The First Annual Arkansas Mustang Invitational

The Kansas Players travelled to Springdale, Arkansas, for the first annual Arkansas Mustang Invitational basketball tournament, held on January 19-21. There were nine teams entered in an elite 5th grade division.

How did the Players do in Springdale?

I have to say that the Mustangs Invitational was very well run from an operations standpoint for a first-year tournament. Since the field of teams was relatively small, all of the games were held in the same facility. That made it easy for teams to watch each other -- which always builds up the excitement in a tournament. Overall, the referees were solid, which is always a plus.

The best thing about the tournament, though, was the level of competition.

As I mentioned before, there were only 9 teams in the 5th grade division. But they were quality teams: the Texas Titans, the Kansas Players; the Arkansas Tigers, and the Houston RYTES Warriors; the Oklahoma Storm; the St. Louis Majestics. The up-and-coming KC Tarheels made their regional debut at this tournament, as well.

To begin with, on Saturday, the Kansas Players played pool games against the OK Storm and the Texas Titans.

The Players beat the Storm 41-23, but I've got to give big props to their big man, Douglas -- if you're reading this, you know who I'm talking about. This kid is amazing -- and was arguably the best big man in the 5th grade division in this tournament.

The Players' second game was against the Texas Titans, a team pretty well known in AAU basketball circles not only for their success on the basketball court, but for the fact that they're financed (in high style) by a billionaire. There are a lot of people who hate on the Titans for both of these reasons, but I thought they were a class act. They appear to hold themselves to a very high standard, and not only on the basketball court -- players, parents and coaches are all showed great sportsmanship and were a lot of fun to be around.

Back to the game. . .

The Titans came out with both guns blazing, led by powerhouse guard Austin Grandstaff, and the Players' backcourt seemed a little intimidated by the Titan firepower at first. The Titans looked as if they would control the game from the outset, and managed to build up a 15-point lead.

All it takes is one Player to show some heart, though, and the rest of the team will follow. In this case, it was Anthony Masinton-Bonner. Masinton-Bonner, a natural combo-guard, was playing the post because of his aggression and athleticism. He continually swiped rebounds and caused Titan fouls in the paint, confusing and frustrating the Titan big men. Due to the fact that he's a guard first, Masinton-Bonner was able to out-maneuver the more traditional Titan big men, hitting some well-timed shots in the paint and easily eluding the bigger but slower Titan big men. Teammates Roman Young and Weston Hack provided cover by hitting three-point shots from the perimeter, leaving the Titans confused about who to guard.

What started out as looking like a boring blowout by the Titans turned very exciting, thanks to the leadership and the physical inside-outside game Masinton-Bonner and the sharp shooting of his teammates. In fact, the Players battled the 15-point deficit and tied the game 42-42 with just one minute left in the game. It was anybody's game as the clock wound down. Turns out it was the Titans' game, as they beat us 46-42 in that final minute. It was a loss the Players shouldn't feel too bad about though, since it would have and could have gone either way at the end.

I didn't realize it until after the game ended, but the game had drawn quite a crowd by the time the final buzzer sounded, and the efforts of players on both teams were commented on across the gym.

Note: Fittingly enough, both the Titans and the OK Storm were staying in the same hotel as the Players and this reporter were. That gave some of us the opportunity to meet, hang out and get to know each other a little bit. This reporter was impressed by the people I met from all teams. Shout-outs if you're reading, Titans and Storm!

On Sunday, the Players started out playing the KC Tarheels. After beating them, 48-30, we faced the St. Louis Majestics, led by dynamic guard Ryan Williams, in a tough game that was marred by some real issues with the clockkeeper, a Majestics parent who kept playing with the score and letting time run off the clock. The constant arguing over the status of the score and clock killed momentum for both teams. The Majestics pulled out the slim victory, though, in a pretty ugly game. The Players left the court feeling as though they hadn't played a real basketball game.

The loss to the Majestics left the Players at 2-2, and unable to compete for the championship. So they played their final game against the Arkansas Tigers, in a game you can only play for pride. The Tigers wanted the victory much more than the Players at that point, though, and ended up winning after building a big point margin and holding on even against a Player push at the end. Congratulations to the Tigers' coaching staff for showing their kids that every victory has meaning!

Update: See my report on the Keys Tournament for the results of the Players' rematch with the Tigers a month after the Mustang Invitational.

So who won the Arkansas Mustang Invitational? The Texas Titans beat the Houston RYTES Warriors in the championship. Congratulations to both for making it to the championship -- and congratulations to the Titans on the championship.