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3×3 Tournament This Weekend

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SAN JOSE  – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In advance of this weekend’s inaugural event, 3BALL USA announced plans to develop the nation’s first professional 3×3 league and announced its initial 10-team field for a tipoff 3×3 tournament to be staged August 17 to 19 at SIMON’s Great Mall in Milpitas, California in Silicon Valley, near San Jose.

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The field will include the No. 1 team in the world, Novi Sad Serbia, the No. 1 U.S. team, All America, and the defending champions of the biggest 3×3 tournament in Asia, Sina China, as well as a host of other rising players all looking to win the $50,000 cash prize and take a next step towards the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where the sport will make its Olympic debut.

This tournament will be host the most talented and deepest field ever for 3×3 basketball in the United States.

The tournament’s two finalists will both automatically qualify for a FIBA 3×3 Challenger event in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). The top-finishing American team will earn automatic qualifications for the 2018 Sina Sports 3×3 Elite League in Beijing, China and the 2019 USA Basketball 3×3 National Championships at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

“We are elated to have such a strong international field in our first event, with some of the most exciting and talented 3×3 players on the planet coming to the Bay Area,” said 3BALL USA founder and CEO Michael Wranovics. “Many of the players we’ll see in this tournament are likely to be on the world stage when 3×3 makes its Olympic debut in 2020, and having them together to compete on the same court is a strong testament to what we’re creating with 3BALL.”

“For the last few years, FIBA has been pushing for the professionalization of 3×3 with more events and more prize money for players at the FIBA 3×3 World Tour and on the professional circuit in general,” said Alex Sanchez, Managing Director, FIBA 3×3. “The creation of an ambitious professional 3×3 league in the U.S. meets our ambition to have talented professional 3×3 players at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. As was the case in Australia, India, Japan, and Puerto Rico, we wish 3BALL USA to be another successful 3×3 professional league.”

“3×3 is basketball’s new frontier – a bastion of learning and individual skill development,” said George Raveling, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and FIBA 3×3 Advisor. “One of the game’s most fascinating features is its fierce promotion of individual freedom and decision-making. I am deeply honored to be in attendance at the inaugural 3BALL showcase. This is a must-attend event!”

The team highlights include:

Novi Sad Serbia is the #1 team in the world and has won four gold medals and one silver.  Their leader, Dusan Bulut, is considered the best 3×3 player in the world.  This will be the team’s first ever competition in the U.S.

Sina China is the defending champion of the Sina Sports 3×3 Golden League, the biggest and most competitive 3×3 tournament in Asia. Players Yatong Guo, Yucheng Ji, Yu Liang, and Long Ma will arrive in the Bay Area a few days before the 3BALL tournament to tour various basketball courts from Oakland to San Jose looking for pickup games with locals.

All America, the #1 3×3 team in the U.S., won the USA Basketball 3×3 National Championships in both 2018 and 2017. The team is led by two former Princeton University standouts, sharp-shooting guard Dan Mavraides and powerful big man, Kareem Maddox.

The Chompin’ Chihuahuas are led by 3×3 World Cup silver medalist and former NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year Stefhon Hannah (Missouri), former University of Michigan star Zak Irvin, and Rodney Pryor, former Georgetown star and 2017 NCAA Dunk Champion.

Two members of the Golden Gate Retrievers, Joe Harden and Ari Warmerdam, played for the 3BALL Olympic Club team that won the San Francisco regional of the 2017 Dew NBA 3X tour.  Harden, who averaged 15.0 points per game during his senior year at UC Davis while studying viticulture, is a winemaker at Robert Mondavi Winery.  The team also features Grant Mullins, who shot 43% from 3-point range for Cal last year.

The Dunkin‘ Dobermans are led by Filipino-American point guard Mikey Williams and three explosive NBA G League players Michael Bryson (Iowa Wolves), Will Davis (Windy City Bulls), and Stephan Hicks (Fort Wayne Mad Ants).

The Hungry Huskies are led by Paris Kyles, one of the most unstoppable scorers in the 3×3 game, and former Minnesota Gopher Joey King.  The foursome out of Minneapolis finished in 2nd place at the 2018 USA Basketball 3×3 National Championships.

The Leaping Labradors are made up of a foursome from the East Bay, including Davion Berry (Weber State) who started for the NBA G League’s Raptors 905 last year, Langston Morris-Walker (Oregon State), and Juan Toscano Anderson(Marquette) who played for Mexico’s national team (5v5) in the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Magnificent Mutts will feature three Princeton grads, including 2017 Ivy League Player of the Year Spencer Weisz, do-everything guard Steven Cook, and Henry Caruso, who finished his career at Santa Clara as a graduate transfer during the 2017-18 season.  The Mutts also have former Saint Mary’s Gael, Calvin Hermanson, one of the best 3-point shooters in the country.

The New Yorkies, aka “Team Harlem,” is led by former Harlem Globetrotter Dominique “Domo Disco” Jones and “Super Dave” Seagers.  They are perennially one of the strongest 3×3 teams in the U.S. and have competed in several FIBA 3×3 World Tour competitions.

The 3-day live event will feature 18 games, a high-flying slam dunk contest, a one-on-one challenge featuring streetball icon The Professor, interactive selfie walls, music, food trucks, a beer garden, and stunt dog shows. Pool play begins on Friday at 7:00pm PDT and on Saturday at 3:00pm ET/6:00pm local PDT, and the Playoffs begin on Sunday at 2:00pm ET/5:00pm local PDT.

The FIBA-endorsed tournament will adhere to the official FIBA 3×3 game rules that will be used during the 2020 Olympics. The eight teams featured in the competition will be seeded based on pool play results and face off in a single elimination playoff round on Sunday.

The entire event will be live streamed on Twitch, the #1 digital platform in the U.S. for live video.  All of the games will also be distributed by Sina Sports, the leading digital sports platform in China.  Additionally, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Chicago, and NBC Sports Washington, will broadcast the 3BALL USA Championship Game, which will close the event on Sunday.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.3ballusa.com and EventBrite.com. For each night of the tournament (minimum of 5 games per night), the ticket price is $25 for adults, and children 12 and under will get in free.

3BALL USA will launch a formal 3×3 league in summer 2019, consisting of weekly three-day tournaments in a variety of high-traffic locations. Additional details will be announced in the coming months.

3BALL USA is a newly-established team and event organizer for FIBA 3×3 basketball that has been represented by at least one team at the USA Basketball 3×3 National Championships for the past three years and in several FIBA 3×3 tournaments around the world. 3BALL’s mission is to help grow the global 3×3 basketball movement through experiential events staged in high-traffic locations.  3BALL first got involved with 3×3 in 2016 when it carefully selected and trained a 4-man team of highly versatile ex-college players from Chicago that went on to win the USA Basketball National Championships later that year. Three members of that team were selected by USA Basketball to play for the USA 3×3 National Team at the 2016 FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Guangzhou, China, where they earned the silver medal – the only medal that the USA has ever earned in Men’s FIBA 3×3 basketball competition to date.

Led by a management and advisory team with over 300 years of combined experience in professional and collegiate sports, 3BALL is staging a showcase tournament later this summer as a preview to a post-collegiate 3×3 summer league that will launch in summer 2019. The 3BALL management and advisory team includes sports industry executives George Raveling, Spencer Haywood, Andy Dolich, Matt Levine, Stan Morrison, Bill Duffy, Terry Lyons, Phil Evans, and Gary Hunter.

For more information, visit www.3ballusa.com 

Who’s Got Next in Sports Gambling?

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MINNEAPOLIS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant chain received considerable media attention from sports gambling pundits by indicating they might enter the brick and mortar world of sports gambling. This week, Buffalo Wild Wings’ likely partner, Draft Kings Sportsbook, surfaced as the potential conduit to bring a sports-minded consumer audience, munching on their wings and beer, into the day-to-day action of legal sports gambling.

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At DK and Buffalo Wild Wings, there will be a rush to be up and running for the 2018 NFL season, but on a State-by-State basis for sure. The question for MyTopSportsBooks.com is “Who’s Got Next?”

Oddsmakers at MyTopSportsBooks.com analyzed the sports landscape and restaurant situation across the USA and have issued the following odds:

Odds: Next Restaurant (after Buffalo Wild Wings) to offer sports betting services:

  • Hooters: 3/2
  • Dave & Busters: 3/1
  • Miller’s Alehouse: 9/2
  • Outback Steakhouse: 6/1
  • Applebees: 8/1
  • Chilis: 8/1
  • Waffle House: 16/1
  • Chic-fil-A: 30/1

Sports fans and gaming insiders are turning to the most reliable and accurate odds/information source available online at MyTopSportsbooks.com for analysis.

NCAA Blows Draft Announcement

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INDIANAPOLIS – Eligibility for players who aren’t selected in the NBA draft could be restored based on a landmark decision from the NCAA. Several changes related to amateur status and eligibility are being put in place by the NCAA, including allowing “elite” high school players and all college players to work with endorsed player agents.

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“We remain committed to promoting fairness in college sports and creating an environment that will champion the success of student-athletes,” the NCAA said in a statement.

However, the NBA and USA Basketball independently told ESPN that while they had consulted with the NCAA recently on proposed changes, neither organization believed a consensus was reached or near before the NCAA’s announcement, made Wednesday, August 8.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank told ESPN: “We will review the NCAA’s planned reforms and continue to assess, along with our Players’ Association, the potential for any related NBA rules changes.”

Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that a number of NBA official “were surprised over the presumptive and premature nature of the NCAA’s rules changes” that are based on the assumption that the NBA’s policy permitting preps to work with an agent will be dropped by the league. Such a decision to clear the way for high schoolers to enter the draft is currently pending.

The earliest the NBA intends to change the policy on high schoolers entering the draft is 2021 based on the collective bargaining agreement. An amendment bargained by the league’s players and owners is permissible, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players’ union..

Adopting recommendations made by the commission on college basketball convened in response to a federal recruiting probe engulfing Louisville, Arizona and other top programs, the NCAA plan is to establish a pool of certified agents who can advise players on their futures starting with high school seniors.

“We delivered on a promise made just months ago to make profound and meaningful changes to college basketball,” the NCAA statement read. “Ultimately, these decisions will support the success of student-athletes both on and off the court.”

Only prospects invited to the NBA scouting combine are eligible to return to school.

In January, the NCAA voted to allow men’s hockey players to be represented by agents who had met certain criteria. College baseball players were granted agent representation in 2016.

Kansas coach Bill Self, who was on the college basketball oversight committee, said it’s too soon to know the impact of the changes introduced.

“Did something need to be done? I think in the eyes of many, certainly something needed to be done,” Self told the Kansas City Star. “I am actually one that felt there could be changes that could be positive. I also think that’s the way it is with everything when you are dealing with the NCAA. Very rarely do you find anything 100 percent exactly the way you would personally see it and you could always tweak it. I did think some changes could be made that could be very positive for our game.”

The NCAA said it focused on set initiatives but plans to continue negotiating with the NBA and USA Basketball to fully define additional legislation, which could include eliminating the NBA’s “one-and-done” rule requiring players to be at least one year out of high school before joining the pro league.

Changes for incoming recruits are afoot, as well, including increasing the number of permissible campus visits for recruits to 15 from five.

Per a joint statement Wednesday afternoon from NCAA president Mark Emmert, NCAA Board of Governors chair and Georgia Tech president G.P. Peterson, and Eric Kaler, Division I Board of Directors chair and University of Minnesota president:

“The changes we approved will:

–Provide college basketball players more freedom and flexibility to decide their future.

–Minimize the leverage of outside influences on high school recruits and college athletes.

–Add fresh perspective and independent judgment to NCAA decision-making at the highest level of policymaking and in investigations and case resolution.

–Strengthen accountability and deter future rule-breaking with harsher penalties for those who break the rules.”

With regard to agents and accepting payments, including travel and expenses, the NCAA plans to make a major change to approve certain financial coverage by agents.

If the Uniform Athlete Agents Act and state laws match up, meals and transportation for players and their families related to the agent selection process would be NCAA-approved.

–Field Level Media

NBA: Oak Pleads No Contest

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LAS VEGAS – Former NBA big man Charles Oakley pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct to resolve a case in which he was accused of cheating at a Las Vegas casino last month.

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Charles Oakley

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Oakley was arrested on July 7 in Las Vegas and accused of attempting to commit a fraudulent act in a gaming establishment, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. He was arrested by gaming officers at the Cosmopolitan.

The plea bargain calls for no jail time. TMZ reported that Oakley was fined $1,000.

Oakley, 54, was initially charged with a Class B felony, and a conviction could have led to a sentence of one to six years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

“Mr. Oakley has pled no contest to the simple misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct which fully resolves this situation,” Oakley’s attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement provided to ESPN. “He appreciates the professionalism of the District Attorney and the Cosmopolitan in resolving this event.”

Oakley’s arrest came after he was suspected of adding to or reducing his wager on a gambling game after the outcome was known.

According to TMZ, Oakley pulled back a $100 chip after he realized he was going to lose.

Oakley played 19 NBA seasons, including 10 seasons with the New York Knicks. He averaged 9.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in 1,282 career games.

Oakley was arrested at Madison Square Garden in February 2017 and charged with misdemeanor assault after getting into a spat with security guards after trying to go after Knicks owner James Dolan.

The incident received notable attention, with Oakley filing a civil suit alleging defamation and libel against Madison Square Garden and Dolan after agreeing to a plea deal to have his charges dropped.

–Field Level Media

NBA: Magic, Bulls, Jazz to Mexico

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MEXICO CITY – The Orlando Magic will face the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz in a pair of games in Mexico City this December, the NBA announced Tuesday. It’s the third consecutive season in which two regular season NBA games will be played in Mexico City, all at Arena Ciudad de Mexico.

The Magic will play the Bulls on Dec. 13, a Thursday, before playing the Jazz on Dec. 15. Both games will be televised on ESPN and NBA League Pass International.

“Returning to Mexico City for two regular-season games this season reinforces our commitment to growing basketball in Mexico and Latin America,” commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “NBA teams have been playing in Mexico for more than 25 years, and the Bulls, Jazz and Magic organizations are excited to continue the tradition of bringing the live game experience to our passionate Mexican fans.”

None of the three teams have played a regular-season game in Mexico before. The Jazz have played three preseason games there (two in 1996, one in 2003), and the Magic did so in 2012. The Bulls have played in London, France and Brazil, but not in Mexico.

This year’s games will be the 27th and 28th in Mexico since 1992, more NBA games than any country outside of the U.S. and Canada. The NBA has played a regular season game in London in each of the last six seasons, after playing two in 2011.

In a partnership with Zignia Live, the NBA plans to continue scheduling games in Mexico City in future years.

–Field Level Media

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