’Speedy’ Williams is Last Man Standing

Aug. 18, 2007

PHOTO GALLERY

It took two months to decide, but in the end, 42-year old James "Speedy" Williams outlasted a field of 300 to become the "Last Man Standing" at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

Williams, a Bronx native and former Harlem Globetrotter and Washington General, walked away with a Championship ring, trophy, check for $5,000, and professional workout session at the Madison Square Garden Training Center.

The ultimate street ball tournament, which raised over $7,500 for Ronald McDonald House Charities ® of New York, consisted of six one-day regional tournaments at McDonald's locations throughout Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey.

With Knicks legend John Starks and former players Jerome "Junkyard Dog" Williams, Cal Ramsey and Dwayne "Pearl" Washington in attendance at the World's Most Famous Arena, the pressure was on for the 17 finalists to prove they deserved the chance to become the "Last Man Standing."

The afternoon kicked off in dramatic fashion, as Pennsylvania native Al Callajas upset defending champion Corey "Homicide" Williams, 10-9. Callajas relied on his jump shot from behind the arc, which in street-ball rules is worth two points, to offset the superior skill of Homicide.

Up 9-8, the defending champ knew the only way he could lose would be if his opponent hit a two-pointer – or so he thought. Homicide fouled Callajas to prevent the deep jumper, sending him to the foul line. After nailing the free throw, Homicide was given the ball, immediately drove to the basket, and made what he thought was the game-winner.

However, while celebrating, it was announced that once a player commits seven fouls, the opposition retains possession of the ball whether he makes the free throw or not. Once play resumed, Homicide fouled Callajas as he attempted a fade-away jumper. With all eyes on him, Callajas calmly sank the bucket, sending the defending champ home.

"I didn't know he would get the ball back," Homicide said. "If I knew that was the rule I never would have fouled him."

While the Homicide-Callajas tilt turned a lot of heads, it was not the only opening match without drama.

Eventual winner "Speedy" Williams narrowly defeated Steven Mims 10-7, and just before receiving his championship ring, declared his opening round match vs. Mims as the toughest he had all day.

LaQuan Castro wowed the crowed with a deep two-pointer from the corner to eek out a come from behind 10-9 victory over Brian Kortovich. Meanwhile, 46-year old crowd favorite Jack "Black Jack" Ryan fell 10-8 at the hands of St. John's star Nygel Roach to round out the left side of the bracket.

On the other side, Idris Sherrard edged Jerry Jacquez in the play-in game, only to be eliminated by Obadian "Snoop" Toppin 10-6. After Wilner Joseph defeated Willie "Slick" Samuels and Neville Storer breezed by Joel "PJ" Mejia, Robert Schroeder and Lee Church squared off in the only match of the day to head to sudden-death overtime. In the end, Church scored first to advance to the next round.

The quarterfinals kicked off with crowd favorite, Callajas, facing off against Castro. Callajas remained hot, going deep to take a 6-2 lead. However, after Callajas hit the front of the rim looking for two more points, it was Castro who went on a streak while the fan favorite went cold. Castro scored eight straight points for a 10-2 victory to become the first player to reach the final four.

"Speedy" Williams was up next, taking on Roach. In a rather uneventful contest, Williams proved to be the superior talent, easily dismissing Roach 10-3 to join Castro in the Final Four.

"Snoop" Toppin and Joseph took the court next. Snoop dominated the game from start to finish, forcing Joseph to foul him each time he backed his opponent down. However, he couldn't make his free throws, and the match lasted until the final minute before Snoop hit a spin around jumper for a 10-5 victory.

The final match between Church and Storer before the final four was a cakewalk from beginning to end. Storer frustrated his opponent with his bulky frame and pulled away for a quick a 10-1 victory.

After a performance by the Knicks City Dancers, "Speedy" Williams faced off against Castro with a spot in the finals, and guaranteed money, on the line. Both men play similar styles of ball, slashing to the basket as well as spotting up for the quick two, which provided arguably the most entertaining match of the day. The game remained tight early on, but "Speedy" proved to be the better baller, riding a hot streak to a 10-5 victory.

The other semifinal match between Storer and "Snoop" Toppin matched players with similar styles. However, these two big men relied on strong defense to complement their exceptional ability to back down their opposition.

Storer took an early lead, and was on the verge of moving on before "Snoop" came back with a fury. With Storer stuck on nine points, "Snoop" found his game, playing stout defense while chipping away at the lead. However, after drawing a foul, Storer drained the free throw to move on to the finals by a score of 10-7.

The consolation match between "Snoop" and Castro was an entertaining appetizer to the main event. It was a pressure-filled match, since both knew the winner would go home with a trophy and $300 cash prize while the loser would go home empty-handed. Castro relied on his outside jump shot, but when he couldn't find the range, "Snoop" took advantage, backing down his opponent for a 10-7 victory.

The championship match between "Speedy" Williams and Storer was a match-up of distinctly different styles. The 6-foot, 178-pound speed demon relied on his quickness to defend against the 6-foot-7, 240-pound frame of Storer. In the end, skill reigned supreme over size as Williams dribbled circles around his opponent on offense and frustrated him on the defensive end to close the tournament out with a 9-8 victory.

"My strategy going into the match was to keep the big man moving," said Williams. "I wanted to keep him moving and frustrate him on 'D' because I knew the only thing he had on me was his size."

Tune into the one-hour Last Man Standing Championship special, premiering Sept. 25 at 9 p.m. on MSG, to see how the dramatic tournament unfolded.



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