Posts Tagged ‘Joe Salerno’

Storm Begin Homestand Today

Posted: December 26, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Story By: Jason Simmonds, Journal Pioneer, TC Media

A big week of professional basketball will begin here at Eastlink Arena on Wednesday.

The Storm hosts the Halifax Rainmen in an important Atlantic Division matchup in the National Basketball League of Canada at 2 p.m. The Storm then hosts Moncton on Friday at 7 p.m., and the Montreal Jazz visits for a New Year’s Eve contest at 7 p.m.

“I think with some of the moves we made we are going to be really good on the court,” said Duncan Shaw, who co-owns the Storm along with Darren MacKay.

The Storm brings a 9-8 (won-lost) record into the game while the Rainmen are 7-9. It will be Halifax’s first visit to Summerside this season.

The Storm recently posted back-to-back wins at the Halifax Metro Centre – 113-90 on Dec. 16 and 103-92 on Dec. 21.

With a recent hot stretch and some big-name acquisitions by Shaw, MacKay and head coach Joe Salerno, Storm-mania is starting to build.

“We are spending a lot more (money this year),” admitted Shaw. “It does come down to that sometimes in pro sports.

“We are not that far from the ($150,000) salary cap, which wasn’t the case last year. We’re giving Joe the money to go pick up a Brandon Robinson when he becomes available. You want to be able to make those moves. . .

“Last year, we didn’t spend the money to make that move. At the same time you turn around and really push on the business side when your goal is to break even.

“It’s a small market with all the things that come with it. It’s interesting the league has announced a franchise for Ottawa now (for next year). You go Ottawa, London, Halifax, Summerside.

“The demographics are really tough, and everything has to fire on all cylinders to have it to happen. P.E.I. loves to win, you have to spend the money and you have to work. Part of it is spending money, but the biggest part of it is just an awful lot of work.

“We did a ton of stuff this summer to find the players we wanted. I don’t think Joe took a week of vacation all summer. He was on the road looking for players.”

While the Storm is committed to putting a strong product on the floor, the team has also set a goal of raising $50,000 for P.E.I. charities this season.

“Darren and I run a bunch of businesses that we are very business-focused,” said Shaw. “The Storm, for us, is much more about the community stuff we love to do.

“The $50,000 is a big part of that, and I want to beat that (standard). I want that to be the floor.

“It’s a chance to engage people. There are so many good causes out there, and you would like to be able to support them all. This is one way we can help an awful lot of people.

“It’s not just the money, it’s the engagement. It brings new people to the building, it brings new people in contact with us and really makes the players’ experience better because they get to know the community and get involved.

“I told them (players) at our opening-night banquet that they are going to walk with some of the most challenged folks we have in the province, and they are going to walk with some of the most successful because they are going to be involved with everything.”

Storm Start Season On A High

Posted: November 2, 2012 in Uncategorized
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An action packed evening; filled with free pizza, Pepsi products, and a firework performance wasn’t even the highlight of the night, because the Summerside Storm took command of the Saint John Mill Rats to win their first game of the 2012-2013 NBL season, with the final score of 118-99.

A night that promised to be “spectacular” lived up to that, fans were thoroughly entertained from start to finish. The events began with free Greco pizza and Pepsi products for the first 500 fans to show up at the Credit Union Place. Doors opened at 6 with players doing their routine dunking to entertain fans. Brooke MacArthur, MuchMusic covers finalist performed the national anthem. The pre-game ceremonies were topped off by a firework display as each player was introduced.

From the tip Summerside had control of the game, Al Stewart attacked the Mill Rats early scoring seven in the first quarter. Summerside had a four point lead going into the second period.

Greg Plummer began to realized that he was playing against his former team in the second quarter. His game came to life, making an extra effort to step in on help defence while on the other end of the court scoring nine in the quarter.

After the game when asked about his 26 points in total Plummer said, “It’s nothing personal towards Saint John, I’m playing against friends, so I put a little extra effort in to beat them, but that’s all it is.”

Meanwhile, his friends were putting up impressive numbers too. Jerice Crouch and Anthony Anderson both had nine points at half but in the third they took over. Together they scored 19 points in the third quarter, to bring the game within arms length, but Storm coach Joe Salerno wasn’t taking any chances with this game. Saying, “Saint John is a great team, they will make runs, we knew that and we stayed calm and remembered that defence keeps us in games.” At the end of the third the score was still in the Storm’s favour, 84-75.

In the fourth Summerside pulled away, hitting several three’s early on which gave them a 20 point lead for the majority of the final period. Plummer scored his final ten points in the quarter to propel The Storm to an impressive win over a solid team in Saint John.

The Good:

Summerside’s bench was absolutely incredible tonight, scoring 62 points, compared to Saint John’s mere 21. It’s safe to say The Storm will have by far the best second unit in the league. Which is vital to winning games on the road and in back-to-back situations.

The Bad:

Unfortunately this has been an issue for Summerside since the team was formed, and that’s turnovers. 27 was tonight’s count, although that’s extremely high, Saint John almost had as many and the good news is that turning the ball over is an easy problem to fix. Make smart decisions with the ball!

Key Notes:

Nick Evans was the subject of an elbow to the neck early in the game, after sitting out for a few minutes he was good to go. After the game he told me that he was a little tight but will be fine.

Willy Manigat; Summerside’s newest addition, played seven minutes tonight, scoring once and picked up two fouls.

Notable Stats: (Summerside)                                                (Saint John)

Greg Plummer: 26 points, 5 rebounds                              Jerice Crouch: 27 points, 5 assist

Avery Smith: 19 points                                                           Anthony Anderson: 24 points, 7 assists

Al Stewart: 11 points, 8 assists                                             PJ Young: 17 points, 8 rebounds

Greg Plummer elevates for a dunk. Photo by Dee Arsenault

Summerside Takes Halifax By Storm

Posted: October 21, 2012 in Uncategorized
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The Storm had no idea what to expect going into Halifax with nine new faces, but that didn’t seem to matter because Summerside pulled off a 105-97 win over the Rainmen today.

At 2 p.m. fans got their first look at the squad when PG Al Stewart; SG Greg Plummer, SF Chris Cayole, PF Louis Birdsong, and C Dokun Akingbade stepped up as the team’s five starters.

Summerside jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held it until the finals seconds of the first half when Hillary Haley, a Rainmen guard, hit a 3-point buzzer beater to give Halifax a 48-47 lead.

In the third quarter and early in the fourth, Halifax pulled ahead and led the game 92-78 with 8 minutes left to play.  However, the Storm went on a 27-5 run over the last eight minutes to steal a come from behind win.

Hillary Haley kept Halifax in the game with his 31 point effort that fell short down the stretch.

Head coach Joe Salerno was pleased his team showed character coming back in the game and he felt the win gave them the confidence to realize they could win in the NBL.  Salerno also singled out Antonio Ballard and Doug McKinney who he felt came up big defensively for the Storm late in the fourth quarter.  Salerno said the win was a good one but the team has plenty of work to do to get ready for the upcoming regular season.

Greg Plummer, who was signed by Summerside last week had an exceptional game, scoring 30 and grabbing 8 rebounds.  Louis Birdsong also put in a solid game, with a double double that gave him 18 points and 10 rebounds.   Avery Smith added 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Storm are celebration their first win at Boston Pizza in Halifax before heading back home tonight.

7,000 plus fill the Halifax Metro Centre for this pre-season affair

Storm Sign Seasoned Big Man

Posted: October 17, 2012 in Uncategorized
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The Summerside Storm are starting to fill roster sports up in a hurry,  announcing today that they’ve signed another player.

6’ 10” Centre Ayodokun Akingbade, or Doak to his coaches and teammates, brings a great deal of experience to the Storm this season. Akingbade, out of George Washington University, has played around the world including some of the top leagues in Europe where he averaged a double-double with a Swedish team scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebound.

“Doak fills a hole missing from our team last season,” says Coach Salerno. “He’s an experienced veteran and a team leader who could very well be the top centre in the league this year.  When he speaks, players listen, and he can bring a calming presents to tense game situations.”

Meanwhile, Akingbade is enjoying Prince Edward Island. “I like the breeze here and people have been very nice and welcoming,” he says. “The team looks pretty good so far and the guys are great.  I’m looking forward to a good year for the team.” When asked about what he thinks he can bring to the team, Akingbade feels his strengths are defensive rebounding, protecting the basket, lots of energy, while bringing leadership and experience.

Vitals

Height: 6’10″ (207cm)
Weight:240lbs(108kg)
Position: Center (5) or Power Forward(4) 
Date of Birth: 1984

 High School

Attended Bladensburg High School where he averaged 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game as a senior… named Most Improved Player and Best Defensive Player for the Mustangs under coach Deo Djossou.  Student Government Association President who graduated with a 4.17 GPA) and was on the Principal’s Advisory Committee and the yearbook committee.

Passport: US & Nigerian passports – COTONOU Player

Full name is Ayodokun Samuel Akingbade, pronounced “DOE-kun AH-kin-BOD-eh”

Awards/Achievements

2009 Asia-Basket.com All-Japanese BJ League Honorable Mention
2009 Asia-Basket.com Japanese BJ League All-Imports 2nd Team
2008 ABA Champion (Vermont)
2007 NCAA Post-Season Tournament (George Washington)
2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament Champion (George Washington)

Credit to:

Paul M. Schurman
paulm@stormbasketball.ca

http://www.gwsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/akingbade_dokun00.html

https://sites.google.com/site/play2winhoops/player-profiles/ayodokun-akingbade-c-pf-basketball-profile

Interview With Greg Plummer

Posted: October 15, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Today I called Summerside’s newest shooting guard Greg Plummer and discussed his signing and the upcoming season for the Storm.
 

Brett Poirier:  When did you officially get signed by the team?

Greg Plummer:  Thursday of last week

BP:  When did you join the team?

GP:  I met the team on Friday last week when they were finishing up camp in New Hampshire.

BP: How was your first camp day with the team?

GP:  It was good, we got a lot of stuff done.  This being my first day, I had the chance to get up to speed with things.

BP:  Playing against Summerside last year do you notice any differences in the style of play?

GP:  Well this year’s team is totally different than it was last year.  That being said it’s still knowing the league and the types of players gives me some advantages.

BP: You’ve had a busy summer, tell me a little more about that.

GP:  Early this summer I played with Team Nike, and travelled to the World Basketball Festival in England.  We played team London and team Paris.  Team London was an all-star team made up of players from all over the UK, team Paris won the Jordan Brand Classic tournament in Europe.  We ended up winning both games when we were there.

BP:  Storm co-owner Duncan Shaw told me one of his goals for next season was to have a more athletic team then last year, from what you remember do you think that will happen?

GP:  Looking at all the players we have in camp right now, all I see is athleticism.  I’m not sure what all of the player capabilities from last year were but I can’t see it topping this.

BP:  You had high point averages with Saint John last season, do you see that being the case this year?

GP:  It’s hard to say, it’s all about the system you’re playing in.  Some nights I might, some nights I won’t score many points.  That’s not really what I look for anyway’s, if I’m needed to score I will, if I’m not then I’ll look to get my team mates involved.

BP:  How was your welcome to the city?

GP:  It was really nice, the night we arrived we had a dinner to meet city council and the mayor.  It was my first introduction to the people here.

BP:  What can the fans expect from you?

GP:  I’m going to do whatever it takes to help the team win.  I’m personally keyed in to putting a good brand of basketball out on the court and I think those who know the game and those who are learning it will really appreciate how much effort we will all put out.  I hope I can fulfil everyone’s expectations as far as having an enjoyable experience when you go to a Storm game.

BP:  Thank you for letting me be the first to interview you, and good luck the rest of the week at training camp!

GP:  Appreciate it!

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