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Ice Cube’s Will Showcase Big 3 Summer League In Dallas Texas

Image Credit Big 3

 

The venue is American Airlines in Dallas, Texas, and the Big 3 Summer featuring former NBA talent such as 2016 Hall of Fame class member Allen Iverson a long with Rashard Lewis, Julius “Dr. J ErvingClyde Drexler, Josh Childress, Rick Berry, Chauncey Billups, Gary PaytonStephen Jackson, Charles Oakley, Cuttino Mobley, Deshawn Stevenson, Jerome Williams, Kendell Gill and more. Early Wednesday Morning during a press conference that featured Big 3  Leadership President & Commissioner Roger Mason Jr., Founding members Ice Cube & Jeff Kwatinetz and CEO Amy Trask.

During the press conference all members of the leadership staff address updates from week 5 in Chicago, that featured a star-studded crowd of Grammy Award-winning artist and Chicago native Chance the Rapper, Taraji P. Henson and six other cast members of  Fox’s hit  show Empire, rap icons EPMD, rapper Twista, Minister Louis Farrakhan, former Chicago Bull Craig Hodges, lawyer and CNN commentator Mark Geragos and more.

Fans were treated to a surprise performance from rap legend DMX, who electrified the crowd with a rendering of ‘Ruff Ryders Anthem’ that had the building singing along.

In front of a sold-out crowd in Chicago, Trilogy moved to 5-0 behind a dominant 27-point performance from Rashad McCants while 3 Headed Monsters and Power kept pace with decisive wins. In the day’s finale, Ghost Ballers came from down 13 points to gain a hard-fought comeback victory that keeps them in playoff contention.The undefeated Trilogy held its record perfect with an impressive win that kept them at the peak of the league’s standings. McCants scored 27 points while James White added in 16, showcasing Trilogy’s impressive depth.

Video Highlights  (Fox Sports 1.)

The first game showcased Power ( 4-1) vs. Ball Hogs  (1-4). Power won its second consecutive game to stay hot on the heels of the league-leading Trilogy. Behind Cuttino Mobley’s 21 points on 10-15 shooting, Power raced to an early lead and defeated Ball Hogs by 17 after DeShawn Stevenson hit his third game winning shot of the season. Jerome ‘Junkyard Dog’ Williams pulled in a game-high eight rebounds, while DeShawn Stevenson drained three three-pointers. Chicago fan favorite Kendall Gill contributed four points in front of his hometown crew.

Video Highlights  (Fox Sports 1.)

The Second game saw the Trilogy 5-0 vs. Tri-State  1-4, and BIG3 No. 1 Draft Pick Rashad McCants powered Trilogy to another dominant win. With Player Captain Al Harrington has an uncharacteristic off-game, McCants stepped up to swarm in a Week 5 high 27 points on 11-17 shooting and 3-7 from three point land. With the game close at 36-30, Trilogy’s James White helped the team pull away with nine consecutive points to expand the lead to 45-30. Team Captain Kenyon Martin returned to action for the first time since Week 1 and was a +16 in a limited five minutes.

Video Highlights (Fox Sports 1.)

Game Three showcased 3 Headed Monsters (4-1) vs. 3’s Company ( 1-4). Behind the sharp shooting of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (19 points) and a league-leading scorer Rashard Lewis (16 dots), 3 Headed Monsters took care of business against the Allen Iverson-coached 3’s Company. Kwame Brown added a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds) as 3 Headed Monsters moved to 4-1 and a game behind Trilogy for the conference lead.

Video Highlights (Fox Sports 1.)

Game Four’s participates were Ghost Ballers (3-2) vs. Killer 3s (1-4). The Ghost Ballers edging out Killers 3s thanks a pivotal Mike Bibby 4-point shot. Down 40-32, the Ghost Ballers ripped off a 20-6 run to close the game out and stay above.500. Bibby had a Week 5-high seven assists to go with 15 points while Ivan Johnson poured in 20 points and Ricky Davis added 15. Stephen Jackson scored 22 in the loss.

 “We had a trade before the trade deadline between Ball Hogs and Power. Ball Hogs traded Rasual Butler to Power for Moochie Norris. Rasual Butler will be active this week, replacing Paul McPherson on Power. Kendall Gill remains active. Moochie Norris will be on the reserve list, Chauncey Billups will be back with the Killer 3s by putting Brian Cook on hold. Ruben Patterson will be returning to 3’s Company.”Roger Mason

During the question and answer portion of the press conference, The Hype Magazine asked

did he see the Big 3 rivaling the NBA at some point and here is what had to say: “I think a rival is a wrong word. I’ve always said this is a complimentary league, not a competitive league as far as trying to compete with what the NBA is doing. We love the NBA, we’re fans of the NBA and it’s still Lakers for life with me and it’s going to be that way until the day I die. We love the NBA product and we think we are a viable option for guys who still want to play once they’re done playing in the NBA. And we’re proud of that and we think guys are excited that they have this option now and we feel like it’s only going to get better. Everything that we are doing this year, we feel like it’s only going to get better in the years to come when it comes to players, you know we’re still getting our feet wet with this. We feel like we are a viable option and we are a great form of entertainment in the summer when basketball fans go through a certain drought.” Co-Founder of the Big 3 Jeff Kwatinetz added “The NBA has been around for decades. Basketball has been around for decades. We’ve been around effectively for five weeks and we designed the game not based on the FIBA game, where we came together as a group and really thought through what we thought could put this game in position to evolve into something unique. Our game is something designed for guys with a high basketball IQ that have the skills and understand plays. It’s not designed for the pure athlete that also have skills. There’s no mistaking our guys can’t run up and down the court with John Wall and Steph Curry. By design, it’s a different game. If there’s anyone we’re rivaling, and I guess this maybe this shows no gratitude since the Cubs embraced us coming in, but we’re going up against baseball. Those are your choices. You can go see baseball or you can go see three on three basketball. It’s the form that basketball’s played outdoors around the world.”  The Hype Magazine would follow that question by asking would Dallas Maverick future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki and Owner Mark Cuban be a part of the celebrities featuring in the crowd on Sunday, July 30th.

“We hope so. They are both definitely invited and we hope all the people in Dallas, that want to come see a great afternoon of basketball. Come out and show their support” – Ice Cube

“I know Mark is very proud of DeShawn Stevenson hitting all of those three game winners and you know how Mark is a great owner who loves his players and treats his player’s great and we have a friendly relationship. How he treats players is one of those things that we really look up to him about. We do know he is excited for DeShawn so whether he is in the arena or whether he is watching we know that he is going to be rooting.”- Jeff Kwatinetz

 

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Written by Landon Buford

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