Dear Editor,
It was with disappointment that subsequently turned to disgust, that I read of the naming of Ryan Gullen as the MVP of the recently concluded NLE basketball tournament, a tournament which I followed closely from beginning to end and for good reasons.
Was the NLE’s most valuable player named for the final or for the entire tournament? Since the best defensive player was named for the entire tournament then I am going to assume that the MVP was for the same. With that being said, how in heavens was Dwayne Roberts not named the MVP of that tournament? Anybody that followed it would realise that he stood head and shoulders above everyone else to the point where it can be said that there was ‘Brown Sugar,’ then there was everybody else. For the Technical Director to name Ryan Gullen (44 points, 29 rebounds, 8 blocks, 3 steals) compared to Roberts’s more than 100 points, 58 rebounds, 8 blocks 14 steals is unbelievable and totally outrageous! Those stats are not even worth a comparison.
Was it because Dwayne Roberts was a player from Linden? If he had been playing for a Georgetown team would that MVP decision not have been a no brainer? Players from outlying areas, moreso Linden can be spectacular and still not be recognised by the powers that be. To average over 25 points, almost 15 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3.5 steals in a tournament is phenomenal, and for anybody to stay silent on this (and I refer to the promoters, the officials, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation and the Georgetown Association) suggests concurrence, and that’s a shame.
Prior to the beginning of this tournament much emphasis appeared to have been placed on officiating, but as it turned out that was only a front. It’s small wonder that basketball in our country continues to be stagnant.
Yours faithfully,
Linden Alphonso
