JUNE 30 • 2022 | 39
D
aniel Shamayev is certain the new
Detroit Jewish Basketball League
has accomplished its purpose.
The league has brought the Detroit Jewish
community together through basketball.
Among the men’s league’s 80 players — 70
regulars and 10 substitutes — are observant
Jews and a few “who are probably involved
in a Jewish activity for the first time in their
life,
” said Shamayev, the league’s founder and
commissioner.
“I want everyone in the
league to expand his Jewish
network,
” Shamayev said.
“Teams were put together
based on players’ ages and bas-
ketball skill levels to keep the
league competitive, which it has
been so far.
“Family members and friends were kept
together on teams, but most guys in the
league probably didn’t know their teammates
before the league started.
”
Weekly games began June 1 in the eight-
team league and will continue from 8-10
p.m. each night through Aug. 17.
Games are played on two courts each
Wednesday at the Beech Woods Recreation
Center in Southfield.
Shamayev said the back-to-back games
setup is working well.
“It’s great to see players and fans come
early and stay late to watch the other games,
”
Shamayev said.
July 6 will be a special night in the young
league’s history.
In addition to being the night of the
championship game of the Commissioner’s
Cup, the league’s mid-season tournament,
plus dunking and three-point shooting con-
tests among league players and a kids’ game
at halftime of the title game, there will be a
community outreach.
It’s a barbeque from 6:30-8 p.m. sponsored
by Partners Detroit — an organization that
also works to bring the Jewish community
together — in the Beech Woods pavilion.
While there is no charge to watch the
basketball activities July 6, admission to the
barbeque is $8 per person, $15 for a couple
and $20 for a family.
“Everyone is invited to the barbecue. You
don’t have to be involved in the league,
”
Shamayev said.
Detroit Pistons guard Hamidou Diallo
could make an appearance
July 6.
“If he’s not there that night,
he will visit us on another
league night,
” Shamayev said.
Diallo averaged 11.0 points,
4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists
last season in 58 games with
the Pistons.
There will be a very nice
prize for the league’s mid-sea-
son tournament champion,
according to Shamayev.
The top four teams in
the league qualified for the tournament.
Semifinals were to be held June 29.
“Hopefully, having a mid-season tour-
nament will keep things interesting each
year as we go through the regular season,
”
Shamayev said.
It’s been nearly a year since Shamayev
quickly organized a Jewish men’s basketball
league that attracted 40 players. League
games were played last summer at Farber
Hebrew Day School in Southfield.
“It’s amazing to think that just a year later,
there’s a Jewish men’s basketball league with
twice as many players as we had last year,
”
Shamayev said.
A youth basketball camp for Jewish boys
ages 8-14 that will raise funds for the Detroit
Jewish Basketball League and Farber will be
held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 18 through
Aug. 12 weekdays at Farber.
Rick Kaczander, a Michigan Jewish Sports
Hall of Fame Pillars of Excellence award
recipient, will be the instructor for the five-
days-a-week camp that will focus on basket-
ball skills and training, and life skills.
For information on the camp, contact
Shamayev at (248) 797-3763 or
danielrshamayev@gmail.com.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
SPORTS
Food for Thought
Community is invited to new Detroit Jewish
Basketball League’s mid-season celebration.
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Dylan Bressler drives to the
hoop during his 45-point
outburst in a Detroit Jewish
Basketball League game.
PAUL FISCHER
PAUL FISCHER
Daniel
Shamayev
DANIEL SHAMAYEV
Gang Green of the Detroit
Jewish Basketball League.