SlamBall, the fast-paced, gravity-defying sport that combines elements of basketball, football, hockey and trampolines, looks to build on an opening weekend that brought international attention and sold-out crowds and was the talk of the sports world, in Week 2, four straight action-packed days beginning tonight at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on EPSN2.
As Week Two gets underway, here are 10 Things to Know with 12 games on tap through Sunday.
- This weekend’s schedule is set with the following contests and TV schedule (John Schriffen, Jon Dorenbos and Stormy Buonantony on the call):
- Thursday, July 27, beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, ESPN2
- Lava (0-2) vs. Gryphons (0-2)
- Ozone (1-2) vs. Mob (4-0)
- Winners/Main Event
- Friday, July 28, beginning 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN+
- Wrath (3-1) vs. Buzzsaw (3-1)
- Rumble (0-2) vs. Slashers (1-2)
- Winners/Main Event
- Saturday, July 29, beginning 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT, ESPN+
- Buzzsaw vs. Lava
- Gryphons vs. Slashers
- Winners/Main Event
- Sunday, July 30, beginning 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
- Mob vs. Wrath
- Ozone vs Rumble
- Winners/Main Event
- Thursday, July 27, beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, ESPN2
- The Mob was the talk of the first weekend, rinsing their opponents by an average of 29 points. They have scored a league-best 64.3 ppg and permitted a SlamBall-low 35.3. Brendan Kirsch was named Week 1 Coach of the Week and three players, handler Cameron Horton (Jacksonville, Ala), stopper Gage Smith (Elizabeth, Colo.) and gunner Darius Clark (Blue Springs, Mo.) were all named to the Week 1 All-SlamBall team.
- Overall No. 1 draft pick Bryce Moragne (Tampa, Fla.) more than lived up to the hype, pumping in 49 points in two narrow Lava losses, in being named 5th Man of the Week
- It’s SlamBall League: Series 6, after all, and on the second night, a longstanding single-game scoring record was run down, with Offensive Player of the Week Ty McGee (Littleton, Colo.) of the Wrath slamming in 43 points, including, incredibly, the teams first 22, to supplant the mark of 42 held by current Slashers head coach Stanley “Shakes” Fletcher. McGee, who is in concussion protocol, will be inactive this week.
- The entry draft in any sport provides its down-ballot surprises, and SlamBall is no exception. The Slashers have to be ecstatic that they were able to grab gunner Naradain James (Kalamazoo, Mich.) in the sixth round after his 22 points in three games. The Buzzsaw picked up an impact player in gunner Malik Abdul-Haqq (Seattle) four selections later, as the ballhawk scored 24 points and had 21 loose ball recoveries, fifth best in the league, in their 3-1 week. And a seventh-rounder who burst onto the scene and made an immediate impact was Rumble handler JaeTuan Wiliams (Warren, Ohio), whose 10 points and 18 LBR’s moved the needle.
- “Slam” is part of the name, and so far slam dunks have been all the rage. The Gryphons and Lava may both be 0-2, but they are the most effective dunkers in the league. The Gryphons (72.7%) and Lava (72.5%) are the only two teams in the league that have made more than 70% of their dunk attempts.
- Outside shooting hasn’t seen similar success for most teams, as three- (outside of the trampolines but inside the arc) and four-point shots (outside the arc) are rarely taken. The Rumble have a combined five made shots in those categories (three three-pointers and two four-pointers), and the league is a collective 5/25 (20%) from three and a 7/69 (10.1%) from four.
- The Ozone have had plenty of layers in their 1-2 start, suffering to blowout defeats to the Buzzsaw (26 points) and Wrath (27) but beat the talented Lava by four. The return to health of Bryan Bell-Anderson (Sarasota, Fla.), the Ozone’s first-round pick, should help. He missed most of training camp with an injury and was held scoreless in 20 minutes over the first two games. But the high-flier dropped in six points in 13 minutes in the Ozone’s most recent game.
- Another team looking to get a big boost from the return of a key injured player is the Buzzsaw, which gets handler Raymond Taylor (Wichita, Kan.) back after a hand injury kept him out of most of training camp and all of Week 1.
- A snapshot of league leaders (see sortable stats at https://app.scorebreak.io/federation/136/main):
- Points: McGee 91, Clark 83, Moragne 49
- Assists: Horton 14, Brandon Simpson (Mob) 10, Nathaniel Harris (Lava) 9
- Loose Ball Recoveries: Smith 37, Steven Julian III (Wrath) 32, McGee 26
- Stops: Smith 40, Tyquan Scott (Buzzsaw) 39, Shawn Stith (Wrath) 28
About SlamBall:
SlamBall is a one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment property with a rich history of success in the United States and in markets around the world. After being dormant in the United States for 15 years, SlamBall returns for its sixth season this summer in Las Vegas. SlamBall is an exhilarating and action-packed sport that seamlessly merges basketball, football, hockey, and acrobatics into one thrilling experience, highlighted by gravity-defying trampoline-assisted dunks and dynamic, video-game-like plays. From its earlier iterations, SlamBall already has an enormous global audience across all major digital platforms. It has a large and passionate fanbase that is clamoring for the sport’s comeback. The hashtag #BringBackSlamBall has garnered more than 500 million views on social media. For additional information, visit https://slamballleague.com/.