WCB Home Woes Continue

Paul Pleticha

The Windy City Bulls fell to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants 105-100 on Sunday afternoon at the Sears Centre Arena. The Bulls were led once again by star rookie Rawle Alkins who scored a team-high 18 points and had 2 assists and grabbed two rebounds. V.J. Beachem recorded 14 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and had 4 assists coming off the bench. Kaiser Gates had his first career start today and added 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a block. “ Kaiser open some things up for us. Which you saw in the first quarter obviously scoring 32 out the gate. We haven’t done that very many times this year.” Coach Henry commenting on his decision to start Gates over Ferrakohn Hall who  pitched in with 10 points in a reserve role off the bench. CJ Fair completed his eighth consecutive double figure scoring game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Although this wasn’t enough especially on the defensive side of the ball for the Bulls as they let the Mad Ants grab 17 offensive rebounds in the game. Coach Henry said this about those rebounds after the game “If exposed the fact we gotta be tougher, we gotta be grittier and we gotta do it with all five guys.” The Mad Ants played today’s game without their leading scorer Edmond Sumner, who averages 24 points per game. He was called up to the Pacers late Saturday night as the team arrived to their hotel. Rob Gray stepped up for his team in a big way to help fill in the hole left by Sumner with a game-high 21 points off the bench. Stephan Hicks tallied 19 points while also grabbing rebounds, while Omari Johnson had 17 points with 6 boards, Davon Reed recorded a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double and Alize Johnson, one of the G League’s top rebounders, score 14 points to go along with a career-high 21 rebounds and 5 assists. The Mad Ants as a whole grabbed 51 rebounds which definitely helped them defeat the Bulls who only managed 35 boards in Sunday’s game. Windy City is now 1-8 all-time against Fort Wayne and have lost the last 6 head-to-head matchups. Windy City will start an east coast road trip consisting of three games starting with the Westchester Knicks this Tuesday November 27th.

Bulls Win Streak Ends at 3

The Windy City Bulls had their three game winning come to an end with a loss to the Long Island Nets on Friday night 113-99 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates.

This was the Bulls third straight loss at home after winning their home opener on November 2nd. The Bulls were led by Rawle Alkins who scored a game-high 29 points and had a career-high eight rebounds, two steals and two assists. Alkins scored 22 of his 29 points in the 4th quarter. CJ Fair contributed 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Mychal Mulder tallied 11 points and four rebounds. However that wasn’t enough to help the Bulls after they had trouble shooting from beyond the arc going 6-29 on the night.

The Nets bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season Tuesday night against the Westchester Knicks 93-90. The Nets had two assignment players Friday night, Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs. Reserve player Mitchell Creek scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds and two assists. Jordan McLaughlin tallied 17 points and four assists while coming off the bench. Musa had 16 points while pulling in 6 rebounds and finding his teammates for 3 assists. Kurucs contributed 13 points , 4 rebounds and 3 assists. The Nets move to a record of 5-1 keeping their lead in the eastern conference. The Nets next game is later tonight against the Grand Rapids Drive.

The Bulls fall to a record of 4-6 heading into this Sunday’s game against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at 2pm at the Sears Centre arena in Hoffman Estates.

Windy City Bulls lose 4th Straight

Paul Pleticha

Hoffman Estates, IL- The Windy City Bulls lose to Raptors 905 111-91 in Hoffman Estates yesterday to extend their losing streak to four games.

The Bulls played without their star two-way player Tyler Ulis, who was a late scratch by coach Charlie Henry. However with the absence of Tyler Ulis four different Bulls players stepped up and scored in the double digits. CJ Fair finished with a season high 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals in thirty minutes of playing time. Two-way player Rawle Alkins tied his career-high 16 points while adding six rebounds. V.J Beachem and Mychal Mulder each added 15 points each and nine rebounds from Mulder. But it was still not enough for Windy City to overcome Raptors 905.

Raptors 905 was led by two-way player Chris Boucher tallied 24 points and 16 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Their other two-way player Jordan Loyd finished with 20 points and five rebounds, while Christian Watford added 15 points coming off the bench. Deng Adel ended with 14 points and eight rebounds, Uche Ofoegbu and Kay Felder had 12 points each with Felder contributing seven assists as well.

With the loss the Bulls fall to three games under .500 with a record of 1-4. This 20-point win is the largest margin victory in Raptors 905 history and the Bulls largest margin of defeat since losing 124-103 on Jan. 31, 2018 to the Salt Lake City Stars. 

The Bulls will begin a four game road trip on Wednesday night in Memphis facing the Hustle on ESPN+

Windy City Back too it's Winning Way!

The Windy City Bulls snapped their 6 game losing streak last night against the Canton Charge 102-96. 
Bulls guard Antonio Blakeney found his rhythm early in the game scoring 29 points shooting 11/19 from the field and contributing defensively with 7 rebounds; in just 3 quarters. Blakeney sat out the fourth quarter as head coach Charlie Henry relied heavily on his bench to carry the team to a victory. Implementing guys like Tyler Harris, Karrington Ward and newcomer Stephan Hannah allowed players who normally have to carry the team all four quarters to catch a breather. 
Bulls Jarell Eddie bringing a sense of leadership to the team in the fourth quarter, had 19 points and 7 rebounds. The Bulls had an easy win last night. But like every team the Canton Charge will make adjustments tonight as they finish up a back to back with the Windy City Bulls. 
“We will have to review footage, make some adjustments. I’m sure Canton will go back and make some adjustments as well” said Antonio Blakeney.
The Bulls will have to make smarter shot selections tonight. Improve their ball handling and improve their points in the paint to win tonight’s game. Tip off is at 7 pm.

WCB look to end the drought of W's

Tonight the Windy City Bulls host the Canton Drive as they look to snap a 6 game losing streak. After their loss to the Grand Rapids Drive Wednesday night. The Bulls will have to find a way to get back into playoff contention taking advantage of a 6 game home stand. 
The Bulls will need to have more of a presence in the paint going into tonight’s game. They Often struggle to play defense as the opposing team drives to the paint. 
“We have to finish defensive possessions with defensive rebounds” said Bulls guard Jarell Eddie.
Staying consistent defensively and making better shot selections should secure a win they need badly. 

Skid hits 6 vs Grand Rapids

The Windy City Bulls have yet to snap a six game losing streak falling to the Grand Rapids Drive 122-117. With the Bulls trailing most of the game. They had the chance to catch up late in the fourth quarter. But failed to do so despite bringing it the score to within 5. 

Bulls leading scorer Antonio Blakeney struggled to find a shooting rhythm, Wednesday night, he was 6/23 from the field and 2/11 from the 3 point line. On assignment from the Chicago Bulls was Cameron Payne; he had the hot hand scoring 29 pts. Fresh off of a 10 day contract; Jarell Eddie had a solid game as well, scoring 16 pts and was a solid 4/4 from the three point line.
Despite solid shooting from Eddie and Payne; the Bulls struggled to find a presence in the paint. Failing to control Grand Rapids Drive’s Landry Nnoko. Nnoko proving he was a force to be reckoned with, he had a solid double double adding 23 points and 22 rebounds to secure the win for the Drive.

Time to Stomp on the Herd?

Jasmine Morales

Will the Windy City Bulls be able to turn a mini winning streak into a full on run? The Bulls have won their last two games with Antonio Blakeney and Jaylen Johnson leading the way in points and rebounds. Antonio Blakeney leading the league in scoring with an average of 34.3 PPG and Jaylen Johnson continuing his double scoring streak to 11 with a career high of 29 points on 12 of 18 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds.
So what can the Bulls do to continue their winning streak? Bulls head coach Charlie Henry believes they have all the ingredients to finish out games. " They are willing and hungry to close out games" the key to closing out games is "staying consistency defensively all four quarters" said Henry.
The Bulls face the Wisconsin Herd tonight. They are 1 and 1 this season against the Herd. The Bulls will have to do without Diamond Stone who was traded to Salt Lake City on January 17th. Guard Jarell Eddie signed a 10 game contract with the Boston Celtics today and will also not be with the Bulls. The Bulls will adjust their lineup with new edition's Christiano Felicio and Paul Zipser who are on assignment from the Chicago Bulls.
Coach Henry favors his Bulls for winning tonight's game. His key to the game are to:

•Take care of home court
•Do the same things they talk about everyday
• Do not stray from who they are as a team unit
Overall Coach Henry is pleased with how the team has progressed. Tip off is at 7pm