On July 9, two SQ B-ballers challenged each other to a one-on-one game of basketball. The 2020 DuPont Award-winning and Pulitzer Award-nominated Ear Hustle co-host Rahsaan Thomas, 50, and Trevor Woods, 54, the older brother of Earlonne Woods, the formerly incarcerated co-founder of the hit podcast, settled their differences on the court.
“He was ridiculing me and calling me a bum. I called him out several times and he finally decided to take the challenge. I wanted to represent all the nerds out there,” said Thomas with a laugh. The ordeal drew a huge crowd of SQ residents who placed friendly spreads on who would win. Thomas was the underdog. SQ Warriors B-baller Alan McIntosh had Woods winning by four points.
SQ camera crews from First Watch and SQ TV captured the battle on film. It was comical seeing the two old men scramble shots and watch while the other took open shots.
“He wanted to play physical and wear me out,” said Woods. “That’s how I got wore down, but I also knew that I had him beat over so I lagged on guarding him and would just let him shoot them ugly jumpers he would shoot.”
Thomas struggled for a bucket and it appeared that Woods was going to skunk him until Thomas scored his first shot. The crowd erupted in a shocking congratulatory cheer.
“I was trailing 5-0 and I knew I would get skunked. I knew he had more stamina then me, but when I made that first bucket, I was super happy,” said Thomas.
Eventually the “ugly jump shots” from Thomas dropped into the bucket and brought him up and over Woods to a 10-7 lead.
“I saw what should have been the grudge match of the century. I saw elbows, head punches and body blows. It was Wrestlemania. If the Thriller in Manila had something to do with basketball, then this was it,” said Harry Goodall, who watched the match from the sidelines with the rest of the spectators.
Woods came back and won the game, which went to 16 points. Woods hit the game-winning shot with a layup that went over the top back of the backboard and dropped into the bucket. Moreover, the game that the two played was more than just a grudge match. Woods wanted to honor his late son by beating Thomas in the game they love. At the end of the game, in honor of his son, Woods held up a novel his son Tyler wrote called “Through the Eyes of a Ski Mask.”
