EAST - 54

WEST - 43

The shorthanded longwinded East topped the Hurricane heavy West in the 2020 SBL All Star Legends game Sunday, January 5. Marc Caruso lead the East with a game high 14 points after entering in the second half. Dan Cunningham added 13 points on 7 of 9 from the charity stripe for the East in victory. Brody Utley pulled down 8 boards. Rocky Zeigler had a couple big 3's and Matt Williams chipped in an all around healthy game. Tony Chambers was perfect shooting on the day knocking down his lone 3 pointer.

Cory Cowan was the leading scorer for the West with 12 points. Brian Redington had a solid game with 9 points and 3 rebounds. Brad Gergovich pulled down 6 rebounds and added 5 points. 

Jordan Peel (POBL)

Mike Gills (Ballaholics)

Trey Owens (POBL)

The SBL would like to announce the rosters for the 2020 SBL All Star Game. The Front Office selected these individuals to represent their conferences in the All Star Game on January 5 at 1:00 PM. These men were chosen for their success on the court to this point in the season along with the character they bring to the gym each week. We congratulate all the players for being named SBL All Stars for 2020. For more information about the 2020 All Star Sunday go to the All Star Game page located on theSBLpeoria.com menu. 

Coach Wayne Klein (Crusens) 

Starters:   

G Deontray Dorsey (Team POBL) #22 1st ASG

G Nic Reynolds (Crusaders) #2 1st ASG

C Dylan Sparkman (Devils) #54 1st ASG

F Max Seibert (Team ACH)  #23 1st ASG

F Kendall Davis (Crusaders) #1 1st ASG

Reserves:

F Tyler Lundeen (Team ACH) #00 1st ASG

F Rick Gustafson (Devils) #33 3rd ASG

G Trey Owens (Team POBL) #4 1st ASG

G Micah Lavender (Crusaders) #44 3rd ASG

G Daniel Ruffin (Team Crusens) #20 3rd ASG

G Tyke Bohanan (Devils) #11 4th ASG

F Cameron Hunter (Team POBL) #14 1st ASG

Coach Marc Caruso (Tropics) 

Starters:

G Justin Dehm (Shredders) #5 1st ASG

G Jerome Harris (Dragons) #11 1st ASG

F Montel James (Tropics) #32 1st ASG

F Mike Gills (Ballaholics) #14 1st ASG

F Darryl Howell (Eagles) #48 1st ASG

Reserves:

G Keontre Byrd (Eagles) #1 1st ASG

G Jeff White (Tropics) #23 1st ASG

G Marvin Jordan (Tropics) #34 1st ASG

F Jacoby Jowers (Eagles) #12 3rd ASG

F Chris Donnelly (Shredders) #3 1st ASG

F David Roos (Tropics) #30 1st ASG

G James Robertson (Shredders) #33 1st ASG

*F Jamor Stewart (Ballaholics) #00 1st ASG

*Jamor Stewart has been selected to replace James Robertson (ankle). 

SUNDAY JANUARY 5

8:30 AM - 2:30 PM

2 BALL 

SKILLS COMPETITION 

3 POINT CONTEST 

DUNK CONTEST

LEGENDS GAME 

vs.

ALL STAR HOST

Coach Matt Williams (Birdmen)

Coach Marcellous Buntley (Lions)

The 2020 SBL All Star Sunday will feature a whole day full of basketball skill and talent on showcase. The SBL has selected the best of the league to represent the SBL in the 2020 All Star Game. The day will begin at 8:30 AM with qualifying rounds for the 3 Point Contest, 2 Ball Contest, and Skills Competition. Prior to the ASG the league will showcase some SBL history as former players return to competition to play in the SBL Legends game at 11:00 At 12:00 noon the finalist from the morning competitions will face off in the Competition Semifinal and Final Rounds. The All Star Game will tip off at 1:00 PM between the Bluff Conference All Stars and the River Conference All Stars. The All Star Game will feature a Dunk Contest at half time of the game. With the second half closing out the All Star Sunday festivities. The public is welcome to come for the whole day to support the league and enjoy Peoria's basketball talent. Admission is always FREE.

If you are in the league and would like to participate in one of the All Star Competitions there will be a sign up sheet at the scorer's table during Week 6 (12/22) games. You can also contact your team's GM to sign up or email the SBL Front Office for more information about the day's schedule and to sign up. Competition winners along with the All Star Game MVP will each receive gift certificates courtesy of Crusen's. There will also be a post All Star Game party at Crusen's on War Drive following the ASG.

8:30 AM - 9:00 - SKILLS COMPETITION QUALIFYING

-          MAX 16 ENTRIES HEAD TO HEAD TOURNAMENT

-          DRIBBLE COURT LENGTH AROUND CONES

-          PASS TO A TARGET AT THE END

-          DRIBBLE LENGTH AND MAKE A LAYUP

-          DRIBBLE TO OPPOSITE SIDE AND MAKE A 3 POINTER

-          FIRST TO COMPLETE ADVANCES

9:00 AM - 9:45 - 2 BALL QUALIFYING

-          10 TEAM ENTRIES, 1 PER SBL TEAM (UNLESS NOT ALL TEAMS ENTER)

-          POST SCORE IN 3:00 MINUTES

-          TOP 2 SCORES FACE IN THE FINALS

9:45 AM - 10:30 - 3 POINT CONTEST  QUALIFYING

-          MAX 20 ENTRIES IN ROUND 1, 2 PER SBL TEAM

-          15 SHOTS ON 3 RACKS WITH 3 MONEY BALLS

-          10 BEST SCORE ADVANCE TO ROUND 2 (FASTEST TIME TIEBREAK)

-          TOP 4 SCORES ADVANCE TO FINAL 4

11:00 AM - LEGENDS GAME

-          4 QUARTERS WITH 10:00 MINUTE ROLLING CLOCK

12:00 PM - 1:00  COMPETITION FINALS

-          3 PT SEMIFINAL & FINAL

-          SKILLS COMPETITION SEMIFINAL & FINAL

 -          2 BALL FINAL

 HALF TIME OF ASG - DUNK CONTEST 

Crusen's bar in Peoria has been named as the official league sponsor of the SBL. The Crusen's logo will appear on the back of every jersey and Crusen's on War Memorial Drive will be host to the Live! Draft on October 5. The league would like to thank Wayne Klein for helping get the SBL ready for a new season.

The league is also partnering with T-Shirt House in Pekin for all jersey screen printing, league logo design, and league apparel this season.  

If you would like to be a league sponsor please contact the league office or one of the league GM's. The sponsor form is available in the FORMS>HANDOUTS tab on the SBL homepage.

The once popular men's basketball league in Peoria is looking to get bouncing once again. Currently a front office is being assembled and the league structure is being rebuilt. The SBL hopes to be running a full 10 team league by winter 2019. A 13 week regular season is in the plans with 3 weeks of playoff games to determine a champion. Talent is also currently being scouted as word starts to spread of a 2019-2020 season. 

In the coming weeks the league office still has much to do before flipping the switch on a 16 week league. Teams need to be formed and filled, a complex needs to be locked in to house officiated games, and schedules need to be finalized.

According to sources, co-founders Andy McMorrow and Matt Cunningham are behind the push to get the league going again. They did not have a formal comment but did offer that a formal announcement will be coming soon and to keep checking the website for upcoming league events and important events. 

The SBL announced Tuesday that the league has named their first General Manager for the upcoming 2020 season. Micah Lavender is returning to the SBL and will lead the Crusaders franchise.

Micah is a 4-year veteran of the SBL and was a member of the Crusaders 2013 Championship team. Micah played at Olivet Nazarene and was the PJ Star Small School Player of the Year in 2004 and led Peoria Christian to a 4th place finish at the IHSA State Tournament. He went on to coach at Spoon River College (Canton, IL) and Western Illinois University. Micah is currently a Machine Forecaster at Caterpillar. 

Micah was instrumental in building the league in the beginning days of the SBL. He has been on the board since day one and brings character and basketball IQ to the organization. The league would like to welcome Micah back and wish his team luck this year. 

The SBL Front Office made another move in their effort to rebuild the former league for a 2019-2020 season. The league announced Wednesday that they have named Matt Kaag the Vice President of Referee Operations. Kaag works at Caterpillar and is also in charge of running all Caterpillar recreational leagues. The league is ensuring that only IHSA patched officials will be calling games this season.

Matt will officiate games as need be and will be in charge of running all game activity each week. Each player will sign a code of conduct before the season. As head of officials Matt will be tasked with ensuring his officiating crew is enforcing the code of conduct. Sportsmanship and camaraderie are main goals for the SBL and officials play a key role in maintaining those core principles. 

More to follow on official game and league rules. All player forms will be available soon through the FORMS tab at the top of the home banner.

The Sunday Basketball League announced today that the remaining nine General Manager positions have been filled.  Those posts have been filled by the following: 

- Tyke Bohanan (Devils)

- Marcus Caruso (Tropics)

- Toriano Hollie (Team P.O.B.L.)

- Jacoby Jowers (Eagles)                                

- Wayne Klein (Team Crusens)

- Micah Lavender (Crusaders)

- James Robertson (Shredders)

- Sean Samms (Dragons)

- Jake Stephens (Ballaholics)

- Josh Young (Team Advanced Correctional Healthcare)

Starting this season the SBL will be allowing each General Manager to sign up to 3 players prior to the SBL Draft. These signings must be agreed upon by the GM and the player. The signings will then be approved by the league office. The more players a team signs before the draft the lower the teams odds of landing the top pick in the draft. 

The Sunday Basketball League announced on August 5 that it has partnered with CP Photography for the upcoming season.  With that partnership, CP Photography owner Chris Porter has excepted the position of Vice President of Visual Content and Distribution.  In his role, Chris will be onsite at various SBL activities capturing the action with pictures.  Those pictures will then be available through CP Photography for purchase.  

The SBL is looking to venture out into the social media world more for this season.  Chris and his talents as a photographer will help the league expand to an even wider audience as the season goes on. 

Be sure to check out CP Photography at www.facebook.com/cpphotographystudios/ 

The SBL All Star Sunday was featured on WMBD/WYZZ news casts.

https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/sunday-basketball-league-looks-to-rebound-after-a-five-year-break/

The SBL has recently been featured on the front page of the Journal Star Sports sections two days in a row. The stories ran in the Sunday edition on August 18 and another story ran on Monday. Both stories highlighted the upcoming pre-draft camps and the news of the league coming back after a 5 year break.

https://www.pjstar.com/sports/20190818/sunday-basketball-league-is-looking-for-few-good-players

The WEEK sports team was also at the first pre-draft camp and ran a story on the league. Look for more coverage of the SBL this season as well as keep up to date on the website each week for team and game stats, upcoming schedules, live standings. Plus player profiles, team coverage, and All-Star week.

https://week.com/sport/2019/08/19/peoria-sunday-basketball-league-returns-after-five-year-hiatus/

The SBL announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with the Peoria Park District for use of the Lakeview Recreation Center for all games this season. Lakeview is centrally located in Peoria and will serve as the home gym for all regular season games, the SBL All Star Game, and the 2020 Playoffs.

"After a 5 year absence we wanted to re-establish the league as the premier adult basketball league in Peoria. We would like to thank the Peoria Park District for helping our league find a new home," said SBL President Andy McMorrow. "This was the last big puzzle piece for getting the league back up and running and we are happy to finally have it in place."

Games will begin at 8:30 AM each Sunday with games starting every hour and 15 minutes. The season begins November 10. The Front Office is currently working on the season schedule and will be posted this week.

Lakeview Recreation Center is located at 1013 N Lake St, Peoria, IL just north of the Owens Center ice rink.

https://peoriaparks.org/places/lakeview-recreation-center/ 

The SBL has agreed in terms with Lakeview Recreation Center in Peoria to host all games for the upcoming 2019-2020 season. This was the final piece of the puzzle for the SBL in getting the league back up and running in 2019.

Lakeview is centrally located in Peoria and will host all regular season games, the SBL All Star game, and the SBL Playoffs.

***If you do not pay you will not be able to play.***

 Players who did not play in Week 1 must pay prior to playing in Week 2 games on November 17. You will receive your jersey only after you have paid. 

You will be ineligible to play and could be dropped from their team in favor of a free agent.

Each player must pay their $100 player fee prior to the start of games Week 2.

Online option through PayPal still available:

Follow the link below to submit a $100 payment. Please add your name in the notes for reference.

If you do not have a PayPal account you will need to create one to submit payment.

***PLEASE UNCHECK THE "PAYING FOR GOODS OR SERVICE" BOX

BEFORE CONTINUING TO THE CHECKOUT***

https://paypal.me/theSBLpeoria 

Where are you from?

- Born and raised in Peoria. Currently residing in Pekin     

 What is your basketball history?

- Coached at Holy Family Grade School for 8 years, then moved to Peoria Notre Dame for 4 years, then spent 1 season at Spoon River College before the program was cancelled due to state funding cutbacks.  Some of the ‘big names’ that I got to coach at those stops were Bill Cole (University of Illinois) at Holy Family, Max Bielfeldt (University of Michigan and Indiana University) and Tyler Les (University of California – Davis) at Notre Dame, and Jerome Harris (University of Alabama – Birmingham and BYU – Hawaii) at Spoon River.

 What is your role and team? 

- I am one of the co-founders of the SBL.  My current roles are President and COO of the league.  

  What brought you to the SBL this season?

 - I stepped away from the league following the 2012-13 season for family and health reasons.  I missed being around the game a lot.  Combine that with the requests of former players and the opportunity for the SBL to again make a difference in the Peoria area, the timing felt right.

Who is your favorite music artist?

 - The Kenny Wayne Shephard Band.  I have seen them live around 13 times.

What is your favorite movie?

 - Apollo 13

 What do you do for work?

 - I am an inventory analyst for Caterpillar.  I have been at Cat for almost 10 years now.  I started on the shop floor, storing parts in the Morton warehouse.  From there I became a supervisor, where current Dragons GM Sean Samms worked for me.  Then I became a section manager and had Eagles GM Jacoby Jowers and F Kenny Ford as employees.  Following that role, I moved to my current job which has given me the unbelievable opportunity to travel.  I have been to 11 states for work since 2016.  I also have been to Mexico, Belgium, China, France, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg.  In 2020, I will be back in China and also going to Russia.

 Other than basketball, what is one thing you enjoy in your free time?

 - Movies.  I am a huge movie buff.  I have a collection of over 750 DVD/BluRay’s.  I also am trying to collect every Academy Award Best Picture Winner.  So far, I have 72 out of 91.

 What is your favorite meal?

 - Cannot go wrong with a steak, baked potato, and a salad.  Or this salad my mom makes with pasta noodles, turkey, and Italian dressing.

 Who was the most influential person in your life?                 

   - My Grandpa Bob Hoff

 What is one word that you feel describes you best?          

 - Driven

 Who is your favorite basketball player of all time?

 - Michael Jordan

 Michael Jordan’s Bulls of the 1990’s or Steph Curry’s Warriors of the 2010’s? 

 - 1990’s Bulls.  The teams today couldn’t handle the physical nature that teams of the 1990’s and before played with.

Where are you from?

- Peoria, IL     

 What is your basketball history?

- Richwoods High School, Bradley University, Elmhurst College

 What is your role and team? 

- General Manager of the Shredders  

  What brought you to the SBL this season?

 - I was invited to be one of the initial General Manager's for the league after the POBL. 

 Who is your favorite music artist?                        

 - Anything oldies or Motown 

 What is your favorite movie?

 - The 6th Man or Space Jam

 What song gets you ready to play?

 - "Put Your Hands Up In the Air" by Danzel

 What do you do for work?

 - Client relations at Muir Omni Graphics 

 Other than basketball, what is one thing you enjoy in your free time?

 - Watching sports

 What is one thing the league would be surprised to learn about you?

  - I have been embarrassed on ESPN twice

 What is your favorite meal?

 - Tacos

 Who was the most influential person in your life?                   

  - My father and grandfather 

 What is one word that you feel describes you best?          

 - Sarcastic

 Who is your favorite basketball player of all time?

 - Hersey Hawkins

 Michael Jordan’s Bulls of the 1990’s or Steph Curry’s Warriors of the 2010’s? 

 - Warriors