The Franchise won the 2014 San Quentin Intramural Basketball League Championship with a sweep of all competitors, closing with an 81-79 win over Go Get It.
“All honor, praise and glory to Jesus Christ,” said Harry “ATL” Smith about his Franchise-leading 23 points and 18 rebounds in the Sept. 21 championship game.
“We showed our seriousness and dedication by being the only team that practiced every Monday night and being the only team that created an assistant coach position. We earned the right to be here,” said Franchise head coach Rafael ”Nephew” Bankston after the winning the third straight game of the best-of-five series.
“I brought calmness, rationality, understanding and straight business to the team,” said Franchise assistant coach Brad Shells.
The Franchise consisted of Kenneth Dozier, Anthony Ammons, Demond Lewis, Montrell “MD” Vines, Donte “Sandman” Smith, Marcus “B-Nut” Cosby, Joshua “JB” Burton, Harry “ATL” Smith, Ernest “Ern” Holloway and Derek Loud (who paroled before the finals.) They lived up to their motto: “It’s all business.”
The Franchise stayed in foul trouble most of the games, with Vines and D. Smith fouling out of finals game three.
“We won’t give them nothing. I use all my fouls. It’s just business,” said Dozier.
Lewis motivated himself on court by talking trash.
“Ron Artest made a lot of crazy statements, but at the end of the day he won championships,” said Lewis. “Since I got off the bus, I’ve won two championships.” Lewis was also a member of the CBL half-court basketball championship team Fully Loaded.
“We are a brotherhood. We are a family. We took care of family business,” said D. Smith after the game, while shaking up a water bottle and throwing H2O into the air.
Ammons, named MVP by his coach, had his personal best performance since high school with a 40-point, 17-rebound opening in game one of the finals on Sept. 7.
“That’s the most points I’ve scored in an official prison basketball game. I scored 53 in 1999 playing small forward for Centennial High School,” said Ammons. “My focus that day was not to argue, but to play team ball and have fun. When you have fun, everything comes to you.”
Vines also shined in that Sept. 7 game by hitting five three-pointers.
Motivated by his teammates to step up, “ATL” Smith led the way in the last two finals games. He had 25 points, 26 rebounds, five assists, five steals and eight blocks in finals game two. Ammons added another 20 points and 22 rebounds with four assists and two steals.
“I love my teammates, bro. If it wasn’t for them supporting me thru all the hate on and off the court, my mental wouldn’t have been right,” said “ATL” Smith.
“The Franchise is way too talented,” said Shells. “When “ATL” plays aggressive, his presence changes the whole game. Ant (Ammons) is the clean-up man and Montrell (Vines) plays mad defensive. It’s like an all-star team playing regular ones.”
Burton and Vines added nine points each and Cosby added 10 to beat Go Get It in the Sept. 14 80-62 win.
Burton credits his improvement to “coming out playing with my team and developing that family business love.”
Vines also credits his teammates’ support for his performance.
Game three of the finals was the closest of The Franchise’s playoff run. Go Get It had its back against the wall and came out swinging. The lead switched back and forth with buzzer-beating shots ending the first and second quarters.
Greg Eskridge hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut The Franchise’s lead to 24-21.
During the second quarter, Richard Zorns hit two three-pointers to give Go Get It a 39-35 lead.
At the close of the second, it was Sandman Smith who rebounded a missed shot and laid it up to cut Go Get It’s lead, 43-40, at the buzzer.
In the second half, “ATL” Smith tried to dunk on Go Get It, but Allan McIntosh blocked it at the rim, drawing a foul.
“It was a block. There was a foul, but it was ticky-tacky,” said “ATL” Smith. “I have a whole new-found respect for (McIntosh). He is one of the toughest players I’ve played against while incarcerated.”
McIntosh was the Go Get It scoring leader all season except the last game. There he finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds while Eskridge led with 28 points and 28 rebounds.
With the score 79-79 and two seconds left, “ATL” Smith was fouled going to the paint. He made both free throws, giving The Franchise the lead.
From four feet behind the arc, Go Get It threw up a Hail Mary that hit the backboard as the clock expired.
“Awesome,” said Franchise fan Ben Ford.
“I told them to go handle business!” yelled fan and self-declared 12th man Ken Taylor.
In the final game, Dozier was the second-leading scorer for Franchise with 14 points. Ammons contributed 13 with 16 rebounds and Vines added 12 points.
“Congratulation on winning, although the Transformers weren’t healthy,” said Oris “Pep” Williams, guard from last year’s Transformers championship team. He played this year with an injured elbow, severely hampering his sharp-shooting skills.
“Despite a few bumps and bruises, the season went well,” said Ishmael Freelon, Intramural League commissioner.
–By Rahsaan Thomas
