The game was knotted at 18. It had been getting a little intense, some might even say ‘chippy.’
The next bucket would win.
Every shot was fiercely contested. Most shots brought shouts of ‘Foul,’ and the ensuing usual arguments.
“You’re holding.” “He traveled.” That’s to be expected when the two best teams in a field of 17 are duking it out.
It was the finals Saturday morning, Aug. 20, for the 2022 MikeMadness’ basketball fundraising event. Lives were on the line.
Say what? MikeMadness raised a Madness record, about $16,000 for research and awareness of Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disease that is always fatal.
I have the disease. So they were playing for me and the other 1.4 million affected by the disease in the U.S.
Jim Bakken/UAB
The event brought 100’s of family members, friends, and curious spectators and thousands of dollars (we are still awaiting official tallies.)
So it all came to down to this, 18-18. Nineteen wins it.
Jim Bakken, chief communications officer at UAB, had the ball in his hands at the top of the key.
“You have no idea how much I look forward to Mike Madness,” Bakken said later. ” Getting to play in it this year with my son and showing him why the day is so special was really meaningful to me.”
His son, Jack Bakken, a 16-year-old hoopster at Mount Brook High School, was on dad’s team. And he was a chip off the old block: long and lanky, only a few inches shorter than his 6′ -foot-6-inch father.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the UAB Student Rec Center have hosted Mike Madness for four of the last six years since 2017. COVID thwarted attempts in 2020 and 2021.
MikeMadness has raised a total of more than $55,000 with the the four tournaments.
“So much of what UAB is about – like health and wellness, research and serving the greater good – is embodied in the tournament, and we are honored to join Mike in his fight.”
But what about the game? The UAB team and the Power Ballers have met before in Mike Madness finals. They are usually hard fought games, and this was no exception as it came down to the wire.
”It is a bit of a blur,” Bakken remembers.”I was actually planning to pass to a younger teammate but saw an opening to go left and create some separation. I decided to drive hard and see what happened. As a 44-year-old weekend warrior, my athleticism and ability to drive hard can be pretty inconsistent, but luckily I caught a little burst of adrenaline. ”Without that, I’m pretty sure it would have been a boring but fundamentally sound left handed lay-up.”
Instead it was a slam dunk amid three defenders. The crowd went wild.
NOTE: Early post of this story had the wrong date for the tournament. Correct date was Aug. 20, 2022. Also corrected to say 17 teams participated. For more information see www.myvinylcountdown.com and the Lewy body dementia association LBDA.org.