During my last commentary, concerning the Bulls, I questioned if they could play through close games without reverting to officiating and other behaviors that are unwarranted by a group of players with so much talent. Well, the answer is "Yes". Last evening, 2 May 2016, they reported with James Johnson as their coach. James is a former coach/player who played for the Fort Benning All-Stars and Warriors. He participated in some of the biggest battles in the history of the National Old School Basketball League®. That decision, by the Bulls, showed me that they are ready to move up to another level by allowing a neutral person to represent them from the bench. They also accepted James Daniels (#23) as the captain of the team. All this means is that the Bulls want to be organized and they are taking the proper steps to manage players, talents, and time as a cooperative team.
Also, during my last commentary, concerning the Heat, I questioned if the players that did not play in last Saturday's game could rejoin the team and accept the concept of team-sharing. Recently, I criticized the guards for playing "Shoot'em if you Got'em" and the Heat responded with a spectacular performance on Saturday, 30 April, 2016.
Last evening, 2 May 2016, the Bulls represented the home team against the upward moving Heat. The fans may have been supporting different teams, but they left knowing that a good battle was fought between both teams. The game started with the Bulls obtaining first possession and a show of dominance by James Daniels (#23) who scored 10 first half points out of the team's 26 total points. Six other players chimed in to add 16 points.
The Heat's, Chris Alexander (#27) answered the Bulls' charge with 9 points (all from 3-point range). Sidney Dowlen (#24) scored 6 and Felton Scott (#17) scored a low 4 points in the first half. I watched a team of players reach a level of confidence that caused them to abandon the road well traveled on Saturday (30 April). I also watched a bench become full of leaders and coaches. Communication got lost in the barrage of instructions. The Heat committed five team fouls and scored 26 first half points.
The second half was equally competitive, as well. The Bulls scored 28 second half points compared to 22 by the Heat. The Bulls had seven players to score with #45 Jimmy "Champion" Foster leading the charge with 7 points. The Heat's newest acquisition, #4 Bryan Short gave the Heat 8 points of excitement along with #24 Sidney Dowlen who scored 6 points. Felton Scott got lost in the shuffle some kind of way. He was either frozen out by the Bulls or by his teammates who failed to use him.
The Bulls proved that they could weather the storm of a close game by extending their winning record and defeating the Heat 54 - 48. Coach James Johnson did a fabulous job keeping the players focused on what they came to do: Play and Win.
My departing thoughts were: The Bulls are making the right moves to be a championship contender. Their willingness to accept a neutral individual to facilitate substitutions and to speak on the team's behalf showed how serious they are about winning. After listening to comments, coming from the Heat's bench, I wondered how players could play a team sport without wondering how their individual performance impacted the success of the team. The team with the most points always wins the game, but the player that pursues the most points doesn't always secure a victory.
The scorers for the Bulls were: #23 James Daniels with 16 points, #45 Jimmy Foster with 10, #3 Philip Whittington with 9, #0 Deon Pearman with 6, #5 L. Hawthorne with 4, #33 Ian Trowers with 3, #10 Desi Johnson with 2, #11 Bernard Jones with 2, and #22 James Dix with 2 points.
The scorers for the Heat were: #24 Sidney Dowlen with 12 points, #4 Bryan Short with 11, #17 Felton Scott with 9, #27 Chris Alexander with 9, #13 David Brophy with 4, #15 Johnny Sanchez with 2, and #3 Michael Brown with 1 point.