LOS ANGELES-Monster jams. Clutch 3-point shooting. Players diving for loose balls. Yes, the action at the Drew League is heating up. As Nelly would say, “it’s getting hot in here.” Sunday’s lineup at the Drew League, which is sponsored by Nike, illustrated this point. Shooting guard/small forward Nick Young, who recently re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, connected for 26 points to help lead the Most Hated Players (M.H.P.) to a 79-70 win against LA Loop. While he didn’t put on a superb razzle-dazzle show, Young was efficient, hitting on eight of his 21 shot attempts as M.H.P. outscored LA Loop through the first three quarters of the game. Young’s teammate, Victor Rudd was the real star of the game, scoring a game-high 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the M.H.P. Rudd was simply in beast mode all game long.
The action didn’t start or stop there with the those two teams. In the game of the day, Cheaters, led by former NBA star Baron Davis, topped Metta World Peace and La Familia, 78-73. La Familia played the contest without rapper The Game being in the mix. While The Game was not in the building, World Peace certainly was, as he tried every which way he could to help his team win. Whether is was playing his aggressive, in-your-face defense or doing his 3-point bombs away impression, World Peace looked fresh and renewed with a lot of energy. That wasn’t enough to offset the hot-hand, long-range shooting of Davis. Davis looked like the player that used to torch NBA defenses with his outside shooting and innate point guard skills.
The Sole Clinics-No Shnacks matchup produced some pretty good action below the basket, even though there was one dunk that got the crowd on its feet. Stanley Johnson led the way for No Shnacks, which pulled of a 98-94 win. No Shnacks had to outscore Sole Clinics, 34-23, in the final period to come away with the victory. Johnson totaled 29 points and nine rebounds in the game.