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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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The Café Has Bull's Eye Firmly on Its Back As Rec League Hoops Starts 17th Season
By Bill Alden
At the summit of the basketball world, the Detroit Pistons are currently locked in an uphill battle to repeat as NBA champions. In a local corner of the hoops scene, another squad starts its quest for a three-peat this Wednesday night as the Princeton Recreation Department summer men's basketball league tips off its 17th season.
An opening night quadruple-header at the Community Park courts will feature a matchup between two-time defending champions, The Café, and Upper Makefield, which fell by one point in the title game last summer.
Looking ahead to the season, league commissioner Ben Stentz said that the season-opening clash between the 2004 league finalists was no accident.
"We don't mess around," said a laughing Stentz, who runs the league with his longtime friend Evan Moorhead.
"We could have put that game off until later in the season but we wanted to get after it right from the start in prime time."
Other contests this Wednesday in the 10-team league will include Whole Foods taking on Hoagie Haven, Where2Ball.com versus Weidel 5-stars, and Merrill Lynch against George's Roasters and Ribs.
The latter contest will represent the Princeton University flavor that has graced the league most summers as current Tiger star Noah Savage is back for George's while former Princeton point guard and last season's league MVP, Ahmed El-Nokali, leads Merrill Lynch.
Over the years, such Tiger stars as Chris Doyal, Gabe Lewullis, and Rich Simkus have played in the league.
The league's other two teams, SMB and Dr. Palmer/Princeton Orthopedics, will be in action on June 20.
The league plays on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with the regular season ending July 22 and the playoffs running from July 25 through the first week of August.
In assessing this year's field, Stentz said The Café could be on the verge of producing a dynasty. "They have the same crew back for the most part," said Stentz, referring to such Café stalwarts as Chris Hatchell, Shahid Abdul-Karim, and Asmar Fortney. "They are eager to three-peat. Each year gets a little tougher. The other teams have started to despise them."
One team who definitely has its sights set on The Café is Upper Makefield, which entered last year's playoffs as the eighth seed and then produced a rousing run that saw it come within a bucket of winning the title.
Stentz, for his part, doesn't think that Upper Makefield's playoff heroics last summer were a fluke.
"They are guys from out-of-state who have been figuring out how to play in this league," explained Stentz.
"They've played together for two years and took some lumps. I think they've found their stride."
In Stentz's view, the blueprint for success in the league comes down to desire more than skill. "It's a hard-nosed league, you have to be scrappy," added Stentz. "You have to dive for balls, it's physical. The lighting is bad so it's hard to get into a shooting groove."
The league's two new entries, Whole Foods and Hoagie Haven, will find out quickly that they have to get physical.
"Hoagie Haven is led by Rupert Johnson, who played in the league a few years ago and is coming back," said Stentz.
"He has some free agents lined up. Whole Foods is led by a guy named Joel Sanchez who reached out to us. They have a bunch of guys that work together and played in a winter league. They have a 6'11 guy. I don't know whether he's any good but he could be the X-factor."
While Stentz relishes the action on the court, his annual labor of love is prompted by factors deeper than basketball.
"I love the tradition of the league," asserted Stentz, who has been involved with the league as a player, coach, or commissioner since its inception in 1989.
"It's not just the players but the people who come to watch the games. It's a happening. At the end of the day, with all of the craziness going on around here and in the world, it's good to have a place where people know they can go and have a sense of community."
That community feeling, though, will be well hidden when the elbows start flying under the basket this Wednesday evening.
