California Fighting Cocks
Team History
Season 19
California finished with a phenomenal record of 70 – 10 to clinch yet another Division Title. However, they missed the home court advantage throughout the playoffs by 1 game. You read that correctly. The Brooklyn Rage finished the season 71 and 9. This turned out to be a crucial game as the Fighting Cocks were knocked out by the Rage in the conference finals 4- 2. The Rage went on to sweep the Paris Honey Bees with 4 easy wins. I mean easy. Brooklyn won by an average of 35 points per game. Yet again California was the 1st or 2nd best team in the league. but derailed in the playoffs.
The team was led of course by Hassan watt and Kurt Beck. Watt averaged 27 points and Beck was at 24. This duo still has many seasons of potential finals runs left in them. Watt has yet to even hit his prime, which California fans have been anticipating for almost a decade. His progress is right on track and looks MVP level promising. Management will be looking to add a younger defensive center in the offseason and maybe a talented veteran that can play on both sides of the ball. Brooklyn looks to be on the downward spiral finally and their management seems to be at a loss of how to keep up. The future is bright in California!
Season 20
Déjà vu anybody! California finally did it. They finished two games in front of the Rage to win the conference with a 69-11. This spurred the Fighting Cocks through the playoffs to face the Rage in the Conference Finals. Not surprisingly the favorites to win lost their best player Hassan Watt 30 minutes into the second game of the series. California ended up losing this game by 3 points at home and went on to lose the series 4-2. This allowed the second best team in the league, the Honey Bees, to go on and win the championship over the Rage 4-2. I literally copied this statement from last season’s history “Yet again the 1st or 2nd best team in the league derailed in the playoffs.” What does this California team have to do.
Once again Hassan Watt led the team to the conference championship, but along side his long time teammate Kurt Beck, he now had some huge additions including the best small forward in the game, Dan Kincaide and maybe the most dominant defensive center in marc White. The defensive devil, Jesse Sczygiel was still at the helm stealing balls at the point guard position. This team is poised to win and management has guaranteed their loyal fans to bring a trophy home next season!!
Season 21
21 season and the California Organization has finally done it!!! They finally brought homer the Championship. The dastardly Rage has dropped off to a 50 win team with poor planning and lack of foresight, where as the Fighting Cocks finished the season with an impressive 7-10 season. The long time core got it done. Led by Hassan Watt and his 33 points per night. This earned Watt the nod for MVP of the league. His long time mentor Kurt Beck dropped in 21 points as well as the new stalwart Kincaid at another 21 points. The brains of the organization was still Mighty Mouse, Jesse Szcyigel, pick pocketing fools at the PG spot. Marc White was thought to be way to expensive, but his defense is the heart of this team. Him being the anchor down low can not be overhyped. This is how you have to spend money if you want to compete in this tough of a league. California accomplished this amazing feat by having the second best offense, defense and rebounding in the entire league. Now we know what can happen if the team is lucky enough to avoid injuries…
Season 22
This was a tough ending to the season for The California Organization. After winning the championship in both leagues last season, The Fighting Cocks cam up short against Jervan Timmons in a 7 game series. The Banneys did come home once again with the championship, but Timmons was ridiculous in the finals. Hassan Watt once again dominated through the season averaging 32 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists playing at the point guard position. Management has committed to getting him back to the shooting guard spot for the future. Matias Guttierez was the big trade addition during the season and made the difference, but longtime vets Kurt Beck and Dan Kincaide came up huge again this season averaging over 20 points per contest. Marc White and Szcygiel were still defensive juggernauts, but are starting to show their age. Jesse had to come off the bench for the first time. I predict next season this group will be hungry at get the job done!
Season 23
California brought home the trophy again this season!! This makes 2 out of the last 3 seasons. Not to mention the Banney Chickens got their own championship. Two of the last three seasons with both championships. This is history! Of course, Hassan Watt led the team with over 33 points per contest along with almost 8 rebounds and 8 assists, but he does not just sit on his hands during defense averaging two steals and a block and a half. Matias Gutierrez taking over the point guard role was key and Beck and Kincaide still dominated the forward spots. Marc White was still the defensive juggernaut down low and Sczygiel made an impact coming off the bench averaging 1.5 steals in only 16 minutes. Hassan Watt did get the Most Valuable Player nod for the season and it was well earned. As a team, California had the top offense and the second lowest points allowed while boasting the most rebounds. The California Organization is going to have to look at adding some youth as these great veterans start to near the end of their career, but the future is bright.