Defending MBL champs CourtKings put on an ‘exhibition’ at new CC gym

By John Burbridge sports@charlespress.com

CHARLES CITY — If the Harlem Globetrotters are in need of another slick guard, Anthony James deserves an audition.

The former University of Northern Iowa star may not yet have developed the comedic theatrics that are required to make the roster, but James can sure put “Globetrotting Baller” on his resume.

“I’ve played in Mexico, I’ve played in Portugal … Venezuela,” said James, who twice led the Panthers in scoring and was an All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team selection his senior year.

“It’s an all-year thing for me,” James said. “If I’m not playing, I’m training.”

Shortly after graduating from the UNI program in 2013, James — like most talented ex-college players — had NBA dreams.

“When I was younger, I thought that was possible,” said James, who’s listed at 6-foot tall, a tough height to garner interest from NBA scouts. “But now I’m focused on using what I learned in college to help the community, and teach and instruct youths in basketball while staying close to the game.

“And I’m also focused on winning another title with the CourtKings.”

The Cedar Valley CourtKings, based in Waterloo, won the inaugural Midwest Basketball League title last summer. James, as well as fellow former UNI star Marvin Singleton, were a part of that team.

In their first game since winning the title, the CourtKings took on the Wisconsin Game Changers on Sunday afternoon inside the new competition gym at Charles City Middle School.

In addition to giving the new backboards and rims a thorough testing — a finish by Game Changer Cornelius Steel left one of the backboards off-kilter prompting a short delay — the teams also made sure the new scoreboards can withstand the rigors of Division 1-Overseas Pro open-court play.

The CourtKings won, 137-124, despite allowing the Game Changers to score 78 points in the second half.

Wakefield Ellis, a North Carolina native who came to CourtKings early last season after the automobile-accident death of the team’s starting point guard Rashad Carrington, led the winners with 23 points.

Raheem Tayler added 19 points, James scored 17 while leading the team in assists, Johnny Jackson had 16, Alex Houston and Aundre Hicks both had 14, and Dylan Hale scored 12 to lead the CourtKings’ seven-players-in-double-digits attack.

Steven Baker, the Game Changers’ team captain who often serves as a hard-nosed coach on the floor, led all scorers with 51 points. Steel and James DeVault had 26 and 22 points, respectively, for Wisconsin.

The CourtKings are not at full strength as Singleton and Andre Norris, who like James were MBL All-Stars last season, are still playing professionally out of the country and won’t join the CourtKings until their season’s are over.

Another returning player, Raijon Kelly, is currently playing in Lithuania.

After the game, members of the CourtKings signed autographs and visited with basketball fans at The Pub on the Cedar, which was the main sponsor of the event.

The CourtKings are owned by husband-and-wife Gary and Marla Rima of Charles City.

The CourtKings will start the season on April 8 when they travel to take on the Milwaukeee Storm.

The following Sunday (April 9) starting at 7:30 p.m., they will hold their home opener against the Minnesota Broncos  at the Cedar Valley SportsPlex in Waterloo.

“This team has a lot of good chemistry,” James said. “We still need to work on things on the defensive end, and boxing out better on rebounds.”

CourtKings season tickets are available online at cvcourtkings.com or by calling 319-404-5941.