Turning the Wheel: A New Age for CAC Basketball

Before I take a self indulgent trip down memory lane, I want to give you the cliffnotes, the highlights, the tl:dr for any of you born after the year 2000.

• I’m not going anywhere! You can’t get rid of me with a corporate buyout. 
• CAC Basketball isn’t changing. Staff, Stats, write-ups, draft leagues, podcasts, everything you love will still be right here
• There are a lot of fun and exciting perks headed your way should you choose to take advantage of this partnership with Volo Sports

An Age of CAC Basketball has come to an end and a new one with Volo Sports is beginning today. This quote from one of my all-time favorite fantasy series feels appropriate. 

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.” ~Robert Jordan

I’ve had an amazing 19 years as part of the CAC Basketball Leagues (née CRFC Basketball) and while I am looking forward to many more, I’m going to take a few hundred words to reminisce before this Age fades to myth. 

To say CAC Basketball has changed the course of my life is a gross understatement. I knew all of two people in the city when I picked up and moved to Cambridge after college. In 2005, I was bored out of my mind at my first desk job, contemplating giving it up and going to cooking school. My roommate took Tang Soo Do classes at a gym around the corner from our apartment near the Cambridge Galleria. He said, ‘they have this weird little basketball court at the Cambridge Racquetball & Fitness Club. A bunch of guys play, you should give it a shot.’ All it took was a couple of hungover Saturday morning pick-up runs to know that these were my people. 

League sign-ups for a Fall Basketball season were already open so I took a look. They would track my stats and post them on a website? My mind was blown. Did some guy named ‘The Wolverine’ refuse to acknowledge my presence and ignore me in the first few write-ups of my league games? Obviously, because who the hell was I? Finally, after blocking his shot a couple times in pick-up, he put my name in a write-up. My name, on the internet, for playing hoops. I hadn’t had that feeling since my mom was clipping Worcester Telegram & Gazette articles about a 3-0 loss as my high school soccer team dropped our 5th straight game. I did make 25 saves though (ALL-STATE). 

I was hooked. That’s all it took. The morning after playing in my league I’d get to work at 8 (or 9, or 10, depending), check the website to see what else had happened last night and then again after lunch to see what had been posted on the message boards. There was someone named ‘Mixtape’ that was both hilarious and absolutely insane, calling out anyone who ruffled his feathers the previous week. His posts got me through each and every day. The anonymity of the old message boards feels like another world.

I decided to take the plunge and sign on as a stat-keeper, pumping out a couple blogs a week and seeing how much I could get away with. Yes covering the games on the court, but also tracking the drama off it and throwing in some mockery of basketball players that were much more skilled than I am. Was I a little proud when they would look up to the balcony and taunt me, an innocent bystander, after making a nice play against an opponent on the court? What do you think? They were taunting me, ME! 

Stepping onto that weird little court, I have made life-long friends. Three guys I only know because of CAC Basketball were groomsmen in my wedding. In 2006 Dial-a-pizza was offering a $5 pizza deal, so Adam Kneeland and I would walk around Cambridge and Somerville after games obsessively talking about how we’d be better next week and scheme to beat the next league all-star we came across. Yes, we referred to B league players as league all-stars because that’s exactly what they were. 

Thanks to a young, but already bald, Josh Smith, I was the first full-time hire for the basketball leagues as the Player President in late 2007. I was also the last full-time hire, so make of that what you will. Why Josh hired me and thought I was the person who could expand the leagues beyond the walls of that weird little gym I'll never know, but am eternally thankful for. I brought gasoline to an already burning fire. None of us were going pro, but it didn’t matter, it mattered that we were hooping.

Did I mention my wedding? I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the 4-time MVP and one of the best female ballers that stepped foot in CAC, but Caitlin Vestal Tibbetts is HER. My wife, the love of my life and much, much better half thanks to CAC Hoops. We have three amazing, wonderful, precocious, and TALL girls thanks to the Co-Ed Leagues. Hashtag girldad. While on the court the CoEd competition was fierce, from 2007-2010 it off the court there were not one, not two, not three, not four, but five weddings. FIVE, from people meeting each other playing rec league hoops! Of all the decision tree branches that could have altered my life, getting out of bed that Saturday in July of 2005 to play pick-up was the only correct choice.

Even as I took over all day-to-day hoops operations, the best part of this gig was always hiring, helping and marveling at the next generation of league coverage all-stars in the years that followed. It was an absolute privilege. Calling what Jesse Corwin did with “Hangin’ With B Draft” a ‘podcast’ is an insult to his wit, effort and skill. Calling Bobby Haas’ prodigious write-ups anything other than novellas sells him short. We had on-court villains like Brian Fabry, Marc Frail and Mike Gerrity all turn around and cover leagues. Like their personalities on the court, they’d poke and prod in the write-ups too, keeping players active, entertained and involved in the league. Rory Duyon pulled double duty as a play-by-play guy but also taking the time to rank the all-time CoEd League teams for no reason other than the love of the game. A young Sam Boyer came up with the insane idea to give league captains a salary cap to bid on players and sign players for multiple seasons, it made me so proud. No other rec league has anything like the Franchise League, which has lived on for over a decade since its inception. 1 on 1 challenges, 3v3 tournaments, the Hall of Fame, League Nights Out and the CAC CUP are all things outside our league play and very, very much within it.

I honestly could spend another thousand words celebrating the ​​innumerable players, officials and staff that have made our leagues what they are. CAC Basketball has been a part of my life for almost half of it. There are only a handful of guys (Kap, Jamil and Ruff) who are still around and can say the same. Matty Bells started the B Draft League, and told guys, it doesn’t matter how good you are or aren’t on the court, I LOVE YOUR GAME. Francis Plaise covered the Women’s 4v4 league in their heyday and celebrated half court bombs at West Somerville Neighborhood School from our women hoopers long before Caitlin Clark entered the public consciousness. Seth Mclaughlin made everything about wrestling for some reason. O’Cal, Hinkel, JRod, Manning, Bradshaw, Rubiano, Roach, Zuckerman, Graham, Popko, Wolf, DMac, Foreman, Finn, Preston, Weitzer, Said, Counts, Rubin, Hopp, Tejeda, and Englander are all names that don’t mean anything to many of the players today. But to me, they mean everything. The institutional knowledge and history that lives within every bounce of the ball, every made basket and every championship run continues to grow since the leagues were first started in the Fall of 2000 by Josh.

When Covid shut the leagues down in 2020, like many, I was a bit lost. No job and two kids at home all-day everyday, it was somehow over and underwhelming all at the same time. I focused on the little things, every single day. Start a house project, ignore the one that was already started but unfinished, wipe down the groceries, try to keep the kindergartner learning how to read and survive until 4 pm. After 4 PM the rules in the house were suspended. Do whatever you want, go nuts. No one really wants to remember, but you do. Through it all I needed to hear a ball bouncing and live-tweet Joey Lisella taunting bigger, stronger defenders after lighting them up for 30.

Josh and I were waiting in the wings through it all, plotting a comeback. When I got word that we were able to start back up in March 2021, even with only four leagues, I was ecstatic. So much so that I was at the scoreboard every. single. night. I was so happy CAC Basketball was back in my life even though I didn’t know how long we would last. I wasn’t the only one, every player was so happy to be back that only one technical foul was called across all four leagues. You know it was KD, don’t act surprised. 

The fact that we still are still here, to the extent that we are, has made me so proud. Every season, every team, every game, is a small victory. Over the last three years, all the Harrys, Ians, Chas(es?), Alans, Jamils and Devins, have carried on a legacy that stretches back to the turn of the century. That’s bananas. This is rec league hoops! 

Look, I know this is reading as a very long-winded goodbye, but that’s not what it is. It’s a celebration of what has come before and what is still to come. Celebrating an Age that has passed by while looking forward to the Age yet to come. Am I basically Rand Al’Thor? Is that what I’m implying? My editors insist I not be too niche, but too late. I started reminiscing and the words and emotion wouldn’t stop. Also I haven’t put together a write-up in a long time and miss it. 

I’m not going anywhere. Most importantly to you, CAC Basketball isn’t going anywhere. Our leagues, structures, stats and write-ups aren’t changing. Even still, I can admit that things won’t be exactly the same. We’re not drinking on the balcony any more (Reeves) and I’m certainly not ’23 like that’ any more either. 

Volo Sports recognizes the value of our community, camaraderie and obsession with hoops. It’s been 17 years since I’ve had a legit boss in a corporate structure, so I need to get in where I can fit in while carrying CAC Basketball forward into this new Age. 

I’m excited to utilize the resources, know-how and expectations of a much bigger company to raise our leagues to even higher heights in the future. There will be new locations, more perks, more sports to play and volunteering opportunities with kids. All that is right around the corner.

Let me close with this. I love CAC Basketball with every fiber of my being and I’m thrilled to be able to move forward with Volo Sports. Nothing is going to change, our Winter 2025 leagues will run like we would with any other season. We are going to play more games, track more stats, talk more trash and crown new champions. 

5V5 DRAFT SPRING DRAFT REVIEW (taps mic) *is this thing on*

Hi everyone! My name’s Matt Killeen. I’m here to preview the upcoming 5v5 Draft League. I’m taking all questions about the recent draft. Let’s start with you in the front with the Gerald Green jersey?

“Yes, Lendale White, the CAC Gazette. Could you talk through your thoughts on the rookies?”

Great questions Mr. White. We have 10 non-APR rookie this session. They went as high as 3rd overall (Coby Eure) and as late as 43rd overall (Tyler McCullough). But let’s start with the two that THOMAS SKATES took at 5th and 8th overall. Christian Brooks and Kevin Ryff both have HS ball experience, stand 6 feet plus and had captivating bios. Some serious Walt Whitmans. I like the risk taking from Skates here. Let the kids ball. The highest rookie drafted was Coby Eure who has legit D2 AND D1 experience. Did he play both simultaneously? 6’5” 229. Yikes. I heard he plays better at 225 so hopefully he knocks out a sweatsuit run prior to opening tip. If his skills match what it looks like on paper, he’s going to wreck people.

BRIAN HORTON took two more rookies Alex Rosenbluth and Charlie Magiera. Both played high school ball but are an far ends of the spectrum when it comes to understanding their own games. Rosenbluth even specified the type of assists he likes to be involved in (creative), laid out all the areas he likes to shoot from and every type of organized basketball he’s been a part of. Magiera, he just doesn’t know.

EMMANUEL OKHAREDIA scooped two late rookies. Alex Gatter and Prasanna Rajasekaran. This was a requested pairing. Both emphasizing how hard and solid their D is. Sometimes rookies can get a little overzealous with their D. Hoping these guys play with just enough edge to control themselves and not give up a quick shot.

JAMIL BALL, ahem, sorry. DEFENDING CHAMPION Jamil Bell, also grabbed two rookies. Lonny Laureano and Tyler McCollough. McCollugh’s been out of the game for a minute after playing JV ball over a decade ago but, you can tell he’s still got youthful energy based on the .edu email. Laureano is, umm, 17? Is it even legal for us to play with him? I get it though, Bell had to bring down he’s teams average age after pairing himself up with Debari. That leaves Sam Johnson on JACKSON COTE’S squad (pick 42). He hasn’t played “in any league since intramural in college”. So it’s probably good he’s a “pass first guard”.

Next question. You in the back with the... is that a Rasheed Wallace Celtics jersey? You definitely get the next question.

“Thank you Mr. Killeen. Can you quickly talk through the veteran second round picks?”

Oh, man. Yeah, the second round was pretty loaded. The top of the second round for JACKSON COTE’S pick, Zachary Davidson. Davidson is a rookie to this league but is a decorated CAC veteran with his... one season of previous experience. Essentially a 15/10 guy. You have to wonder what’s up with the 0.40 blocks for a guy that pulls down 10 boards a game. But can’t hait on the double double. EMMANUEL OKHAREDIA was slotted in as a second rounder as a captain. Okharedia has excellent court vision and plays some intense man on ball defense. The shooting comes and goes but the passing and on-ball defense is some of the best you’ll find in the league.

Ben Brown went to BRIAN HORTON at 10th overall. Brown was a rookie last year (i think, I’m not checking). And nearly carried his team to the finals after his team limped into the playoffs debilitated by injuries. He can handle, guard, shooter, grab boards. He fits on every type of team. Debari went at 11 which is criminal. Although, I think that just speaks to the talent at the top of the draft. I saw Debari play in (and to be fair, lose) two finals last season. He’s settling into his “old man” game more focused on leveraging angles and getting to the free throw line than blowing past people. But don’t sleep on this man, he will blow by you if you let up. We close out the second round with Elliot Sackman. I know nothing about this guy, but I can promise you there were moments growing up where it was awesome to have his last name and then the pendulum swung the other way. The second round was strong, Debari at 11 is something though.

Next question. You with the Nirvana T-Shirt. You’re not cool enough to wear that but let’s hear your question

(looks down) “you’re right, I just want to feel cool so I pretend to like bands from before I was born, anyway my question is, what are your thoughts at BRIAN HORTON’S final four picks since you watched them all play last season?”

Happy to! Alex Biskelonis I felt like could have been so much more last season. He just got stuck on the worst team in the league. If he’s on a team where he can be the second or third option I think he can be dangerous. Kid can shoot. Captain BRIAN HORTON is another shooter and I honestly wish he’d take more threes, I’d argue he could have been a 5th rounder. Brad Myatt is the kind of guy every team would love to have. He does all the little stuff, communicates on and off the court and actually develop a nifty little mid-range jumper. Paul Orlinsky rounds out the team and if he decided to use his body appropriately he could do some damage as a post-defender.

Next question, the young lady with the “LeBron was robbed of DPOY in 2013” shirt.

“This is going to be surprising question but which team do you think is going to be the strongest defensive team”

Now THAT’S a question. I think THOMAS SKATES’ team jumps out. They have three of my favorite perimeter defenders. Skates himself is a high energy aggressive quick defender who has enough strength to switch onto bigger guys for a moment. Skates tacked on two of the more annoying defender in Carlos Carmona and Othniel St-Ulme. Carmona has lightning quick hands and generates multiple deflections every game. St-Ulme is more of a risk taker and loves jumping passing lanes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it does force teams to be aware of him. The trio of Skates, Carmon and St-Ulme is going to be PITA for opposing guards. Throw in Chris Whitney who has legitimate size near the rim (although he’s more a shot alterer than a shot blocker). This team is going to give people problems on defense.

Next question from the guy with the mullet and the flannel shirt unbutton with no undershirt.

“Yall ain’t say much bout dat boy John Reilly’s team. Why ‘ont ya throw some spam on that skillet and cook up a suttin’ bout dat squad?”

Umm, sure. Reilly drew the 1.01 and picked Nick Mazzeo. I’ve never seen Mazzeo play but the numbers jump off the page. Consistently dropping 20+ across multiple leagues, throwin dimes, getting steals. I’m going to need to make sure my pen is fully loaded with ink to keep up with all the stats. Seems like a great option at 1.01. We touched on Sackman at 2.06 and I LOVE the Dainis Klavins pick at 3.01. Klavins is a knock down shooter who can get his shot off quicker than Forrest Gump in a dorm room. He legitimately changes the course of games in a 3 minute shooting spree. Isaac Julien was the pick at 4.06 and Isaac is one of those ideal pieces to have. He doesn’t demand the ball but he can do everything on the court. No matter how you want to structure your 5 on the floor, he fits. Anywhere from the 3 to the 5 spot. A great utility piece around all the scoring at the top end of the draft. I’ve never seen Abreu play but the guy puts up 2+ stocks a game which is also a nice compliment to the scoring from Mazzeo and Klavins. Kunal Chawla at 36 I think is a bit of a steal. Kunal is a legitimate three point shooter. He’s not neccessarilly creating his own shot but with space he can knock it down with the best of them. He also started to show some aggression driving to the basket at the end of last session. REILLY was slotted in as a 7th round pick. Don’t know much about his game but over a steal game will play alongside the shooters. Lastly, there’s Tyler Pontes who has flashed some good playmaking. It’s a good squad. There’s lots of pressure on Mazzeo and Klavins to score and I don’t know what kind of size they’re working with outside of Julien. But I like the shooting.

Alright y’all we’re running out of time, so I’ll just run through the players on the rest of the squads!

Let’s start with the defending champ JAMIL BALL is what you think of what you think of a floor general. He’s great with the ball, he’s great guarding the ball and he seems to play better the more intense the game is. Great free throw shooter and high high level basketball IQ. Him and Debari on the same team will be fun. Bell added one of my favorite players in the league Alex Yuen. Yuen is a monster rebounder, and great in the pick and roll. He sets HARD screens but paces his rolls so well. And if you sell out to prevent the roll he’s got a nice little free throw line jumper. Dan Buckley was the 6th round pick. Buckley is the prototypical wing player. Plays D, grabs boards and just knows where to be. The kind of pick you never regret. Maurice Klaehene was picked near the end of the draft. His most recent stats are from 2016, so let’s just assume he’s been in the lab for 8 years cookin up some fresh moves and they’re ready to be unleashed on the unsuspecting. But this team probably goes as far as first round pick Jonah Feldman goes. Essentially a 20/12 guy with almost 3 stocks per game. Those are monster lines.

For THOMAS SKATES’ squad we didn’t touch on Aidan Enright and Daniel Hasegawa. Enright might be a bit of a steal if he’s legitimately a double digit scorer. Tough to know much about

Hasegawa’s game but at least he’s been playing in CAC leagues pretty consistently the last year so he SHOULD be in basketball shape.

EMMANUEL OKAHREDIA’s squad opened with Rich Disola. The top APR on the board, Disola is another 20/12 guy with some assists. Defensive impact has regressed his last two season so he’s probably just cooked. Mike Fraher was Okharedia’s third rounder and based purely on APR was a bit of a research but hopefully he’ll just put this comment up on the bulletin board. He’s als one of the SDL guys infiltrating the league this season and I think Okharedia played in that so I’m going to assume Okharedia knows more than me. Okharedia brought back his running mate from last session, Derek Erion, an absolute force on the glass. Although he pulls a couple of Ferris Buehler’s with his attendance. Brock Mickley was scooped in the 5th. Brock is a better play than he thinks he is. Would like to see him play with more confidence, the kid has some game. Andy Sealund rounds out the squad and given Erion’s attendance issues and the unknown rookies in rounds 6 and 7, he should get plenty of run here.

JACKSON COTE’S team is the last to flesh out, opening with Schyler Oliveira. Oliveira can drop buckets and dish the rock. The later of which should mesh well with Remy Baudet who loves to receive passes so he can shoot. I’ve seen Baudet go off for 30 in a game. That’s not true of everyone in the third round. Jackson Cote looks like he focuses 100% on rebounding. Which is good. He can rebound the ball and give it to Baudet. Joe Martin brings serious size to the team. Another guy to grab rebounds and give the ball to Baudet. Corey Fein is an underrated player. His individual stats don’t jump off but I remember multiple close games from last year where Fein either hit a crucial three, or grabbed a critical offensive rebound, or made a much needed defensive stop. I promise you he’ll do that again this session. The second to last pick of the draft was Manisa Chawla who’s coming back to CAC after half a decade off? Let’s see what he added to his game in that time.

There seems to be more top end talent in the league this season than last. I’m excited to see how that plays out.

My gut reaction rankings.

6. Jackson Cote “B2 DROP OUTS” - I don’t know most of these guys, maybe that’s the problem. Outside of Baudet I see scoring being a problem here and sometimes you just need guys that get buckets.

5. Thomas Skates “Hoopa Loompas” - The perimeter D is legit here. I don’t know about the rookies and I don’t see the size here to compete. Also, as good as defenders as some of these guys are, they still need to score. You can’t win purely on defensive pressure.

4. John Reilly (no team name) - I’m sensing a lack of size here. That will hurt you. The teams that went far last year had at least one legitimate big and the team that won it all had two. This team will need to shoot at a high level all season. No pressure Klavins.

3. Brian Horton “Bet The Over” - I like Ben Brown’s game. The Coby Eure bio suggests we have a legitimate hooper coming our way. Biskelonis might finally show what he couldn’t show last session. Lots of upside on this team.

2. Emmanuel Okharedia “Dribble Penetration” - There’s size AND scoring on this team. They’ll need Mickley to be the shooter he’s shown he can in spurts to really open up things for Okharedia and the bigs. Excited for this squad.

1. Jamil Bell “Too Hot for TV” - Size, ball handling, shooting. This team has it all. This team is also full of guys that play good team ball. Bell built a similar type monster last season and they won the ship. They look like the early favorites to do it again.

Excited for the season. Introduce yourself tomorrow if I don’t know you. Glad to see so many back from the winter session. It’s almost tip off time!

By Tyler Pontes

B1 Wednesday Season Awards/Recap/Playoff Preview

What an introductory season to the CAC! It was with the B1 Wednesday group. Every wednesday we had great ball being played with great competitiveness and sportsmanship. Every week there were rarely any blowouts. Except for one team and that team was Commando. They had a 65+ point margin this season which beats the next highest team by 23. Even though they are the second seed they are the team that I think will win it all. That’s no offense to the first place team New Team New. They only lost one game this year and that one game that they lost they didn't have a full squad. New Team New will win the close ones in the playoffs like they did all year, so whatever team battles them you can’t let them hang around. Seeds 3-6 are teams that definitely can beat any team on any given day. But another thing about theses teams is that they can easily be beaten on any given day depending on who shows up.

The Clever Trevors and Leonard and the Boys are the 3rd and 4th seeds. The Clever Trevors were carried by the great duo of Jack Fay and Tony Caletti. Leonard and the Boys were a team who really focused on team basketball and fundamentals of their game which helped them get those 5 wins this season. Both teams can go on a run for sure but have shown that they are vulnerable at times so they need to play their best to beat the top two squads.

Intramural Heroes and Terminator 2 are two teams that I feel like underperformed this season. I felt like both teams should have finished with a positive record. Intramural had win, lose, win, lose type season but had a monster season from Tim Gallivan.. As for Terminator 2 they had a winning record all year until the last two weeks of the season and dropped the last two games.

The bottom two seeds are Them and Mid Range Magic. Them didn’t have most of their team show up until half way through the season and once they started having 7+ guys every week the wins started to rack up. It was a little too late to get a good seed for the playoffs so they'll have a tough match up in the playoffs but what a turnaround for this team. As far as Mid Range Magic, It was a heartbreaking season for them as they went winless. They had some tough losses in overtime and at the buzzer as well. The good news for them is that everyone makes the playoffs and starts 0-0. 

Now I am going to hand out some awards here to the players that I thought deserved to be recognized for their outstanding play this season. 

MVP: Jack Fay, Clever Trevors: He averaged 22.6 points in 7 games played. He came in clutch for his team every week. Everytime his team would be down by 7 or 10 etc it was him who would hit consecutive clutch shots for his team to stay in the game. He also was a great passer which he came in 4th this season in. He gave his effort on the glass too as he averaged 6.2 a game which was 6th in the league. Jack is an all around baller who looks to continue his success in the playoffs.

DPOY: Fry Lavey, New Team New: Fry was a beast this season all around but especially on defense. He created so many fast break opportunities for his team by averaging 2.1 steals a game. He also would block shots and protect the plant very well. He averaged about a block a game. His defense was a huge reason why his team finished with the #1 seed.

Sixth Man of the Year: Adam Liu, Commando: Adam is a great diverse player for Commando. He usually comes off the bench and its a great thing for Commando. He gets alot of free throw chances and scores a decent amount of points coming off the bench. He also creates a ton of turnovers for his team as well. His speed and pace of play will be huge for Commando in the playoffs just like it was in the regular season.

Playoff Preview 

Clever Trevors Vs Terminator 2: What a way to start the playoffs. I would not be surprised if we see the game come down to the wire here. Both teams coming off tough losses to end the year so both teams will come out of the gates firing. If i had to pick a winner it would have to Clever Trevors. The duo of Jack and Tony should come through but won’t be surprised if it goes the other way.

Commando Vs Them: It's going to be tough sledding for Them in their playoff opener. I can see it being a low scoring affair. Commando is my predicted winner of the whole playoffs so I see them winning this one easily. As I have been saying all year they just find a way! Them will need their full squad if they want to pull off the upset!

New Team New Vs Mid Range Magic: Top dawgs against a newborn puppy. New Team New should have no problem winning this game but they shouldn’t overlook Mid Range Magic. If they take Mid Range Magic for granted then it will be them packing their bags.

Leonard and The Boys Vs Intramural Heroes: Just like the first game, I would not be surprised if it's a close game down the stretch. These two teams have been some of the most fun to watch. Bad news for Leonard and The Boys is that Intramural Heroes are coming off their best win of the season. I think because of this, Intramural Heroes will get the win and advance.

Good luck to all the teams! Let's have a fun, healthy and competitive postseason!

Yours truly,

Tyler Pontes

WINTER 24 5v5 DRAFT AWARDS
By Matt Killeen

Well kids, we did it. A successful 5v5 Draft Winter regular season is behind us. We have a litany of outstanding individual performances, a couple of overtime games and an overall “ball” (get it, “ball”, it’s a double entend…nevermind you got it). What started as a simple draft to assembled seven teams via a google sheet/chat ended with four deserving teams moving on to the playoffs with visions of taking down a title. Only one team will get there and the other three will spend the entirety of the (three week) offseason thinking about “what if?”. 

But let’s save that despair for later. We are gathered here now to celebrate the best of the best from the regular season. Bear with me, I can get long-winded. First, let’s run through the All 5v5 Draft Winter teams. For the stats listed to each guy it’s PPG/RPG/APG/stocks (combining steals and blocks). I’m also taking some liberty with the positional designations just to make things look clean. I’ll also list out individual awards next to a player. The individual awards are

MVP

Rookie of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

ALL 5v5 DRAFT WINTER TEAMS

All 5v5 Draft Winter 1st Team 

G - Dan Babour (Country Billy Made a Couple Milly) - 28.1 / 6.7 / 2.9 / 1.4

An absolute force on offense, Barbour had four games of 30+ points including one 40 burger. Even our league’s best defenders struggle to contain him. REGULAR SEASON MVP

G - Drew DeBari (Wise Shots) - 17.1 / 6.6 / 4.0 / 1.3

The driver of Wise Shots’ offensive production and main communicator on defense. Always seems to make a big shot when his team needs it.

G - Dainis Klavins (Wise Shots) - 16.4 / 4.1 / 1.6 / 1.0

The non-scoring stats don’t pop but the gravitational pull of Klavins’ shooting opens up the Wise Shots offense. A menace to chase around who can get hot, fast.

F - Michael Brady (Sauce Castillo) - 15.5 / 15.9 / 1.6 / 3.3

Brady’s offensive RPG would be 6th in the league for defensive rebounds. He alters even more shots than he blocks, and has the best handles of any big in the league. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

F - Sam Davis (Country Billy Made a Couple Milly) - 20.2 / 6.6 / 3.0 / 5.2

Yes, the 5.2 stock number is accurate. Davis plays with MVP Russell Westbrook level energy and has the skills to back it. He’s missed a number of games so almost knocked him down to 2nd team but the production is just so elite. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

All 5v5 Draft Winter 2nd Team

G - Jacob Miller (Sauce Castillo) - 15.7 / 4.7 / 3.1 / 1.4

The main catalyst for Sauce Castillo’s offense. Seemingly always in control of his handle and has the ability to hit from deep and get to the rim.

G - Luke Altobelli (Shoot First Moran) - 16.6 / 6.8 / 1.4 / 1.1

A consistent three point threat that also cleans up the defensive glass. Altobeli also had a regulation buzzer beat that sent a game to overtime that led to a key victory late in the season.

G - Tyrone Mullings (Wise Shots) - 16.0 / 5.6 / 2.6 / 2.0

Mullings can be the best player on the floor in spurts. He has a high level ability to get to the rim and has one 5+ 3PM game on his resume. Just as effective on or off the ball. 

F - Scott Moran (Shoot First Moran) - 18.0 / 5.2 / 1.8 / 2.0

A flame thrower from deep who disrupts passing lanes and helps on the defensive glass. If he’d played more than 5 games, likely would have pushed for first team recognition.

F - Remy Baudet (You Got Tibbs’d) - 18.1 / 3.9 / 2.0 / 0.9

A pure scorer who is liable to pull up from anywhere once the ball crosses half court. The D stats don’t jump out but tough to drop the league’s third leading scorer lower than 2nd team.

All 5v5 Draft Winter 3rd Team

G - Emmanuel Okharedia (You Got Tibbs’d) - 11.4 / 5.1 / 4.1 / 1.7

Our league assist leader showed scoring chops at times as well. Also gets credit for playing in every game this season, 6 multi-steal games and some of the league’s best on-ball defense.

G - Kyle Miller (Hoopa Loompas) - 18.0 / 5.8 / 2.0 / 2.4

Realistically should have been at least 2nd team but getting dinged for only playing in 5 games. But multiple 3s in every game including two 7 three pointer games. Tough defender too.

G - Ben Brown (Hoopa Loompas) - 12.8 / 5.5 / 2.9 / 1.7

In games with Hoopa Loompas were down guys Brown takes on the role of number one option. His relentless defensive energy combined with ability to handle the ball and make plays for others makes him one of the most well-rounded players in the league.

F - Ben Jerome (Breen Bang) - 9.4 / 8.0 / 0.9 / 2.4

The heart and soul of Breen Bang, Jerome is a force in the paint. His combination of size and high energy kept Breen Bang in games. Served as defensive coordinator with his communication on that end.

F - Chris Jenco (Hoopa Loompas) - 12.1 / 4.4 / 0.6 / 1.5

No individual stat jumps out but you always know when Jenco is in the game. His 2-3 minute bursts of taking over game on both ends are a big reason why the Loompas are in the playoffs.

All 5v5 Draft Winter 4th Team

G - Carlos Carmona (Country Billy Made a Couple Milly) - 8.1 / 2.4 / 1.8 / 2.4

The offense started coming on late but the defense was there all season. Insanely quick hands that causes more deflections than the raw steal numbers would indicate. Can make an impact without scoring.

G - Andrew Cooper (You Got Tibbs’d) - 16.7 / 3.3 / 1.7 / 0.9

Sometimes one dimensional playing purely on the offensive side but he can absolutely cook on that end of the court. He frustrated teams with his ability to stop and pull up quickly in the mid-range.

F - Shawn Wise (Wise Shots) - 9.6 / 11.3 / 1.2 / 1.3

The big man holding it down in the paint for Wise Shots does exactly what they need him to do. Grab boards, alter shots and score near the basket. The perfect big man for that team.

F - Angelo Cerbone (Hoopa Loompas) - 9.7 / 7.5 / 2.6 / 2.0

With Cerbone you’re getting endless effort and a guy that loves to operate from right around the foul line, an area teams aren’t used to defending. A very impactful rebounder who can score when needed.

F - Nika Sulakvelidze - (Breen Bang) - 12.7 / 10.5 / 1.8 / 1.8

I’m convinced if Sulakvelidze plays more than 6 games, Breen Bang has a better record. A ferocious rebounder on defense who can score anywhere inside the arc. Sneaky good ball handler too.

There are a handful of guys that just missed the cut here (Jamil Ball, Aidan Chaney, Derek Erion and others) but we had to stop somewhere! Next we’re going to focus on the defensive side of the ball. As sexy as scoring is, defense is where real impact is made. The stats shown are defensive rebounds / steals / blocks. No positional designation here. 

ALL 5v5 DRAFT DEFENSIVE TEAMS

All Defense 5v5 Draft Winter 1st Team

Sam Davis (Country Billy Made a Couple Milly) - 5.0 / 2.2 / 3.0

An absolute monster on defense, Davis can and does guard positions 1 - 5 at a high level. His ability to come from the weak side and block shots is best in the league. 

Carlos Carmona (Country Billy Made a Couple Milly) - 1.5 / 2.0 / 0.4

I know the numbers don’t pop but you have to trust me that Carmona is one of the best defenders we have in the league. He’s lightning quick and will cut off a lane you thought you had.

Emmanuel Okharedia (You Got Tibbs’d) - 7.8 / 2.0 / 0.3

The last thing you want to see when you bring the ball over half court is Okharedia in a defensive stance waiting for you before you even get to the three point line. Few in the league can get by him one on one.

Michael Brady (Sauce Castillo) - 10.1 / 1.1 / 2.2

You need to keep track of where Brady is if you have any desire to score near the basket. He’s coming to swat your shot. If you get one up and miss, you’re not getting an offensive rebound. 

Ben Jerome (Breen Bang) - 5.7 / 1.1 / 1.3

An immovable force near the basket with endless defensive energy. Great at using his body to clear the glass on a missed shot.

All Defense 5v5 Draft Winter 2nd Team

Othniel St-Ulme (Hoopa Loompas) - 1.6 / 1.4 / 0.0

Another one where the numbers don’t pop but St-Ulme makes life hell for opposing guards. He’s always looking to jump passing lanes, guard you body to body on the perimeter and chase down loose balls.

Jamil Ball (Shoot First Moran) - 3.9 / 1.9 / 0.5

Ball had at least one steal in every game this year and always steps up to guard the opposing team’s best ball handler. Throw in the level of communication he does for his team, he could be a foundational piece for any team’s defense.

Tyrone Mullings (Wise Shots) - 3.6 / 1.7 / 0.3

A lightning quick defender that will provide great help defense on the perimeter if you lose track of him. Has a 4 steal game on his resume this season.

Thomas Skates (Hoopa Loompas) - 4.3 / 1.4 / 0.8

A hyper aggressive perimeter defender that always seems to be lurking near the ball. A steal in all but one guys this year, two multi-block games and fights around screens with the best of them.

Angelo Cerbone (Hoopa Loompas) - 5.4 / 1.3 / 0.7

Cerbone’s length combined with his ability to stay in front of guards makes him a versatile piece on defense. Combine that with his rebounding effort, especially for a team that lacks pure size, makes him a valuable defender.

ALL 5v5 DRAFT MUST WATCH TEAM

Lastly, for player awards, we’re going with my MOST FUN TO WATCH players. For this we’re going to exclude anyone that was on any of the All 5v5 Draft Teams. This is just other guys who were fun to watch either for a specific skill, their style or their character.

All 5v5 Draft “Must Watch” Team

Aidan Chaney - Loves to bomb threes without hesitation. Is also as likely to chirp at the opposing team, as he is his own team, as he his the refs, as he is himself

Jameson Luks - He’s actually more skilled than he gives himself credit for but his lack of filter when voicing his frustration with the referees combined with his unique fashion sense get him on this list.

Devin Peck - I’m not sure I’ve seen him smile all season. 100% intensity at all times. Loves to use as much of his body as possible when defending but doesn’t agree with any foul called on him. 

Brad Myatt - Constantly coaching up his team whether he’s on the floor or on the bench. Quickly calls himself out when he makes a poor play. 

Charles Bonasoro - Relentless intensity on defense and has developed a quick trigger from three. Hustle plays galore here.

TOP 10 GAMES OF THE SEASON

There were a lot of great games this season but these ten jump out as the most memorable.

#10: Week 8 Hoopa Loompas beats You Got Tibbs’d 56-53

This game had constant bickering at the referees in the first half that culminated in a technical foul for a fake clock countdown resulting in a four point play. In the second half Thomas Skates and Chris Jenco’s scoring and rebounding helped the Loompas get a late three point lead. Cerbone missed the front end of a 1 and 1 to clinch it but Skates pulled down the offensive rebound and dribbled out the clock

#9: Week 7 Shoot First Moran beats Hoopa Loomaps 56-50

Kyle Miller went absolutely bonkers in this game hitting SEVEN threes, six of them in the second half. The Loompas never could quite grab the lead, getting it down to one a number of times. The latest being when Ben Brown had a chance to tie it late for the Loompas but only made one of two free throws. Shoot First Moran made their free throws down the stretch and survived the Miller assault.

#8 Week 1 Wise Shots beats Breen Bang 55-52

Wise Shots dominated in the first half behind some strong three point shooting from DeBari. But, a strong defensive effort in the second half, sparked by Ben Jerome and three point shooting from Biskelonis got the lead down to one down to one with less than a minute left. Wise Shots free throws pushed the lead out to 55-52 and Breen Bang’s desperation three at the buzzer missed.

#7 Week 8 Country Billy Made a Couple Milly beats Sauce Castillo 61-58

There were A LOT of early fouls in this game on Country Billy Made a Couple Milly, so much so that Sauce Castillo was in the one and one bonus with nine minutes still left in the first half. Despite that they carried a seven point lead into half. But Sauce Castillo stormed back in the second half behind Jacob Miller. The teams traded leads for most of the second half with Miller, Dan Barbour and Michael Brady alternating baskets. Brad Myatt was fouled up two with a chance to close the game out for CBMACM. He calmly knocked down both free throws. 

#6 Week 4 Breen Bang beats You Got Tibbs’d 44-43

A low scoring sloppy defensive affair where Breen Bang got their first (and only) win of the season. Breen Bang closed the game on a 10-2 run to steal this one from You Got Tibbs’d. This run was punctuated by a deep three from Biskelonis, a body sacrificing steal by Ben Jerome and the game-winning free throw by Biskelonis. You Got Tibbs’d went cold on offense at the end of the game. 

#5 Week 5 Wise Shots beats Shoot First Moran 63-61

Wise Shots played this game without Drew DeBari but they had Tyrone Mullings who went off for 28 points. Wise Shots were actually down 9 at the half. But between Mullings and THREE second half threes for Corey Fein they fought all the way back. Lots of ties and lead changes the rest of the way with multiple guys hitting big shots. Mullings hit the game winning free throws when the game was tied at 61 and a desperation three from Scott Moran that didn’t threaten the hoop at all ended it. 

#4 Week 3 You Got Tibbs’d beats Country Billy Made a Couple Milly 54-53

You Got Tibbs’d had a five point halftime lead that they pushed out to 13. That’s when Sam Davis went to work. He had three steals and four blocks in this game and nailed four threes. The end of the game was full of high pressure plays including a three from Brian Horton that cut the lead to 52-51. You Got Tibbs’d had a sequence of missing free throws but getting their offensive rebounds and CBMACM had the ball with time running out. Brad Myatt got fouled shooting a three with less than a second left. He made the first two but missed the third to allowed You Got Tibbs’d to escape with the win.

#3 Week 9 Shoot First Moran beats You Got Tibbs’d 74-71 (OT)

Both teams showed their offensive fire power in the first half combining for nearly 80 points. Andrew Cooper suffered a scary lower back injury after leaping for a block attempt. The game was close the ENTIRE way from opening tip to the end of regulation where Altobeli hit a three with time expiring after a steal by Jamil Ball. The overtime had minimal scoring, just a bucket by Joe Epperson and one free throw. But that was enough for Shoot First Moran to get the win.

#2 Week 4 Wise Shots beats Hoopa Loompas 57-53 (OT)

This was our first overtime game of the season. The most any team led was by 7 and for the most part the game was played within two possessions. The Loompas had a 51-48 point lead late when their two best players on the night (Ben Brown and Kyle Miller) fouled out. Dainis Klavins hit a game tying three to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Klavins hit a three, Corey Fein hit a three throw and the Loompas struggled to get much offense without Brown an Miller. Two Drew Debari free throws closed the door for good.

#1 Week 6 You Got Tibbs’d beats Wise Shots 67-66

With the losses racking up, You Got Tibbs’d needed a win. Emmanuel Okharedi and Andrew Cooper combined for 54 points. Drew Debari had a mid-game cramp that forced him out of the game for a chunk of the second half. He played through the pain to close the game and had a chance to put Wise Shots up three with just seconds left but he missed the second free throw. The ball found it’s way to Andrew Cooper who hit a three just beyond half court as time expired to give us our only game winning buzzer beater of the season.

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

The regular season is behind us now. These are the games that really matter. Our first round matchups are:

#1 Seed - Wise Shots

Vs

#4 Seed - Hoopa Loompas

#2 Seed - Shoot First Moran 

Vs 

#3 Seed - Country Billy Made a Couple Milly

Let’s start from the bottom up

HOOPA LOOMPAS

Why They’ll Win

Kyle Miller is on our league’s most lethal three point shooters. When he’s out their teams have to respect him pretty far beyond the three point line. They also have two of my favorite perimeter defenders, Othniel St-Ulme and Thomas Skates. These two make life absolutely miserable for opposing ball handlers. When they aren’t doing that, it’s Ben Brown, who can fill a multitude of roles for this team. Brown can score 20, he can also get multiple stocks, he even has a 7 assist game on his log. Angelo Cerbone serves as their big and his length plus motor consistently puts him in position to make positive impact plays. Dylan Russell has broken out a bit recently as a rebounding machine who converts those rebounds quickly into put backs. They can also bring in Tyler Pontes off the bench to make open threes. The X-Factor is clearly Chris Jenco. When he’s locked in and active he has an outsized impact on the game. He can shoot, defend, crash the glass. A 3 minute burst from Jenco can change the course of a game. Not too many guys can impact the game so quickly on both ends. The best version of this team is high intensity man to man defense that leads to run outs where Brown, Skates or Jenco are finishing at the rim, or finding Miller for a transition three. 

Why They’ll Lose

The Loompas lack real size, especially when compared to some of the playoff teams. They give up second chance points and don’t generate a ton themselves. Also, outside of Miller they don’t have any real consistent three point threat. Jenco can get hot, Brown can too but I wouldn’t call them shooters. Going to be tough to come back in games they get down early if they can’t hit threes or grab rebounds. The biggest issue for the Loompas right now though, is health. Two weeks ago both Cerbone and Miller suffered what appeared to be pretty serious lower body injuries. They both missed the Loompas last game and the initial reports are positive. Without Miller and Cerbone they lose their best shooting threat and their best rebounding threat, the two areas the team is already weak at. Combine that with the general fatigue over a game with playoff intensity only playing with six guys and those injuries could be too much to overcome. Even if those guys are healthy, a team with capable ball handlers to overcome the intense man-to-man perimeter D plus some interior size will give them trouble 

Record vs Playoff Teams

Shoot First Moran: 1-1

Country Billy Made a Couple Milly: 0-1

Wise Shots: 0-1 

COUNTRY BILLY MADE A COUPLE MILLY

Why They’ll Win

Well, the short answer is Dan Barbour. He has the only 40 point game this season and a couple of 30 pointers as well. Even our best on ball defenders struggle to slow him down. They also have an absolute monster in Sam Davis. Davis is a wrecking ball on defense and can drop 20 with ease. This one-two punch is unmatched across the league. But the talent doesn’t stop there. Carlos Carmona brings great perimeter defense and has shown scoring ability the last couple weeks we didn’t know was there. Brian Horton gives a CBMACM a shooting threat when teams start to focus on Barbour and Davis. Captain Brad Myatt is constantly making the right basketball play in support of those four and is essentially an on court coach for them when they’re slacking on their defensive assignments. Isaac Julien is the team’s best rebounder and competes with guys bigger than him very well. Throw in Paul Orlinksy and Chao Quan as quality role guys and it’s a pretty well rounded team. The best version of this team is letting Barbour playmake in the half court and the other guys play off of that or let Davis attack the rim aggressively. 

Why They’ll Lose

This team also doesn’t have any really intimidating size and no one individual is a particularly strong rebounder. They can also get too reliant on Barbour to make plays. What happens when teams take him out of the game? The biggest question mark for them is the health of Sam Davis. He also suffered a lower body injury a couple weeks ago and hasn’t played since. Without Davis the ceiling of this team drops tremendously and puts an enormous amount of pressure on Barbour’s shoulders. They also aren’t as deep as some of the other playoff teams. With a top heavy roster they can’t really afford to lose guys which is why Davis’ injury is so impactful. If they come across a team with real size and a defender that can at least make Barbour’s life difficult, it could be a short run for CBMACM. 

Record vs Playoff Teams

Shoot First Moran: 0-1

Hoopa Loompas: 1-0

Wise Shots: 1-1

SHOOT FIRST MORAN

Why They’ll Win

This is a deep team. I think they can put any combination of five guys out there and compete. Scott Moran and Luke Altobeli are the main offensive threats. Both are flame thrower from deep and can go on runs by themselves. Moran a little more capable of doing it off the dribble with Altobeli being more of a catch and shoot guy. I also love the leadership and ball handling that Jamil Ball brings. His ability to make the right read on offense and take on the opposing team’s PG on defense is a combo not every team left has. Charles Bonasoro is a hustling menace who has shown some shooting range recently. Throw in Joe Epperson and Mason Gloudemans who are quality wings that can play D and score, Shoot First Moran is well rounded across all of their perimeter players. What they have that no other playoff team has is two bigs with real size. Chris Whitney and Joe Martin really clog up the lane on defense and on offense they grab boards and set great screens. You can’t replicate that kind of size easily. Maybe most importantly, their whole team is healthy. The best version of this team is playing at a slower pace and letting Moran and Ball pick and choose their spots and directing traffic.

Why They’ll Lose

As great as Moran and Altobeli are as shooters and as effective as Ball is making plays for others and getting to the line, they don’t really have a “take over the game” guy. No one qualifies as a “clear out, I’m going to work” and just punishing teams one on one. They also don’t have a third shooter. So if you get one cold night from Moran or Altobeli, tough to see where else they get shooting from. Lastly, for as much size as they have, neither Whitney nor Martin are real offensive threats. I’ve never seen Shoot First Moran throw the ball down to either of them with the expectation that those guys will create offense on their own. Admittedly there aren’t a ton of flaws on this team but these are the couple of minor issues that might make the difference in a playoff game.

Record vs Playoff Teams

Country Billy Made a Couple Milly: 1-0

Hoopa Loompas: 1-1

Wise Shots: 0-2

WISE SHOTS

Why They’ll Win

This team probably makes the most sense for a construction perspective. The pieces make sense together and the players seem genuinely supporting of each other on the court. That matters, especially in close high intensity games. I love the way they use Dainis Klavins, just letting him run off of screens to get off clean looks from deep. DeBari is also maybe the best floor general we have in the league. A threat to make a great pass, drive himself or pull up from deep. But, honestly, Tyrone Mullings might be their best offensive player. He just rarely has to be. But he can score 15 points in a half if needed. Not many teams have that in their “third best” player. They also have two of the best rebounders in the league in Shawn Wise and Alex Yuen. These aren’t empty rebounds either, both guys quickly find ball handlers when they grab a defensive rebound or look for an immediate put back on offense. Yuen actually has some of his own offensive game to get his own bucket. Beyond that there’s Corey Fein who has a three 3 pointer game on his game log this year and always seems to grab a key offensive rebound. Finish this off with Patrick Aspell and Joe Maalouf, neither of which are weak players. Both can score and handle the ball when necessary. The best version of this team is really whatever version they want. I’ve seen them play fast, play slow, go on a three point heater, work the ball in the post, play pick and roll. Very well rounded team that can win any number of ways.

Why They’ll Lose

This team is not known for their quality perimeter defense. Here’s guards points against them by week.

Week 1 - Alex Biskelonis (15)

Week 2 - Dan Barbour (31)

Week 3 - Jacob Miller (21)

Week 4 - Kyle MIller (15)

Week 5 - Luke Altobeli (26)

Week 6 - Andrew Cooper (31) and Emmanuel Okharedie (23)

Week 7 and 8  - (okay, decent defensive performance those weeks)

Week 9 - Multiple Shoot First Moran guys had 10+

Week 10 - Barbour (40)

There are some really good guards in these playoffs. This could be a real problem for Wise Shots. You can somewhat fix that with raw effort but sometimes you just don’t have the foot speed to keep these guys quiet. Part of this is also don’t have strong shot blocking threats. The team COMBINES to block only 2.3 shots per game. That probably contributes to some of these guard performances. Overall, not the strongest defensive team and that could be what they need to be when it matters most. 

Record vs Playoff Teams

Country Billy Made a Couple Milly: 1-1

Hoopa Loompas: 1-0

Shoot First Moran: 2-0

Good luck to all the playoff teams. It was a fun season. Looking forward to a couple weeks of intense playoff games and then hopefully see everyone back for the spring session. Lock in your spot soon! 

By Devin Quinlin

**__A League Preview for W24 session:__**

The new 12-team, same-day, different-gyms format is a unique idea, and I like it. With all twelve teams having already played in the CAC A League before, these teams are familiar with each other and I’m expecting some competitive, intense games this session. With only 8 available playoff spots, the #7 - #10 teams will be battling every possession for a chance at playoff glory in what I imagine will be some unforgettable battles. Below are the preseason power rankings, but anything is possible in a league stacked with this much talent, so feel free to ignore everything I’ve written here.

12.) Team Takeover → Plenty of talent but no chemistry or game plan. Jared Johnson has become one of the best scorers in this division and I love his consistency, but running mates Parker and Toney should be right there with him. Unfortunately, they’ve been too inconsistent, especially in the scoring department, to justify a higher ranking. They’ve added a few new names, with Nick Ritzo being a former D1 track athlete, but I just can’t see Team Takeover ranked anywhere outside of the 11 or 12 spot until they show me otherwise

11.) We The Ones! → Keith has once again added some new guys to the trio of himself, Stanowicz, and Carter, all of whom are solid but aren’t putting WTOs out of the bottom tier. Guy Pistone is a great pickup, as our team finally has a real point guard who will show up consistently, while Arinze Obiora is immediately this team’s best player and is the main reason I put WTOs over Team Takeover. Without Palmer next to him, Rinze will have a lot more freedom to operate, and I expect a stellar session from him. Obi Obiora and Dan Barbour are also new additions, and I might finally not be injured, but I’m not as familiar with their games and I’m heinously short, so we don’t quite move the needle.

10.) Bing Bong → The Wentworth squad is back to Thursdays, where they previously went 3-7. Last session they finished 6-5 on Monday, which is an improvement, albeit in a worse division. They also lose their leading scorer from last session, and while I see a few new names who previously played at Wentworth, I don’t imagine an enormous improvement. Keough will be their go to scorer, while Lennon runs the point and Jaynes and Azums operate down low. While I believe in all of these guys, they will need more consistency, and more assertiveness, if they want to improve on their previous results from the last time they played on Thursdays.

9.) Skelton’s Boys → When Skelton’s Boys first made the jump to A a few sessions ago, I questioned whether or not they could hang, and they decisively proved me wrong. Still, they bumped down to B1 last session and will need to readjust to A again (though I think they can). They kept their best players in Pettit, Horan, Anderson, and Bassett, which is a good core, and added four new guys, none of whom have played in CAC before. Tough spot for SB, who will be competitive with every team in this league, but I predict will lose several close games to some of the better teams in the division. We’ll have to see what the new guys bring, and if they have the size to match-up.

8.) Space and Pace →This is a crazy ranking for the team that just won Monday A League, so I apologize for the disrespect, but I also stand firm that Monday A was significantly worse than Thursday A. James Welch and Colin Bradenese are both excellent players regardless of division, and their chemistry from college certainly helps, but outside of them, I see a steep drop off scoring wise. Pellegrini can score but he’s an undersized big, the Marino brothers are solid but getting older (plus will face better bigs than in B1 or Monday A), and Steve Valacer passes too much. This team will need to grind out wins defensively, unless Welch and Bradenese combine for 45-50+ a game. All that said, this is a solid roster with championship pedigree and experience playing together, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish way higher in the final standings, though I don’t see a deep playoff run for them either.

7.) The Spida Men → The Spida Men are back after a session in which they lost almost every game, but had a positive point differential. They still have a lot left in the tank, but as the age creeps up, consistency becomes the main concern. Jamal can still go with the best of them, Danny Martin has showed no signs of slowing down any time soon, but they lose John Lithio’s absurd efficiency and smart play from last session. Tim Gallivan will need to be more consistent, as he sometimes scores an easy 20+, and other times scores 4 points on two putback layups, though this has a lot to do with the team’s gameplan. They added Martin’s younger brother, who, I believe, has only played in high school where he was listed at 6’0, 165lbs, which is exactly what I put on my MaxPreps page (I was lying). They also added Romario Lauriston, who is a 6’5 wing with Juco experience, averaging double figures for BHCC. They will need him to be that guy if they want to compete with the teams above them. Hard to know how good he will be, but some of the Juco guys can really go, so time will tell.

6.) Ronin Blood Warriors → The RBWs come back with a new look roster this session, as they lose Palmer, both Obioras, and Ray Miller. They do add Kevin Nunez, who had a successful showing in Monday A League a few sessions ago, former D3 national champ Allen Williamson, and Harrison Taggart, who played at U. Vermont before dominating at St. Anselm. These are all excellent pickups, as well as Dave Zielinski, who filled in for Zards in dominant fashion on several occasions last session. My issue with this team is chemistry and familiarity. I have no idea if any of these guys even know each other, and Zielinski, Taggart, and Williamson all fit well in the drive and kick, high level shooting, disciplined style of basketball that defines New England D3 basketball and rears success in CAC A League (look at the top 5 teams for proof). Can the rest of the squad fall into that playstyle, or will this team devolve into iso ball with no group identity? Hard to know, but I trust Dan’s recruiting and believe in them talent wise.

5.) FCHWPO → I covered Team Amherst in B1 a few sessions ago, in which they lost in the championship but were otherwise dominant. Without a doubt an A League level team, I’m hesitant to rank them above the top 4 teams, but wouldn’t be surprised if they were. Johnny McCarthy is an elite scorer, Eric Sellew will be a defensive stalwart, and the rest of the team rounds out nicely with Chris Sellew sniping threes, Fru Che doing a bit of everything, and Will Phelan bringing some size into the backcourt. I can’t say I know every player on this roster, but I expect them to transition smoothly into this division and will have the size to match other teams. I also think their chemistry, both in CAC leagues and from college, bodes well for them in close games. Their matchup with Zards might get a bit chippy, but I’m here for it.

4.) Suffolk → With Palmer out of the league, I am now confident that Bolden Brace is the best player in this division, which will always make Suffolk competitive in any game. George Grillakis has proven that he can go hard to his right against Michael Jordan himself, nearly a guaranteed 20ppg and a more confident jump shot as well. Sam Holtze is an elite two way guard in this league (though I would love to see him shoot more), and he added college teammate Will Jackowitz for some size and shooting. O’Donnell and Big Money Mike return for some interior size and shooting, while Yusuf and Bret Edwards add some shooting in the backcourt, rounded out by the versatile Rob Rizos. Good roster with clearly defined roles for everyone and the talent to compete, the only reason these guys aren’t higher is the consistency of the teams above them. With their Big Three, though, I would never be surprised to see them win the whole league.

3.) Not A Dime Back → NADB cruised through the regular season last session, losing only to Suffolk and locking up the #1 seed, but lost a close one to eventual champs WCS in the second round. My main issue with NADB was Jon Luster, who previously averaged 18.8ppg, 8.3rpg, and 4.7apg in W23, 20.5ppg, 8.9rpg, and 5.9apg in S23, and then inexplicably dropped to 12.4ppg, 5.6rpg, and 4.1apg last session, scoring in single digits four times and just not shooting the ball nearly enough for a player of his caliber. Kind of strange to do a deep dive on a player for a men’s league preview, but I’m a huge believer in his game and was shocked to see him look disinterested last session. Take over the game, Jon, you’re putting up my kind of statlines. Outside of Luster, this team has plenty of other talent, with Kontopidis dominating both ends inside and on the wing, Dom Black consistently among the league leaders in steals, assists, rebounds, two-pointers made, and free-throw makes and attempts, Chris Conner adding elite shooting, and other guys perfectly rounding out the roster. These guys end every game with A+ teammate grades and their chemistry and unselfish playstyle are unstoppable, but they will need Luster to be more selfish if they want to ascend back to the #1 ranking.

2.) Zards → I thought the Zards were finally going to win it last session, but they came up just short in the championship game. From a roster standpoint, I’m not sure there’s a better team, as Dan Wohl is a crazy scorer who repeatedly steps up in big moments, Sam Longwell is the most efficient player in the world, and the rest of the roster perfectly compliment both of their games. One issue I’ve seen with Zards is perhaps too much talent. Mike Kearney is happy to facilitate as a pure point guard, which he does well, but guys like Aronowitz, Flood, and Prodanovic have a lot more to offer in terms of offensive output. I’m a big believer in giving your best guys the ball and letting them make most of the decisions, but Flood can’t be shooting only 1.7 threes per game and getting most of his points off of offensive rebounds. Dan Aronowitz scored almost 1400 points in college and has previously put up like 18 and 14 in this division, yet he finished several games on the bench last session, why not feed him in the post? He had 10 points in the first half of the last session’s final game, he finished with 12. Former Ivy League Big Men Chris Egi and Matt LaBove are impressive down low on both ends, though they seem to alternate weeks and both of their attendance records have been questionable. Melillo is reliable and an excellent shooter aside from the occasional game where he can’t hit a three (happens to any shooter), but outside of him and the top two guys, this team gets inconsistent play from the others and could benefit from some shot diversity.

1.) West Coast Shooters → WCS honestly did not have a great session in F23, going 5-4 in the regular season and getting a bit lucky in the first round with Suffolk missing their two best players. Still, they have the talent and the chemistry, and I can’t say I’m surprised that they won the league. D’Aguanno has become a top player in this league, taking major strides in his game to become more than a shooter, as he’s now their go-to-guy. Jack Fay and Stephen Tam return as an elite backcourt pairing on both sides, while Matt Pattyson is perhaps the most versatile player in the league. Derek Retos is the best catch and shoot shooter I’ve ever seen in person, and Tom Wembanyama reminded everyone that he can do more than crack jokes by dropping 22 and 10 in the championship last session to lead his team to that victory. WCS bring back Hugh O’Neil down low and Andrew Jaworski on the wing, with Jaworski being right up there with Dan Wohl for most polished scorer in the league. They add two new guys in Mike Pusifer (couldn’t find much) and Colton Lawrence, who had a stellar Bentley career before moving to D1 UMBC, where played nearly 30 minutes a contest, averaging 12.2ppg with a few 20 point outbursts as well. Adding a guy of that caliber to your roster certainly cements this team in the #1 spot, and until I get a good reason otherwise, these guys are the team to beat heading into the W24 session.

BY JAY SHAH

Welcome back to the Tuesday B1 CAC League! Very excited to get a new season underway with a couple of returning teams and as many newcomers. Several teams have seen their rosters undergo massive changes as they attempt to become more competitive - namely, last season’s Markit Basketball changing the name of their club to reflect emotional totem pole Ian Shang, and replacing basically their entire roster outside of Victor and Peter Chang in the hopes that it will put them squarely in contention for a spot in the postseason. The reigning B1 unification champs, Men’s League, aren’t resting on their laurels either however as they return nearly every significant contributor from their championship season and add a couple players hungry for rings of their own in Matt McDonough and Louis Dale. Every team in the league expects to be in competition for the postseason and the Tuesday B1 title, but by the time the 10-week season has ended 2 of the 6 squads will already have those expectations changed drastically. While Men’s League sits on top for now, every team in the league is coming for their spot. 

Team-by-Team Previews

Treys for Days

After finishing last season 6-3 (just a game behind the top 2 seeds in Skelton’s Boys and Men’s League) and comfortably grabbing the 3rd seed in the playoffs despite an inexplicable -17 point differential, the Treys will return an identical roster from their last season and hope to rely on consistency and a growing, flourishing team chemistry to finish a bit higher in the standings this time around. Overall, though, Treys for Days is coming off a successful season, having pulled out a thrilling 70-67 win in the semifinals against Skelton’s Boys before falling off in a big way against Tuesday and eventual Unification champs Men’s League, getting smoked 48-65, clearly missing team captain Dana Flood despite standout performances from returnees Wes Schroll and George Thissell. The Treys have to view themselves as the primary competition for the champs and have a good chance to knock them down a peg.

Miyagi-Fang

B2 champs Miyagi-Fang are moving up a division, feeling ready to shed the lower competition and dominate a whole new slate of opponents. Excited to get to know the players on this squad, as I’ve only had the opportunity to watch a couple of them in game action thus far in Djordje Vlajkovic and Spencer Schneider, with each sliding in as valuable archetypes for any team. Vlajkovic is an energetic bruiser in the paint, more than willing to put in the dirty work to pull down tough rebounds on either end of the court and possessing a soft enough touch to make opponents pay for playing him soft. Schneider, meanwhile, classes as a do-it-all 3-and-D player, consistently putting up stats in the steals and blocks category while always being willing to make the right pass, but still able to put up points in a hurry where the situation demands it. It will be interesting to see how these two fit into the architecture of the team, and who on the team ends up being most critical to its success. 

Men’s League

The B1 Unification champs return a nearly identical roster in the follow-up to their fantastic fall season, adding only the aforementioned Matt McDonough and Louis Dale to the roster in their quest for back-to-back championships. George Schultz returns to captain the team once again coming off a 7-2 regular season with a healthy +80 point differential, finishing as the #1 seed. Last season only saw the team see a little bit of adversity, as they dominated most of their regular season opponents with ease and even their postseason had only one game with any sort of competition near the end of regulation, with their semifinal game against CCC Studios going down to the wire with Men’s League obviously coming out on top, up 54-52. Men’s League went on to dominate absolutely from there, winning the Tuesday finals 65-48 over the Treys and winning the unification game by a similar margin, defeating Big T by stifling them 52-37 to claim the crown. Men’s League will look to go back-to-back and continue their dominance this season.

Ian Shang

Though this team has the same star players as last season’s 2-8 Markit Basketball squad (-39 point differential) in Peter and Victor Chang, nearly the entirety of the rest of the roster has been changed in the hope of better competing in this league. While Peter and Victor will look to bring back their brand of high energy basketball punctuated by pull-up threes and fastbreak layups set up by high-risk, high-reward steals, respectively, the teammates around them are completely changed. Yinhao (Ian) Shang, the team’s namesake and most fiery player, also returns, but is surrounded by newcomers in Sean Connor, Chris Denham, Dom Paris, Austen Moye, Jake Wallack, and Jacob Abarbanel - only time will tell if the roster changes will bring with them more wins and a more sustainable style of team basketball. 

Jelly not Jam

Jelly not Jam will come into the league facing off against fellow newcomers Ten Cent Finishers, looking to make an immediate statement by getting off to a hot start in their new league. As I haven’t had the opportunity to watch any of these players participate as of yet, I can’t prognosticate too wildly on what this team’s fortune will be - but seeing Nathan Nebiye, Andrew Lamarche, Drew Dodakian, Nyindu Kabangu, Gabriel Gerhske, Sam Boyles, Corey Page, and Danny Wang out on the court will quickly show how well they can stand up to the competition in the B1 Tuesday League.

Ten Cent Finishers

Also in their first season in the Tuesday B1 League, the Ten Cent Finishers bring an excellent squad name and new talent into the mix on Tuesdays at JFK. Ryan O’Neil, Matt O’Neil, Ryan McCarthy, Kyle Mak, Joe Shaughnessy, Elijah Friedman, and Brian Mullen will all look to make an immediate imprint on the league as they face off against Jelly not Jam tomorrow in a matchup that should rapidly elucidate which of these two fresh-faced squads will have a shot at showing they belong in B1. 

Preseason Power Rankings

1. Men’s League
2. Treys for Days
3. Ian Shang
4. Miyagi-Fang
5. Jelly not Jam
6. Ten Cent Finishers

Ok so it’s the day after the draft. While I’m hearing rumors of trades on the horizon (one already happened and I pray for my guy @Musse ) let me give you guys a ranking. This ranking can and probably will change but for now this is how I see it. Also it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be and I definitely did some shifting of teams while doing it. For a bonus I even gave each team a name or renamed it if you already have one:

10) Let it Go (Keith’s team aka Hoops and Dreams). So my 4 year old daughter loves Frozen. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve heard the Frozen song let it go. In that song there’s a line that says I don’t care what they’re going to say. Clearly this was on Keith mind on draft day and even before by making the most pre draft trades I’ve ever seen. His team name is actually fitting and not bad so props to you there. Ok, so I like Guliano as a player and he even seems like a nice guy but taking him at 10 was a reach. Players like Kopel, Costa, Morel and maybe a few other guys would’ve been a better choice. I’m not going to go into too much details about the other choices but Keith seemed to just be picking names not an actual team that meshed well to succeed in the league. Everyone he picked is a good player/guy however I don’t necessarily think it will be a good enough team in this league unfortunately for those guys

9) Thank you for being a friend (Cam’s team no name) The Ivanic pick was great I’ve been high on him since day 1. Plays the right way and can do everything. With his next pick Joe is where I wasn’t a big fan (no pun intended please don’t take offense). I love Joe as a person and as a basketball player he does some good things out there and goes balls to the wall. I just don’t think the pairing of him with Ivanic is a good one. I get it, Joe wouldn’t have been available at 25 and he’s your buddy so that makes sense but one guy I’d compare to a race car and the other a SUV. I understand the direction you went with your remaining picks too. Overall though I just don’t think this team will be good enough. They will be a tough team and may even surprise a team with an upset win but I don’t see them as contenders for a championship and are on the fringe of not making the playoffs.

8) Back to back on you B***hes (DP’s team Ball Mitzvah) I’m not a big fan of the repeat naming unless it’s the same exact team especially after winning a championship. To me it kinda takes away from your winning team but here we are. I gotta say it because I heard it from more than one person. Taking DTO at 6 was a reach. I get the mindset though and I can’t even say I agree or disagree with the reach thinking. DP wanted Ivanic at 6 who was gone and then would’ve probably traded up if DTO was gone at 16. While I’m not mad at drafting familiarity, sometimes you have to just go a different direction. Getting Wood at 16 was smart especially based off his playoff performance alone last season. The Jewish brother Josh Brown was his next pick and I liked it a lot. Josh can score in bunches and is very competitive. Taking a flyer on the rookie here was another smart decision (especially since you hit a home run with Ivanic last season) and then rounding your team out with Stull who you won a championship with last season made perfect sense. While I do have this team at 8 I think DP had a good draft and this team could mesh well and surprise some teams.

7) Am I my brother’s keeper? (Nick’s team name District 10) I get the team name and I’m not mad at it but mine is better . It feels crazy ranking my teammate of the previous two seasons so low but any team with picks 40,41 and 45 is a tough one to believe in. I’m gonna assume Chris is good but not as good as Preston . If Nick ever decides to transform himself from Al Horford to Joel Embiid we will all be in trouble. Blaike should get plenty of open looks on this team and if he’s on they will be a tough team to stop. On defense I assume they will be playing a lot of zone which could work or not. Definitely an interesting team which could potentially win it all

6) A Dwyer Situation (Dwyer’s team no name). I am completely unfamiliar with Dwyer and his game but he’s coming from a 5v5 environment which usually translates to higher numbers in 4v4. Not sure who told him about Ball and Kopel but this is an excellent pairing and will give opposing guards fits on both ends of the court. Taking rookies can be hit or miss so even if the two he drafted don’t pan out. This team is still very good with their top 3. This team has the making of championship contenders so I’m interested to see how they progress.

5) Gettings to it (Josh’s team Pushing P). I actually like the team name Josh picked and it makes sense too so kudos for that. I like this team overall as well it’s really balanced. My questions would be their three point shooting (no clue if Preston can shoot) and defense. Yes they have Costa who will probably be one of the best defensive players in the league again. Josh is also a good defender. But having a few good defenders doesn’t work out for the best just ask the captain of Costa Coast. Butterworth and Waldman are great reserve guys to have. Josh is fresh off a championship appearance so I know he’s itching to get back and win it all this time.

4) Not Stojakovic or Bogdanovic it’s Vlajkovic (Djordje’s team The Spice Channel). Yeah I feel like if I type out the team name Djordje selected I will have to also type PAUSE at the end of it so I will be referring to them as TSC. Djordje took the best player in the draft at 1 and didn’t make any trades. Paired him with a floor spacer in Ghost. I haven’t seen Chas play in awhile but he’s always been a feisty guard so I like that pick too. AO has improved and probably got drafted at about the right spot. 50 is 50 so you have no choice but I don’t think Tommy is the worst player in this league. He will knock down some shots so that’s a good thing to have also. Missing Chas for 3 weeks won’t be good but if they can survive that and then figure out how to play together this team can win it all.

3) The defense rests (Civale’s team no team name) I’m glad I got drafted to this team so thank you Brian. Before Civale officially joined SDL I played with him as a fill-in with Nick Lynch and man was that fun. Anyways I digress. I’ve heard that Mullings is a bucket and plays defense. He is also coming from a 5v5 space with great numbers. I’m not familiar with Cerbone but he had the 7th highest APR going into the draft so I’m assuming he can play. Sanon is a lefty defensive player that also plays smart. Landy is a good reserve guy that can get hot from three. I like this team a lot and they will be contenders.

2) Never lost (Nair’s team Riggin’ for Higgins). I’ve never been a fan of naming your team after your last round pick well in this case someone you traded for. I’m not mad at it it’s just personally not my thing. I like that Branch is active on Discord and that he was honest in his bio. Him and Nair could be the best combo in the league. I’m not familiar with Skelley but he does have a good APR but hopefully for their sake he has some height. France seems like a sandbag job based on his bio. I’m not familiar with Gilloly but he won’t need to do much until Nair misses games. Higgins is his guy so that rounds out the team. Anytime you have Nair on your team especially in SDL you will have one of the best teams in the league.

1) Emmanuel Mentality (E3 team mamba forever) again the renaming of teams is not for me but if you like it I love it. I know you’re a big Kobe guy so why not just incorporate you and him into a team name? Not gonna lie unlike last season Emmanuel killed this draft. His team wasn’t bad last season but this season he has the bullseye on his back which is completely different than being the underdog. I think they can win in a multitude of ways. I guess the only issue is managing minutes. They are the favorites to win the league right now. Will that be the case at the end of the season? Only time will tell. That’s all I got for now guys. Good luck to everyone and see you next week.

B2 5v5 WINTER 2024 PREVIEW

Alright, we’ve got 4 B2 5v5 divisions and 36 total teams. I’m ranking where I think teams should fall within their division AND their overall ranking. If this futile? Probably! Do I want to give you all plenty of fodder to feel disrespected?? ABSOLUTELY!

Division Rank (B2 Rank) Team Name - Blurb

MONDAY

This league is top heavy. It’s got two bonafide juggernauts with a handful of teams trying to make a name for themselves are some up and down play the last couple seasons. Oh and 3 completely brand new squads to really shake things up!

12 (36) Himmy Turner - Look, there’s nothing wrong with being a new team in the CAC Universe. We all have to start somewhere. Most of us start with more than 5 guys on a roster and one google-able name that works for Draft Kings. I mean, help me out here!

11 (35) Last Chance U - Another almost all rookie team, Nana Adu played last season, but it was with 1-8 Bricksquad, so I’m not sure how much stock I should put into that. Probably none? Wada Salah Eldin’s pfp of zion doesn’t fool me!

10 (33) Lexington Steals - Ever since Gordon Santry left the franchise, the Steals have been in shambles. You know, that time he played 1 game and scored 25 points!  They happened to win 4 games that season? Coincidence? PROBABLY! They’ve got just 3 total wins to their name the last two seasons and I don’t see many more on the horizon unless some big time moves were made this offseason.

9 (29) The Lab - They haven’t played since W23 when they went 4-5 and their leading scorer had less than 15ppg. I see that team captain Eric Franfort has added 3 true CAC Rookies into the mix, but they better bring some fire power with them. This division is top heavy, so making the playoffs might not take more than a coupe wins. Which is probably good since it’s hard to see a lot of wins. But honestly, I feel like I’m being a little mean here…

8 (28) Corner Three - Look, you come in as a new team, you name drop Shea Whalen and you’re getting a bit more respect than your typical batch of rookies. There is legit no reason for me to rank them this high, other than Nick Fothergill said “Shea Whalen sent us” and honestly, that’s good enough for me.

7 (26) WE HAVE FUN - They’re trending up! 1 win in the S23 season followed by 3 in the F23 season projected to…hmmm, maybe 2 this season? No check that, looking at their regular season schedule they avoid Gino Time, they warm up with a rookie team and they have two winnable games in their first three weeks. WHY NOT THEM?!?!

6 (21) Thank You University - 4-5 & 4-5, and 1 playoff win the last two seasons. The epitome of the average team and they’re running back the same roster, as far as I know. Greg won’t answer any of my emails. Is this how it feels from the other side? Wow that sucks, I’ll be better…

5 (18) - Big Baller Brand - I had this team ranked 9th after a 3-7 effort in the WED division last season. Then I actually looked at the roster a little bit. They’ve got 4 CAC Rookies, and one of them has a picture of a BC football player. Using the google machine, that same player also happens to have an instagram of himself in a texans uniform. Now, I’m no expert, but you bring a legit athlete into this league that, even if basketball is his 5th best sport, his biceps still look like they’d pop me like an adalescent white head, i can’t possibly rank them in the lower half of the league. Sorry, those are the rules.

4 (15) - Los Market Baskets - First I had them ranked 8th. Then I had them ranked 6th. Then I took a look around the league and said, fuck it, top 4 team! I can’t discount their championship experience. Yes, you can say that they’re Corporate titles and you can discount them. but during both title runs they took out undefeated juggernauts along the way. that’s grit, that’s championship meddle! One season they barely average 40 ppg, another, almost 60. I think they’re going to be ok in this league! SAUS transitioned well, why can’t they too!  Oh have I mentioned that their first game of the season is against juggernaut Gino Time? What a rude welcoming to the league. What kind of jerk would do that?!?

3 (14) The Unreliables - Honestly it’s one of the most apt names in CAC Basketball.  This team went 4-5 in the regular season and then knocked off BOTH 1 loss teams on their way to the MON title last season. The season prior? just 2 regular season wins and a missed playoff spot. It’s going to take at least 3 regular season wins to get into the playoffs in a 12 team league. If you see them as your opponent in the regular season, maybe you feel good about your chances, but playoffs ?

2 (8) SAUS - This team scraps, this team fights, it’s never pretty but they just get it done. Michel Nofal is a PROBLEM. Last season he was 1st in scoring and 3s made in this division. He gets to the line, he passes the rock, he gets boards, you HAVE to contain him if you want to beat SAUS. It’s much easier said than done.

1 (2) Gino Time  - Some might scoff at this #2 overall ranking, Last season they were 10-1 before falling in the B2 5v5 MON Finals. The season before, they were 11-1 and WON the B2 5v5 MON. If they’re in you’re division, they’re the overwhelming favorite, I’m sorry, they just are. I think THIS is the season that they finally break through. I want this for big Greg Eusden, I NEED it for him. The man is a walking double double its time for his CHIP!

TUESDAY

This league is legit. Precovid, Tuesday at the Cambridge Y was always the most loaded division top to bottom. Now on the new CCC court it’s nearly as loaded. New teams coming into this league have their hands full. If you’re unlucky enough to draw the top teams as the teams you face twice? Good luck.

8 (32) Shrek & His Lads - Look, i’ve got nothing on this team. No one uploaded an intimidating pfp of them playing college football, no one had an obviously googleable name. They’re all generic white guys as far as I can tell. Did Gordon Santry play lacrosse at Colgate against Gerard Lacerte from Bently?!? Does Matt Laffin sell insurance? Probably, those are all white ass names! I got nothing basketball related here

7 (26) Hoop Dreams - Andre Jones is back! He took a season off and has been stealing draft league players left and right to try and form a juggernaut. I just don’t know if it’s going to work here. You need top end draft league guys to compete in B2 5v5 and, well, Andre is no Harry at the recruiting game.

6 (22) Bears - I always have a hard time telling teams where to start. I want them to always try B2 first, but sometimes, I team comes along like the Bears that insist B1 is the way to go. So they struggle through a 2-8 season before realizing “Hey, that Tibbs guy knows what he’s talking about, maybe we SHOULD have played B2!” THEN they jump out to a 4-2 start in B2 and think, we’ve got this shit on lock, before dropping 3 games to end the regular season below .500. So here they are again, have they learned from the last 2 seasons? Well, there’s only 1 team of all of CAC Basketball’s 111 this Winter season not to have uploaded a roster yet, and that’s Ted Blake’s. I have no idea what to expect! Has he added scoring around Danny Shapiro to lighten his load? Is Danny even playing??? For the love of god will SOMEONE hell Will Estes out on the boards? No? WE DON”T KNOW BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE THE ROSTER TED!!!

5 (19) Splash City - This team doesn’t have a lot of offense. Doesn’t make a lot of 3s but feasts at the line. They’re a .500 club, I don’t see them as more than that, but really, what do I know!? Maybe because they finally have their requests of mostly late games made they’ll play better? Let’s see!

4 (16) Make A Swish Foundation - Now there’s a name I’ve not heard in many years. SWISH IS BACK! It’s been what, since 2018? Don’t let this team sneak up on you, they’re going to be a contender if they’ve got a lot of the same pieces they used to have.

3 (9) Julius Swerving - His is pure hate and motivation for Will Otto’s club. They’re always at the top of their leagues and honestly if you have any of the top 3 in a different order, I can’t really blame you. This team wins a minimum of 8 games every single season

2 (7) Eastie Hoops - Eastie Hoops is yet another classic B tweener team. They dominate B2 in Spring 23, going 8-1 before losing in the divisional final. They want a step up in competition so they play B1 in the Fall 23 season and promptly go 2-8, so here they are the next season back in B2. It’s more fun to win than to lose right? However with this absolutely LOADED division, I wouldn’t crown them champs automatically.

1 (3) Plenty of Lotion - Miyagi-Fang took their talents to B1, and rightfully so. These old guys just keep winning. Honestly I don’t know how they do it. Do you know Drew Debari plays AND scores at another gym on Tuesday nights and still finds time to lead this team to victory week after week?! That shouldn’t be possible, he’s almost 40! Why are you people letting him do that you?? Jeff Yeakley, also in the over-40 club, leads this team in scoring with around 15 per game. Usually that wouldn’t be enough to get it done in a loaded league, but Lotion always just finds ways to win.

WEDNESDAY

This league has the #1 overall team in B2 5v5, and yet I have them ranked 3rd out of the 4 divisions. If TAP All-Stars weren’t the defending B2 5v5 Uni Champs the question would be “Is TAP so good because they play in a weak division” instead of “Can TAP repeat as champs without being put through the weekly test that other teams go through?” It’s kind of like being the Pats from 03-18.

8 (34) The Pirates (Reloaded) - I feel like the Pirates have promised to be reloaded for like 3 straight seasons now but what do i know. Kinda feels like the Pats from 19-22. “Oh we’ll be better on that side of the ball, we won’t hire a defensive coordinator as our offensive coordinator again, trust us!” And yet, what do I know? I’m not genius, I’m not round ball guru. That seems to be a theme running across these previews. What, exactly, do I know?!

7 (31) Cheese Boys - They don’t have more than 2 wins in any of the last three seasons. Do I really need to type any more?

6 (24) Team Ahern - This might have no interest to any of you, but there was HUGE drama on the B Draft W24 Draft Board on Thursday night. Now I know why Cam Letalien didn’t draft his buddy Eric Bauman. According to Team Ahern’s roster, Bauman has CUT his buddy Cam between the F23 and W24 season. I wouldn’t take my captain in another league if he did that to me either. Friendships have definitely ended over similar insults. Now, I’m sure expectations were high for Team Ahern last season and a 5-6 record might not have been how they wanted to represent themselves, but for Cam to be the guy to take the fall? That seems harsh. No wonder Cam returned the favor in B Draft.

5 (22) Tim and the Bombers - how many ithaca bombers are on this team ?! I don’t care if they were all bench warmers, if only 1/3 of the league is made up of players that have any college experience and half of your team has those players, you’re going to be in a good position heading into the season. You’re certainly going to get more respect than any other rookie team has the right to get.

4 (20) Handler’s Handlers - Is this the weakest B2 division? Survey says?!? No! but just barely

3 (13) Bob Ross in the Paint - a lot of names i recognize, but no stats, so that means everyone played pre 2023. Could i fire up the way back machine and do more research? Yes! It is 11 pm on a friday night and i’m nursing the very last of my eggnog for the 2023-24 Holiday season? also yes! HOWEVER. I bought my first carton of eggnog the 2nd week of September, and I’m still drinking it the 2nd week of January. That’s FOUR MONTHS of eggnog availability. I HAVE WON!

2 (11) The Somerville Basketball Team - I’m not thrilled that this is my #2 ranked squad. 15-14 combined the last 3 seasons but I just don’t see another squad belonging in this spot. Wildly inconsistent and based on historical precedence actually in line for a down season. Yikes.

1 (1) TAP All-Stars - I’m not going to over think this though. It’s not like every other aspect of my life. I don’t care that this isn’t one of the stronger B2 division. This is the best team in all of B2 hands down. I also don’t care that the Marino’s and Valacer can’t make free throws. It doesn’t matter. this team is too god damn good and I’m am sick of it. Someone (preferably from within this division) knock them off this season!

THURSDAY

This is my top ranked division in all of B2 5v5! Half the teams are in the top 10, two more in the teams, and even the last place team in this division could raise hell on any other night.

8 (30) Tomahawks - Just a brutal division for Ian McGuiness and his boys to return to.  They really wanted Monday nights but it was full. Bummer for them.

7 (24) Terminator - All the talent in the world but haven’t put it together in the B2 leagues. It is unacceptable that this collection of talent has just 8 wins total the last three seasons. Is it time for a change at the top? Why’s Ralph Maalouf still in control of the franchise?? Zach Taylor, Carl Bunge, and Fozan Sadiq have all shared the court at different times the last 2 seasons, all are capable of popping off for 30 at a minutes notice, and yet they’re sitting on 5 total wins! UNACCEPTABLE! When do fans of the Terminator Franchise take to twitter to demand Ralph step down?? It’s time for a new voice

6 (17) A Team Has No Name - I am finding it comical that perennial .500 team, that can beat anyone any given week, is ranked 6th in this division. Team captain Michael Chroney leads the way in scoring, but if they want to break into the top half of the league, a guy like Eric Bradanese is going to have to pour in a few more points each game. I really, really love that Ben Seyoum is always looking to get his teammates shots in the perfect spot to score, but he’s going to need to be more of a scoring lead guard in this league. The top offenses are just too good in this league. Feed yourself first Ben, then make sure everyone else eats.

5 (12) Markit Basketball - A B1 team dropping down usually has absurdly high expectations. If you can pick up a couple wins, have a few double digit scorers in B1, with all that size and solid guard play, you should roll over most B2 teams. Well this division is NOT most B2 divisions. Peter Chang might have told his boys that there are more wins and blowouts on the horizon, but I think they’ll have tougher than expected sledding in this league. And that’s not a bad thing!

4 (10) NNHS - just a stunning turnaround for NNHS in the Fall 23 season, from an afterthought in the Spring to absolutely STUNNING the league and winning the division in the Fall. And for that, even in this loaded division, I’ve got to put some respect on their name. Can they bring the heat week in and week out or was that magical month of December just a mirage.

3 (6) Furious Rim Ticklers - There’s a lot of overlap between Drew Debari’s Thursday team  and the Tuesday team (Plenty of Lotion) but looking back, you can tell this is the tough division. FRT went just 6-6 last season. Still I think this is one of the top overall teams in B2, the new guys just know how to win.

2 (5) Hartbreakers - You’d think that there’s no way a team that dropped down from A 5v5 wouldn’t be ranked #1 in a B2 division, but honestly when I first was putting this together I had them #3 in the THU league. When you’re missing Phil (the true engine of the Heartbreakers franchise, always has been) and Jarvis, what’s left? Well a former B2 champ i suppose. Tucker Landy is still here on a part-time basis, and he’s going to drop 20+ any time he is. Anyone who averages 15+ in A 5v5 is going to get his in B2, they just are. I don’t care how old, lazy, uninterested, sick of his teammates the guy is. He’s going to get his. Oh Devin Jensen is back too? jesus this is a B1 team what am I doing?

1 (4) The Clever Trevors - Fall 23 was their breakout season, it was the time that Tony Calletti was going to vault himself into the stratosphere of CAC stars and NNHS ruined it, rampaging a path through the playoffs to win the division and crush Clever Trevor’s season. Tony was at 15/4/4 and leading them to the title! He was even hitting 37% from 3. Unreal that they couldn't get it done last season. Now they're back, reloaded with a couple rookies and pissed off, ready to climb the mountain top once again.

Winter 24 5v5 Draft Recap 

A classic school yard pick ‘em went down the other night to set the stage for the Winter 24 5v5 Draft League. The tall talented players got picked early. The small “developing” players got picked late. In a world where your bio and your APR determine your worth, were our captains able to walk away with any sneaky value? 

No. 

But - it doesn’t mean we can’t pretend someone did! Let’s dive in. 

The Brad Myatt led “Country Billy Made a Couple Milly” (Let’s pause here for a moment and discuss one thing. What an unneccassrilly long team name. Okay back to the draft). Brad, without hesitation, went with Dan Barbour with the #1 overall pick. A certified bucket getter. When the board finally came back around to Myatt’s pick at the 2 / 3 turn, Myatt went down the board for a rookie (Sam Davis) an a guy further down the APR list (Isaac Julien). Davis has an intriguing bio with some scout team experience and prior CAC MVP (although that was a decade a go). In his 30s now he’s probably not as quick as he once was, but 6’4” is 6’4” at any age. Julien’s bio isn’t as salivating but the stat line reads like a guy that could fit in on any team snagging 7 boards, and 2 plus stocks per game in his last CAC appearance (for my fantasy basketball fans, sounds like a guy with a great 9-cat game). Not wanting to wait for the board to come all the way back around, Myatt shipped out the 28th and 29th overall picks for the 21st overall pick to grab Carlos Carmona. Carmona doesn’t have much recent CAC history but looks like a spark plug scorer (double digit average but doesn’t contribute much). Might be the kind of guy that can carry the scoring load when Barbour needs a breather. Myatt had to wait 16 picks to pick again and went with Brian Horton. Horton’s stat line reads like a guy that does a little bit of everything without needing the ball much. He’s also played in a bunch of CAC recently so you have to assume he’s in basketball shape. Sometimes that’s enough to make an impact. Myatt closed out the draft with Chao Quan and Paul Orlinsky. Two guys that also have recent CAC experience that should be able to give quality minutes. Overall looks like a strong team that has some top end scoring surrounded by guys that can play ancillary roles. 

Jamil Ball was originally slated to pick 7th but shipped out the 7th and 8th pick to move up to #2 (and pick up #16). Ball likely felt pressure to take Scott Moran so that his team name (Shoot First Moran) would make sense. Moran is a 20 PPG guy. The team that win have at least one (and ideally two) guys that can put the ball in the hoop. Anchoring your team with one of those is smart. (Ball himself looks like a scorer, that’s dangerous for the rest of the league). The punishment for trading up for Moran is having to wait until 16 for Ball’s next pick. Surprised to see former Washington Bullets great Chris Whitney still available at 16th overall. After spending the late 90s backing up Rod Strickland…wait..sorry, I’m getting word that this is a different Chris Whitney. The CAC Chris Whitney is a guy that can get boards which can create second shot opportunities for Moran. (I’m curious is Moran is allowed to shoot off of offense rebounds. The instructions are clearly to shoot first which I think would preclude him from shooting second shot opportunities. Note to other teams that you don’t have to cover Moran when this team gets an offensive rebound. Quick turnaround for Ball at pick 21. Which he wasn’t ready for. So he traded

that to Myatt for 28/29. When #22 overall came around Ball was ready, getting rookie Luke Altobelli. With a some high school experience, standing a 6 feet and a self proclaimed shooter, Altobelli should fit right in next to two scorers and a rebounder. After diverting for a rookie, Ball went back to the vets snagging Joe Epperson at #28 overall. A nearly 10 point per game scorer, Epperson shouldn’t be counted to do too much scoring, but it’s nice to know he has that in his bag if some of the other guys get cold for a night. He’s also at nearly a steal and a half per game. Could create some extra possessions for his scorers. With the 29th pick Ball went for size with Joe Martin. Pulling down nearly eight rebounds per game, Martin should pair well with Whitney to give the Moran’s an advantage on the glass. Ball closed out with picks 35 and 36 with two rookies. Mason Gloudemans, who should compliment the scorers and the rebounders well with his focus on hustle and defense. Charles Bansoro a self-proclaimed “Full Time Pain in the A** and “grinder”. Every team loves having a guard like that that will be a pest for the other team (think Caruso, Pat Bev, Marcus Smart). This team seems very well constructed and might be the early favorites. 

Picking out of the 3rd hole was Kevin Gillooly (Sauce Castillo, I appreciate the reasonable length of the team name). Gilooly made Michael Brady the highest drafted rookie of the season. Brady clocks in a 6’6” with some high school ball experience. We’ll see how much of that skill he has left but anyone with that size plus any level of organized experienced should be make a major impact. Jacob Miller was Gilooly’s pick at 12. Miller can be a 15 PPG guy who’s played in the last three draft sessions. Miller also looks like he crashes the glass, plays D and dishes out the rock well. Honestly, with that stat line and experience, probably should have been a top 10 pick. Nice get for Gilooly. Gilooly kept things moving at 17 overall with rookie Aidan Chaney. Chaney didn’t make it as a pro hooper but my guess is he has a potential career as a hype man. The “full time ankle snatcher” and “green bean machine” (which is something I’m concerned to find out the meaning of) made quite an impression on the draft chat. Also, it sounds like you must be a deity to successfully score on Chaney at the rim. Good luck. Gilooly went back to the vets for the 26th pick, grabbing Dan Buckley. Buckley looks like a board crasher, especially on the offensive side. Fits the mold of this team that seems to have a lot of size. Jordan Goldberg came off the board at 31 who comes back to CAC after nearly a decade away. Might take a bit for him to get his basketball wheels under him but profiles as a versatile guard that might allows the Castillos to switch up their lineups. He also clock in at over 6 feet tall. Taha Jenning as teh pick at 40 who’s got recent CAC experience and can also chip in 7-8 points per game. Lastly Gilooly went with Dan Barry who played in the most recent draft league where he put up nearly 6 points per game. Some good experience to round out the roster. 

Skates picked out of the 4 hole. We always knew it was Skates’ pick because their would be a lull in the draft speed. But when Skates did finally lock in he picked Kyle Miller who has the second highest APR of anyone on the board and can be a 20/10 guy. No one would complain about having that on their team. Skates (when we were able to get his attention) went with the 4th highest APR guy Angelo Cerbone with the 11th overall pick. Cerbone snags over 8 boards per game and can get you 10+ points. Two major rebounders to start Skates’ team off. We notified Skates it was his pick again at 18 and he went with Ben Brown. Brown claims to be defender. With Brown defending and Miller/Cerbone on the glass, this team is still lacking some ball handling and playmaking in the backcourt. Dylan Russel was the pick at 25 who adds more defense with his nearly 2 steals per game. Man it’s going to be a pain to play this team if they’re all defense and rebounding. At #32, Skates went with rookie Tyler Pontes. Pontes might get thrusted into some lead guard responsibilities. He claims he’s knowledge for the game is great so this could sneakily be the perfect late round pick for this team. Also claims to like to “play D” so the defensive identity for this squad continues. Othniel St Ulme went off the board at #39 overall. St Ulme can get you a steal a game so he fits in the defensive identity of this team. With Skates’ final pick, #46 overall, he went with Chris Jenco. A lanky playmaking defender who’s APR suggested he should have gone much earlier in the draft. If Skates can get Jenco to match the defensive identity of this team, it’s going to be really hard to get buckets. 

Dan Schwartz was supposed to pick out of the 5 spot but Tibbs subbed for him. Tibbs gave us our second rookie of round 1 with Andrew Cooper. Cooper has D3 experience as well as experience being a practice player for St. Joes. He’s young and can shoot. Assuming that’s all true, he’s likely going to be one of the best scorers in the league. Emmanuel Okharedie got his name called with the 10th pick. Okharedia can score, get boards, rack up assists and get steals. Sounds like a pretty lethal one two punch with Cooper. Antonio Khoury got picked at 17. He’s got HS experience and literally just put his name in his bio. You can’t teach that kind of confidence. Watch out folks. A third rookie got added with Derek Erion at 24. Talk about confident bios. Erion didn’t even write one. But at 6’6” 200 pounds, Derek is going to be ready to push kids around in the paint. Remy Baudet finally came out of the green room at the 33rd pick. A player with 20 PPG on their resume should probably have gone earlier. Rare to find that kind of scoring this late. With the 38th pick, Matt Killeen got picked. That’s me! I CAN’T BELIEVE I MADE THE TEAM!!!! Seriously though. I last played 6 years ago and I can promise you I haven’t gotten better. But I’ll put my fourth quarter free throw shooting up against anyone. Kunal Chawla rounded out the team at pick 47. Never hurts to add someone who’s played in this league before and has a 7 PPG season on their resume. 

Shawn Wise with the narcisstically named “Wise Shots” pick at 6. Wise quickly took Tyrone Mullings at 6. A consistent 16-17 PPG scorer who spiked for 5 assists per game in a recent season with nearly 3 steals per game. Mullings looks like the kind of guy who can set his teammates up for success but can get his own if needed. Drew Debari fell to the 9th pick despite having the third highest APR. DeBari (sorry I missed the capital B the first time), is coming off a 17 PPG season with almost 9 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists. That’s a well rounded stat line that can allow him and Mullings to play off of each other as needed. With the 20th the pick Wise went with Dainis Klavins. Klavins gives Wise another double digit scorer. Klavins also dropped nearly 4 dimes per game in his last season. Wise started his draft with three well rounded players. At #23 Alex Yuen could finally relax as he heard his name called. A year ago Yuen grabbed 10 rebounds per game. He can also be a double digit scorer if needed. Wise continued with his draft at pick 34 with Corey Fein. Fein’s stat line are pretty consistent. 6-7 points per game, 3-4 rebounds pre game and nearly a steal per game. Seems like another guy that can fill in any role that’s needed. That’s the theme for this team through the draft at this point. Joe Maalouf at 42 and Patrick Aspell at 43 rounded out Wise’s draft. This looks like Maalouf’s first foray into the draft league but he did play in another league in the fall. Aspell played in this league last session. I think we’re going to find teams that take players who are already in basketball shape from the previous session are going to off to hot starts. Aspell and Maalouf should contribute to that. 

The final captain to pick was Alex Biskelonis. After trading down from 2 to get the 7 / 8 picks Biskelonis started his draft with Nika Sulakvelidze and rookie Brock Mickley. Let’s start with the rook. Mickley brings HS experience and potentially could have played in college but decided to kick it with the boys instead. My guess is Brock is going to be a high level play maker. His INTRAMURAL championship experience will serve him well come playoff time. Nika his a consistent 10 rebound per game guy. A good big to play off of Brock gives Biskelonis a good foundation at the start of his draft. With the 13th pick (I don’t remember how Biskelonis ended up with the 13th pick) we saw the “Old Kevin Love” Ben Jerome get drafted. There was some debate if this meant Kevin Love who’s old, or Kevin Love from the olden days. Either way, 6’4” 250 with some range will play on any team. Another rookie for Biskelonis at #27 with Jameson Luks. A former football player at 6’2” 225, I have to imagine Luks is going to make going to the rim not an enjoyable experience. Biskelonis continued hammering rookies with Maynard at pick 30. Maynard was a HS team captain so you know his bounce pass is elite. HS may have been a while ago but those fundamentals stay with you forever. Oh and look, at pick 41, ANOTHER ROOKIE! Devin Peck. Peck stands at over 6 feet, he’s only played pick up but getting his request to play with Andy Sealund (pick 44) fulfilled should mean his heart is fully in it. Sealund played HS ball. Hopefully we’ll see some synergy between Peck and Sealund. Not sure how many guys in this league have played together or know each other well. That bond will be helpful. 

With all the information available here, I think Shoot First Moran and the Hoopa Loompas (Skates’ team) are the favorites. However with so many rookies it’s hard to make a clean call. I’m looking forward to a fun season and excited to be back at CAC after taking half a decade away to have a kid. See y’all on Tuesday.

POWER RANKINGS

#8 Team Tucker - Mostly have them here because I have no knowledge of Tucker. I hearing he is 6"5 but reluctant to take over, I think this team will need that. They have legend @roberts so that can change any teams fortune , can he hang in this very tough league . I love Matty and Masone we know they can get buckets but can they gets stops on the other end ? Love the addition of 3pt threat with stull and Mulv but this league is crazy good and I see this team falling short as of now . Maybe when I get a look at Tucker they will change this ranking .

#7 The Corporation -  I don't want to be the one that jumps in on the Corp hate because I am a @Mr 63 and Hoh believer but man he did not have a great off season . No idea the on the rookie but very low PR. I actually love @BigLou16 and @wise.shawn but how the hell are they gonna make sense and find space on the court together . Can my coverage partner Skates improve and take this team to the next level , I will have to see it to believe it. Uphill climb for them.

6 Basket Cases - The champs are here !!! Well actually missing a very important piece in @mleblanc3 . @thundersnarfer will come and provide 3 pts shooting , and leadership but he's not the floor general Marc is. Will Euler be as effective with better defender more attention on him ? I've seen @KapVP bring mediocre teams to great heights , can he do it again ? @bkoller297 will have to go full nuclear mode for this team to be in the ship run , I do think J.mul will take some pressure off him , but I just don't see enough to put them over the top of these other teams right now .

5 Team Joel - How many vacations is @Get Shaffed going I will take the over on 2.5 which Vegas has set . This team is exciting , but could be volatile as they will have to work through bumping the rode . @Red Baron does great when things arnt going well , he doesn't get mad or scream at his team at all ...........can he handle the rough patches ? The defense does have me hot and bothered Joel / Keith will be a pleasure to watch on that end if they are clicking . I saw @Filip totally take over some games , shows this team has a high ceiling . @GTalbot makes his return and everyone is thrilled to see him back , not on the court but to see his face because this dudes a fucking baller , see how he gets back into the swing of things after the knee injury. Djordje was a steal and they needed his size which helped push them up this list . I do see volatility with this team , are the resilient enough to handle that , we shall see ?

#4 Team Harry "HARDING" - This team knows each other very well and that is a strong advantage, their cohesiveness should be on point . Can @Cawley24 put this team who struggled last session over the top ? My bet is yes , they will be a top team . They do have some weaknesses Walker @Da Point Gawd are not the swiftest of players so we shall see if teams attack this . If Cawley / Harding / Vladi have good shooting days these guys will be nearly impossible to beat , so def high potential for a ship but I could see the falling to the middle of the pack . 

#3 Super Hoopers -  At first glance I'm like this team is winning the ship . @e_rosie1 @mleblanc3 @woolly31 is an insane trio , like what the fuck but man they are very very small . Oully is going to have to defend Koller / Hollis / Ini /hoh "s of the franchise world and it's just not going to be easy .its not going to be easy defending them either tbh is is why I have them so high but man it's going to be fascinating to watch play out .

#2 For Whom The Ball Tolls - We back and better than ever !! We said good bye to two legends in @Slick and @thundersnarfer. We made it to the semies and only lost a the buzzer to the current champs and we added the best defensive player in the league in Ini and a beast monster in Robel. I think we have the best defensive team in the league and we have @dp Lerner flying around seems like a recipe for success here 

1 Top Heavy - Basketball is a funny sport usually the team with the best player wins , and @mhollis is easily the best player in this league . @STAT did a good job of putting a faces that Hollis already knew and knows how to play with . Would this team have lost if Hollis didn't miss the playoffs, I don't think so . I have them on top for now