The Tarheels have never played the Warriors or the Outlaws, and are looking forward to the challenge.  But the Tarheels HAVE faced Top City three times, winning each match-up.  So Top City has us in their sights, and we expect a battle!

We’ll keep you posted — Go Tarheels!

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The Tarheels played in the 5th-7th grade division of Hoops for Hope, and ended up undefeated champions of their division.  In pool play, the Tarheels defeated GBAL, the Gardner Blazers, the Eagles and the Panthers.  The Tarheels then defeated the Gardner Blazers for a second time to win the championship.

Congratulations Tarheels and a huge “Thank You” to all teams who participated in Hoops for Hope!

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The Bulldogs came out blazing.  Taking the Tarheels off guard, they shot out to a quick 6-0 lead.  But the Tarheels struck back.  Guard Forward Anthony (Fuzzy) Bonner made a steal, went in for a lay-up, was fouled and hit one of his free throws, putting the Tarheels on the board.  Bonner followed with a 3-pointer and a lay-up.  Cartier Dean added another lay-up, and the Tarheels took the lead with 8 unanswered points.

After that, the Tarheels never looked back.  Transition ball was the name of the game.  A full-court press led by speedy, greedy guards Bonner and Dean ensured plenty of Tarheel steals, as both frustrated their opponents and picked off plenty of passes.

Big man Kevin Puryear made his mark in the paint, pulling crucial rebounds and putting up key shots on offense, while filling the paint on defense.

The Bulldogs pushed back toward the end of the game, making up seven points of a ten-point deficit.  But the Tarheels held fast to their lead and ended up winning 27-24, earning themselves a trip that same night to the championship game, where they would face the 12Under 76ers.

The Tarheels came to the championship game energized by their win in the semifinal game.  Teamwork was the name of the game, as the Tarheels took hold of the championship game early and never let go.  Momentum carried the Tarheels forward to a double-digit victory over a tough 76ers team.

If the Tarheels created a highlight film of the championship Night Hoops game, every player would have been on it.  Each player contributed at least one move that brought cheers of admiration from a rowdy Night Hoops crowd.  In fact, the entire game could have been one long highlight reel!

Congratulations to the KC Tarheels 2015 for an undefeated season in the Kansas City Night Hoops 5th/6th grade division.

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As already reported here, the KC Tarheels 2015 went undefeated to win the 11Under Division.

The 12Under division championship game featured two Kansas City area teams: the KC Supersonics, coached by Tyrone Thomas, and the Blue Valley Huskies/Mustangs, coached by Ed Fritz. The Huskies/Mustangs won. Congratulations to both team for reaching the championship in a tough field.

The Kansas City Cowboys, coached by Victor Williams, defeated the All Iowa Attack in the 13Under division championship.

The Kansas City Keys, coached by James Couch and Damon Hopkins, defeated the St. Louis Gateway Basketball to win the 16Under division championship.

Kansas City area teams won 4 out of the 9 boys division. Congratulations to all of the hardworking coaches and players who traveled to Arkansas and represented the Kansas City Metro area so well.

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The 11Under Division wasn’t as crowded as the high school division, but still boasted a field of 12 well-coached teams.

The Tarheels started out by dominating their pool, giong 3-0 against the Gym Time Hoops from Oklahoma, the CSAS Soaring Eagles, and the Benton Hawks from Arkansas.

By winning their pool, the Tarheels earned a bye (and a sleep-in) for the first round of bracket play on Sunday morning. They would face the Arkansas Magic in the semifinal round. The winner would move on the the championship, while the loser would go home.

Before that, though, the Tarheels had the rest of a beautiful Saturday to spend any way they pleased. Several of them took the opportunity to go watch the high school games, and were treated to some great ball games featuring such teams as the New York Gauchos and Team Breakdown. They also got to see all of the college coaches in attendance, like Bill Self from Kansas, Ben Howland from UCLA, Coach K. from Duke and Roy Williams from North Carolina. A couple of lucky Tarheels, Fuzzy (Anthony) and D-Lo (DeAngelo), got to meet Roy Williams. He was pretty impressed when they told him what their team name is! And then he made their day by telling them he’d be watching for them in a few years.

Sunday rolled around, and the Tarheels got ready to face their semifinal opponent. The Arkansas Magic featured guards with good ball handling skills and some decent team speed. The ‘Heels went up by a few baskets early, but the Magic battled on and soon the game was neck-and-neck. After half-time, though, the Tarheels’ relentless defense started to wear on the Magic. And while the ‘Heels had missed their fair share of shots in the first half, their shots were falling more consistently in the second stanza, so the Tarheel lead steadily increased. The Tarheels ended up running away with the game.

The Tarheels had earned a trip to the championship against the Tulsa Titans.

The Tarheels came out blazing, going up 10-2 within the first few minutes against the Titans. Those first 10 points featured scoring by four different Tarheels, four Tarheel assists and 2 Tarheel steals. It was a knockout punch that the Titans never recovered from. And although the outcome of the game was never in question, the Tarheels played their A-game all the way through, cheered on by their enthusiastic fans.

On another note, in the championship game, each team had a Most Valuable Player award given by the opposing coach. The coach for the Titans gave the game MVP award to Tarheel center Kevin Puryear. In a gesture that exemplifies the Tarheel team spirit, Kevin tried to give the award to his teammate, wing/power forward Anthony Bonner, telling Anthony that HE deserved it. Anthony, in turn, insisted that Kevin deserved the award. After some back and forth, the award stayed with Kevin. But the award mattered much less than the mutual respect that these two teammates showed for each other.

Congratulations Tarheels!

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Pool Play

The Tarheels faced the Lawrence Kings in the first game of pool play. Both teams had a sluggish first half, and the score at half-time was mere 21-11 in favor of the ‘Heels. The second half would tell a different tale, though, as the Tarheels more than doubled their production in the second stanza, ultimately winning the game 48-23. The game MVP for the Tarheels was big man Kevin Puryear.

The second game of pool play pitted the Tarheels against the Fieldhouse Ravens, from Johnson County, Kansas. This game was closer, but the Tarheels ended up with a hard-fought 46-35 victory over the scrappy Ravens. The game MVP for the Tarheels was guard/forward Anthony Bonner.

Bracket Play

Coming in first in their pool earned the Tarheels a bye in the first round of bracket play, advancing them directly to the semifinal against the Kansas Bulls.

The Tarheels won the semifinal game convincingly, sending them to the championship game against the fighting Irish, who had beaten the Lawrence Kings in a nail-biter in the other semifinal game.

The Tarheels came out strong in the championship game, quickly wearing down the Irish with their full court press and with the speed of their running game. The Tarheels completely dominated the game, winning the championship by a score of 50-26.

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