With the first week of the inaugural WSBA behind us, let’s take a more in depth look at the Racers roster and their first week of action.
Roster:The Racers are led by 31 year old 5 star rated SF Brent Delea. Delea is the cornerstone of the franchise. He gets along great with the coach, team and organization as a whole. And of course he’s a fan favorite. But he’s also making #33M, $32M and $38M over the next 3 seasons. So the Racers are obviously in a win now mode.
Shawn Robinson ( 3.0/3.0) will get the start at center. Robinson is 32 years old with 11 years experience. He’s signed to the Racers for the next 4 years ($30M, $31M, $31M & $29M)
The backcourt will be led with 27 year old Joey Morrisy (2.5/2.5). The 27 year old from Yale isd under contract for the next two seasons making $15.5M each.
28 year old Harris Malone (2.5/2.5) will get the start at the shooting guard position. He’s currently just under contract for this upcoming season.
The weakest spot on the Racers roster will be the power forward position. 24 year old Steve Reid (2.0/2.5) will be starting the season but head coach Shomari Morrison has said there is no clear cut leader at this position. The other potential starter at this position is 24 year old Shawn Ely (1.5/2.0).
The Racers played 7 games this week. Starting with opening the season hosting the Detroit Gears. Delea would lead the Racers with 23 points in his 39 minutes of action. But it wouldn’t be enough as the Gears would walk out of Racers Fieldhouse with a 13 point win. Delea would also grab 7 rebounds with 5 assists.
Forward Jeff Lyles led the Detriot Gears in scoring with 23 points.
10/21/20 – The Racers then traveled to Cleveland to take on the 0-1 Knights. Brent Delea once again led the Racers, this time with a double double of 19 points,12 rebounds and 5 assists. Center Shawn Robinson added 13 with 5 rebounds. But the bench for the Racers only scored 25 points.
The Knights were led by forward Marvin McDonald who scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
10/23/20 – 2 days later the Racers would travel to Detroit to take on the Gears for the 2nd time this season. This outing didn’t go much better for the Racers. The Racers were out scored 46-26 in the paint, 12-8 on second chance and 16-9 on fast break to lose by 10 112-102. Brent Delea would once again show he’s the leader of the team, scoring 39 points while playing 39 minutes. He’d also have 10 rebounds and 2 assists. Guard Joey Morrisey would add 18 points with 7 assists.
Once again the bench hurt the Racers, only scoring 24 points and getting outscored 41-26 by the Gears bench. The Gears were led by forward Darijus Vasiliauskas who scored 26 points with 11 rebounds.
The Racers now move to 0-3 on the season.
10/25/20 – The Racers would finish up their road trip facing the Brooklyn Hoops. It’s becoming the story of the first week, Brent Delea leads the team, this time scoring 27 points with 5 rebounds. Center Shawn Robinson would have a strong game though, scoring his season high of 14 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds. But it still wouldn’t be enough as the Racers would lose by 11.
Once again the bench was a weak link. Racers bench shot a horrible 6-29 from the field and no player had more than 7 points.
The Hoops were led by 26 year old forward Larry Brittian, who scored 23 points with 5 rebounds.
10/27/20 – The Racers finally come back to their friendly confines of Racers Fieldhouse to host the Cleveland Knights. And would finally pick up their first win of the season. Guard Joey Morrisey decided to put on a show for the 17,983 in attendance, scoring his season high of 26 points with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. For the first time so far this season, Brent Delea wasn’t one of the top two scorers, as forward Steve Reid would score 25 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Delea would add in 19 points with 12 rebounds.
The Knights were led by forward Derrick Taylor who scored 22 points in his 22 minutes. He’d also grab 4 rebounds with 4 assists.
10/28/20 – The Racers finish up their quick 2 game homestand while hosting the Chicago Bison. The Bison dominated the Racers in the paint, outscoring them 52-20. The Racers did outscore the Bison on 2nd chance points, 6-2 and fast break points 12-9. But it wouldn’t be enough as the Bison would walk out of Racers Fieldhouse with a win, 110-87.
Justin Brown was awarded player of the game for the Bison, scoring 19 points with 11 assists and 17 rebounds. Brent Delea led the Racers with 29 points with 6 rebounds.
10/31/20 – The Indian Racers close out the first week of the season with a trip to Charlotte to take on the winless Wasps. The Racers would see 2 starters score 35 points each. Brent Delea had 35 with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Guard Joey Morrisey would be the other to score 35, he’d also have 5 rebounds and 8 assists.
Guard Stephane Larson led the Wasps with 19 points with 6 rebounds.
So at the end of 1st week of the season the Indiana Racers are currently 2-5 and are tied for last in the Central Division with the Cleveland Knights.