CFC Summer League Basketball 2002

With over 170 people in the league, it was really difficult to choose one person as the "Player of the Week." Instead I will go and select 3 players that stood out from each of the brackets. So without further due, here are the commissioner's Players of the Week for week one.

*The stats are based on 2 game totals played up to 30 points. The stats may not be 100% accurate. But it's close and serves its purpose.

WEEK ONE TOP PERFORMERS | WEEK TWO TOP PERFORMERS | WEEK THREE TOP PERFORMERS

Kyu Chang (Team Zion Park)
In Korea, there's an old saying that smaller peppers are hotter. Kyu was nothing but hot. His opportunity came when 3 of their players were missing that night, allowing him to get more playing time. He may have moved himself into the starting position from his performance. When his captain Zion returns, he will be surprised at the numbers Kyu put up: 17 points, 2 steals, a pair of assists, and 5 boards. Now you might be saying to yourself, "What? Those stats are nothing! I did better than that, how come I'm not the player of the week?" What I forgot to mention is that this little stud stands at 5'4" and 120 pounds. Now you see the picture? Way to go Kyu. Keep up the good work.

Benjamin Sanders (Team Peter Min)
Okay, so he doesn't look anything like Frankie Williams, but we had no other picture of him to use. But his game resembles that of our recent NBA bound Frank Williams. Ben showed us how basketball should be played as a guard. He fooled everyone with his calm and shy demeanor. There was nothing shy about his ability to slash to the basket, shoot the J, and pull down rebounds. He was instrumental in aiding his team to land in the No. 1 spot by putting up these numbers: 21 points, 5 steals, 2 assists, 13 boards, and 3 blocks. Welcome to the league Ben.

Andrew Yee (Team Zion Park)
He might as well change his name to Andrew "Yao Ming." His biggest frustration in the past was not being able to play in any of the tournaments down here due to a strict height requirement. But CFC has finally given him a chance to prove his raw talent. If the real Yao Ming is half as decent as Andrew, then he might have a chance to be the second best center next to Shaq (Come on now, we all know that Yao has no chance against Shaq Fu). He had sort of a quiet night as he only pulled down 18 boards, 2 assists, 5 blocks and just 16 points. But he is on the same team as Kyu Chang, our other player of the week, who stole the show that night. I have no doubt that Andrew could have scored 20+ that night. But here you can see his unselfishness displayed as he gladly yielded to his small teammate who was having the game of his life. Watch for him to do some more damage next week.

Kevin J. Kim (Team Kevin J. Kim)
People almost forgot that two years ago, he was the captain of the summer league champion. He took a year off going on a mission trip where he experience basketball through nature while serving God at the same time. He came back and picked up right where he started. His textbook foot work and ball handling skills makes him one the top forwards in this league. His team could have gone 2-0 that night but Al Navata stood in his way and prevented that...we'll go into that later. Going back to KJ, he scored 50% of his team toal points with 26. He also had 4 assists, 4 steals, and just 3 rebounds shy of averaging double/double with just 17. Just looking at the stats so far, he sounds like 6'10" center. But seeing that he has 0 blocks makes you realize that he's just a mere forward standing at 5'11." Rarely do I appoint a captain as the player of the week, but you can't help but to ignore these kinds of numbers.

Jeff Ma (Team Min Kim)
Jeff could've walked away this week with both the sleeper and player of the week awards. Had his team gone 2-0, then I might have considered it. In just two games up to 30 points, he also almost averaged a double/double: 25 points and 16 rebounds. He was plagued by foul trouble that prevented him from doing further damage in the game where he alone scored 19 out of 21 total team points and pulled down 12 rebounds. You do not need to readjust your glasses - yes, those stats are for real. Unfortunately we were not able to get a picture of him this week so you'll have to wait and see if his face is as pretty as his game.

Al Navata (Team Ho Young Moon)
Let's face it. For the past few years during every tournament, a thought came across your mind wondering if Al's game has slowed down at all due to his commitment to his family including his two good looking children. It's only natural to think that because that's just the way God ordained things to be. You get married and suddenly your game starts to diminish. But everyone that was there at that night will testify that his game is still smooth as his baby's rear end. Not only did he shoot lights out, but he single-handedly delivered a 2-0 record for his team. It's rare to see someone take over a game like this. How can a man who's only 5'5" do so much damage? You can only shake your head and appreciate his game...perhaps the WNBA coined their phrase: "Basketball is beautiful" while watch this guy play. Ok, maybe not.

M.C. Neal (Team Lester Cruzat)
Chances are, us midwesterners will never get a chance to meet or even play on the same court with Shaq. But if you ever want to know what it feels like, just try guarding M.C. Neal. This man is almost impossible to stop when playing him one on one. You will feel his 200+ pounds bulldozing into the paint before he drops the ball into the basket. Sporting a new hair style (perhaps inspired by the NIKE commercial), he returns to this league as a second year veteran. Last year he lead his team to the semi's. How far will he take them this time? Ok, let's not look too far ahead for it's just the beginning. If we ever have fantasy basketball for our summer league, I would pick M.C. on the spot. He finished the night with his usual numbers: 22 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 12 rebounds.

Scott Roschelle (Team Sean Lee)
Just like Eddy Curry of the Chicago Bulls, we'll call Scott Roschelle the "Baby Shaq" of this league, not to mention that he sort of resembles him. He might win the rookie of the year award. He's already putting up numbers that most guys can't even attempt coming close to: 22 points, 2 assists, and 14 rebounds. The only other person to come close to those figures on his team is his captain Sean with 21 points. But when you take as many shots as Sean does, you're bound to score that many (just kidding Sean). As a commissioner, I welcome you to the league. Keep up the good work.

Cory Funk (Team Dan Song)
Cory Funk hands down wins both the sleeper player and the player of the week award. No offense to Cory, but when we first heard his name, we couldn't decide if he was for real or not. Just to be sure, we even had to 'ph' him on the U of I directory. But he showed us that he means nothing but business as he showed up with his A game. Team Dan Song benefitted from his impressive performance: 21 points, 3 steals, 12 rebounds and 1 block. Seeing that he has no assists, we can conclude that he has only one thing in mind: to score at will. But then only 2 players on his team marked the assist column each with just 1 assist. So you can't really blame him for not dishing out the ball. Anyway...congratulations. You surprised us all.