Players shine in 19U league
Anne Arundel high school hoopers show Tunnel Vision
In a normal year, Broadneck junior Josh Ehrlich would be occupying a football field for his third-straight season as the Bruins’ starting quarterback.
The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t give him that chance, nor any other public school player yet this fall.
And yet, each Saturday and Sunday for a month, Ehrlich and a slew of other Anne Arundel players took to the Pip Moyer Recreation Center basketball courts in Annapolis to play in the first-ever Tunnel Vision 19U High School league.
Each team played eight regular-season games in the league, which began Sept. 12 and concluded Sunday with two semifinal games and a championship — all that went to overtime. The seventh-seeded Team Heat (4-4), made up of mostly North County players, knocked off No. 5 Go Gettas (4-4),
consisting primarily of Meade players, for the title.
Both teams notched a set of upsets to reach that point. The Meade-filled squad took down No. 3Wildcats (6-2), filled with Arundel players, and Broadneck (7-1), which was the top seed, in the semifinals.
Team Heat meanwhile vanquished two private-school populated teams to reach the final, third-seeded Eagles (7-1) and sixthseeded Assisted Living (4-4).
“It’s exactly what summer league basketball was, just outdoors and a little deeper into what would have been football season,” Ehrlich said.
Basketball training, something Ehrlich’s never done this time of year before, was a gear shift and took him some time. Ultimately, he said, the league gave him a chance to increase his skills.
“I was super excited when this first started because we couldn’t play football and I just wanted to get back out there on the playing field and compete,” Ehrlich said. “I’m sure the other guys on the team felt the exact sameway.”
The league’s founder, William “Fatman” Brooks, put the league together after the success of the inaugural Tunnel Vision League over the summer.
“I got a lot of great feedback from the parents,” Brooks said. “They loved the league, ‘Thank you for doing it, we appreciate it.’ Iwas surprised by that.”
Brooks has three children of his own. He understands why the parents asked for it. The kids don’t go to school and, frankly, don’t get out too much.
All players had their temperatures taken and filled out a coronavirus symptoms questionnaire. Anyone sitting on the bench, including coaches, had towear masks, as did spectators entering the building.
On Sunday, the last two games were played indoors.
If coronavirus case numbers don’t increase, Brooks said he hopes to provide more opportunities for players before the start of the high school basketball season.
“I knowit gives them a sense of normalcy for the kids,” Brooks said. “They just wanted to play. They loved it.”
Coaches and league staff named a firstteam: senior Byron Ireland, who played two seasons at Annapolis before transferring to St. Frances Academy (Gophers); his school teammate junior Elijah Davis (Go Gettas); Ehrlich (Broadneck); Good Counsel’s Antonio Avery (Eagles), Arundel senior Tyson Brooks (Wildcats); North County senior O’Meech Wilson (Team Heat); Rock Creek Christian Academy’s Carron Brown (Assisted Living) and Meade junior Nasir Brockington (Go Gettas).
Ehrlich was named league most-valuable player.
“It feels really good. There’s a lot of really good players out there. Looking around, therewere kids flying and dunking,” Ehrlich said. “It was cool to win that award over a couple of these other dudes that were out there.”
Ehrlich viewed the experience as a great chance for a very young Broadneck basketball squad to jell before the high school season, especially considering how different the squad might look this year since the Bruins graduated all of its height.
“I think the county is going to be tough this year but I’m confident with our team,” Ehrlich said. “We are disciplined, we play together. We play defense and we’re leading our defense most of the year. If we play defense, I don’t think there’s any team that can stop us.”