Graduate student Pejman Kalkhoran would not be denied the ball
at crunch time.
In the waning moments of the intramural basketball A league
championship game on the floor of historic Pauley Pavilion on
Tuesday night, it was Kalkhoran posting up and calling vigorously
for the ball, though he had not made a shot all game.
In one seamless motion, Kalkhoran grabbed the ball, spun and
shot over the defender from 18 feet, burying the game-winner with
two seconds left to send his team, We Can Shoot, to a 35-33
victory.
Like his catchphrase, “turn on the microwave,”
Kalkhoran heated up when his team needed him most.
“This feels great. I may not have hit a shot all game, but
I got it when we needed it in the clutch,” Kalkhoran
said.
This was not Kalkhoran’s first championship; in fact, it
was not even Kalkhoran’s first championship of the day. Right
before the A league championship, he won the AA league championship
with his other team, Gimme Those, beating Total Destruction
45-41.
“It’s great to see all these guys trying so hard and
showing a lot of heart,” Kalkhoran said.
Despite the teams all having played multiple games that very
day, throughout both games there was a level of intensity rarely
seen in Pauley Pavilion.
Whether it was diving for loose balls, fiercely contesting shots
even when down by double digits, or complaining effusively to the
referees, all of the players showed a considerable desire to
win.
When comparing his A league team to the current men’s
basketball team, Kalkhoran said they played the same hard-nosed
defense as Howland’s squad, but got better looks at
shots.
“Maybe they need me on the team,” Kalkhoran said
jokingly.
Before the games, there was a crowd-pleasing dunk contest, where
all involved actually made dunks. Â The crowd favorite,
“Dunkman,” was cheered heavily for one dunk where he
jumped from halfway up the key and hung on the rim for several
seconds.
Combining the best elements of the NBA All-Star weekend, there
was an informal 3-point shooting contest to go along with the slam
dunk contest.
There was also an ongoing ESPN College Hoops video game
tournament being played on the Jumbotron, the winner of which
received an X-Box.