May 22, 2008
Get ready to Rumble in the Bay!
The 7th Annual Patrick Dennehy Memorial Day Tournament is fast approaching, scheduled for May 24-26. Also called the Rumble in the Bay, this year's edition will feature over 80 teams playing at Santa Clara University, Cupertino and Lynbrook high schools among other locations. The defending champions, Los Angeles Dream Team (LADT) led by Renardo Sidney, will be returning to defend the title.
Renardo Sidney
Get your seat pads ready, break out the comfortable clothing and bring some provisions as the Patrick Dennehy Memorial Tournament -- aka the Rumble in the Bay -- is almost here. The Bay Area Ballers-hosted event is the major tip off to the summer club team season and is one of the largest during-the-school-year events in the country.
For some historical perspective, the Rumble in the Bay hosted 21 teams when it was first held seven years ago -- a vivid example illustrating the growth of one of the very, very few non-affiliated events of this size.
This year, a special thanks goes out to Coach Kerry Keating and his Santa Clara men's basketball staff for their assistance in securing more than one playing venue on the Santa Clara campus. A scheduling conflict has eliminated San Jose State as a site this go-around.
Last year's top Rumble In The Bay performer, Renardo Sidney, is back. A year ago, he and his LA Dream Team mates topped the Oakland Soldiers 69-57 in the tourney final. The Dream Team has so far run roughshod over its competition, having beaten Team Breakdown out of Florida, Virginia's Boo Williams, Team Odom of Los Angeles, California Supreme, Utah Pump-and-Run and DFW among others. These squads are among the creme of the national club team crop so any crew looking to bounce LADT out of Rumble In The Bay better bring its A+ game.
Besides the handful that is Sidney, Riverside Martin Luther King boardman Kawhi Leonard who is #106 in the Rivals ratings, 5-10 Antonio Bigelow of Sylmar, Lynwood's Allen Giles, Dorsey's Nigel Carter, Dominique O.Conner of Westchester, Eric Lawton of Hemet's West Valley, Beverly Hills' Julius Von Hanzlik and Tariq Muhammad out of Georgia dot the Dream Team roster.
It's expected that such other Rivals Top 150 players as Reeves Nelson, Greg Smith, Jared Cunningham, Chris Brew, Xavier Thames, Chase Tapley and Niyi Harrison will be among the competitors on the various courts.
Look for the schedule of games to be available late Tuesday evening at the Bay Area Ballers web site at www.bayareaballers.org/.
Keep checking with NorCalPreps.com for further player and team updates prior to the event.
And who knows, maybe Michael Buffer will be on tap this time around to begin the tourney with his trademark "Let's get ready to ruuuuumble."