FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On a Saturday morning in May, Mac Irvin Fire is sleepwalking during pool play at the Spiece Bill Hensley Memorial Run ‘N’ Slam.
Inside Spiece Fieldhouse, they’ve fallen into a 12-point hole against Nova Village, plucky grassroots program out Ohio. The Windy City powerhouse is late springing traps out of its press and sloppily rotating in the halfcourt. At the other end, gaps are clogged, slowing Adam Miller and Marcus Watson Jr. launch assaults on the rim.
All the while, center Ryan Kalkbrenner is struggling to keep time with a quick beat.