The 40 and Over San Quentin Kings held their annual tryouts to pick their team for the 2020 season.
After running drills and scrimmages against pick up teams made up of younger players who were watching the tryouts, head coach Orlando “Duck” Harris called the men to center court and announced this season’s roster.
Bryant Underwood, at age 35, made the cut.
“I thought because I was younger than these guys, it would be easy to make this team but it wasn’t. These OG’s got game and I see I still have something to learn from them. I’m ready for the challenge.”
Reginald Thorpe, another new player to make the team, had been reading about the Kings while housed in maximum security facilities. “I used to read the SQ News when I was at New Folsom on the level four yard, dreaming of getting to The Q and making either the Warriors or the Kings.” It was a long odyssey to reach The Q, but now Thorpe is fulfilling his aspirations. “I’m on the Kings and getting into the self-help programs. I’m healing my mind, body and spirit.”
Thorpe has earned the nickname “Saw” for his hardnosed defense and physical presence.
When asked what the goals are for the SQ Kings in 2020, Coach Harris was blunt.
“We’re looking to improve on last season’s record of 20-11. We do that, we’ll be doing great.”
Harris said that since he was going to focus most of his time in training for Transformative Justice Initiative https://tjcoalition.org/ – a group that trains people in the criminal justice reform field – he’s going to be turning over most of the coaching duties to Kings assistant coach, Ismael Freelon.
After the teams were announced, Jaryd “Deep Ball” Newton – who played in the 2019 season but didn’t make this seasons roster – spoke about press coverage.
“I only made the paper one time last season. My name was mentioned because I was tied with somebody else with 15 points. I wasn’t even the lead scorer in that game, but there was no other stats on me. It’s just not fair. I don’t understand what I have to do to get my name in the paper.”
The following is the San Quentin Kings 2020 Roster:
Thaddeus “Beast” Fleeton – 6’0 Power Forward/Center
DeSean “Silent Assassin” Nicholson – 6’1 ½ Power Forward
Jamal “Do It All” Harrison – 6’0 Guard/Forward
Gregory “G-Styles” Jones – 6’0 Shooting Guard
Tare “Cancun” Beltranchuc – 5’8 Point Guard
Oris “The Human Theme Song” Williams – 6’4 Point Forward
Bryant “The Baker” Underwood – 5’8 Guard
Gary “The Knife” Brown – 5’11 Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Rafael “Coach” Ceuvas – 6’1 Point Guard Derrick “Out Loud” Gray – 6’0 Guard/ Small Forward
Joshua “JB3” Burton – 5’7 Point Guard
Charles “Pookie” Sylvester – 5’10 Shooting Guard
Thomas “Mr.” Vaca – 6’2 Power Forward/Center
Reginald “Saw” Thorpe – 6’0 Forward
(Prison Sports Ministries, https://prisonsportsministries.org/which is the sponsor for the SQ Kings, Warriors, All Madden Flag Football, the Earthquakes soccer team and Hardtimers Softball, is a Christian based organization seeking to fellowship and spread the word of Christ, using sports as the vehicle to reach a broader audience within The Q’s incarcerated community. Only player points are kept as a statistic.)
