I haven’t watched a basketball game at the Washington Avenue Armory in over a year, and I haven’t photographed one at that building in two years. And to be totally honest, I wasn’t planning on photographing a game there in the foreseeable future.
Then I got an e-mail from Kip Leonetti, the Vice President of Operations for the International Basketball League’s Bellingham Slam team. They were going to be in Albany Friday night to play in the championship game against the Albany Legends, and if it was possible, could I photograph the game for them?
Leonetti remembered me from the time I photographed the American Basketball Association championship tournament back in Rochester in 2006. At that time, the Slam had Caleb Gervin (yes, he’s related to George “The Iceman” Gervin), who dropped 47 points in a quarterfinal loss.
I said I would help him out.
So Friday night, I walked back into the Washington Avenue Armory to photograph the championship tournament. And it was almost as if I never left. Jim Malone was overseeing the scorer’s table, Jay Silverman was on the microphone. Art Huntsinger kept the audio working in the building, while Jimmy was patrolling the security area. I caught up with Patroons season ticket holders – many of whom were still in the same seats as the last time I saw them. I remembered every nook and cranny in the Armory – especially the ones where I would get photos that nobody else could.
It was at that point that I checked over the rosters for the two teams. When I photograph in the PBL, I always look to see if the roster contains any “Patroons quotient” – i.e., was there anybody on the roster who played for or coached for the Patroons. This time around, I was looking for “PBL quotient” – and while the Legends had four guys with PBL experience (Rashad Woods and Jermaine Tate from the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry, DeAndre Thomas from the Halifax Rainmen and Gordon Klaiber from the Maryland GreenHawks), the Slam actually had one-half of PBL quotient (Ken Ottrix was drafted last year by the Vermont Frost Heaves, but was released prior to the start of the season).
Unfortunately, Klaiber couldn’t play in the championship game – bone bruise or something, I’m not sure – but he was there to accept his award as MVP of the Continental Division of the IBL (Mayor Jerry Jennings handed out the MVP awards).
I should let you know that my experiences in the Armory have always been to bundle up as much as possible, because the heat in the building was faulty at best. Then I realized that this game was being played in JULY – in the middle of a HEAT WAVE – and the Armory had rented four huge fans to circulate the hot, stale air all around the building. Fun stuff. Good thing the place didn’t run out of icy diet colas.
Then the game began. And it’s like I never lost a step. Shots from the corner. Shots from the balcony. Shots from the upper reaches of the bleachers. Floor shots. Halfcourt shots. And of course, I got dunk shots from both teams.
In the end, the Legends took home the championship chalice, and the sentimental part of me – the one that doesn’t root directly for a team – applauded for Legends coach Derrick Rowland. I will argue to the death that Derrick Rowland is without a doubt the most recognizable and well-loved athlete to come from the Albany professional sports scene. He won two championships as a player with the Patroons (1984 and 1988), and now he has a coaching title as well.
And for that matter, Jermaine Tate and Rashad Woods have both won their second pro championship of the year; both were with Lawton-Fort Sill when the Cavs took the PBL championship over Rochester.
And for those of you who couldn’t get to the game, here’s a slideshow of moments from the 2010 IBL Championship series. Enjoy!
Chuck The Writer 