6 Ft Over's Finest Hour

6 Ft Over refused to lose Tuesday night and posted a riveting come from behind victory that left Team "Ace" in disbelief. Down by as many as 10 points for the entire game 6 Ft Over took their 1st lead with 1:30 to go and barely held on to win their YMCA league debut.

The YMCA league features a running clock consisting of 2 20 minutes halves. This rule made the comeback last night possible. Team "Ace" lead comfortably throughout the 1st half as 6 Ft Over missed a half dozen layups and carelessly turned over the ball.

Early in the 2nd half 6 Ft Over tied the game at 34 apiece on a Richard Dengler hook shot. Playing without subs began to take its toll on the starters and their quick footed opposition went on a 10-0 run to make it 44-34.

Rathering than wilting under the pressure 6 Ft Over took advantage of another great YMCA league rule….the timeout. With their strategic use of two 2nd half timeouts 6 Ft Over was able to catch a 2nd wind and began the run that ultimately won the contest.

It started on a Justin Hasenmiller 3 that cut the lead to 7 with 5 minutes to go. Hasenmiller and Shupert were remarkably accurate last night from downtown each hitting several key bombs that kept the squad in the game (3's count in this league as well).

Dengler picked up the pace from there and played the closing minutes of the game with a mean streak. Who ever told Dengler that the Cavs trailed by 19 at halftime last night deserves the game ball because that inaccurate information pushed Dengler to a fury that he unleashed on his poor defender down the stretch. (Cavs led by 8 or 9 at halftime)

Rich scored on a hook shot, Shupert mixed in a layup and Rich scored again after clearing out his man with a blatant offensive foul. Suddenly it was a 1 point game with 2 minutes to go.

After throwing in wild shot after wild shot in the 1st half Team "Ace" could not buy a basket down the stretch. Reiners, who was held in check all night, finally got a good look with 1:30 left and drained a long 2 over a 6-6 ogre.

With 6 Ft Over now up by 1 the game became very tense. The author must admit the sequence of plays is somewhat of a blur but I recall a wild scramble for a loose ball and the other team yelling at each other.

Team Ace burned a timeout with 11 seconds to go and setup a play. To their credit the play worked perfectly and they set up their ogre for a easy lay up which he promptly missed. Hasemiller secured the rebound and was sent to the line via an intentional foul. Justin calmly sunk both free throws putting 6 Ft Over up 3 with 2 seconds remaining.
After another timeout Team Ace setup another play to free a 3 point shooter but he threw up an airball as the horn sounded. 6 Ft Over had literally stolen the win. They led only for 1 minute and 30 seconds of the 40 minute contest. The important thing was they led at 0:00 which was the only time it mattered.

6 Ft Over Shows Rust in Pre-Season Opener

6 Ft Over got spanked like little boys last night at the Stoney Point YMCA. Facing a team of 6-7 animals led by a lightning quick point guard the out of shape members of 6 Ft Over dragged themselves through 2 straight losses. The good thing is that these were only pre-season games.

6 Ft Over had a few major problems. The first problem was the team they faced had two players who were unable to miss shots regardless of how well they were defended. Forwards Aaron Shupert and Jeff Reiners decided pre game to employ a "Shane Battier" style defense meaning that rather than try to block a jump shot they would stick their hand right in the shooters face. Bottom line was that strategy didn't work. They were able to drain 20 footers with a hand literally right in the face obscuring vision completely.

The second major issue was the other team featured a 6-9 player who played college basketball at Cornell. He basically did what ever he wanted to against a front line composed of a couple of binge drinkers. His performance included a rim rattling 2 handed dunk and a vicious swat of a Justin Hassemiller lay-up attempt.

"He made me feel a step behind man," said Richard Dengler.

"That was because he (Dengler) was a step behind," Shupert said after hearing Denglers comment.

This was only pre-season but it looks like 6 Ft Over may be in for a long summer.

Week 9 – 6 Ft Over Gets Vindication

6 Ft Over played fantastic basketball to close out the season and enacted revenge on the only team to beat them last year.

"We circled this game on our calendar early and knew we had to be ready to play," said Jeff Reiners who sported a bruised and scratched eye following the physical contest.

6 Ft Over came out with defensive intensity seldom seen during the 8 week season. Learning a lesson from last seasons defeat Coach Reiners assigned defensive stopper Richard Dengler to reigning league MVP Roger "The Wizard" Clark. The result was spectacular. Dengler stuck to the MVP like glue and was not scored upon. Clark acknowledged after the game that he struggled while being guarded by the young drug addict.

"They put the lanky guy on me and I just couldn't get going," Clark said.

Professional cage fighter Beau Laughridge was signed to a 10 day contract just hours before tip off and proved to be a great addition to the team. Auditioning for a big money free agent deal in the off season Laughridge had several key plays including a game winning jumper to end Game 1.

Tony Nieland scored a career high 2 points last night including a jaw dropping 20 foot jump shot.

"Come on there wasn't anyone within 10 feet of me," Tony said explaining his shot selection.

Aaron Shupert came into the game with his own personal vendetta. Badly outplayed in last seasons loss to Cobra Kai Shupert vowed to improve in the off season and get even with his tormenter "Porky Pig". Pork was the 300 pounder with an attitude and a smooth left handed jump shot that burned 6 Ft Over badly last season. Shupert was not outplayed on this night and ended Pork's season in one the most satisfying ways possible. With possession of the ball and one point away from victory Shupert took a pass on the baseline from Reiners. He put a quick pump fake on the Pork, got him off balance, took one hard dribble towards the basket and put his shoulder into Porks massive chest. As the Pork flew backwards whining for an offensive foul in a pickup basketball game Shupert drained the game winning 8 footer.

Week 8 – St. Patties Day Massacre

6 Ft Over put a good old fashion holiday beat down on "Sales Prevention" beating them by a combined score of 26-3. Shupert and Reiners showed no effects of the St. Patties Day Specials consumed prior to the game as they combined for over half of the teams points. Team "Sales Prevention" was murdered on the glass. Rarely did a ball carom off of the rim that didn't end up in the hands of Dengler, Nieland or Shupert. 6 Ft Over ran a clinic of fast break, back cutting basketball as "Sales Prevention" stood around perplexed by off the ball movement.

6 Ft Over admitted to looking towards next weeks showdown prior to the end of the Week 7 "competition". In the match up prior to theirs, 6 Ft Over witnessed reigning league MVP Roger Clark sink a jumper in double overtime to take down the previously undefeated "Only If". Clark, and his team "Cobra Kai", go into the week 8 battle on an all-time high. Last season "Cobra Kai" handed 6 Ft Over their only blemish. Revenge has been on the teams mind ever since. Bad blood still exists between Shupert and the entire front line of "Cobra Kai". Shupert, obviously still irked by "Cobra Kai's" intentional fouling in last seasons contest, promises to dominate come March 24th.

Week 7 – 6 Ft Over Back to Winning Ways

Losers in 3 of their past 4 games 6 Ft Over has looked nothing like the team that breezed to a 13-1 record last season. Team "Team Guys" were just what 6 Ft Over needed to get back that winning feeling. Last year, if you recall, 6 Ft Over dominated Them Guys in 4 consecutive wins. Them Guys made some improvements in the off season by dumping that immobile, impossibly slow 345lb Hawaiian guy for a sweet shooting tattooed guard named Julio Caesar Vasquez.

Richard Dengler, who during warm ups bellowed at anyone that would listen that he was "shooting all night tonight boys," showed off his new found touch from outside in Game 1. Again powered by his AI shooting sleeve Aaron Shupert showed flashes of his old 1st Team All Rec League self, dominating the paint and blocking weak shot attempts by 5'6 45 year old men.

Shupert credits his new warm-up routine for his improved play. Shuperts strange, but effective pre-game warm-up now involves light weight lifting, a full out sprint on a treadmill and jump roping. All of this is done with West Coast funk blaring in his headphones, a Chicago Bulls warm-up suit on his back and wet spiked hair.

Them Guys came out with a passion in Game 2 and played like they were tired of getting beat down by 6 Ft Over. The aforementioned Vasquez was red hot draining pull up jumpers over Dengler and Shupert 4 or 5 times in a row. The problem was no one else could do anything as Game 2 turned into 6 Ft Over vs. Vasquez. He eventually cooled off and 6 Ft Over walked away the winners 13-10.

The match up with last seasons lone conqueror Cobra Kai is two weeks away but the squad promises not to look past "Sales Prevention" next week.

Week 6 – 6 Ft Over Stumbles in Split

6 Ft Over has hit a skid not seen since the days of the competitive league. Losers in 3 of their past 4 games 6 Ft Over again struggled to get stops. Team "Crafty" scorched 6 Ft Over in Game 2 easily shooting above 70% from the field.

"They were just a bad match up for us", guard Justin Hasenmiller mumbled to the press following the loss.

It appeared as if 6 Ft Over had a distinct advantage in talent while they breezed through team "Crafty" 13-8 in the opener. Aaron Shupert led the way in Game 1 as he demonstrated a surprisingly soft touch from the outside. Shupert sported a Allen Iverson like black shooting sleeve on his right arm and credited it for his improved accuracy from beyond 3 feet.

Game 2 was a different story. Team "Crafty" scored on 6 straight possessions to take a commanding 9-2 lead before 6 Ft Over knew what had hit them. The squad mounted a minor comeback to make things interesting. A Jeff Reiners jumper closed the gap to 12-10 but that was as close as it got.

The local press is circulating a rumor that a few members of 6 Ft Over may be on the trading block ahead of the Week 7 trade deadline. Reiners dismissed the rumors as "ridiculous" but a source close to the situation reported that there is an offer on the table involving 3 teams, cash considerations and a rack of new basketballs.

Week 5 – 6 Ft Over Defeated

Team "Only If" outlasted 6 Ft Over in a highly competitive showdown between the undefeated titans. 6 Ft Over couldn't take advantage of several opportunities to close out Game 1 and fell in overtime 14-12. "Only If" was lead by their vocal leader who had an odd habit off screaming motivational phrases to his teammates during the game as if he were trying out for the last spot on the JV Basketball team. Game 2 was ugly as 6 Ft Over was handled by a team that played much harder and smarter. The pair off losses were the first for 6 Ft Over in the last 17 games. Coach Reiners hopes the team will turn the corner from here,

"We haven't played consistently all season. This is the wakeup call we needed."


There were several injuries to report from last nights contest:

Reiners (Toe)
Shupert (Thumb)
Hasenmiller (Eye)
Dengler (Pride)