It was a welcomed distraction for referee Isaiah Caldwell to be hassled by coaches and players in the season-ending game between the Green Team and San Quentin Warriors the day after his biological father passed. Serving a life sentence, Caldwell also lost his mother since being incarcerated in 1998.
“I just can’t mope around and let things build up,” Caldwell said. “So, I came out here to be with you guys and ref the game.” Prior to tip-off, both teams gathered center-court to pray, dedicating the game to Caldwell’s deceased dad.
“I appreciate what everyone is saying to me,” Caldwell said. “I’m doing everything I can to set a positive role model for my children, like my step-father tried to do for me. I just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities he gave me.”
San Quentin’s basketball season started in April and ended Nov. 21, with the Green Team snapping a three-game losing streak to the Warriors, the Warriors retained a 7-6 season-series edge.
Don Smith and Bill Epling manage a sports program, Christian Sports Ministries. Its basketball team is the Green Team. Seventeen years ago, Smith and Epling started bringing Green Team players inside San Quentin.
The game’s scoring started slowly, until the Green Team — armed with extra motivation from the Warrior’s winning streak — erupted with back to back 3-pointers and a couple of lay-ups, resulting in a double-digit lead mid-way into the second quarter.
They held onto a double-digit lead until Warriors’ guard Josh Burton took an inbound pass, dribbled into the paint for a quick score, knocking the lead down to nine at 41-32.
Green Team missed the ensuing shot, and the Warriors got the rebound.
“This is the last game,” coach told his players. “They are playing hard. We have to tighten up.”
After a timeout, guard/forward Anthony “Ant” Ammons shelved a pass to Warrior Donte “Sandman” Smith, for a quick lay-up.
With 18 seconds left in the first half and the Warriors trailing 46-36, an alarm rang on the Lower Yard, stopping all action. All was cleared in about a minute.
In the last seconds of the half, Smith got the ball again to close, cutting the Green Team lead to six.
Former pro Tom Randall, who had never been inside San Quentin, tagged along with the Green Team. Randall, who performed half-time exhibitions at NBA games and played against the Harlem Globetrotters, juggled and spun basketballs for a San Quentin halftime show.
“I grew up in Detroit in a Black culture, went to a White college and lived in a Brown community,” Randall said while juggling three basketballs. He said the experience gave him a multi-cultural understanding.
“I’ve been married 38 years,” he told the audience, now spinning a basketball on his finger, “and I have 38 kids.”
In the dead of silence following his statement, Randall added, “I run an orphanage in the Philippines!”
In the laughter, Randall said while simultaneously dribbling two basketballs, his youngest is 18 and oldest is a 28-year-old surgeon.
In his second visit to San Quentin, Green Teamer Brian Kravoy said that speaking with inmates convinced him more community members should experience inside prisons.
“I’ve learned that these men are articulate and have educated themselves about where they went wrong in their lives,” Kravoy said. “Talking to Rafael (Cuevas) about his life and the mistakes he’s made has broken down stereotypes I had about prison.”
Ben Draa, now an assistant with the Golden State Warriors played with the Green Team since 2011.
“It’s been great the last four years,” he said. “I get more out of this than what I put in.”
Green Team started the third quarter on fire with lay-ups and three-pointers, led by double-digit scoring by Chris Blees and Reilly Griffin while the Warriors shots could not find the basket.
The Green Team stretched their lead to 23 points midway through the quarter.
With about four minutes left in the game, the Warriors were down six points; however, two costly turnovers stopped the comeback, and the Green Team walked away with a 91-86 win.
