Around The Basketball League: Dononvon Jack And Rebels Putting In Work, Brandon Neel Pushes Kentucky Enforcers To Top, Undefeated Salem Capitals Also Winning Off Of The Court
With upsets and double-overtime thrillers to close out Week 4, expect the unexpected heading into Week 5.
Donovon Jack And The Reading Rebels Putting In Work In The Northeast Conference
The Northeast is stacked at the top of the conference. Outside of the Syracuse Stallions who suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday against the Tri-State Admirals and an Albany Patroons team that’s overtaken the number one spot, the Reading Rebels are showing some resiliency and fire power while gunning for the top. Winners of three-straight and a record of 4-1 in their last five games, the Rebels simply stay scrappy and agitate teams behind six players that average double figures.
New head coach Skip Esterly couldn’t have asked for a better situation to step into. His guys show up and compete.
A big part of Reading’s success belongs to Reading, Pennsylvania native and Rebels’ big man Donovon Jack. The center out of Penn State is not only averaging a double-double himself (18 points and 12 rebounds per game) this season but he’s formed a solid tag team with Dontel Highsmith on the glass (8 points and 12 rebounds per game). The result from the weekend: Reading handed out L’s to the Lehigh Valley Legends and Connecticut Cobras in double overtime. After playing professional in England, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Belgium, Donovon is back home proving he can get the job done – #32 also works a full time job as a low voltage technician in New Jersey and makes the two hour commute to practice and games.
“I’m trying to do what I can for the team and bring the guys together,” Jack said in an insightful story from Andrew Heller in the Reading Eagle. “We’re chipping away every day, that’s all we can do. It’s great just having the chance for this great opportunity back at home, and really, I’m just looking forward to having fun and trying to get everyone to enjoy that, too. There’s no point in stressing over anything; I’ve been through too much for that and we got to have fun at this point.”
Kentucky Enforcers Show Their Legit In Lower Midwest With Brandon Neel’s Timely Scoring
Check out the box scores from the Kentucky Enforcers current four game win streak and you’ll be impressed by Indiana University Southeast alum Cameron Mitchell (35.3 points per game), veteran forward/center Jeff Robinson (19.5 points per game) out of Xavier, and former Midwestern State guard Brandon Neel (11.3 points per game) all sharing the scoring load. With Mitchell and Robinson providing Kentucky’s veteran presence, Neel has picked and chosen his spots and complimented the duo nicely. The guard who has played professionally in Ireland, Canada, and Mexico, recently went above his season scoring average by dropping 20 points and grabbing five rebounds in Kentucky’s victory over Medora.
It’s that extra effort that’s given the Enforcers a push up the ladder in the Lower Midwest, with Kentucky now tied at 6-2 with Owensboro heading into Week 5 coming off of a comeback win on Sunday versus the Indiana All-Americans. Kentucky and Owensboro go-head to head next weekend with Owensboro leading the season series at 1-0.
Salem Capitals Earning Unforgettable Wins Off Of The Court Too
It’s one thing to put a winning product together in The Basketball League, but to turn around and count up victories through community outreach programs is something special. That’s how the Salem Capitals made one young local boy and neighborhood feel by providing free game tickets as part of people coming together to make a difference for kids in their community who love the game. Thanks to organizations like the Capitals and other local businesses, the Salem Area Women’s Community Builders are leading efforts to build a new basketball court and gift new hoops for an apartment complex in Salem. Officially the lone undefeated team in TBL at 8-0 in the West Conference, Montigo Alford, Vincent Boumann, and Kevin Johnson, Jr. are putting together an unforgettable run to open the season, yet having that positive energy translate off of the court is perhaps the biggest W of them all.
Lead photo credit: Bill Snook
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Wendell Maxey has covered and written about professional basketball and sports for 19 years and has previously been featured on ESPN.com, NBA.com, USA Today, FOX Sports, and SLAM Magazine among other publications and outlets. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn or read through his archive on Linktree.