This Sunday will see the UK’s only celebrity basketball tournament take place as “adiSlam” descends upon the Brentwood Centre, Essex.

The event which has been organised by RWD Magazine, Adidas and the Street Team will see Wretch 32 providing a special performance whilst celebrity teams featuring the likes of The Only Way is Essex actors Mario Falcone, Sam and Billy Faiers, Roll Deep, DJ Swerve, Natalie Emanuel (Hollyoaks & Misfits) Koder, Maxsta, Bashy, Kiss FM, SB.TV, Last FM, Urban Nerds & DIY Magazine battling it out on the court.

Dotted amongst the celebrity teams will be streetballers and highflyers expected to bring the highlights throughout the afternoon.

There will be also be Adidas giveaways, a dunk contest and much more at the event which will run from 4.30pm until 9pm.

The event is free, but you must register for a ticket. To get your tickets and find out more information, including the day’s schedule and team match-ups, visit adiSlam, you can also find the event on Facebook by clicking here.

The Legends taught the Luol Deng Foundation U21 All Stars a lesson at Famfest 2011, winning by a single point, 97-96 at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

Just under 1000 people were at the National Sports Centre for an afternoon of basketball entertainment and Famfest didn’t disappoint with a thriller that went down to the final seconds.

The Legends surprised the young prospects early as they jumped out to a 22-14 lead after the first quarter, and from there the Under-21s spent the entire game fighting back.

The crowds got into it as Ed Lucas who finished with a game-high 24 points, hit a turn-around jumper with two minutes left to give the young guns their first lead since the early stages, but the veterans relied on their experience to not get shook. Carl Miller responded immediately with a jumper shot of his own, and from there on the Legends didn’t relinquish the lead again.

Chi Lewis-Parry led the Legends with 22, BBL veteran Mike Martin had 15, Ronnie Baker 12, and Richard Scantlebury 11. The Under-21s were led by the aforementioned Lucas, whilst Ryan Martin added 12, Henry Wilkins 13, and Disraeli Lufadeju 9.

Organiser Luke Bowler was extremely pleased with how the afternoon went:

“It was a truly Old School-New School affair this year – where else are you going to see guys like Carl Miller, Corey McGee, Ronnie Baker and Mike Martin suit up on one team.

For the U21s to lose by a single point is a testament to the maturity of those young guys. Fantastic game, great food and an electrifying atmosphere – couldn’t ask for any more. Big thanks to Family Resource Centre UK for making it possible as well as the Luol Deng Foundation, our host Simon Hosannah and Converse.”

Make sure you are there next year!

Notes

• No major highlights in this one, but a few lighter ones. Video coming in the next week or so.
• Huge shout-out to Family Resource Centre UK for essentially funding the whole event so it could be free for everyone. There are very few organisations willing to put money into basketball like they did this weekend-massive credit to them.
• Another huge shout-out to Luke Bowler and Tony Brown for organising such a class event. The way the whole thing was ran from start to finish, including the pre-booking of tickets, the website (fam-fest.com), and the actual event was like nothing I have really seen before. Just awesome.
• Ronnie Baker at 40+ years old, still has game.
• Ed Lucas (1993 born) was definitely the stand-out of the U21s.  The guard has silky smooth handle, a quick release jump shot and some serious bunnies. One to watch.

Did you make it down? What did you think?

For the first summer in over a decade, Midnight Madness will not be taking place after the event has been classed as a ‘moderate-high’ risk after the London riots.

In a statement released on their website, Midnight Madness, who’s 2011 campaign was to begin this Saturday at Crystal Palace, said:

“It is with great regret that we are forced to announce the upcoming Midnight Madness Qualifier and Showcase events are today postponed due to health & safety concerns for our players, spectators and facilities in the wake of recent civil unrest.”

The postponment of the UK’s premier summer basketball tournament will leave a huge void in many ballers’ summer programme, and has been met with much disappointment from the basketball community.

After multiple conversations with their partners, England Basketball, the local community and the Met Police, Midnight Madness put the safety of their players and spectators first and decided to postpone the event, targeting a return later in the year, rumoured to be around Christmas time.

Founder Nhamo Shire remained positive, despite being disappointed:

“We’ve all watched the events of the past few days unfold with obvious concern. This is the first time we’ve ever had to do something like this, but safety must always come first. Midnight Madness was built on the foundations of giving young people something more positive to channel their energies into, in a safe and secure environment and we will continue to push ahead with that later this year”

Madness will however, go ahead with their game against Stony Brook, scheduled for for Wednesday August 17.

It was disappointment once again for the Midnight Madness team entered in this year’s Quai 54 as they suffered a first round exit to French side “Hoodmix” on Saturday.

Quai 54, which Nhamo Shire likens to having “a big streetball-Midnight Madness type tournament in the middle of Trafalgar Square”, is arguably the biggest international streetball tournament in the world, and heading into the weekend, the Midnight Madness founder was feeling good about his team’s chances.

“We’re really excited because potentially we have a really good mix of players,” Nhamo Shire explained,”the very best team that has been winning it the last 3 years aren’t playing this year. It’s wide open right now, anyone can win it looking at the standard of teams, real talk, we could have, we should have, been in with a chance.When Matthew (Bryan-Amaning) didn’t get drafted, he was going to come out there as well and Will Neighbour became available.”

All was looking well as the team headed to the airport on Friday night but it wasn’t long before the team faced their first obstacle. “”We get to the airport, and somehow, the night before, somehow, Germayne’s (Forbes) passport got washed in the washing machine. The thing was washed out, you couldn’t see the picture and there was no way they were gonna let him travel.”

That was the catalyst for a crazy 24 hours for Forbes as he headed to the embassy for an emergency passport and had his flight rescheduled whilst the rest of the team headed to Paris.

Things didn’t get any better as on arrival Midnight Madness discovered their game was scheduled for 12pm on Saturday. Germayne’s flight arrived into Paris at 12.10. Despite pleading from the British team, Quai 54 officials refused to reschedule the game, despite it making little difference who plays when. Midnight Madness had to face the harsh reality they would be playing without Forbes.

The weekend went from bad to worse as shortly afterward Nhamo received a call from Matthew’s agent informing him the 6’9″ GB forward wasn’t going to be able to make it due to costs.

Without Forbes and MBA, the team were up against Hoodmix. An athletic French team, who Shire knew were not to be taken lightly. “They were good. They lost to the eventual winners by 3 points leading them by 6 with only a few minutes to play. They had a French national guard on their team who was real nice, they had a bunch of athletes, long, 6’7″, 6’8, 6’9″s who can jump.”

Midnight Madness started Perry Lawson, Will Neighbour, Tayo Ogedengbe, Mike Martin and Olu Babalola, jumping to a 7-2 lead on their opponents and looked in healthy shape.

But then the pressure came “They start pressuring our guards. That backcourt can be a lonely place when you have thousands of people watching you. The environment got to us. Our guards struggled and it became the Olu Babalola show, he was having to run the point, run wing, do everything. To be fair, Olu, did us and did the UK proud. He looked good out there.” A dominant first half from Olu Babalola which he finished with a no look dish to Mike Martin for a dunk put Midnight Madness up 1 at half time.

It was a different story in the second half however, as Olu stopped getting the calls. “He was going to the basket and getting hacked and the refs weren’t blowing their whistles. It felt like it was 7 vs 5.”

Hoodmix ran out 22-14 winners (12 minute halves, running clock). Germayne Forbes showed up 20 minutes after the buzzer sounded.

Despite a first round exit for the second year in a row, Nhamo remains optimistic,  “I’m hoping that the positives are the guys that were out there will take something from it. The competitor in me knows we can win this tournament, we just have to get the right blend of players all available at the same time.”

“The tournament was amazing. A real spectacle, but playing-wise, I feel there could be improvements”. Nhamo pointed to 12 minute running halves and the referees as the two main issues he’d like to be dealt with, a gripe, he says, every other international team felt the same way about.

He also had a heap of praise for Will Neighbour, a recent UALR commit. “Will was one of the youngest players in the tournament and did well. I’m telling you Will Neighbour can play ball, he doesn’t jump out at you in terms of being flashy, but his game is so effective. Defensively he changes shots because he’s long, offensively he’s a great passer and can shoot. He’s just got a good skill set…if he gets stronger, boy, we’ve got somebody who everyone’s gonna be talking  about in the next few years.”

Olu Babalola was Madness’ strongest player, and Nhamo feels, few know how good he can be; “You put Olu into a GB setting and he’s liable to just sit back because he’s not needed to be spectacular. But in this situation when we’re in the pressure cooker and it has to be him…if we saw that Olu every week in the BBL I think he’d be the MVP. He was getting to the hole, guarding their best wing, rebounding, passing. Olu was our best player.”

Final reflections?

“I don’t like to lose and make excuses, I don’t like that, at the end of the day you make your free throws and cut down on the turnovers and you win the game. But saying that, the reason we lost this year? First and foremost is Germayne Forbes, because if we have him and what he brings to the table we win that game. We were up at the half, and second half we go into complete drought. It’s frustrating, but it is what it is.”

“I’m not being a sour grape, but end of the day we lost, nothing we can do but learn from it. So next year we’ll get everyone’s passport at least 2 days before we fly! (laughs) It’s done and dusted, now we’re on to the rest of the summer.”

Check out this nice teaser video of the 2011 edition of Quai 54 from Ofive TV to get an idea of what went down…

Nhamo Shire is hoping to see Midnight Madness advance past the first round this year

Big thanks to John Harris (@jhbasketball) for his help with this writeup.

The 9th edition of the biggest international streetball tournament in the world, Quai 54, returns to Paris this weekend, and will once again see a British team, assembled by Midnight Madness, competing for the crown.

Quai 54 is a Jordan Brand event that attracts top mix-teams from the farthest corners of the world, with past participants including Japan, the US, UK, Poland, Germany and Spain. Hundreds of Streetball fans from across the globe flock to the heat of the central Parisien venue that last year sat within a stone’s throw of the Eiffel Tower.

The tournament is fast becoming a global icon for Jordan and every year a limited edition ‘Quai 54′ sneaker is released in that year’s colourway. Jordan athletes have also been known to take in a game or two, with Chris Paul sitting courtside for some of 2010′s contests and even participating as a willing obstacle in the dunk contest.

Despite a strong core of GB stars in Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Justin Robinson and Ogo Adegboye, last year saw Midnight Madness exit in the first round, an event team founder Nhamo Shire is keen not to repeat:

“Obviously last year we suffered a first round exit. We wanna try and reverse that this year. Quai 54 kicks off the summer. It’s a high profile tournament that everyone knows about and we wanna go over there and represent. We dont wanna get bounced in first round or embarrass ourselves.”

The MM team are a mainstay of the tournament and are usually a lock to reach the second round. Last year represented a disappointment for the team despite some strong play from Bryan-Amaning (fresh from a breakout performance in March Madness) and Adegboye (who soon after cemented his place as the starting point guard in the GB senior team).

In addition to presenting a high caliber of international basketball, the event also never fails to impress from an entertainment stand point, with acts ranging from Ludacris and Usher to Fat Joe having performed on the hallowed Jordan branded court.

Shire continued:

“Above all else, this tournament is hard to replicate in terms of situations and atmosphere to develop players. If you can perform in that environment with thousands of fans, pressure and physical play, there will be few situations you won’t be prepared for.”

“A lot of the players are playing Pro A or Pro B in their country. It’ll make our players better, tougher and more battle tested.”

“We’re gonna go out there, play hard, enjoy it, see how far we can take it. “

The Midnight Madness roster for Le Quai 54 2011 lacks the GB firepower of 2010, with Bryan-Amaning, Robinson and Adegboye missing but is not weak by any means of the imagination featuring seasoned Quai 54 vets such as Guildford Heat baller Mike Martin and former GB guard Germayne Forbes as well as emerging young talent such as Polk State’s Robert Gilchrist and UALR commit Will Neighbour.

Keep it locked to Hoopsfix over the weekend to follow their progress.

Midnight Madness Roster for Quai 54 2011

Olu Babalola
Mike Martin
Germayne Forbes
Perry Lawson
Clayfell Harris
Tayo Ogedengbe
Dapo Fagbenle
Albert Margai
Sam Toluwase
Rob Gilchrist
Will Neighbour

Image Credit: John Harris

Presenting all the best plays and highlights from the Midnight Madness All-Nighter 2010, held at Nottingham’s basketball centre. With this being an event for those who had qualified at one of the previous three events only, as you would expect the standard was high and it was full of a ton of big plays.

Check out the video, which features the likes of Jamell Anderson, Myles Hesson, Devon Van Oostrum Robert Gilchrist, Teddy Okereafor, Ed Lukas, John Stewart, Jesse Chuku, Caylin Raftopoulos, Hugh Barnett, Tayo Ogedengbe, Williamz Omope, Samuel Toluwase, Warren Francis, Joseph Baugh, Will Neighbour and many more..

Drop a comment!

The Midnight Madness All Nighter 2010 was filled with plays such as these

You couldn’t write it better than this. Teddy Okereafor had never dunked in a game before….with under a minute remaining in OT and his team only up by two, he steals the balls and attacks the rim-cramming his first dunk in a game ON SOMEONE and sealing the victory!

Teddy Okereafor killed Midnight Madness all summer and is taking his game to a Prep school in the US this season. Keep your eyes peeled for the mixtape.

This would have been one of, if not the, best play I’ve ever witnessed if it had counted. Down 43-44 with under a second remaining in an U18 Semi Final at the Midnight Madness All-Nighter, things were looking pretty bleak for Ed Lucas’ team.

The ball is inbounded, Ed recieves it a couple of feet behind the half way line and launches a prayer with one hand. As he throws it, he thinks he gets fouled, so instantly turns to the ref and starts fighting his case. The ball is still flying through mid-air..his back is turned to the hoop…it hits the backboard, and BOOM goes in. The place erupts..Ed still hasn’t realised it has gone in.

The magical moment: watch as he is mobbed, realises he made it and his face changes from disgust to joy. Amazing. Easily one of the best things I have ever filmed, don’t even get me started on the refs disallowing it.

Three reasons why it should have counted;

1) The whistle is clearly blown after it has been released from his hand.

2) The referee on the baseline (watch it again and check him out) puts his hands in the air signalling it will count, and when it goes in counts it.

3) It’s Midnight Madness! This aint no official FIBA competition, give the fans what they want!

What do you think?

Ed Lucas complains to the ref, but the ball is still in flight...

The Midnight Madness North Qualifier was RIDICULOUS. On par with Leyton for highlights, you need to take 3 minutes out of your day to watch this-absolute madness! Jamell Anderson, Myles Hesson, Teddy Okereafor, Devon Van Oostrum, Hugh Barnett, Jesse Chuku, Ryan Martin and many more bring some craziness… Drop a comment below and let me know your thoughts

Myles Hesson was on form in Nottingham

Darius Defoe is no stranger to dunking (you may remember his antics at Midnight Madness Newcastle last year) and at the Midnight Madness North Qualifier 2010 in Nottingham he proved, once again, that if he has the ball in the key and takes off you really should get out the way. Unless you want to become a victim like this dude. Check it.

Get the hell out of the way if Darius Defoe is in the key