KING OF THE COURT: 2007
MELBOURNE TALENT ON
THE RISE
Words
by DC || 1st October 2007
The Break-down
From September 20th - 30th 2007, MSF was at
the Royal Melbourne Show hosting the KING OF THE COURT basketball
tournament, the 3rd KOTC in 3 years.
It took 11 days of everchanging weather conditions and hundreds
of determined competitors to finally crown the new Kings
of 2007. This years Royal Melbourne Show gave us some hot
sunny days, blue skies, grey skies, hail and rain, alongwith
a cold sunset to end each day, a perfect example of Melbourne's
mid-year weather.
Throughout the 11 days, we had 840 players step onto the
court, live DJ's on the decks (DJ Ryza and DJ Silence),
performances by Melbourne's up-and-coming hip hop dance
crews (B-Kode and The Project) and a live performance by
TMV (Kid Mac, Chase Baker and Jamaka).
A big part of the tournament was definitely the MC, Matt-W.
He flew all the way down from Sydney to volunteer with MSF,
stepping up to the mic each day, bringing in the crowds
and keeping the event alive. That's love for the game, that's
what MSF is all about. We also need to thank Tater and TJ,
both also helped out on the mic throughout the event. On
behalf of all the players and everyone who was at KOTC,
we have to thank our major sponsors; Telstra
and And1,
if it weren't for their support, there would not have been
a KOTC at the Show.
We all must thank
the Melbourne Show for allowing the King of the Court tournament
back at this years Show, for believing in MSF, and believing
in basketball. Our friends from the 303
basketball league provided the electronic scoreboards
which kept things professional. Also our friends at KICKZ101
for helping promote and donating headbands to giveaway. A
big thanks to DJ Ryza for hooking up the music equipment and
supporting MSF, the music was the heartbeat of KOTC. And our
friends at Nike need to be acknowledged also, for providing
the basketball hoop systems to MSF for free. Without the hoops,
there would be nothing. All of these supporters are the reason
KOTC was a big success. Most of all, it wouldn't be a basketball
event without talent on the court, and at this years KOTC,
we believe we've just hosted some of Melbourne's best young
talent on the rise.
Above: B-Kode + The Project showed their
dance skills
Above: Proof that basketball and hip
hop attracts crowds
The Level of Talent It was just 4 weeks before the event that we were
able to lock in sponsorship support for this years KOTC, we
already knew it was going to be a challenge to promote and
get the best players to attend. We still believed in making
this event the most organised and professional tournament
Melbourne has ever seen. With online registrations open, it
was already a good sign seeing the 2004 King of the Court,
Nick Masunda, getting a team in. The talent level continued
to impress us when Vic Champ U/18's and U/ 20's players began
to sign up. For each of the first 10 days we witnessed some
tough battles, as the winners from each day would be invited
back to the 11th day where all the winners would go head-to-head
for the title.
We saw players from all over Melbourne; from Dandenong, Melton,
Melbourne Tigers and the Big V, all entering for one reason
only; to take home the trophies and win the prestigious title
of Melbourne's KINGS OF THE COURT 2007.
With the court dimensions reduced in size and the breeze quite
strong, it was definitely going to be harder for the guards,
and easier for the big men from day one. Two of our MSF crew
members, Steve (Special K) and big Angelo joined up with Madhuk,
a big man from Sudan, calling themselves the Warriors, all
taller than 6'5". Big V player Nick Masunda struggled
to put his best team together for the finals, hoping to have
played with Liam (NBL development player) and Vassko (Tigers
U/20 VC), who both couldn't attend the final day, Nick got
two of his friends to fill in. The Warriors took advantage
of the mismatches, all players being able to post up on guards.
Then there was team "Smyth", 3 big boys from the
Dandenong Rangers and Nunawading Spectres, none older than
16. Shaun, Billy and Darryl all have the capability to take
their game to the next level in the future. "Smyth"
ended up knocking out the Warriors in a physical game, placing
them into the KOTC Final. There waiting in the Final were
the Melton Ballers, led by big man Cam McCallum (Melbourne
Tigers - Youth League) alongwith teammate Luke Davis and U16
VC player Jeff Crowe. Looking at the match-ups, it was looking
like team "Smyth" could post up Melton's point guard
all game long. Though as the final got underway, the game
was tight and physical right from the start. While team "Smyth"
made some big shots, it was the overall strength and efficiency
of the Melton Ballers big men that seperated the teams in
the end. The 2007 Kings of the Court were crowned; Congratulations
to the Melton Ballers. Having a solid big man, agile forward,
and a quick point guard ended up being the perfect mix to
take home the title.
In the 13-15's King of the Court Final, The Golden Eagles
came up against the All-Stars. MSF crew member, Gouled, led
his Golden Eagles to the title with his consistant shooting
he developed with his MSF coaches over the years. The 15's
division wasn't as competitive as previous years, though the
top few teams were all serious ballers. For the KOTC ALL-STAR
GAME, we matched up the best players of the entire 11 days
to put on a show for the crowd. "Special K", Angelo
and Cam all put on a dunking display, while it was 13-year-old
Zhane who was crossing up his defenders while hitting jumpshots,
dishing alley's, and was assisted by a teammate to throw down
a dunk, deservingly being selected by the crowd as the Most
Valuable Player of the KOTC All-Star Game.
Above: 13-year-old Zhane takes out the
All-Star MVP!
Above: MC Matt-W awarding prizes out to the big crowds
MSF Final Words
On behalf of MSF and what MSF represents, we're proud to have
hosted an event full of young talent and enthusiastic crowds
at the Royal Melbourne Show. We're proud of all the voluntary
MSF crew that worked hard by taking intiative to get the job
done each and every day. We're grateful for all the support
and help from individuals and sponsors who made this event
possible. To dream of hosting a free 3-on-3 basketball tournament
and to see it come to life at Melbourne's most popular family
festival, just proves that anything is possible. We are working
on locking in King of the Court as a regular event at the
Melbourne Show and Moomba festivals every year. We have all
proved that KING OF THE COURT creates positive energy for
young people to get active, competitive and inspired to play
basketball, we feel that KOTC will play a major role in promoting
the sport in Australia for years to come. All we need now
is the support of the NBL and Basketball Australia, how far
King of the Court can go has no limitations. We look forward
to seeing you soon at the next KOTC. Stay tuned with MSFBASKETBALL.COM
