CEO, sharpshooter John Duff fuels JIM’s unbeaten Drew League start
JIM’s CEO and star player, John Duff, stood at the three-point line, hands raised, frustration etched across his face. Down one with just over two minutes left, he waited for a pass that never came. A missed shot sent his team scrambling back on defense.
He waited on offense instead. Ten seconds later, the ball did find his corner. He immediately let it fly.
Duff was heading back the other direction, celebrating before it even went in.
Considering that shot became his fourth three-point make in the last five minutes, the earlier frustration might have been warranted. A minute later, he added a fifth – this time directly off an inbounds pass that put his team up by three.
A smirk painted his face as he held three fingers in the air, as if extra reassurance of his shooting display’s volatility was needed. Each deep bucket had been met with a different gesture, taunt, or celebration, either for those in attendance or directly pointed at his Redemption opponents.
His final stat line of 26 points with eight total threes punctuated an 84-81 comeback victory over Redemption for JIM, a team of his creation. He was laughing all the way off the court.
“I gotta put my best on every night,” Duff said. “Just to set that example. It’s my brand. I gotta play hard for it.”
The game ended far better than it began for the L.A. native. Slotted for the 11 a.m. start of the six-game slate didn’t favor JIM, as two minutes before tipoff, only one player was on the court warming up.
In the wrong jersey.
Duff showed up late with the team’s proper threads and was forced to come off the bench. He had even less – none – warmup time than the rest of his team, which arrived mere moments before tip.
Redemption took the opportunity to sprint out to a 22–8 lead in the first quarter.
Then Duff checked in. Then he started firing. And gesturing. And talking.
His shots pulled them closer. His energy lifted everyone else.
“I got off to a late start,” Duff said. “I had to bring the jerseys. I was late, so I knew my team didn’t get a good warmup in. So I had to come off the bench and put that hat on.”
As a kid, Duff used to watch Drew League games from the bleachers at King/Drew Magnet High. Years later, as he began a career spanning stops at NAIA Westcliffe University in Irvine and professionally in the Dominican Republic, after high school, he got the chance to play on the court. Now he’s moved to the next part of his Drew journey.
His own team to mold in his own direction.
In its debut season, JIM – the team he built – has opened the Drew League’s 52nd year with a 2-0 start. It hasn’t been perfect. There’ve been late arrivals and early deficits. But Duff’s energy, joy, and swagger have powered his squad through its initial foray in Los Angeles’ premier summer pro-am.
Like its CEO and his celebrations, JIM is here to make a statement.
“I’ve been playing in ‘The Drew’ since just after high school,” Duff said. “Growing up as a kid, watching legends play in ‘The Drew,’ I just wanted to follow in their footsteps, but to do it with my own team, the right way.”
Notes from the Drew League and Women’s Drew League
• NBA and NBA G-League Players won’t be contractually permitted to join the Drew League until the start of July.• Portland Trail Blazers forward Jabari Walker attended games on Sunday but did not play.• Pop Singer Demi Lovato attended women’s games on Sunday• Junior UCLA guard Skyy Clark dropped 14 in a losing effort for the reapers against Cititeam Blazers led by Ryan Carter “thehezigod” who finished with 31 points, five rebounds, and two steals.• I-Can All-Stars’ Jordan Hamilton (A former NBA guard) followed his 38-point opener, which earned him week 1 MVP honors, with 12 points, nine rebounds, and 14 assists in a 94-55 rout of Undisputed • Legends, moving his squad to 2-0.• Former Loyola Marymount standout Nick Stover hit seven threes and scored 33 points, teaming with Doc Bradley (25 points) to power Elevate past Dawg Pound, 90-80. The duo accounted for 64 percent of the team’s points.• Two consecutive games went to overtime to start the Sunday slate. Hometown Favorites erased a nine-point deficit in the final minute and rode a 17-4 run in the end of the fourth and through overtime to win 87-83 in OT, while Jedi rallied from four down with 16 seconds left to win 83-77 in overtime.
Scores from the weekend
JIM 84, Redemption 81
I-Can All Stars 94, Undisputed Legends 55
Elevate 90, Dawg Pound 80
Cheaters 95, What Now 82
Hometown Favorites 87, Can’t Buy Respect 83
Jedi 83, Problems 77
Cititeam Blazers 96, Reapers 88
All-In Elite 101, B.P.E. 90
Women’s Drew League
What now 54, Legends 43
Pasadena 77, TNSS 63
Gage 96, Remix 86
Lady Jedi 68, Lightsout 64