Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin run with Kyle Guy and other Local Legends
The Dizzy Runs Pro Am had a monster night with a pair of Pacers going against Trayce Jackson-Davis and other local hoopers.
Kyle Guy and Derick “Dizzy” Grant teamed up to launch the Dizzy Runs Pro Am games last summer to give local hoop legends a night of quality runs in the summer. If you are in town and play at a high level, whether in high school, college or pro, it is the place to be.
On Tuesday night at the Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville, Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin showed up and made it THEE place to be. Before the doors opened, two hours prior to the main event game, the line of fans snaked around the huge facility. It was a magical hoops moment for late July in Indiana with the two Pacers and to be fair, former Indiana Hoosier and bona fide local legend, Trayce Jackson-Davis also in the gym. TJD played with Jeff Teague and Andre Owens among other locals.
Pro Am games are not games to analyze, more of a showcase pieced together by a series of one-on-one matchups and electrifying transition opportunities. Pride makes the players compete, but they pick their spots.
The big crowd gave some added juice to the prelim game which had a couple of Kokomo legends in Tayler Persons and current high school big man, Flory Bidunga on one team. Bidunga was a boy among men who nonetheless had double-digit dunks of every type. Two-handed, one-handed, reverse, lob, put back…goodness! The kid’s skill level is just scratching the surface but his explosiveness against grown men is undeniable. Shawn Kemp type stuff, although he’s not as big.
The main event had Haliburton working off some rust while setting up teammates time and again, including his bouncy new partner, Toppin. Obi Toppin playing in about third gear still has plenty of game to float up and down the court with ease while also floating up in the air when needed for a variety of dunk opportunities. It was impossible to watch without daydreaming of future full-speed connections between the two at the Fieldhouse. Check out the highlights at the end.
Considering Haliburton’s busy schedule of late with his USA Basketball commitment closing in, the fact that he made the effort to show out for a Dizzy Run goes back to the type of person we are getting to know. I referred to Hali as ‘genuine’ last week, and that quality showed up once, again in an effort to do a favor for friend, Kyle Guy.
Guy is ultimate local legend as a former Mr. Basketball who went on to score six points in seven seconds including the three most clutch free throws ever shot, to push Virginia past Auburn in the Final Four. After a few years of two-way contracts in the NBA, Guy is now securing his families future playing overseas, next year in Greece.
Guy is a shining example of what his mentor, Grant espouses, which is to run your own race. He does so with a positive spirit and an eye on helping others along the way. It is easy to see how KG and Hali became friends during their year together in Sacramento. So when both Hali and the Dizzy Runs guys sent tweets promoting the game and that Hali was bringing along Toppin, you could count on it, which is not always the case with summer Pro-Am games.
Oh, and this is all simply to give back to the local hoops community because Dizzy Runs does not charge fans at the door. Fortunately, they were able to get the word out and the fans showed out and then some for a quintessential summer hoops night in Indiana just as football season is about to start.
Here are some video highlights via the Pacers and Scott Agness:
Check the Bidunga dunks via BCMedia:
Scott has Hali/Obi and TJD covered: