NBA All-Stars Kevin Durant, John Wall and Russell Westbrook will be coming to the Walter Pyramid for a Pro-Am league all-star game Sunday, Oct. 9, the Long Beach State athletic department confirmed Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The Los Angeles-based Drew League will face off against the Washington, D.C.-based Goodman League in a rematch of last month’s 135-134 offensive thriller won by Goodman.
The popularity of these two summer leagues was boosted this past summer when the NBA locked out its players July 1. Many NBA players have turned to various summer leagues around the country to continue playing competitive basketball during the lockout.
The first game between the respective summer leagues was held at Trinity University in Washington, D.C. Aug 20 in front of 1,500 attendees. Many who bought tickets to the highly anticipated exhibition were turned away at the door. The Pyramid’s listed capacity is 5,000.
According to the Drew League Facebook page, ticket prices have been set for $25 and $30 for standard seating and $100 for floor seats.
Drew League Commissioner Dino Smiley announced Monday that the rematch between the two leagues was scheduled to be played at the Pyramid via Twitter: “The Big Pay Back” Drew vs. Goodman Game will be at Long Beach State University. Ticket purchases can be made online [through www.drewleague.com] and the campus box office on 9/28.”
Long Beach State Athletic Director Vic Cegles echoed Smiley’s announcement via his Twitter account Tuesday morning: “[Long Beach State athletics] is proud to host the [Drew League] vs. Goodman League rematch on Oct. 9 at the [Walter Pyramid]. Get ready for a show.”
Long Beach State Assistant Athletic Director Todd Miles said the Drew League contacted Pyramid officials about using the venue for the game after approaching several other schools.
“It’s a standard third-party rental agreement like all the other non-athletic department events held at the Pyramid,” Miles said. “We don’t get anything from the tickets and there is no agreement at this time for them to promote Long Beach State.
However, Miles said the exhibition game will provide the Long Beach State program with a reasonable amount of notoriety.
“Obviously with the event being in the Pyramid, we get some promotion thanks to our signage in the building and on the court. “
The Pyramid hosted Pro-Am games from 1995 to 2007 with prospective NBA players participating, but it has never hosted an organized exhibition game with players of this magnitude.
Durant, who earned the scoring title for the 2010-2011 NBA season, led Goodman to a victory over Drew the last game with 44 points and blocked his Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden at the buzzer to secure the win.
Harden, who played in the Drew League this past summer will play in the upcoming exhibition along with several other LA-born NBA players. USA Today reported that the Drew League’s roster will feature Trevor Ariza (New Orleans Hornets), rookie Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves), Dorrell Wright (Golden State Warriors) and Nick Young (Washington Wizards).
None of these players participated in the first game, but the Drew League had NBA players Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks), DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors) and James Harden (Thunder) already are on their roster.
Drew League MVP and Long Beach State point guard Casper Ware didn’t participate in the game due to NCAA rules and won’t be playing in the upcoming rematch either.
“I’m not allowed to play anywhere during school,” Ware said. “I believe it’s going to be a great game like last time.”
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