAM gifted fans with a highlight video of LaMelo Ball, sharing the top 50 plays of his time at SPIRE Institute and in the Drew League.

SLAM provided LaMelo Ball fans with some prime content on Friday afternoon by releasing an extensive top 50 plays highlight video. While the video is titled as top 50 plays of Ball’s career, the list only consists of plays from his time at SPIRE Institute, his one summer in the Drew League and a small handful of plays from the JBA All-American game.

Still, it’s a list chock full of exciting plays ranging from dunks, alley-oops, no-look passes and long-range shots.

Fans looking for Ball’s top plays in the NBL with the Illawarra Hawks last season can check out the video of his top five plays tweeted by the league’s account.

This video shows some of the star appeal for Ball and why he is one of the most popular prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft. He has the flashiness to make him a popular player and still is an effective player growing into his own.

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