SWBAD 2008 Regional Championship Team

Austin Turn Back Mississippi to Win SWBAD 70-54

Before the SWBAD Regional Tournament there was talk that Mississippi Deaf Club would give the Austin Deaf Toros a run for their money. It sure looked that way in the early going of the championship game.  Mississippi led by the much ballyhooded Roderrick Brown,  Cortland Clay, showed a youthful exuberance. This young duo wasn’t quite ready to unseat the two time SWBAD champions from their throne.   Never before had they faced such a heady veteran team as the Toros.  Fans were predicting an upset. The Deaf Toros were not hearing any of that static being raised.

 Mississippi started out really quick with a couple of baskets to set off the early scoring. Soon enough the Deaf Toros would answer back with successive baskets from Darnell Woods and RJ Kaufman. Both veterans scoring from three point range and a short jumper in the corner respectively. Woods continued to with the hot hand early as he did in the first game, knocking down a couple of treys in the first five minutes of the game. Anton Jackson searching for his touch but continued to do other things for the Toros in the rebounding and passing departments. 

The Deaf Toros started the game playing man to man defensively. Mississippi attempted to spread the floor and try to break down the Toros defense by going one on one. Using a solid man to man pressure the Toros were able to execute help side defense with Shannon Simon cutting off slashers.  The Toros had built a ten point lead but could never extend it. The Toros either made untimely errors or Mississippi made timely baskets to cut into the Toros lead.

The starters for Toros kept the young bunch at bay then the second unit took the floor and maintained the slim lead.  The refs were quite busy during this game. They called everythinng single thing that occured on the floor which made the fluidity of the game stagnant. Neither team could get a on a run due to the constant whistles and stoppage in play.  The shady officiating didn’t effect the Deaf Toros at all. As the game progressed you could see it had flustered the young Mississippians. The Deaf Toros took at seven point lead into the half 37-30.The second half would start out just like the first half with Mississippi striking first. Only this time the young team wanted to make an adjustment that would minimize touches by Woods. A devised box and one defense was used for the remainder of the game with the primary target for defense, Woods.  The Deaf Toros began to heat up at this point. Transition baskets were at a premium but could not pull away from the pesky young team. During a stretch the Deaf Toros had led by as many as 12  points and led by ten at least five times.

With under five minutes to play Mississippi made a late run. Clay knocked down two big three pointers and pulling with in four points twice. Chris Hamilton, Termiea Bowers, and Jackson keyed the final surge  for the Deaf Toros to end Mississippi run with easy layups in the paint on drives and dishes.  Yo Moore, contributing quality minutes, banked in a couple of crucial baskets to push the lead to 10 again.

Down the stretch the Toros showed considerable poise as they executed play after play to put away the young clan. The Mississippi club slowed the game down to a crawl losing several turnovers due to shot clock violations. The Deaf Toros used a 2-3 zone defense to contain the young guards who failed to create shots for anyone but themselves. The shot selection consisted of mostly long NBA range three pointers.  Again, the Deaf Toros defense was as solid as we’ve seen.

 Without a doubt the Toros showed they are still the champions of SWBAD.  In a  few years the Mississippi club will be able to compete with the likes of a veteran team.  The Deaf Toros gave credit where it’s due to the young group who played hard and fierce to win this game.  Mississippi will get their first taste at the national tournament in Orlando, FL 

 Jackson led the Toros in scoring with 20 and 13 rebounds. Woods finished with 17 including 5-9 three pointers. Bowers dished out eight dimes to lead the three time champions Deaf Toros. Next up for the Toros is the USADB National Tournament in Orlando, FL. The Deaf Toros will be seeded fourth or higher depending on the outcome of all the upcoming regionals this weekend and the last being March 13-15.

Deaf Toros Suffocate Houston All Stars

The Austin Deaf Toros took the floor for second round action tonight against the Houston All Stars. The Toros put a strangle hold from start to finish and leaving the All Stars gasping for air following a shellacking defeat 92-26.  Aiming to advance to their third straight SWBAD championship the Toros displayed a relentless defensive effort in the early goings.  Over the first eight minutes of the first half the Toros jumped to a 28-1 run.  Igniting the run was veteran Darnell Woods who knocked down the first three shots of the game, all from three point range. The 9-0 spurt forced the All Stars to use an early time out to make defensive adjustments.

The Deaf Toros continue to surge forward using an array of crisp passes and strong finishes at the basket. Anton Jackson turned in one of his most memorable performances by snagging 18 rebounds. Jackson led several fast break which finished with either a three pointer or a layup during the early goings.  Chris Hamilton serving his role to the max ran the floor and hustled for loose balls all over the court. Jumping into his own bench in the opening minute showed he was ready from the start. He also mopped the floor on a couple of occasions corralling miscues by Houston.

In the paint RJ Kaufman and Shannon Simon provide solid rebounding, defense and shot blocking presence which helped limit Houston to only one point before the starting five went to the bench.  The second unit was led by Termiea Bowers and cagey veteran Yo Moore. Both players ran up and down the floor working to keep up the intensity that starters had begun. Also, Kelvin Etkie sparked the unit with a couple of treys of his own and was constantly in the right place at the right time.  The Deaf Toros led at the half 42-17.

In the second half the Toros started the out using the second unit. Coach Larry Smith felt comfortable with the second string to start them off for the half. They picked up where the starters left off, creating turnovers and converting them into transition baskets.  While ball hawking and displaying a fortitude of resistance this unit limited the All Stars to only five points.  In came the starters with their dust-mops and brooms to provide a clean up job. Woods, Jackson, Hamilton and Kaufman came roaring off the bench with an abundance of energy. Constantly coming away with points in spurts.

The Toros ran away with the win but showing dignity and class during the over-matched contest. Without much fanfare the Deaf Toros were happy to come away with this win. The game was fun to watch especially with Yo Moore,, who wasn’t expecting to play this soon, ran up and down the floor rebounding and collecting garbage baskets and making nifty passes  on the interior of the offense. Moore even stroked a three pointer in the closing moments to cap off the night of dominance.

Up next the Deaf Toros will face a young and hungry bunch of ballers from Jackson, MS (JAD).  Jackson upset the two time runner-ups Tulsa Hawks tonight. The Hawks were without their dominant big man Tracy Willis who has lead the team in scoring and rebounding.    It should a be test for the Toros to bring the same business like demeanor to overwhelm the young Jackson team.

Tonight every Toros appeared int he scoring column except Chris Channin. Perhaps the butterflies lasted longer than anticipated but Channin showed some rebounding abilities which says his job was done in other facets of the game.  Mick Freeland, John McMahon and Geoff Moore each made buckets to push the Deaf Toros into their scoring frenzy for the night.

See www.swbad.org for stats and highlights.