HOOPIN’ IT UP : The Game Is Supreme in New Pro-Am League

Improvement can come in unconventional ways at the Memorial Recreation Center. That fresh coat of paint on the building front isn’t part of a planned cleanup. It’s the result of a graffiti raid a few nights earlier that left the building covered with spray-painted scrawls. The work was quickly covered over, leaving some urban artists a fresh masonry canvas on which to paint.

Inside, the gymnasium is dimly lit. It, too, could use a new coat of paint.

The court is wooden, but so are the backboards, stained by the skid marks of hard bank shots gone awry.

Yet behind this sometimes depressing facade, something new and positive is going on at the center on 29th Street just north of National Avenue.

The Supreme Court Pro-Am Basketball League, the only one of its kind in San Diego, is nearing the conclusion of its inaugural eight-week season. The regular season will end Sunday, and three days of playoffs are scheduled to begin Aug. 14.

The league is organized by Michael Brunker, a former San Diego State assistant basketball coach under Smokey Gaines, and is designed to provide an opportunity for area college and professional players to stay sharp in the off-season. Brunker said the league is sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn., allowing professional and college players to compete together.

Most of the players are former or current San Diego-area collegians. Some of the leading scorers are Gerald Murray, a starting forward/center at San Diego State; and two former San Diego State guards, Anthony Watson and Zack Jones. Michael Cage, the former San Diego State star who is now member of the Los Angeles Clippers, has played in a few games.

The idea is to provide San Diego players with an alternative to driving to Los Angeles to participate in a pro-am league.

“This is a good chance for the players to stay in shape during the summer without going far,” said Jones, a member of the San Diego-based Athletes in Action team that plays for The Crown in the Supreme Court league. “That two-hour drive (to Los Angeles) takes a lot out of a player. To just get out of a car and play--that’s tough.”

Yet that’s just what Jones did a couple of weeks ago.

He had to drive from an Athletes in Action youth basketball camp in Hemet the afternoon of the game and did not arrive until less than six minutes remained in the second quarter. The Crown was undefeated at the time but was losing by 15 points to Courageous Endurance. Courageous Endurance is led by Murray and was bolstered that afternoon by the temporary appearance of Steffond Johnson, the former San Diego State player who played last season with the Clippers. By the time Jones put on his uniform, laced his sneakers and stretched a few times, it almost was halftime.

Still, if anyone could save The Crown, it was Jones.

Jones, the league’s leading scorer, had walked into a similar situation the week before and rallied his team to victory. This time, however, there would be no stirring comeback.

Jones scored a game-high 35 points, but The Crown suffered its first loss, 145-124. The Crown (4-2) lost again last week and has dropped out of first place for the first time since the league began June 20. Courageous Endurance and Good Judgment are tied at 5-1 and will meet for first place Sunday at 1:15 p.m. But Jones still leads the league in scoring at 43.4 points per game, 9.4 points ahead of Johnson.

The Crown, however, has struggled with a problem that has been the biggest drawback to the league’s first year: player attendance.

Many players on the eight 12-man rosters have played only a few games, and of the top 10 scorers, only one has played in all six games. The Crown has been slowed by the Athletes in Action camps that have kept many of its top players away. Other players are busy with leagues in Los Angeles and other cities.

“This has worked out pretty well for a first-time league,” said Murray, who is averaging 31.6 points and a league-leading 24 rebounds per game. “It’s got a few rough spots to work out, but it’s going to get better.

“Mainly we’ve got to start getting guys here every week. Getting everybody on the same wavelength, knowing when the game is, being here early. Those are things that are going to work out.”

Sporadic attendance has forced Brunker occasionally to reach into the stands for players to fill out a game roster, so even a few high school players have had some playing time. Sometimes the informality works out for the better, such as when Johnson showed up from Los Angeles and brought along Derek Taylor, a third-round draft choice of the Indiana Pacers and a teammate of Johnson’s when he attended Louisiana State before he transferred to SDSU for his senior season. Johnson scored 34 points and had 20 rebounds.

“There’s some good talent out there,” Johnson said. “It’s good for the kids from college. They like to get out there with the pros and see how they can do.”

But the league is more than just an opportunity for college and pro players to mix it up on the court. Brunker said he is using the league to subsidize a summer basketball camp program he has started at the center. Some of the $30-per-player entrance fee goes to the camp expenses, Brunker said.

The camp for children in kindergarten through high school is nearing the end of 10 one-week sessions. Campers unable to afford the $25 weekly fee are provided scholarship money from league fees and private donations, Brunker said.

“There is not a whole lot going for the youth in San Diego,” Brunker said. “I hope this program will shed some light on the need for such programs.

“The kids who come here have to pass dope houses; they have to pass gangs; and they still come. That’s what’s positive about this. I want the word to get out that anyone who wants to learn the game of basketball is welcome.”

Some of the kids in the camp help out on game days by setting up chairs, working the concession stand or helping at the scorer’s table.

Brunker said he has not turned away anyone from the camp because of an inability to pay. Although the camp is taking the majority of his time, the league is what is focusing attention on the center.

“There was a real need to give the players in the area an opportunity to play in a quality league,” Brunker said. “When I was at San Diego State, we’d have guys drive 2 1/2 hours to get up to L.A. They’d be on a team with 25 players and they’d be lucky to get in the game. Now they’ve got a place to play in the summer.

“I’ve been pleased with the talent and the play. This is the first year, but I want people to know we’re here to stay. This is good for San Diego basketball.”