2012 CBAD champions!

The Indy Hawks continued their dominance of the Central region by capturing their third straight CBAD championship and 10th in a row dating back to 2002. The championship put the Hawks over 20 wins for the 7th year in a row and make the Hawks poised to advance deep into the 2012 USADB Nationals to be held in Houston Texas this coming April. This year has been exciting for the Hawks, having captured several invitationals along with the region title. They also won their Wednesday Night Fieldhouse League championship for the first time ever.

Brand New Season – 2012 Indy Hawks Season Review

The Indy Hawks are looking at major changes this coming basketball season. With long-time manager Jay Krieger taking over as Head Coach and the re-addition of PG Gabriel Paulone from the 2010 team, the Hawks are looking to make moves to advance deep into the 2012 USADB this April.

The roster will have returning starters from the 201–11 season in Onye Davis, Edlin Dorn, Brian Bippus, Keith Westhoelter and  John Little. In addition to Paulone, Cara Vasquez, Kevin Webster, Les Crump and veteran pickup in Lad Baird. Dorn, Bippus and Davis anchor the frontcourt while the sweet-shooting Westhoelter and the tenacious Little provide experience and toughness at guard.

Krieger, who takes over from longtime coach Carl Wayne Denney, has a wealth of experience coaching the ISD Deaf Hoosiers varsity girls basketball team and previously worked with Denney at the Greater Indianapolis Deaf Club (GIDC) teams for the last six years.

The Hawks are currently 17-6 and recently captured the Chicago WSAD championship with an exciting 42-41 win over the host team. The Hammond Invitational was also captured with wins over Missouri, WSAD and The Chicago Rebels. They play at the Fieldhouse League every Wednesday and will host their Invitational sometime in February with the CBAD tournament to take place during the first weekend of March.

Coach Denney Steps Down

The Indy Hawks announce that Carl Wayne Denney, Head Coach the past 7 years, has stepped down as the Indy Hawks Head Coach. The decision to leave the team came on his desire to seek new endeavors.

Displaying his custom hard-nosed toughness, Denney was able to guide the Indianapolis team to the USADB championship game 5 out of the past 7 years, winning championships in 2008 and 2009 with 2nd place finishes in ’05, ’06 and ’10. The team has amassed a collective 179-49 record in this remarkable 7-year span, including a 35-4 season in ’07 and a 32-7 season in ’08.

Also, Indianapolis has captured 8 consecutive Central region championships (combined CAAD and CBAD titles) and sent numerous players to various international competitions as Team USA representatives. Many players during his tenure have been chosen for regional and national honors.

An hard-working and intense individual, Denney was honored thrice as the USADB Coach of the Year (2005, 2008 and 2011) with this season’s honor coming on the heels of the Hawks’ surprising 5th place finish with a team consisting of only 7 players.

Carl Wayne Denney

USADB tournament update: 4th round

Indy Hawks 94 – New Jersey Warriors 61

In their last game of the 2011 USADB tournament, the Indy Hawks came ready to play and to represent the state of Indiana. Their 94-61 demolition of the New Jersey Warriors came behind the power play of the Hawks post players, who combined for 56  points over the much smaller Warriors. In seizing the lead, all 7 Hawks scored and contributed in many different ways. The 5th place finish was the lowest for an Indianapolis team this decade and a matter of pride for the 7 Hawks who were able to dress and represent their city and state with pride. The win gave the Hawks a 22-7 season record, which also saw the Hawks capture the WSAD invitational and CBAD championships.

USADB Honors

The Hawks’ Onye Davis was selected to the All-tournament 2nd team. The Hawks’ Carl Wayne Denney was chosen the Coach of the Year by his peers for the 3rd time in 7 seasons. The NoVa Diplomats defended their USADB crown by defeating the DSA Stars in a hot game, 74-68. The Diplomats Jon Mowl was selected tournament MVP.

USADB Notes

In an interesting twist of fate, Hoosiers dominated the USADB with the Hawks leading the tournament in team rebounds, Fort Wayne native Robert Haney, Jr scoring 138 points in 4 games, including an 49 point semi-final explosion in the New Mexico Cougar’s loss to the DSA Stars and Fishers native Jon Mowl leading his Northern Virginia Diplomats to the USADB championship and being honored as tournament MVP for the second consecutive year. Hoosiers have been tournament MVP the past 5 years (Haney 2007, 08, 09 and Mowl ’10 and ’11).

USADB Tournament update: 3rd round

Indy Hawks 71 – Austin Toros 67 (OT)

The Indy Hawks bounced back from their second round loss to defeat another national contender in Austin, who featured four previous Deaflympians in an exciting come-from-behind 71-67 overtime victory. The Hawks were able to come from 18 down and catch the Toros in the final 30 seconds before seizing the lead for good in overtime.

Led by Onye Davis’ 20 points and Brian Bippus’ 17, the Hawks went into an attack mode during the second half, steadily chipping away at the Toros’ sizeable lead. Bippus made a perfect 11 of 11 free-throws, including 5 for 5 down the stretch to propel the Hawks into the 5th place game against the New Jersey Warriors.

The victory improved the Hawks to 21-7 for the season.

USADB tournament: Round Two

DSA 93 – Indy Hawks 88 (OT)

In a game for the ages, the Indy Hawks played DSA (Deaf Sports Academy of Southern California) in the quarterfinals of the USADB tournament. During the mid-00′s, DSA and Indianapolis were friendly rivals who met for the USADB championship two consecutive years in 2005 and 2006, won by DSA.

In this game – DSA’s youth and speed prevailed over the short-handed Hawks who dominated the rebounding margin but were doomed by 30+ turnovers. DSA’s Valencia brothers were able to fire away at will from beyond the 3-point arc, making a total of 7. At one time, DSA’s lead was 18 points over the Hawks midway through the 2nd half.

However, the Hawks chose not to go quietly into the night – fighting and clawing their way back into the game on power plays inside. They were also able to take advantage of DSA’s foul trouble in order to hit free-throws which pulled the Hawks even in the game, 78-78 to end regulation.

In overtime, the Hawks were able to build a 5 point lead during which a 3-point shot nearly went in (which would have given the Hawks a 8-point lead at the midway mark of OT). The DSA was able to regroup and make a strong run – pulling even then grabbing the lead in which they never relinquished.

The final score of 93-88 propelled the DSA into the USADB semi-finals where they will face the NM Cougars, led by former Indy Hawks star Robert Haney, jr.

The Hawks will face the Austin Toros today at 1pm for the right to advance to the 5th place game.

The Hawks were led by Brian Bippus’ 24 points, Edlin Dorn’s 19 points and 22 rebounds along with Onye Davis 19 points and 18 rebounds. The Hawks currently stand at 20-7.

USADB Tournament Update: Round One

Indy Hawks 77, Vermont 34

The Hawks opened against NEAAD runners-up Vermont in the first round and came away victorious in a 77-34 win. The Hawks, playing with 7 men – were able to use an balanced and all-around offense to sprint past the Vermont team. Rebounding and fast-breaks were the key to the Hawks success. The Hawks led 48-12 at the half and substituted freely.

John Little and Cara Vasquez led the Hawks with 20 and 18 points respectively. Edlin Dorn led the team with 22 rebounds. The victory enabled the Hawks to improve to 20-6 for the season – the 7th consecutive season the Hawks have notched up 20 or more victories in a season.

The Indy Hawks and the 2011 USADB tournament

The Indy Hawks are the #2 seed for this weekend’s USADB tournament to be held in Bloomington, Minn – with last year’s champion, Northern Virginia the clear favorite and #1 seed. Last year, the NoVa upset the Hawks in the championship game by the score of 84-78, a game that the Hawks led by 18 at the half and 21 points during the opening of the 2nd half.

Other top contenders are North Carolina at #3 and the Arizona Desert Fire at #4. Both teams won their respective regions (SEAAD and FAAD) and are long-time USADB members. The New Mexico Cougars, the California Pacific Breakers, the Austin Toros and the Deaf Sports Academy (DSA) are other strong contenders for the USADB championship.

The complete men’s USADB tournament bracket is available at this link: www.usadb.us

There also is an exciting video made by the USADB:

Indy Hawks win 2nd consecutive CBAD championship

The Hawks defended their CBAD championship by defeating Mighty Indy 87-52 and Jacksonville 94-62. Caraharee Vasquez and John Little were named to the All-Tournament team. They combined for 89 points in both games. The Hawks had 6 players available for the tournament and were able to display their superior stamina and fast-breaking ability.

The 8th straight CENTRAL region championship has enabled the Hawks to advance to the USADB to be held in Minneasota. The CBAD is affiliated with the USADB.

2011 CBAD Tournament

The 2011 CBAD tournament will be played at the Indiana School for the Deaf on Saturday March 19th at Caskey Gym. The schedule will be as follows: 1pm: Mighty Indy vs Jacksonville (Ill.); 3p: Jacksonville (Ill) vs Indy Hawks and 5p: Mighty Indy vs Indy Hawks. The champion and runners-up will advance to the USADB tournament to be held in Bloomington, Minnesota.

There will be a CBAD social afterwards at the Greater Indianapolis Deaf Club.