The new Midnight Hoops summer basketball league opened to favorable reviews at Eby Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon.

The league features college players from Coe, Mount Mercy, Kirkwood and Upper Iowa, with a sprinkling of players from other schools and a pair of current Metro preps.

"It's a nice way to get up and down the court in the summer. I like it," said 2012 Kennedy grad Josiah Coleman, who is headed to Iowa Western Community College. "It's more physical, it's faster. It gets you prepared for college. I like that."

There are five teams and 44 players in the league. Ben McDermott, a 2012 Xavier grad who is headed to NIACC, got his first taste of what college basketball will be like. He's played in pickup games, but nothing at this level.

"YMCA ball, but nothing like this. There's a lot of talent out there," he said.

The league is the brainchild of Jason Pershing, a former Mount Mercy player who works at Coe and has been an assistant coach at Cedar Rapids Washington.

"It's a wonderful thing," said Mount Mercy Coach Paul Gavin, who has eight players in the league. "We've run open gyms at our place, but it doesn't have the structure and the officiating and so forth. I think this is a wonderful idea by Jason."

Gavin didn't have any trouble convincing his players to participate in Midnight Hoops. "I called it a poor man's Prime Time League, if you will, and their eyes opened up a little bit," he said.

The Prime Time League features University of Iowa players in games at the North Liberty Community Center. The Midnight Hoops League is a local spinoff.

"I think it's a great idea," said Gavin. "I can't wait to see it flourish and hopefully it will expand a little bit. There's probably some more good players out there who don't know about it. I'm real happy with it."

Gavin likes the blend of NAIA, junior college, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III players in the league. "It's a nice mix," he said. "We're all good programs."

Midnight Hoops is a misnomer, in terms of when the games are played. They held a tripleheader at Eby Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon with games scheduled for 3, 4 and 5 p.m.

Source One Logos defeated Nesper Sign, 81-78, in double-overtime in the competitive opener. The other teams are Hills Bank & Trust, Katalyst Systems Inc. and Midnight Hoops.

They play 20-minute running halves, with the clock stopping for free throws and timeouts.