Blaine Skates was the standout performer during the Future Stars Game tournament. He played 25.8 minutes per game scoring 21.0 PPG, 5.8RPG and 5.8 APG on his way to the award. Now on to the draft to see how his performance will impact his stock in the draft.
Headlines for Blaine Skates
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Blaine Skates awarded Future Stars Game MVP
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It's been a while!
The Venom have made the postseason! That line hasn't been spoken in 8 seasons, which shows what a drought what one of the best teams historically have been in. That season, Jay Donati was their top pick, Blaine Skates was tearing up the league, and Kyle Dulaney was just hitting his prime.
Now the new crop... headed by Eli Lundin, Cornell Haggberg and a resurgent Nice Smith have pulled the Venom back up into the... semi-elite teams as they go is as #6 seeds to face the Razors in the 1st round. It will be the first time the two teams will meet in the playoffs... of course the Razors 1st season in League I was season 17, so it wouldn't have been possible with the Venom slump in effect. The Razors hold a career edge of 13-4, but both teams will be missing key players. The Razors will be missing star center Jim Weddle for 2-3 games, while the Venom will miss Nice Smith, out for the entire playoffs.
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Skates announces retirement
Blaine Skates has announced his retirement from the Rhinos after season 19. Skates played 18 seasons after being drafted by the Clash in the 2nd season. -
Rhinos mount impressive victory over Edge
For the second straight season, the Rhinos start out 3-0, last season finishing just out of playoff contention at 28-17. They beat the Edge 117-86. Albert Gaskin continued to impress with 27 points, 8 assists and 5 boards while Steven Forney got the start over Aaron Arkell scoring 11 points with 8 boards and 4 assists. This was rookie of the season and reigning team MVP Arkell's first career missed start scoring 7 in 19 minutes as the Rhinos figure to rotate among their 4 very capable guards which include former league MVP Blaine Skates who scored 7 points in his 4 minutes of garbage time.
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Skates agrees to deal with Rhinos
The Rhinos have signed Blaine Skates to the team in a deal worth $5,380,000 per season for 5 seasons. -
Venom pull upset in first round over Rhinos
The Venom were clicking on all cylinders playing like the days of old League I champion caliber team they used to be. They move on to the second round vs the winner between the Moles and Slash upcoming game. They beat the #8 Rhinos 113-107 with Jay Donati leading the way scoring 22 points with 13 boards and 6 rebounds. Blaine Skates turned back time scoring 17 points with 6 boards and 11 assists. Agustin Olvera scored 24 off the bench.
For the Rhinos, Aaron Arkell scored 18 with 6 boards and 7 assists while his twin terror Albert Gaskin scored 17 with 8 boards and 7 assists, just was not enough.
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Skates is out!
Not that it will make a difference for the teams playoff hopes, but Blaine Skates will miss the rest of the season to injury. The team lost a squeaker to the Pitbulls 87-89. Blaine led with a game high 22 points before the injury.
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Skates returns in win for last game
The Venom rallied in the 4th period to pull a 115-106 win out over the Spikers with Blaine Skates who has now only played the first and last game of the season scoring a team high 27 points with 9 boards. Soon-to-be MVP Jay Donati just missed his 8th season triple double scoring 23 points, 10 boards and 9 assists.
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Skates is OUT
Blaine Skates will miss the remainder of the regular season going down after just a half game played in a 109-94 win over the Spikers.
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Skates returns to lead Venom in win
Blaine Skates returned to the lineup to have one of his best games of the season with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. The team beat the Gryphons 105-96.
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Venom remain winless on season
A 100-105 loss to the Paladins sent the Venom their 3rd straight loss to start the season despite Blaine Skates 33 point, 12 rebound game.
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Venom score 43 in 4th to defeat Paladins
Blaine Skates led the team with 30 points, 11 boards and 5 assists while Jay Donati scored 31 to lead the Venom to a 119-93 victory over the Paladins. They finally are back to .500 with Kyle Dulaney returning next game.
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Skates and Venom hold off Spirit
In a down to the wire game and a much needed Venom win game, the team held off the Spirit 106-105 on the back of Team MVP Blaine Skates. He scored 31 points with 9 boards and 6 assists in the win.
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Skates OUT!!
Blaine Skates went down with injury just as the Venom wrapped up the 2nd seed spot in the playoffs defeating the Pitbulls 83-79. He will miss the entire playoffs severely hurting the Venom chances of a championship.
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Skates surpasses Jackson on all-time Venom list
With their league leading 6th straight win, the Venom have set themselves up to contend even with the Gryphons for the top spot in the playoffs beating the Spirit 111-74. Blaine Skates 33 points and 11 boards solidified him as the all-time Venom leader in points, 27 more than legend Rudolph Jackson.
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Skates hits dishes triple double in win
Veteran Blaine Skates served up 24 points, 11 boards and 10 assists in the 111-103 win over the Spikers. This was the teams 5th straigh victory.
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Skates dishes 11 with 37 points in win
Blaine Skates dished his highest assist total since season 12 with 11 leading the Venom to a 105-96 win over the Rhinos. He scored 37 points with 8 rebounds to lead the team.
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Skates offers up 38 to open season in win
Blaine Skates kept truckin' putting up 38 with 6 boards and 7 assists in the opening 119-102 win over the Spirit.
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Venom pick up the pace late
Trying to avoid following up their worst season in history with a duplicate... the Venom have now won 4 in a row and their 4th over the Clash 113-112. Blaine Skates had 31 points with 9 boards and 6 assists to lead the team.
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Venom put up season high 130 points on Gryphons
The Venom showed what the talented offense could do beating the Gryphons by 31. Blaine Skates had an excellent game scoring 36 points with 11 rebounds and 8 assists.
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Skates and Venom triumph over Spikers
Blaine Skates put up 44 points and 10 boards on their way to a 120-95 win over the Spikers
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Blaine Skates enjoys monster game to close out season.
Blaine Skates scored 39 points with 18 rebounds to lead the Venom to a 106-84 win over the Ice. This ends the Venom's season with a career low 21 wins.
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Venom win amazing 4OT game vs Clash
Blaine Skates came away the hero before fouling out in one of the longest games in history where the Venom defeated the Clash 138-116. He winded up with a triple double scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds and a new team record 16 assists. Kyle Dulaney had 20 points with 20 boards before his fouling out.
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Skates leads Venom back to .500
So far it's been a rough road for the defending champion Venom, but they scored a big win 122-112 over the Spikers with Blaine Skates leading the way with 34 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists. Derrick Fons had a big second half scoring 22 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists.
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Skates finally breaks out
Being limited in minutes due to foul trouble the past few games, Blaine Skates finally broke out with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in a 117-110 win over the Dragons.
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Venom on the verge of the title
Now up 2-0 over the Ice, and 6-1 on the season, the Venom need just 1 win in the next 3 games to take their second championship crown. They defeated the Ice 110-103 in championship game 2 with Blaine Skates scoring 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
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Venoms take game 1 as expected
Team MVP Blaine Skates scored 27 points with 10 rebounds to lead the charge 104-94 over the Dragons to take the first post-season game leaving the Dragons still winless in post-season play.
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Venom tie series versus Gryphons
The Venom took the series to its final game tying the series at 2 beating the Gryphons 110-101. Blaine Skates led the team with 35 points in the win.
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Venom bounce back big over Pitbulls
It was only the 4-24 Pitbulls, but it was a need boost to the Venom who whollopped them 123-79. Blaine Skates scored 37 points with 7 assists.
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Venom blast Clash
The Venom beat the Clash 111-87 as Blaine Skates just missed a triple double with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists. Derrick Fons added 27 points with 17 rebounds.
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Skates leads Venom in OT
The Venom propelled the game into overtime with 2 last second 3 pointers and proceeded to beat the Ice 108-103. This is the teams 5th straight win. Blaine Skates scored 28 with 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
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The Venom are in!
For the first time in 3 seasons the Venom have made the post-season...barely. They beat the Clash 111-93 to take the 3rd seed in the playoffs. Blaine Skates scored 32 points with 7 assists to lead the way.
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Venom beat Ice in crucial series
Breaking the tie 3-2 the Venom have won the series with their most competive opponent for the playoffs 107-83. Blaine Skates led the way with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals as the Venom attempt playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons and Blaine Skates first in 5 seasons.
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Skates scores 38 to lead Venom
The Venom have found pace again winning their last 4 games. Blaine Skates scored 38 points, his most since season 6 with 12 rebounds.
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Venom defeat Rhinos in comeback victory
The Rhinos jumped out to a 12-0 lead, but the Venom pounced back to defeat the Rhinos 98-84. Blaine Skates had a huge day scoring 32 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists while Earle Dunneback added 13 points and 12 dishes.
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Venom continue streak with 7 wins in a row
A seemingly impossible streak not too long ago, the Venom beat the standing leader Gryphons 114-107. Blaine Skates led all scores with 34 for the game.
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Venom continue run winning 6 in a row
Blaine Skates led the team with 31 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Venom over the Clash 110-97. They have now won their 6th straight and are finally over .500 again.
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Blaine Skates, OUT FOR THE SEASON
As if things couldn't get any worse, superstar and Venom's top player Blaine Skates will miss the rest of the season with injury. This comes just as the defending champions clawed their way back to .500 after racking up the same amount of losses the team had all last regular season.
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Venom out of the gates looking like champions
Beating the Gryphons 119-98, the Venom pick up right where they left off, dominating. Blaine Skates scored 22 with 8 boards and 8 assists while Julian Harvoth scored a game high 28.
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Clash finally on a another streak, but lose Fons
Derrick Fons will miss the next 3 games after being ejected during the 94-76 win over the Pitbulls. Nicky Horde scored big again with 29 points and 9 rebounds.
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Clash finally on a another streak, but lose Fons
Derrick Fons will miss the next 3 games after being ejected during the 94-76 win over the Pitbulls. Nicky Horde scored big again with 29 points and 9 rebounds.
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Clash pull away from field
With their 6th win in a row the Clash have been distancing themselves from the 2nd place teams. Derrick Fons scored 18 points, 16 points and 5 assists in the 100-88 win over the Spirit.
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Clash pull away from field
With their 6th win in a row the Clash have been distancing themselves from the 2nd place teams. Derrick Fons scored 18 points, 16 points and 5 assists in the 100-88 win over the Spirit.
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Gryphons can't hold on as they lose their 7th in a row
The Gryphons 119 points wasn't enough to overcome the Dragons for their 7th straight loss. Blaine Skates continued his run at a second straight League MVP award scoring 43 points in the loss.
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Horde and Fons lead Clash to win
Nicky Horde scored 34 points while Derrick Fons had 24 with 13 rebounds in a 110-99 win over the Gryphons. The Clash are now 4-0 in the season series with the Gryphons.
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Skates puts up big numbers in win
Trying to single-handedly salvage the Gryphons season, Blaine Skates scored 43 points with 10 assists and 9 rebounds as the Gryphons beat the Rhinos 126-113.
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Clash win 4th in a row and 1st against Pitbulls
The Clash got a crucial win over the struggling Pitbulls 107-100 to get their 4th win in a row and bring the season series to 1-2 versus the Pitbulls. Derrick Fons scored a season high 40 points with 9 rebounds while Nicky Horde scored 16 points with 10 assists and Earle Dunneback with 25 points and 8 assists.
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Skates scores 35 in win
The Gryphons continue to struggle to get back to .500 beating the Rhinos 112-104. Blaine Skates scored 35 points with 7 rebounds in the win.
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Fons scores 34 in win
Derrick Fons scored 34 points with 14 rebounds as the Clash rolled over the Spirit 114-96. Earle Dunneback also had an excellent game scoring 27 points with 10 rebounds.
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Fons ties team record 20 rebounds
Despite Derrick Fons grabbing 20 rebounds and the Clash outrebounding the Rhinos 59-29, they still dropped the game 95-98 to the Rhinos with Earle Dunneback being shutout with 0 points and 0 assists.
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A championship match repeat
The Clash move on to the Championship game against the Pitbulls ...again. They beat the Venom 114-101 to continue their run at a second straight FP Basketball championship. Derrick Fons scored 36 points with 13 rebounds to lead the team.
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All-Star Selections
Blaine Skates was selected as an all-star for the 3rd time in 3 seasons.
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Skates registers best numbers since joining the Gryphons
28 points and, 9 rebounds and a new league record 16 assists were put in by Blaine Skates as the team ends a five game losing skid over the Paladins 128-102.
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Skates returns with a near triple double...but it's not enough
Blaine Skates returned to the lineup putting up 17 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, however it wasn't enough to end the Gryphons 7 game losing streak as they lost to the Pitbulls 100-94.
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Nicky Horde pulls triple double in win
Just another day at the office for the leauges MVP vote leader Nicky Horde. He scored 33 points, pulled 15 rebounds and dished 12 assists in the win over the Pitbulls. The Clash have now defeated the Pitbulls 4 of 5 games this season.
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Skates to miss 10 games
A rough ride for the Champions will get even more bumpy as Blaine Skates will miss 10 games with injury. He leads the team in just about every statistical category this season. Saul Alcorn will start in his place.
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Skates puts up big numbers in win
The slump after Lamar Burnettes untimely season end had the team losing their last 4 games, but a meeting with the Dragons is just what they needed as they go on to win 107-67 in a 40 point blowout. Blaine Skates led players with 30 points and a career high 18 rebounds.
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Now THAT'S what we've been waiting for!
The Gryphons explode for a new league record of 145 points in a game and finally showing the league the offense that they are capable of displaying. Blaine Skates also scored over 30 points for the first time this entire season after 18 games while he had 7 last season in just 21 games. This was their 3rd win in a row defeating the Venom 145-119.
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Fons for Skates: Which team came out on top with the swap
Critics will be watching closely to see which player has a better season, Derrick Fons, or Blaine Skates who were swapped one for the other in the off-season. Both teams are better balanced after the move, but it has yet to be seen which team has benefited more.
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The end....?
A Stunned Clash team saw Blaine Skates carried away on a stretcher to learn later that he would be done for the season with a torn rotator cup. Skates would has been the league MVP so far and sent the Clash on a 9 game winning streak. Now who knows what the fate of the team will be. The fourth pick in the draft Nicky Horde will be back in the saddle pretty soon, hopefully he will be able to pick up where Blaine is leaving off.
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Clash on Fiyah!
Blaine Skates has elevated his game play and has brought the Clash along with him. Clash have now won 8 in a row on Skates 49 point performance to bring his average up to 28.7 per game. Strother also had a career high 36 as the Clash scored a league high 136 points, the third highest total in league history. Skates also leads in the season MVP voting by a very large margin.
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Skates blazes Spikers for 57
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Blaine Skates put up a new league record 57 points on 19 for 31 shooting as the Clash demolish the Spikers 117-87. The record was previously held by last seasons scoring champion Amos Halter who put up 53 in season 1. The Clash are doing without star player Nicky Horde and have been leaning on Skates to pick up the slack...and boy has he!
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Scoring title is still wide open
With rookie phenom Blaine Skates stepping his game in in the face of Nicky Horde out with an injury, and Ivory Heckstalls recent decline in productivity, the race for the league scoring title has been blown wide open. Skates is coming off a career high 42 point game to bring his average over 25 points a game. Heckstall has not been playing as well as he had in the first half of the season and has had his average gone from over 30 points a game, to just over 24 as well. Probably the most consistent performer this season in scoring, Gerald Wehrley has been around 24 points throughout the season and is a big reason the Venom are off to such a tremendous start this season.
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Skates suspended
Things continue to spiral for the Clash as Skates has been suspended for two games for starting an altercation against the Dragons George Depriest.
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Big expectations for the leagues #1
Brian Skates was picked #1 overall for the expansion team Clash. He has been the most highly tauted player in league history and he'll have huge expectations to play up to.
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Big expectations for the leagues #1
Brian Skates was picked #1 overall for the expansion team Clash. He has been the most highly tauted player in league history and he'll have huge expectations to play up to.