Local All-Stars Close but No Cigar in 33rd Cap

Ron Bailey, Pubisher

Capital Classic's National All-Star Squad

April 17, 2006 – Last Thursday, the venerable Capital Classic was again a premier showcase of Washington, DC area and national basketball talent, as it has been since 1974 (with the exception of a three year period from 2002-2004 in which it operated under different sponsorship). Over that period of time, not including the aforementioned three years, the game’s format has been one in which local players take on a crew of players who grew up elsewhere in the country.

From a provincial perspective, the game has boasted the likes of Eddie Basden, Michael Sweetney, Steve Blake, Keith Booth, Juan Dixon, Michael Smith, Grant Hill, Walt Williams, Pat Ewing, and Thurl Bailey. Over the years, the national team has had the likes of James Worthy, Derek Harper, Bryant Stith, Baron Davis, and Michael Jordan. This impressive list is but a snapshot of the cavalcade of stars who have participated in the Capital Classic, over its existence.

During these 33 contests, the team of national all-stars had won 19 times, losing 10. Make that 20-10 now, as the U.S. All-Stars held onto a late lead to win at George Washington University’s Smith Center, 120-117 over the Capital All-Stars. University of Michigan signee DeShawn Sims (23 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block) led all scorers and was named MVP, while Potomac High School’s Bobby Shannon (20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals) paced the Capital team.

The local team garnered a firm lead of 11 points by the middle of the second quarter, in part due to the exploits of future Eastern Carolina student Athlete Hillary “Pops” Hailey (14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) and soon-to-be-Maryland Terp Greivis Vasquez (13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2 steals). Hailey was central to a 17-6 run his team engineered by repeatedly slashing to the basket and scoring either via stop and pop shots, or by finishing at the rim. Vasquez, for his part, scored at the rim with layups (including stick-backs), and exhibited on court leadership. Hailey and Vasquez would tally nine and 10 points by halftime, respectively.

Antonio Cooper, Nigel Munson, and Hailey (fr. lft) before the game

Trailing 55-49 at the break and 78-70 well into the third quarter, the U.S. All-Stars, coached by Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) H.S.’s Bob Cimmino employed a very effective 1-2-1-1 trapping press. That defensive set was executed well, though UConn-bound Jerome Dyson (7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 4 steals), himself a Montgomery County, Maryland product, revealed they didn’t’ spend much time on it since “We came out and practiced it one day”.

The defensive switch was key to a 9-0 scoring advantage creating an 85-80 lead for the U.S. team, going into the fourth quarter. Coach George Wake (Fairmount Height’s H.S), who was chosen to lead the Capital team as a result of 33 years of molding young men in Prince George’s County Maryland, acknowledged his opponent’s 1-2-1-1, but thought more was responsible for their scoring run: “We didn’t handle it (the 1-2-1-1) very well. We threw the ball side to side instead of throwing the vertical pass…That hurt us, but I thought the second shots hurt us more than anything else. Even though when they went to the press and even though they stole the ball and hit some and missed some, they got the second shots, and got it going”.

The U.S. would never increase their five point lead the rest of the way. If it wasn’t for the play of Sims and Dyson, they could well have lost the game. Sims consistently scored around the basket or from the foul line. Dyson started to play much more aggressively, as he stated, “I think I played a little lax the first couple of quarters so I wanted to come out and play strong, and pick up the defense”.

After Georgetown-bound Jeremiah Rivers (3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) sank one of two free throws earned attacking the rim for the U.S. All-Stars, the Capital team’s future Virginia Tech Hokie, Nigel Munson (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) sank a jumper with 38.2 seconds to go. That shot trimmed the U.S. All-Star’s lead to 116-113, and set up some near-heroics by the Capital team’s Shannon.

Capital All-Star Team Photo

During the next timeout, Wake, as he had been doing for a significant portion of the final stanza, deployed his players in full court pressure. Shannon took a chance defensively, which resulted in a steal. He then raced down court and launched a three-pointer that just rimmed out. Afterward, when asked to replay what he was thinking during this sequence, shared “We were down by three, with the clock running”, and as such took the open shot – a shot that was an open look he is capable of making. This time around, it just missed falling.

All game, Shannon was an offensive force, who repeatedly drove the ball to the hoop for thunderous dunks, and hit open shots; he was a virtual offensive dynamo. According to him, his focus was to “come out and have fun with my teammates…try and keep my teammates in it as much as I can, but at the same time get off…I just took what they (the U.S. team) gave me”.

Shannon (rt.), with father, Bobby Shannon, Sr.

Despite the loss, he felt a sense of pride for participating in the game. Hailey was of the same opinion, stating “It was fun. I’ll never forget this experience”, while lamenting “We had the lead, we just kind of let it slip away”.

This version of the Capital Classic can even be labeled a family affair, as Evan Baker, an Archbishop Carroll guard who participated in the event’s first game (District vs. Suburban All-Stars) and Dyson are cousins. Baker, said he "wanted to be on the Capital team to play with him before we got to college”, but is happy he and his cousin performed well in their respective contests. Dyson would state, “It’s nice to have family in the game”, and understands the fact he and Baker both played is something to remember for years.

So concludes another Capital Classic. Shannon, Vasquez, Baker, Benjamin Thomas, Munson and Sims made the all-event team. The truth is all of the young men, in both games, should be saluted, as well as the parents, family, coaches and friends that helped them to this point. In that regard, the Capital Classic is as much a celebration of local hoops as it is an all-star game.