Sonny Hill season set to start

Five Quakers will play in Philadelphia's top summer hoops league. Temple's McGonigle Hall was filled with the sounds of the game on a summer afternoon. The squeaking of sneakers against the freshly waxed floor. The "thud, thud" of the ball being dribbled down the floor. And, of course, Michael Jordan's yelling. "Get it to Big. Pass it to Big." Herm Rogul, historian for the Sonny Hill League, fondly remembers that typical day in a summer of Sonny Hill basketball: "Two years ago, Jordan was at the scorer's table the whole day," Rogul said. "He was yelling at the players for three of the games -- all but his own. That was the first time I heard Geoff Owens called Big." Such memories are the norm in Sonny Hill Basketball, where top players join together in both competitive and more casual leagues, ranging in age level from high school to the Baker League, home of Philadelphia-area professional stars. Five Penn basketball players will be competing in the Hank Gathers Memorial College League -- a division of the Sonny Hill League for athletes who attend college or who played high school basketball in the Philadelphia area. "Philadelphia is a great college basketball town so there's a lot of guys from here that go to school at our schools that are from out of town that are playing here," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "It's been a great league for us to be a part of." The Hank Gathers League consists of 13 teams of eight to 12 players. No college teammates can be on the same squad, so the five Quakers are spread out among five teams. Jordan plays for the Camille Cosby team, Owens for the Doug Overton team, Matt Langel for Pittman/Scott, Oggie Kapetanovic for Gladys Logers and Lamar Plummer for the Rasheed Wallace Foundation. But these teams are not permanent. Players may change teams to balance the talent pool. Or, sometimes, players are needed when others don't show up. "One time we didn't have enough guys and Mike Jordan was sitting on the side and we asked him to come play with us," said Kapetanovic, who sat out last season after transferring from Brown. "That was fun for me because I didn't know any [of the Penn players] yet and I hadn't played much with Mike. He came in and we won, so that was fun for me." Penn's representatives in the league agree that the competition is not as great as in morning workouts with NBA players or as in, say, a regular-season game at Temple, but that is due more to a relaxed atmosphere than a lack of talent. "It's a little less serious than the season but you're still playing hard," Owens said. NCAA rules prohibit basketball players from competing in a league until June 15, so the Sonny Hill League will not begin before that date. Two games are usually played on Monday, two on Friday and four on Saturday morning starting at 10:30 a.m. Official schedules have not been released, but, like the rosters, they will probably change many times during the course of the season. "The schedules aren't written in stone," Rogul said. "They're written in sand." Except for one-minute halftimes, games are played under normal NCAA rules with collegiate officials. The style of play, however, is much different. "You're trying to do what you don't normally do," Kapetanovic said. "I'll try to dribble the ball more. I'll try to drive the ball to the hoop." But despite the seemingly laid-back atmosphere, the players do want to emerge victorious. "Every time I'm out there I try to win," Jordan said. "You play for bragging rights." Scores and statistics are kept, and the league holds a playoff tournament. Last year's winning team was the Pep Boys, led by Temple's Alexander Wesby. Dunphy tries to see each of his athletes play at least once a week, usually during the Saturday quadruple-headers. But the Penn coach does not over-analyze his players in Sonny Hill action. "I want them to be in a non-stressed situation," said Dunphy, who under NCAA rules is only permitted to watch games during a period in July. "We put enough pressure on them during the course of the year so the summer should be a little less stressful." But that's not always the case. "I remember one night [former Penn basketball player] Tim Krug had a great game," Rogul said. "But the next day he didn't play so well, threw a shirt in his coach's face and quit." But Krug could not stay away. He came right back with another team and another coach, realizing the Sonny Hill League is not just another summer basketball league. "It's as fine a summer league as there is around," Dunphy said.

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