The San Diego Hoops basketball league celebrated the end of their 2003-04 season this past week with their annual awards banquet. It was a big season for the gay basketball league, which was managed by an entirely new board this year. With eight teams participating in the 16-week season, followed by three weeks of playoffs, it all came down to a major upset in the championship game as Morgan Stanley, who had only lost one game the entire season, fell before Fusion in the championship game on March 10.

“I want to thank the players, the fans and the community for this year,” said Bonnie Koerner, the 2003-04 league commissioner, in her opening remarks at the beginning of the awards presentation. “We just kind of want to bring back to what our league is and what we accomplished this year. The reason the league was founded was for gays and straights, who needed an outlet, with basketball being the focus. We are here to have fun, meet friends, play the game and have a good time doing it.”

She added, “This year we really had some barn-burner games and we had some blowouts, but in the end we had fun, and we realized that while playing, we played with levels of competition, like awesome players to players who probably never even played the sport before.”

Over 65 players took part in the 2003-04 season and many were on hand for the awards presentation which took place at The Center on March 24. Team awards were handed out to the first place Fusion Team, while Morgan Stanley and The Loft received awards for their second and third place finishes in the season.

Individual awards were handed out to Eric McDaniels for League MVP, Dan Newbold for Most Improved, Paul Demke for Defensive Player and Dwight Dunn for Never Met a Shot I Didn’t Like. The Jeremy Parrish Spirit Award, the most notable award of the evening, was given to Rod “Buddha” George.

The Jeremy Parrish Spirit Award is presented each year in honor of Jeremy Michael Parrish (1977-2000), a member of San Diego Hoops whose life tragically ended on his way to a dance competition in Palm Springs. The special award goes to the individual who best personifies the sportsmanship and spirit of the league.

“We went back and forth, but the board finally unanimously agreed,” said John Gore, of the league board, when announcing the winner of the award. “This person comes to the games every week. Win or lose has a smile on his face; win or lose, always brings a smile to someone else’s face; comes to the league when he’s not playing; enjoys the league. On and off the court, he’s just a guy that everyone enjoys being around.”

In addition to captaining The Loft basketball team, George has also been a longtime member of the America’s Finest City Softball League.

“Camaraderie is a big thing – I have known a lot of these guys for a long time,” George said accepting the award. “That’s one thing that we should remember in this league. Say ‘hi’ to people; put a smile on their face. Win, lose or draw, we are still here to have a good time and we should have fun on the court, too, but still remain competitive.”

Parrish’s mother, Sharlee Middlebrook, was on hand to present the trophy to George.

The 2003-04 all-star team included Robert Wiggins, Paul Demke, Stuart Leung, Dan Newbold, Dwight Dunn, Eric McDaniels, Dan Taylor and Brian Lee.

The evening ended with the election of new officers to lead the league for its 2004-05 season. David Valenzuela committed the league to continuing its fundraising efforts and is already planning to work with the San Diego American Flag Football League to promote and raise money for the leagues.