Star attraction

Bryce Alderton

NEWPORT BEACH - Jumping up to battle Tony Gonzalez or Sean Rooks

for a rebound isn’t just a fantasy.

It’s happening in Newport Beach this summer as basketball players from

all walks of life - from the weekend roundballers, to ex-college and

professional athletes and those just looking for a workout after work

gather one night a week to play games in the City of Newport Beach Adult

Basketball League, open to anyone.

The city’s adult basketball league, which 10-year league scorekeeper

Scott Amend said have been around for 20 years, has 10-week sessions each

of the four seasons.

Some players play year-round, but Amend said the summer session

attracts the most number of professional athletes from the NFL and NBA.

Professional athletes such as the NBA’s Cherokee Parks, Sean Rooks,

Scotty Brooks and Corie Bluont, along with Gonzalez, a Kansas City

Chiefs’ tight end, lace up their gym shoes every Wednesday for the games,

which feature two 20-minute halves with a running clock.

After a recent Wednesday night game, Gonzalez stood on the sidelines,

sweat dripping off his face as he waved to his 1 1/2-year-old son Nikko.

The 26-year-old two-time Pro Bowl selection and former standout

basketball and football player at Huntington Beach High and then in

college at UC Berkeley, has played in the adult basketball league since

his college days and likes the competition the league offers.

“The competitive juices get flowing. This is not a rinky-dink league,”

Gonzalez said. “You get guys from overseas, young guys just going off to

college, all types. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Wednesday

night than play some ball. It also keeps me in shape during the

off-season.”

Some teams, such as the Brave Bunny Intergalacitca, have been playing

in the league since 1985.

Newport Beach resident John Harvey, 42, has dribbled and shot the ball

for Brave Bunny since 1985.

Brave Bunny players wore red cut-off T-shirts one recent Wednesday

night as they played PC II.

Proximity to the beach makes the league a no-brainer for Harvey.

“The gyms are two miles from the beach,” Harvey said. “I swim in the

ocean after I play. It’s a great night out of the house for a Wednesday

night.”

Even though Harvey admits playing with and against professional

athletes such as Gonzalez and Rooks can be intimidating, he said most

players are just out there to have fun.

“All that play here are down to earth. They get exercise and have fun

just like the rest of us,” Harvey said. “Everyone plays at the same

level.”

The adult basketball leagues offer a chance for 40-year-old Greg

Hutchison to reunite with friends who play in Australia, but come to

Newport Beach each summer.

“All my friends from overseas come out and have fun,” said Hutchison,

a Dana Point resident, who played college baseball at Jarvis Christian

College in Texas.

The fierceness of the games doesn’t bother Hutchison.

“I get intimidated by no man,” Hutchison said. “I play my own game.”

Players young and old flock to the leagues, including 50-year-old Mike

Bayer, who plays Tuesday and Wednesday nights and who Amend calls, “The

best old guy in the league.”

Former tight end with the New York Jets and San Diego Chargers Wayne

Stewart has also ran up and down the court in the league.

Irvine resident Matt Zaengle, 27, played four years of college

basketball at Azusa Pacific University, and has played year-round in the

league for four years.

He likes the camaraderie and workout he can count on each time he

comes to the gym.

“(I come for) exercise. It’s nothing for fame,” Zaengle said. “I show

up after work. It’s something I can count on every Wednesday night

instead of going to 24-Hour Fitness.

Amend said the two oldest teams in the league are the Fools and the

Sharks.

Games are played Monday through Thursday at four different sites

including the West Newport Community Center, Lincoln Elementary School,

Ensign Junior High and the Eastbluff Boys Club.

Each one of the 90 teams plays 10 games, one a week.

Amend said he thinks the league has the most teams of any league in

Orange County.

“We have different divisions depending on what time you play,” Amend

said.

Games begin each night at 6, 7, 8 and 9 p.m.

Newport residents pay $550 and nonresidents pay $600, Amend said.The

deadline for fall registration is August 9 with games beginning September

9.

Call Newport Beach Community Services at (949) 644-3163 for more

information.