SoCalHoops Tournament Report adidas Big Time Tournament July 15-20, 1998

Single Game Scoring Leaders--(July 20, 1998)

While the "official" word around the Big Time was that they didn't keep stats (unlike the Reebok Holiday Classic, which is put on by the same folks every December, where the stats flow freely and are well printed and available at the media room at the end of every game, the stats were not available at the Big Time), nevertheless, somebody still managed to compile the stats for this tournament. And they did a pretty good job too.

We're going to publish most of them (well, everything they gave us), so that you'll have some objectively verifiable basis to say that this or that player was or was not living up to his (or your) expectations. Hey, stats don't lie, do they?? Well, sometimes there's that "something," that intangible quality of play, whether it's offense or defense that just doesn't show up in the stats. Like how well does a player move without the ball? Does he stand around, or does he go and find somebody and set a pick on him? How good is his footwork? How quick is his step? Can he break down a defense, play with his back to the basket, show that he's got good hands? Even if he isn't a scorer or an assist guy, does he contribute in ways that sometimes don't show up in the records?

If you want the answers to these questions, then you won't necessarily want to look at the following list. However, if you want to know who the biggest single game scoring leaders were, and remember, these guys might just be called "ballhogs" by some of their own teammates, then you'll want to look at the following list. And actually, it's sort of revealing. For most of the single game scoring leaders, their teams didn't make it as far as they might have with a little more team play. In fact, as you go further down the list, it seems that the better each player's team fared overall in the tournament. Want proof? Mad Moves, Inc., with local superstar Kevin Gaines of Las Vegas was the No. 1 single game scoring leader (and he also hit No. 5, and No. 15), but his team, struggled in Pool play, made it to the "A" Division, and lost in the round of 16 of that Division, not terrible, just not spectacular as a team. But there down at No. 35 on the list, next to last in "big scoring single games" was Kelvin Tolbert of the Michigan Mustangs, the team which played for the Open Championship. Coincidence? We think not. Basketball is still a team sport, and the sooner a lot of the young players realize that, the better off they'll be.

But enough preaching. Here's the Single Game Leaders board. Numbers in Brackets indicate All-Time standing in the tournament history.

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