Winter 24 B1 5v5 WED Season Wrap-Up

by Jason on Apr. 01, 2024

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 & Playoff Preview

by Jason on Mar. 28, 2024

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! 

Winter 24 A 5v5 Preseason Preview

by Jason on Jan. 16, 2024

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.

B1 5v5 TUE PRESEASON PREVIEW

by Jason on Jan. 15, 2024

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

Winter 2024 Saturday Draft League Preseason Power Rankings

by Jason on Jan. 15, 2024

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 UNIFIED Preseason Rankings

by Jason on Jan. 15, 2024

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.

5v5 Draft Winter 24 Draft Recap

by Jason on Jan. 14, 2024

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.

Franchise League Winter 24 Preview

by Jason on Jan. 12, 2024

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

A 5v5 THU Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 28, 2023

By DEVIN QUINLIN

Game 1 | Zards: 80 - Not A Dime Back: 85

NADB Stay On Top in Comeback Win Vs. Zards

It’s no secret that NADB have climbed their way to the top of the CAC A League through their defensive cohesiveness, lights-out three point shooting, and above all, their insane team chemistry. At the same time, though, there’s no shortage of talent on this team, and their top guys are as good as anyone’s. They entered this game without Connor, Black, and Coulter, finding themselves down 37-44 at the half. Zards had three fill-ins, but with all three playing at a high level, NADB needed to respond. They did just that, finishing the game shooting a staggering fourteen of twenty-five (56%) from deep, accumulating 21 assists as a team, and knocking down their free-throws in crunch time. They finished this one off with an 85-80 victory, moving to 3-0 on the season and boasting the league’s best defense through three games.

Even without three of their top players, NADB still boasts the league’s best point guard in Jon Luster, and he showed out once again in this one. Luster shot six of eleven from downtown to finish with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. After a relatively quiet first half, Luster hit a flurry of threes in the second to bring his team into the lead, and he proceeded to go a perfect eight for eight from the free-throw line to ice the game. He just doesn’t make mistakes, always limiting turnovers, shooting efficiently, and coming up clutch when he’s called on. Dre Kontopidis was also stellar in this one, dominating inside and in the mid-range as usual, but also going three of five from three. He finished with 23 points, 7 boards, and a game-high 6 assists, picking apart Zards’ zone defense from the free-throw line extended. Marcus Giese was solid inside, adding a 13 point, 12 rebound double-double, plus 1 block and 3 assists, and one thunderous dunk off an inbounds play. He does a phenomenal job on defense, especially keeping guys off the offensive glass, and he also drew a charge, a true men’s league hero. Mike Synott stepped up majorly on offense, hitting two threes and a crazy lefty floater to finish with 12 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. His defense and ball movement are always top notch, complementing his teammates well, but he continues to step up his scoring when called upon. Chris Cusano missed his first three threes, in the first half, but distributed the ball well to finish with 5 assists before the intermission. In the second half, he hit some clutch threes down the stretch to hold the lead, and finished with an impressive 9 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals, impacting both ends. Altogether a fantastic effort from all five players on NADB, with the stars showing up and the role playing rising to the occasion to keep the win streak rolling.

Weird outing for Zards, who had three players filling in, but all of whom played well. Dan Wohl led the scoring as usual, pouring in 25 points, plus 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He shot six of thirteen from three, showing off his three level scoring ability and coming alive in the second half to keep Zards in the game amidst the NADB second half push. Matt Karpowicz had a stellar game filling in, dominating inside with an 18 point, 11 rebound double-double, including two threes and some strong finishes at the rim. He also came up with 5 assists and 1 steal, showing some impressive court vision and generating ample scoring opportunities with screen assists for shooters. Mike LastName filled in at the point, putting up 18 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, and 2 steals, getting to the rim at will with a shifty handle and quick first step. He hit a few threes and facilitated well, and he actually did a nice job keeping Luster in check for most of the game with steady ball pressure. Dom Mastascusa was the final fill-in, and he showed off some nifty footwork down low and a smooth jumper as well. He finished with 17 points and 10 boards (4 offensive), and was a force on the interior all game. Craig Melillo struggled in this one, finishing with 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, missing all seven of his three-point attempts. A longstanding elite shooter in this division, he will see better days and bounce back in the coming weeks, but he could not find the range in this one, as Zards fall to 1-2 on the season.

Game 2 | Spida Men: 81 - Team Takeover: 63

Spida Men Put Together Strong Second Half, Cruise to Victory

In our second 5v5, no-sub matchup of the evening, the Spida Men turned to their size advantage against Team Takeover’s four guard, one big lineup. With a tight 38-32 lead at the half, the Spida Men turned it up in the second period. They dominated the glass, finishing with 42 team rebounds to just 30 for Team Takeover, and with Jamal Brown back in the lineup, Team Takeover had no answer for for Spida Men’s fast paced offense. The Spida Men would go on to win this game, 81-63.

Danny Martin Jr. was the biggest beneficiary of Brown’s return, as he finished with a dominant 38 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. He shot four of five from the free-throw line, and he picked up tons of easy buckets by sprinting in transition, where his team always does a nice job finding him and rewarding his motor. He also displayed his signature righty hook shot, getting to his spots at will and finishing effectively as always. Jamal Brown returned with a triple-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, making an immediate impact. He had some strong finishes inside and did a fantastic job distributing in transition, as he frequently pushes the break off of a defensive board. He still can’t shoot, but his return is a welcome sight for the Spida Men. Tim Gallivan had a strong game with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. His defensive presence inside alters tons of shots, and he always comes up with a few blocks and tons of rebounds as well. His finishing on offense, paired with the threat of his long ball, opens up a ton of room for his team to operate and get to their spots, and his versatility as a player is a huge part of Spida Men’s success. Lucio Dahlstedt-Brown made his season debut with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, and he looked comfortable attacking closeouts off the catch, while Cedric White added 4 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block in a well rounded effort as a role player in this one. Without Mazz to jack threes, the Spida Men rely heavily on their old-school, low-post style of play, and it worked fabulously in this one. They pick up their first win of the season after some solid performances against two of the league’s best teams.

Team Takeover falls to 0-3 on the season, and their lack of size really hurt them in this game. Jared Johnson continues to score at a high clip, finishing with 24 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He attacks effectively from the perimeter with some strong finishes and beautiful floater package, and while his shot has been off this session, he has proven to be a reliable shooter in the past. Michel Toney stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists (team high), 5 steals (game high), and 1 block. He knocked down three triples, facilitated effectively, and brought his usual defensive intensity with a nice chasedown block and 5 steals as well. Trevor Parker added 11 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, and 3 steals, playing decently but not quite up to his standards. Combined, these three shot five of twenty-four (20.8%) from three, which isn’t going to cut it against the shooting prowess of the other teams in this league. Sana Dahaba hit two of his five three-point attempts, finishing with 8 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Dahaba has been very solid this session, proving to be a solid shooter and reliable ball handler as well. Julian Beach did an admirable job down low in this game as his team’s only real big. He finished with 7 points, 9 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 steals, and 2 blocks, battling hard against Spida Men’s bigs and doing a lot of the dirty work on defense. There are a lot of positives on this roster, but Team Takeover will need to improve from three and on defense to pick up some wins as the season wears on.

Game 3 | Suffolk: 63 - West Coast Shooters: 88

West Coast Shooters Win In Another Offensive Masterclass

West Coast Shooters continue to run circles around their opponents in the regular season, shooting a ridiculous seventeen of thirty-five from three and tallying 24 assists and 12 steals as a group. Their offensive explosiveness paired with the defensive focus of guys like Tam and Pattyson from the Shooters Shoot squad make this a fearsome team on both ends. Suffolk was without Bolden Brace, and WCS took full advantage with a commanding 46-33 lead at the half. The second half was much of the same, as they expanded their lead, winning 88-63.

Jack Simonds made his session debut and was the best player on the floor in this one. He shot three of five from deep and I’m not sure I saw him miss a mid-range jumper all night. The stretch-big finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists (game high), and 2 steals in the win, doing a bit of everything to lead his team in points and assists. Jordan Rote is another guy who can go get a bucket at any time, as he put up 19 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Rote shot three of six from three, canned all four of his free-throw attempts, and used his lightning quick first step to get downhill at will. Matt Pattyson followed up his 19 point performance last week with 17 this week, plus 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He shot four of five from deep and continues to show off his playmaking while maintaining his presence as an elite perimeter defender. Derek Retos hit another four threes to finish with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, while Stephen Tam was impactful, particularly on defense, with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Tom Palleschi led the team with 9 rebounds and Jack Fay chipped in 7 points and 3 assists, and West Coast Shooters find themselves with the league’s best record and the largest point differential.

Suffolk were missing perhaps the best player in the league in Bolden Brace, and it showed, as they only recorded 11 assists as a team. Logan O’Donnell stepped up with 20 points, 12 boards, 1 assist, and 2 steals. The big man has shown off some impressive footwork over the last two sessions, but knocked down three triples in this one as well. His offensive outburst adds a needed interior presence to open up space for shooters and George Grillakis on the drive. Grillakis also had a solid game, finishing with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. WCS definitely put an emphasis on containing his drives, but he was still able to attack effectively, drawing fouls and finishing well inside. He leads the league in scoring, is second in made 2pt fgs, and is first in both made and attempted free-throws. Nick Budesheim was extremely active in this game, and his high motor effort kept Suffolk in the game for stretches. He chipped in 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, and his 4 offensive rebounds were a game-high and a boost for his team. It wasn’t enough to pull out the win, but after showing some flashes in the first two games, it’s clear that Budesheim needs to be more active in Suffolk’s offensive game plan. Sam Holtze returned with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. As one of Suffolk’s top players on both ends, he will need to shake the rust off and return to form quickly with so many competitors in this division, though I’m confident he will bounce back immediately. Yusuf Liban added 2 points and 1 rebound, while fill-in Blake LastName chipped in 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. As a group, Suffolk shot three of twenty from deep and five of fifteen from the free throw-line, which can be chalked up to a bad performance from them. Still, without Brace to control the flow of the game, Suffolk struggled on offense and will need to be better going forward to get back in the win column.

Game 4 | Ronin Blood Warriors: 83 - We The Ones!: 61

Ronin Blood Warriors Massacre We The Ones in Glorified Pickup Game

This game got out of hand quickly, as Ronin Blood Warriors went up 51-28 at the half. A completely one-sided affair, RBWs were implementing a trap press near half court for much of the game, applying too much pressure with their length and athleticism for We The Ones to handle. After the half, we ran out the time quickly, as things just got more ugly as time wore on. After probably only 32 minutes of actual basketball (if you can call it that), the refs called the game and RBW walked away with an 83-61 victory.

Again, the effort and actual basketball being played in this game were questionable, but there were a few notable performances. Marcin Papla made his debut and started the game going a perfect seven of seven from three. He ended up shooting nine of thirteen, and while the defense wasn’t the best at times, there were some contested shots, and nine threes is nine threes no matter how you slice it. He finished with 27 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal, and I’m curious to see how he plays in a real game, though I think he’s made it clear he can shoot with anyone in this league. Deven Palmer added a smooth 22 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals, and 2 blocks, going about half speed. Not his best shooting performance at thirty percent from deep, but he was just a step ahead of everyone else on the court and will be able to get whatever he wants on offense, even in real games as well. Arinze Obiora was also impressive with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals, knocking down four threes, while Ray Miller added 8 points and 5 steals and Guy Pistone chipped in 6 points and a game-high 8 assists. It’s still difficult to place RBW in the rankings, as they blew out WTOs in this game, beat Zards in a forfeit and barely lost to defending champion NADB. Time will tell, but they certainly have the talent to go far.

We The Ones were outclassed in this game, plain and simple. Ty Moore was not, though, as he shot ten of eighteen from three for 33 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Even though full court pressure, double-teams, and basically the entire defense focused on him, Moore was phenomenal, hitting deep threes of the dribble, sprinting around screens for looks off the catch, and generally being the only player on WTOs who could compete in this game. Moore is currently fifth in scoring among players who have played more than one game, and has been impressive in every outing this season. Other than that, big man Akim Sanni had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 block, while Kahreem Blake chipped in 5 points, 9 boards, and 3 assists. Jordan Carter hit a three for 3 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, but ultimately there just wasn’t much to write home about for WTOs, who were missing Jalen Bruce and Grady Levi sorely in this one. They move to 0-3 on the seaso

B1 5v5 TUE Week 4 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 27, 2023

By: JAY SHAH

WEEK 4 9/26

CCC Studios (61) v. Treys for Days (49)

Studios ride massive first half to comfortable win over Treys

After an 0-2 start, CCC Studios clearly knew they needed a spark. They got it in the form of Nick Bates and Rodney joining/returning to their lineup, and both teammates immediately showed out to lead the team in scoring. Bates was a master on the inside, grabbing 8 makes in the paint as he maneuvered around the various defenders the Treys sent his way with relative ease, not seeming to break a sweat splitting a double team or backing down a bigger defender on his way to 18 points. The only place he faltered at all was the free throw line, where he made only 40% of his tries, but his ability to get himself there remained plenty valuable. Meanwhile, Rodney had a stellar first half especially, making 3 shots from both the paint and beyond the arc, often pulling up from well past the line - clearly, he was extremely confident in his stroke and it showed as he shot over 40% from three. Chris Voukides was a late arrival but immediately made his impact felt, cashing in twelve points, also primarily from downtown. Mike Salis played the point guard role once again for this team, as he dished 5 assists and grabbed the most boards on the team to clean up the glass and dribble the ball up while setting up the offense for this team. CCC Studios looked somewhat hapless in their open to the season, but with these reinforcements in tow and their team in full gear, they look pretty frightening once again - look for them to get a serious roll going here in the midseason.

The Treys for Days had a miserable first half defensively, as it seemed like every trip CCC had down the floor against them, the Treys let in a bucket. They were doubled up at half in what was the worst halftime deficit so far this season in the league, heading into the break needing only to double their 22 points to match CCC Studios’ 44. The squad as a whole stepped it up in a big way in the second half, led once again by Dana Flood, who scored 16 points to lead the team as he looked aggressively for his own shot in the latter half. George Thissell was right behind Flood, scoring exclusively on the interior as he leveraged his size against a relatively small CCC team to decent success. It was a solid formula for the two as Thissell and Flood were both magnetic offensive presences in their respective areas (the paint and the perimeter, respectively) to allow their teammates to operate in the space in between. Chief beneficiary was Sam Issenberg, who used that space to drive to the interior time and again and drew foul after foul; Issenberg took an incredible 10 free throw attempts, though he was only able to sink 4 of them. It was a tough game after a solid win against Eastie Hoops the last time out, so they’ll be looking to get over .500 once again against a Wat Rats team coming off their own get-right win.

Next up:
CCC Studios (1-2) at Skelton’s Boys (2-1) - 10/3 6:30p
Treys for Days (2-2) v. Wat Rats (2-1) - 10/3 7:30p

Men’s League (71) v. Skelton’s Boys (59)

Men’s League hold on to early lead, withstanding each Skelton run on way to big win

Men’s League started up 3 to 0 due to Skelton wardrobe issues, and they never ended up relinquishing their lead in securing a wire-to-wire victory. The first half opened extremely well for them, with them building a significant lead to pad their initial buffer. Skelton’s Boys, however, playing with only their 5 starters and no bench, put up a significant fight, with Erik Petit in particular putting the team on his back en route to his team-leading 20 points. At the tail end of the first half, Petit, Henry Bayly and Doug Horan each put in huge buckets for Skelton to cut Men’s League’s lead from 12 at its apex to a much more manageable 5 going into the break. In the second half, Elijah Anderson got his shot going, making 4 of his 8 attempts from three and providing crucial rim protection against the suddenly oversized Men’s League squad. His 2 blocks and 12 points were crucial for Skelton as they tried to prevent Men’s League from running away on the scoreboard. The closest the margin ever got was 4 points after the first bucket of the game was scored midway through the second half, as Skelton’s Boys just couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the net at just the right time. Horan had the look of someone who in the second half could potentially break through with that game-tying basket, but his 16 points could not bring a tie to fruition. 

James Morse and Tyler Seibring led the way for Men’s League, scoring 16 and 15 points respectively. Both players used their size all over the court in fact, securing 5 steals and 2 blocks between them along with 10 boards. Morse dialed back his attempts from deep to some degree, instead leveraging his touch to make tough shots inside as he drove into the paint for his most effective usage of the night; he drew 3 shooting fouls and converted all but one attempt from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Seibring scored inside as well but had a nice touch from deep, sinking 2 of his 3 attempts from there. Jack Anton and George Schultz held a co-lead in assists for the team, with 3 apiece, each getting theirs in a different manner, with Anton finding opportunistic cutters and Schultz dealing it to open shooters. Will Childs-Klein added 10 points on the inside, being fed with great entry passes and even throwing down a dunk on the fast break. It was a resilient performance from Men’s League, as they weathered each punch Skelton could manage without ever giving in. When they have all their players, this team is scary.

Next up:
Men’s League (3-1) at Eastie Hoops (0-3) - 10/3 8:30p
Skelton’s Boys (2-1) v. CCC Studios (1-2) - 10/3 6:30p

Wat Rats (58) v. Markit Basketball (48)

Back-and-forth first half turns testy down the stretch as Wat Rats pull out huge win

The game started out as well as possible for Markit Basketball, once again the most well-attended team on the slate this Tuesday night after being caught lacking last week. They won the tip and raced out to a pretty significant lead from there, at one point in the first half firing to a 22 to 11 lead and looking like they might have a dominant night with nearly all of their players available. The Wat Rats, however, answered with an incredible run to end the half, outscoring Markit Basketball 17 to 6 down the stretch to tie the game going into the break. The matchup was characterized primarily on both sides by voluminous turnovers - neither team could seem to take care of the ball, including one stretch midway through the first half wherein the teams combined for 5 straight turnovers without a shot attempt, followed by a timeout by the Wat Rats, followed by another turnover. It was a sloppy game, but at least the scorekeeper was generous with the steal numbers, with Markit Basketball and the Wat Rats each totalling 12 steals on the night. 

The second half turned from messy to feisty as frustration started to mount for both teams in a tough game to watch. Ian Shang and Anthony Coppola had a small dust-up, exchanging words as the refs stopped the game to separate them - luckily, Shang and Coppola made up just a few minutes later as the game wore on. The Wat Rats’ other Coppola was amazingly the highest scorer in the league on Tuesday night, grabbing 23 points solely on looks from inside the arc and including 7 points (on a massive 14 attempts) from the free throw line. Any improvement on his touch from the stripe could see M. Coppola consistently being the league’s leading scorer, a title he’s already competing for at this point. A. Coppola and Matt Coffey rounded out the top trio on offense for the Wat Rats, coming away with 14 and 11 points respectively. For the Markiters, Raj Patel found his shooting stroke once again to come away with 11 points to lead the squad, but behind him it was a very egalitarian spread, as Victor Chang had 8, George Phillips had 7, and both Shang and Kevin Dorosh had 6 points. The Wat Rats came away looking like a complete team led by star Marco Coppola who seemingly cannot be stopped, while Markit Basketball will be looking forward to getting itself right (and hopefully getting Cameron Gleichauf back into the fold) during its bye next week.

Next up:
Wat Rats (2-1) at Treys for Days (2-2) - 10/3 7:30p
Markit Basketball (2-2) - BYE

3 Stars:

• James Morse (Men’s League) - 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
• Marco Coppola (Wat Rats) - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals, 1 block
• Nick Bates (CCC Studios) - 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block

Power Rankings:

1. Men’s League (+1)
2. Wat Rats (+3)
3. Skelton’s Boys (-2)
4. CCC Studios (+3)
5. Markit Basketball (-2)
6. Treys for Days (-2)
7. Eastie Hoops (-1)

B2 5v5 TUE Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 25, 2023

Week 3 Write-ups

By: DEVIN QUINLIN

WEEK 3 9/19

Game 1 | Splash City: 39 - Bear: 66

Bears Pick Up First Win in Dominant Fashion

After two fairly competitive games against the league’s top two teams, the Bears finally land a win against Splash City. Up 40-12 at the half, this game was never in doubt, and the Bears won by a decisive final of 66-39.

John Bowllan led the scoring with 17 points on three of five shooting from three, adding 11 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. Bowllan has been extremely active on both ends for the Bears this session, but finally got his offense going in this game, making some impressive fade-away threes from the corner and finishing well inside on the break. Danny Shapiro put up 13 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists (game-high), and 2 steals in the win, going three of six from deep and facilitating well from the point guard spot. He also had a mean ankle breaker in the mid-range on a stepback, making his defender touch earth. Will Estes was on fire in the first half, finishing with another double-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 assist. His offensive production has been a bright spot for the Bears this session, and his defensive rebounding has always been stellar. Will Ross still looked a bit rusty, but shot three of five from three to finish with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Paul Cooley finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal with some nice passes and finishes inside (even though Mark took one away). Baris Durgun added 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals in the win, bringing solid defensive play, while Ted Blake was instrumental in the win with only 2 points, but 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He facilitates incredibly well from the free-throw line extended and gets his team so many extra possessions with his offensive rebounding. Fill-in Rory Palmer added 5 points and 9 rebounds. Overall a strong game for the Bears, and the first win in the young career of interim head coach Sam Blomberg. It’s been reported that former head coach Jason Behrens shed a single tear upon hearing the news of Blomberg’s first career win.

Splash City just couldn’t get much going on offense in this one, going four of twenty-seven from three and generating only 5 assists as a team. Bryden Goings finished with 13 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal, shooting an impressive three of five from deep and hitting both of his free-throw attempts. Definitely a solid game from him in the backcourt, while point guard Mike Pang also played solid with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He had some crafty finishes at the rim, converting two and-ones and definitely providing a steadying presence for his team. Other than that, there wasn’t much production from Splash City. Matt Wulbrecht finished with 5 points and 3 boards, Colman Shea added 4 points, 7 boards, and 1 steal, and Ben Bennet chipped in 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal. Just not a lot of cohesion among this group, though there is some talent on the roster. They will see better days.

Game 2 | Team Ahern: 54 - Pirates: 47

Team Ahern Pull Out Strong Win Against Pirates

Team Ahern have seemingly found their groove, moving to 2-1 on the season and looking like one of the top teams in this division. With the Pirates making their debut, I wasn’t sure what to expect from them, but they look to be a solid team as well. Still, Team Ahern led 25-20 at the half and maintained their lead to finish the game with a 54-47 win.

Nick Martin was impressive for Team Ahern, using his size to dominate both ends. He finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds (5 offensive), and 1 steal, finishing well inside but also showing off some Dirk-esque one-legged fadeaways in the mid-range. He will be their key player going forward. Anthony Scanzo-Masiero still needs to be added to the roster, but he is a long-range sniper, going four of ten in this one to finish with 16 points and 5 rebounds. This guy is a professional chucker, and as a chucker myself I absolutely love to see it. Does he take terrible shots? Yes. Did he hit four threes when no one else in this game hit more than one? Also yes. Shooters shoot! Ethan Collins finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds (3 offensive), and 2 blocks. He couldn’t quite get his mid-range shot going, but he still had a major impact on both ends. Eric Bauman finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal, and I would love to see him look for his shot more, as he’s proven to be an efficient three-point shooter, albeit on low volume. Cam Letalien finished with 1 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists (game-high), 1 steal, and 2 blocks, showing off his versatility and distributing well to cutters and shooters, while Zach Gordon was tough inside with 3 points, 10 rebounds (4 offensive), 1 steal, and 1 block. Dave Bonaiuto hit a three to finish with 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal, while Doug Watford added 4 boards and 1 assist in the win. Strong performance from Team Ahern, who definitely seem to be getting more comfortable playing with each other.

The Pirates had a lot of unforced errors in this one, which I will chalk up to first game jitters. Other than that, they looked like a solid group and I expect them to be competitive. Nick Fay was getting his all game, putting up 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals on some strong takes inside. He also hit a three and shot three of four from the charity stripe, establishing himself as his team’s main offensive threat early in the season. Patrick O’Loughlin had a strong 10 point, 13 rebound double-double, plus 2 assists and 1 steal. As a guard, 13 defensive rebounds is impressive, and he also had some nice drives to the rim. Mike Cellucci added 10 points of his own to go along with 2 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He shot zero for five from three, but his form and the eye test tell me that he will be the main shooting threat on this team, and I expect him to start canning a few threes every game once he finds his rhythm. Ian Vieira finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, but he should’ve had more dimes as his team missed some easy layups. Either way, he did well driving and facilitating. Tom Banks added 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, while Myles O’Loughlin chipped in 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block, with both guys making a strong impact on defense. A lot of bright spots here for the Pirates, who look to be a solid team but will need to show out against one of the other top teams to establish themselves as a top team instead of a middle team.

Game 3 | Plenty of Lotion: 65 - The Substitutes: 36

POL Move to 3-0 In Easy Win

Much like the first game, not much to say here. Plenty of Lotion are a top two team in this division and they just outmatched the Substitutes in every facet of the game. With a 43-14 lead at the half, this game was never close, and POL win by a decisive 65-36 final score.

Guy Pistone continues to do his thing, finishing with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. He shot five of nine from three, even though someone on the Substitutes kept yelling to let him shoot, which was just strange behavior given that they shot seven of thirty-four from deep as a team. Either way, Pistone is the clear second best player in this division, and he will continue to lead his team game after game. Drew DeBari got his three ball going, shooting three of seven to the tune of 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, always solid and reliable in the backcourt as a shooter and facilitator. Anthony McDaniels added 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, while Yancy Brown was active with 8 points (two of four from three), 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Dan Ollquist and Garrett Vinett were in a rebounding battle with each other despite being on the same team. Ollquist finished with 4 points, 16 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 assists, and 3 steals, while Vinett came up with 3 points, 17 rebounds (5 offensive to get the edge), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. Even without the scoring, both guys were instrumental in the win, and absolutely dominated the glass. Solid performance from POL, who face off against Miyagi-Fang next week in the battle of the top top teams.

The Substitutes just didn’t have it tonight without Yianni Grupen. Doug Law stepped up with 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists, shooting four of thirteen from deep and making some nice passes from the top of the key to penetrate POL’s zone defense. Other than that, no one else scored in double figures. Matt West hit two threes for 6 points and 5 rebounds, Ryan Pitcher put up 5 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block in a well-rounded game. Gal Hulli grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with 4 points and 2 assists, while Lexi Kimball put up 4 points and 3 boards in the loss. M. Rutherford (add him to the roster please), was active with 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, but the Substitutes will need more offensive production to win some games this session.

B2 5v5 THU Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 25, 2023

B2 5v5 THU Week 3 Write-Ups

By: JAY SHAH

WEEK 3 9/21

Lexington Steals (53) v. Furious Rim Ticklers (60)

Yeakley’s three point shooting downs the Steals as Lexington’s post work goes unrewarded

The Lexington Steals squad didn’t manage to come away with the win today, but it did seem like they found their groove scoring, or at least had a strong offensive game plan they can draw from in the future. Specifically, Scott Saveriano and James Long operated primarily down low out of the post, and were consistently able to either back their defenders down with their size and strength or operate around them with crafty spin moves. They led the team in scoring with 15 and 14 points respectively, also using their positioning down low to make passes to the outside when their offensive prowess began to draw double teams and their teammates did a nice job kicking the rock around the perimeter to find open shots. Eli Brick especially did a great job finding teammates, including a near alley-oop to Saveriano for one of his four assists. A few more makes from behind the arc would’ve made a huge difference in this contest; look for the Steals’ shooting luck to improve on open looks and an uptick in points on the board to follow.

Jeff Yeakley, in contrast, couldn’t seem to miss after his first few shots for the Furious Rim Ticklers. Yeakley ended with an incredible seven makes from three point range on fifty percent shooting, even using the threat of his deep ball to draw a foul on an attempt on his way to a team- and night-leading 26 points. Yancy Brown and Drew DeBari saw how hot he was from range and found him over and over again, dishing a combined nine assists in the process. DeBari and Brian Phillips rounded out the top trio of scoring for the Rim Ticklers, as DeBari followed Yeakley’s lead in cashing in from deep (also on fifty percent shooting) while Phillips took advantage of the gaping holes in the paint created by the team’s outside shooting to put buckets in from the paint, though he also fired away from range. Despite the team’s name, the Rim Ticklers seem to live and die on their three ball, and on this Thursday night they couldn’t have done much better.

Next up:
Lexington Steals (0-3) v. NNHS (2-1) - 9/28 9:00p
Furious Rim Ticklers (2-1) at A Team Has No Name (1-2) - 9/28 6:00p

Run and Gun (49) v. NNHS (56)

Run and Gun fall apart late as NNHS pulls even and then ahead in second half

Run and Gun had it going early, as they went into the half with a 7 point lead (up 25 to 18). The deep, well-attended roster was full of contributors, with Eduardo Deleon returning to a featured role with 23 points, including 4 of 9 shooting from deep and 3 of 4 from the charity stripe. The wily guard often took over possessions on his own, whether deciding to pull up off the dribble from behind the arc and finding the bottom of the net in critical game situations or driving along the baseline and twirling up a crafty lay-in. Stevy Alves, the team’s tallest player, was able to operate close to the basket, and the threat of his size caused NNHS to foul him repeatedly, as Alves made 5 separate trips to the line. However, Alves was unable to make them pay for fouling him, and instead bailed them out by shooting only 3 of 9 from there - a crucial 6 points to miss out on, given the final differential of 7. Robinson Tejeda was another crucial piece for the team Thursday night, as his inside scoring and three steals helped keep Run and Gun ahead early, able to match baskets with NNHS despite their prolific second half. Jeremy “Jermz” Gomes and player/coach Rafael Figuereo got themselves going from deep, as they combined for 3 makes from behind the arc on 6 attempts - look for both to shoot more going forward on this roster loaded with disparate talent. Run and Gun did, however, have some trouble with the refs due to their vocal nature, as their callouts from the bench got to the point where Anton Polanco drew a technical, leading to a couple free points for NNHS.

NNHS played a unique style of game in this league, taking only 6 threes and making none of them. Instead, the team combined for a massive 22 makes from inside, relying on driving layups and midrange jumpers to make their hay. Charlie Rao led the team in energy and in scoring, parlaying his steal, 3 blocks, and 4 offensive boards into 14 points almost entirely from within the paint, with a couple more chances just rimming out. Rao continues to come on strong for this team. Matt Wood backed Rao up in scoring, grabbing 13 points for himself as his 3 attempts from three fell short, but his touch from midrange was dialed in. Mike Gately did an excellent job at all the little things in this one once again, crashing the boards hard and skying high for rebounds and finding his teammates for a team-leading 3 assists. Spencer Schneider, the team’s third-leading scorer with 8 points, used his height to great effect on both ends, leaping over defenders as he drove to the hoop while also compiling 2 steals, 3 blocks, and 3 offensive boards. The team was down at half and searching for answers, and it appeared the halftime break provided those for NNHS, as they stormed back quickly to tie the game with 13 minutes left in the second, scoring again right after to force a Run and Gun timeout. They didn’t look back after that, never relinquishing the lead again.

Next up: 
Run and Gun (0-3) at Julius Swerving (2-1) - 9/28 8:00p
NNHS (2-1) at Lexington Steals (0-3) - 9/28 9:00p

Calypso North Stars (57) v. A Team Has No Name (54)

Three point shooting carries the day for North Stars once again as Evans’ work inside comes up just short in furious rally by No Name

The Calypso North Stars have been watching lots of Golden State Warriors basketball the last few years, as they made only 8 baskets from within the three point line and combined for a massive 36 attempts from deep, cashing 12 of them (33%) for over half of their 57 points. Tony Caletti once again led the way for the team in scoring with 5 of those makes on his way to 23 points, and Trevor Britton followed closely behind with 4 more to compose the entirety of his 12 points. Britton started quite slowly in terms of shooting, as he spotted up time and again from deep in the first half but was consistently unable to find the bottom of the net. But with the first half winding down and A Team Has No Name looking to take a slim 1-point lead into the break, Britton pulled up and heaved a prayer from half court that splashed in for a 2-point North Stars lead. Jake was a key piece defensively, as he grabbed a steal and the 2 of the team’s 3 blocks, crucial to providing some paint presence against an offense that wanted nothing more than to live under the basket. Also of note was that the North Stars seemed to be thrown by the court change this week, as the first half saw them turn the ball over repeatedly by shooters with their heels out of bounds along the left sideline; they cleaned this tendency up throughout the matchup.

Micah Evans (NOT also known as Michael Chroney) starred again for A Team Has No Name, driving over and over, contorting to find an angle that afforded enough space to put up a solid jumper or layup. He had 7 makes from within the paint and took 6 trips on top of that to the free throw line. He unfortunately wasn’t able to cash in on a regular enough basis for the No Name’s, making only 5 of his incredible 11 attempts, but his activity on the court in general speaks to his level of involvement in the game. Evans ended the contest with 19 points, 3 steals, a block, 3 assists, and 7 boards, including an impressive 3 on the offensive glass that he regularly efficiently finished or from which he found an open shooter. Steven McGuire led the way on the boards, cleaning up the North Stars’ misses with 11 defensive boards, and piling on 3 blocks as well as he effectively stonewalled the paint off from their advances. Eric Bradanese was firing away from deep once again, cashing 15 points including his 3 makes from deep and also grabbing a couple steals and a block. Ben Seyoum and Evans were key in the No Name’s late game push, as the North Stars clung to a relatively slim lead while Evans and Seyoum pushed relentlessly to tie the game up in regulation. The two went back and forth, with Seyoum scoring a final minute bucket to pull the team within 3 - unfortunately, the No Name’s lack of timeouts led to a desperation heave from Evans at the buzzer from midcourt that caromed harmlessly off the backboard.

Next up:
Calypso North Stars (3-0) at BADDIES (2-1) - 9/28 7:00p
A Team Has No Name (1-2) v. Furious Rim Ticklers (2-1) - 9/28 6:00p

Julius Swerving (43) v. BADDIES (53)

BADDIES grab first legitimate win of the season facing off against short-handed Swerving in much needed get-right game

It was an extremely egalitarian scoring performance from the BADDIES, as each player saw significant minutes in a tight 6-man rotation and everyone scored at least 5 points. Matt Roberts scored 10 solid points, coming on especially in the second half with some mid range jumpers and crafty, up and under layups that belied his size. In the first half Roberts still operated largely from the low post, but he looked to pass more than score, finding cutters and shooters on the perimeter as he surveyed the floor looking out above his opponents as he dished 4 assists. Michael Weinstein and Alan Gomez tied for the team lead in points with 12 apiece, combining for an additional 8 assists and making 4 three balls. They were an effective backcourt, with Weinstein bringing the ball up and Gomez playing as a prototypical shooting guard. It was a great team game for the team, getting their first actual win of the season over a team that’s had significant success to open the slate this year.

Meanwhile, Julius Swerving was missing each of its top 3 scorers from their win last week over the Lexington Steals, and they felt the deficit, struggling hard to score points on any sort of consistent basis. The BADDIES raced out to a massive first half lead, at one point down 13 to 2 in the opening 10 minutes. Dan Popko got the team going and was largely their only bright spot, especially early as no one else could seem to bank any points at all, as the team went into halftime down 14, with only 18 points themselves. Swerving did manage to turn things around in the second half, even winning the half by 4 points, but by that point, they had been dug into a hole too deep to climb out of. Devon Yablonski and Dave were able to supplement Popko’s 19 points with some shooting from deep of their own, with Dave contributing 10 points. Popko and Yablonski also starred on the defensive end, combining for 6 steals and 2 blocks, while Popko really did it all, coming up with 10 boards as well, including 2 on the offensive glass. Look for Julius Swerving to come back in a big way next week if they get some of their offensive stars back in action. 

Next up:
Julius Swerving (2-1) v. Run and Gun (0-3) - 9/28 8:00p
BADDIES (2-1) v. Calypso North Stars (3-0) - 9/28 7:00p

3 Stars:

• Jeff Yeakley (Furious Rim Ticklers): 26 points (7/14 3PM), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
• Dan Popko (Julius Swerving): 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block
• Tony Caletti (Calypso North Stars): 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Power Rankings:

1. Calypso North Stars (+3)
2. Furious Rim Ticklers (+3)
3. NNHS (+1)
4. Julius Swerving (-3)
5. NNHS (-1)
6. BADDIES (+2)
7. Lexington Steals (0)
8. Run and Gun (-2)

Corporate 5v5 Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 21, 2023

Corporate 5v5 Week 2 Write-Ups

By: JAY SHAH

Big Ballers LLC (31) v. Fast PP (38)

Lack of bench dooms Big Ballers as Fast PP has stamina to finish

The star for Fast PP was Barry Scudder-Davis, who finished with thirteen points to lead Fast PP to victory. He had one of Fast PP’s two three pointers, and dominated defensively, leveraging his strength and athleticism to nab four steals. The biggest difference between the two teams, however, was not Fast PP’s overwhelming talent but rather their deep bench, especially in comparison to Big Ballers, who had to play their five starters for the entirety of the contest. Andrew Zaccardi and Zack Driscoll both posted five points to tie for second-leading scorers for Fast PP, with Zaccardi posting a couple assists and Driscoll with three of his own. Ilya Yudkovich and Garrison Doodlesack led the effort on the boards, grabbing nine boards apiece, including a total of five for the team on the offensive glass. Yudkovich, while not scoring much himself (two points), led the team’s backcourt, barely coming off the court at all as he directed the team’s offense, dribbled the ball up the floor, and set effective plays for Fast PP.

Meanwhile, Mertcan Cokbas led the entire league in scoring on September 18th, putting in twenty points, over sixty-five percent of his team’s total points. He was effective driving down low, grabbing six buckets in the paint as he used his strong left hand to force his way through a thicket of defenders time and again. Cokbas struggled, however, on his efficiency from beyond the three point line, making only two of his twelve attempts. He did have as tough a time making his thoughts known to the referees. Jonathan Fabry was the team’s facilitator, dish five dimes as well as making one of his four three point attempts. Sean Cunningham was the team's second-leading scorer, putting in six points, coming on much stronger and hunting for his own shot in the second half especially. The Big Ballers as a team started to put together a run or two in the latter half, but their eleven point halftime deficit was too much to overcome in the end, as their late scoring burst fell seven points short when the final buzzer sounded.

McBuckets of Nuggets (43) v. Chop Wood (40)

Chop Wood unable to finish out comeback attempt as McBuckets of Nuggets rides Cassel’s shooting to victory

Christopher Cassel did not have an excellent start shooting, but he found his stroke as the game wore on, and it proved to be the difference in the contest. With a final line of four of eleven from deep and just one shot in the paint, it was clear that Cassel knew exactly what his role is on this team and how to execute it. He also went to the charity stripe five times, managing to draw a foul on a three point attempt. Cassel put in work on the boards as well, grabbing seven boards to tie for the team lead with Brett Barclift, with the pair pulling down five on the offensive glass to provide crucial second chance buckets to propel the team to a narrow victory. Barclift and James Latham-Smith closely rounded out the top trio of scorers for McBuckets, scoring six points apiece. Marc Davenport chipped in with four points including a nice buzzer beater to end the first half. Look for McBuckets of Nuggets to score plenty going forward.

Chop Wood kept the game close throughout the matchup, led by Marc Napolitana with thirteen points. Robert Moran dominated the game on the glass, grabbing six boards on each end while chipping in a block and a steal, also leading Wood with two assists. Napolitana and Justin Haskard led the way in steals, nabbing two each. Maloney put up eleven points as the second-leading scorer for Chop Wood. The team never seemed to find a strong enough groove overall, however, scoring points in spurts but never sustaining a run long enough to grab a convincing lead, and as McBuckets of Nuggets heated up down the stretch (especially the aforementioned Cassel), Chop Wood didn’t seem to have the outside shooting to answer. In the end, it was a close call for McBuckets, but Chop Wood will have to be disappointed in their inability to grab the lead and hold on to it.

Vericel (30) v. Baldins (27)

Baldins come close but no cigar as Vericel leaves them hunting for one more bucket

In the lowest scoring contest of the night, Vericel spotted the Baldins an initial three to zero head start (due to wardrobe malfunctions), but the Baldins couldn’t hold the lead as Vericel outscored them thirty to twenty-four in regulation. Mitchell Crossman led Vericel on both ends of the court, scoring eleven points including two of his team’s three threes and stealing the ball three times in addition to a solid block. Crossman was all over the court, hounding Baldins’ ball handlers as soon as they crossed half court without fail throughout the game. Beyond Andrew Dunn (eight points), the rest of the Vericel squad couldn’t get too much going offensively, but they knew how to play the Baldins well enough that they squeaked out a victory. Dunn and Trevor Wells conducted the offense, dishing two assists apiece, while Sean Moose was a physical defensive presence, racking up four fouls along with a block. 

The Baldins were led by Luke Lindholm (eight points) and Madison Ryan (seven points), with the latter pulling up without much if any hesitation from behind the arc. She found her stroke near the end of the first half, making a huge triple, and doubled up in the second half with another. She led the team in three point attempts with eight, but for this team to succeed going forward, Ryan will probably need to keep firing with even more regularity. Lindholm was the best athlete on the floor, grabbing four steals to go with his four makes in the paint, as he cut across the court and to the hoop decisively on a number of occasions, with only the strongest of defensive efforts from Vericel putting a stop to his scoring. Sean Ryan starred in his role as the conductor of the offense, though he and the team will rue his missed chances at the charity stripe, as his one of four line from there represents the final deficit. This team was effective on the defensive end, switching constantly and communicating well enough to wall off the paint despite a distinct lack of size, but that did not transfer all that well to the offensive end, where the team struggled to score. The Baldins will need to find more ways to score going forward.

Los Market Baskets (31) v. HRP (32)

J. Flaherty and E. Walko trade buckets as HRP takes last minute lead to victory

Los Market Baskets will be disappointed in the outcome, as HRP took a lead in the final couple minutes which they never relinquished. John Flaherty scored half his team’s total points, making a solid thirty-three percent of his nine attempts from deep. Danny Hincks and Erik Zuk were key for HRP, each chipping in seven points, and John Hincks rounded out the team’s scoring with an inside basket of his own. HRP’s free throw shooting was less than stellar, as they made just two of their seven attempts from the line, but in the end, they had just enough on offense to pull out the win. D. Hincks was stellar for HRP in the other phases of the game, grabbing a steal, two blocks and three offensive boards (of a team-leading eight total) to put Los Market Baskets on their heels.

The Baskets were led in scoring by Ethan and Doug Walko, who poured in eighteen and six points respectively. D. Walko in particular looked like the best athlete on the floor, flying around for two steals and two blocks, as well as a team-high seven boards. E. Walko was a late arrival but immediately made his impact felt, grabbing passes from D. Walko and Nick Perkins and immediately turning downhill with smooth movement that affirmed his equally clean shooting stroke. Ethan put the ball in from around the court, cutting into the paint on dribble drives successfully five times while also making thirty-three percent of his six attempts from beyond the arc. Doug Walko and Jack Howland will feel some regret after their performances at the charity stripe, with each making only one of their combined eight attempts, failing to make more than thirty percent at the line in a one-point game. Look for the Walkos to step up even more going forward, as they were the engines of this team despite a disappointing loss.

B Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

By: HARRY DEMAKES & IAN CUNDALL

Quick start carries Gun Club to victory

Heading into the Gun Club, Civale matchup, the big news was Harry getting his reinforcements back as Nair, Karim and Big Guns were all in the gym and ready to play. Getting those three back was important for Harry as Eloi was still out. For Civale, Civale was ready to make his season debut which was much needed after the trouble they had scoring the week before. To the action!

The Gun Club lived up to their name to start this one as they came out firing from deep. For the first five minutes, they literally couldn’t miss. Nair, Puskas, Nair (4 point play), Karim and Nair hit five consecutive threes, while Civale’s team was struggling to hit the rim. It was 16-2 after this initial burst and then over the next three minutes things didn’t get much better as Harry pushed his lead further to 22-4 after a Nair layup and free throw. Nair was getting whatever shot he wanted, Harry was setting screens to force switches and Karim and Pushes were doing a good job spreading the floor. 

Civale’s team meanwhile was getting good looks, but just couldn’t capitalize, especially from deep. Joe hit an ugly three with six minutes left in the half that cut the lead to 23-13, but that would be their only three of the half as they went 1-10 from deep. Soon after that, two noteworthy events occurred as Guns got on the board with a nice runner and Civale blocked Harry into oblivion. That block was followed by a bucket from Remy and finally, the lead was down to single digits. The last few minutes of the half were played in a two point window, with Harry up by 9 or 11. The highlight was a strong take from Glynn where he got fouled also (missed the FT) and eventually things settled at halftime with Harry holding a 29-18 lead. 

Civale’s team closed the half on a 14-7 run as they finally got locked in defensively after that poor start. Joe was doing a much better job on Nair and Tom also had a couple impressive blocks. On offense, Remy led the way for them with six points, while Glynn chipped in five. For Harry, Nair was the majority of their offense with 20 first half points, while the rest of the team combined for nine.

The second half got going with Civale’s team continuing their run and cutting the lead to four at 30-26 as Civale was on fire. He knocked down a couple three's and was also finishing at the hoop. Nair was getting hounded every time he touched the ball as Civale had decided he was going to force Harry’s secondary players to beat him. Puskas took it upon himself to do that, knocking down a pair of threes and Karim hit one as well to push the lead back to 43-30 with 12 minutes left. Civale had seen enough after this run and called a timeout to try and stop the momentum.

Immediately after the timeout Harry’s team had a great sequence where Karim passed it to Harry who tipped it out immediately to Nair for a wide open three. This was Nair’s only field goal of the half, but it was a big one as it pushed the lead to 15. The game seemed over at this point and it looked like we were in for five minutes of garbage time to end the game. Harry’s team got really sloppy in this stretch and slowly Civale began to chip away at the lead. Joe hit his second three and all of a sudden the lead had been cut in half to eight at 49-41. Harry’s team answered immediately as Guns hit a deep three to push the lead back to 11. The game was surely over at this point, but Harry’s team kept missing free throws or turning the ball over and Remy and Civale hit a couple buckets to make it a six point game with 14 seconds left. I assumed Civale would foul to extend the game there, but he surprisingly didn’t and instead surrendered. Final score Gun Show 54, Civale 48.

Gun Show

Nair B+ - Strong start, but really struggled in the second half where he disappeared for long stretches.

Karim B- - Double-double is nice, but against better teams he’s going to have to contribute more on offense.

Puskas B - Hit three triples and provided good energy.

Harry C+ - Initiated the offense well, but would have liked to see a bit more scoring.

Guns C+ - Had to shake off the rust in the first half, but recovered and hit a clutch three in the second half.

Civale

Civale C - Carried his team on offense in the second half, but questionable game plan at the start was too much to overcome and his decision to not extend the game was puzzling.

Remy C+ - Hit a couple shots, but missed too many easy ones and took a lot of shots to get his 12 points.

Joe B- -  Played really well on defense outside of the first few minutes, but didn’t do enough on offense.

Glynn B+ - Had some nice moments on both ends including an acrobatic finish for an and one.

Clarke B - Really solid on defense including a couple blocks and almost double-digit rebounds.

Great One C - Didn’t have many opportunities, but did hit one three.  

Turnovers galore in the Miller Bowl!

This was our game of the night as Miller took on his old team from last season. Both teams were coming off easy week 1 wins and this was going to be a good test for both teams to see where they stand. Everyone was here, except for Danner. TO THE ACTION!

The opening half was just the beginning of this eye bleeding rock fight of missed threes and turnovers. At least Cam was able to mix in some assists as he led everyone with 6 first half assists. Lynch, was off from deep, but hit a couple jumpers to led his team with 9 first half points. Gray and Bauman combined for 12 in the first half. A welcomed site in a game where points were scarce. The other side was just as ugly, with Calderan leading all scorers with 10 points. The kind of start he was looking from himself, but the finish would be ugly. Miller was naturally firing away, but was taking a lot of tough shots which led to bad misses. He did score 7 in the first half, going 5/6 from the line.

This poor excuse of a basketball game went into the half tied. Both teams combined for 17 TOS and 15 missed threes. God help us all. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Thankfully for my sanity SDL Lynch joined the game in the second half and put poor Issac in the post torture chamber. He hit him with a wide variety of moves with some nifty footwork. Lynch would score 17 second half points and almost defeat the other team by himself. No one else on Cam’s team would go over the 4-point mark this half. Cam did pick up 4 more assists and added 3 more TOs, including the worst behind the back pass of anyone’s lifetime. Miller and company won’t keep fighting, but their offense was the absolute shits. They only registered 2 assists on the game and went a cool 0-12 from three. Not the numbers you would equate to offensive success. WOOF!

Miller lead his team 10 second half points, getting the majority from the line. This game was close until the 3 minute mark of the second half. That’s when Lynch dragged his team over the finish line. Hell of a game from him with his MVP running mate on the other side. Vault yourself into MVP consideration big dog. 58-46 Final Miller who?

Grades:
Cam B+: Cam was a couple buckets away from a triple double. Bad shooting night though and 5 turnovers. Did great on Miller though.
Lynch A+: Was the best player in this game by far.
DTO C-: Pretty mediocre showing, 0fer from deep and more TOs than assists,
Bauman B-; Double digit scoring is big, but was off from deep and I want some more boards.
KG D+; Great game to Ofer from deep.
Gray A: Gray looks a lot better freed from the clutches of Ian.

CALDERAN
Miller D: I’m going to be harsh on Miller here. 0 assists? Trash, help your teammates. Also, he should have been the best player on the floor and he wasn’t.
Paul B; Great first half, but went missing the next one.
Issac B: Solid showing, but did get cooked on defense. Nice double-double.
David C: Needs to look for his shit more.
Taha D: This pains me, but Taha is probably the best playmaker on this team. Can’t have 4 TOs

Hit or Miss living up to its last name!

I didn’t have high hopes for this game, because I knew where it was heading, but stranger things have happened. Both teams had everyone, which is a miracle for the 6:15p game. TO THE ACTION!

Nate’s team had a shitty first game, but they still showed up for this one. Props to them! This half had a similar beginning to their first game with Ghost getting loose early for buckets. He led the team with 9 first half points. Obviously, they need Ghost to get buckets and pretty much everyone else needs to contribute. Joel, had 6 first half points and Nate added 6 of his own, but of the other three guys only Troy added 3 points. This has to be a full team effort every week if they want to compete and not be everyone’s free win.

X Personalities pulled ahead in this one, thanks to Roberts feasting on poor Nate. I thought Nate might stand a chance guarding someone his size, but no dice. Roberts had 15 first half points. Koller joined his running mate with 10 points and secured the first half double-double. He also took another first half sub, he must be slowing down at his older age. X Personalities cruised into the half up 35/24. It was pretty clear where we were headed here. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Padavick joined his teammates in their stat padding game of the week. He had 12 second half points and a bunch of boards. Roberts went for seconds at the Nate buffet and Koller completed another half double-double. Ian led the team with 4 assists, 3 in the second half. The bench duo of Packard and OTTOMATIC were solid too. Good team building game. Hit or Miss went to die in the second half. They just can’t keep up with teams on either end so far. Nate scored 7 points in this half, Ghost 6 and Joel 5. That just isn’t nearly enough for this team. The secondary guys aren’t doing their part either. They did win the turnover battle though, so that’s a good thing. 73-49 X Personalities. They’ll get some competition next week against Noah’s team.

GRADES:
Koller A: Big man’s double double. Hit a three.
Padavick A-: Good showing, cut down on turnovers.
Roberts A: Another good scoring night. Ian B; Good all around game.
Packard B: Better showing this week.
OTTOMATIC B: Good Ott game, just off from deep.

HIT OR MISS
Joel D: Score points.
Nate B-: Solid job getting to the line, no TOs, only assists, but he got roasted on D.
Ghost B: Standard good Ghost game, but missed his FTs.
Troy D: Gonna need more than this pu pu platter of nothing.
Maloof D: reference above to Troy.
Silva C+: Nice work on the boards, but we need more points.

​​

B1 5v5 TUE Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 3 WRITE-UPS

By JAY SHAH

Wat Rats (53) v. Men’s League (72)

Men’s League blowout Wat Rats in second half after tight first half

The Wat Rats started out hot, scoring a solid 35 points in the first half and holding a slim, 2-point lead going into the break. Dylan Stockdale paced the team early, making a couple 3-pointers and dishing 3 total assists. Nicholas Goodman was similarly involved, getting 7 buckets from in close as well as grabbing 3 boards on the offensive glass, along with a couple assists. Marco Coppola once again led the team in scoring, grabbing 25 points, including 5/13 shooting from deep and adding another 3 assists. Joe Martin led the team in boards, grabbing 11 including an incredible 6 on the offensive end, really making Men’s League fight for every rebound even on their own end. In general, the Wat Rats did their best to make every inch of their collective height count, especially against Men’s League’s big man, Will Childs-Klein.

Childs-Klein, however, had a strong game on the boards himself. He grabbed 4 offensive boards and 13 on the defensive end, chipping in 8 points from in close as well. It was a balanced offensive performance from Men’s League’s 5 total players, with every one of them playing the entirety of the game - but every not one of George Schultz, Jack Anton, Childs-Klein, JP Wilkinson, or Tom Smith ever let up, never showing signs of fatigue. Wilkinson led the team in scoring, making 7 buckets in close on cutting drives and 2 threes. Smith and Schultz followed Wilkinson closely on the scoreboard, grabbing 17 and 16 points respectively. The real difference in the second half, however, was how the team locked down defensively - Men’s League grabbed 8 steals and 5 blocks, with Childs-Klein getting 4 on his own. The second half saw Men’s League ratchet up the intensity in all phases, and it showed, with the Wat Rats getting more than doubled up (39-18). Anton in particular really picked it up in the late going, finding his shooting touch on his way to grabbing all of his 10 points in the second. Look for him to shoulder a bigger scoring load for Men’s League going forward.

Next up:
Wat Rats (1-1) v. Markit Basketball (2-1) - 9/26 8:30p
Men’s League (2-1) v. Skelton’s Boys (2-0) - 9/26 7:30p

Markit Basketball (67) v. Skelton’s Boys (75)

Spirited second half runs from Markit Basketball not enough as they fall to Skelton’s Boys

It was a balanced scoring performance from Skelton’s Boys, as they had every player make a bucket. Erik Pettit led Skelton in shooting, getting 19 points, relying minimally on his sweet stroke from deep, where he went 3 of 4. Elijah and Jon Bassett rounded out the scoring, with 19 and 15 points each. The team as a whole had active hands and feet, jumping into passing lanes on their way to 11 steals, with Elijah getting a couple blocks as well to emphasize the defensive presence they had in the game. The final score in general belies the dominance Skelton showed throughout the game, wherein they also showed out on the glass with 12 offensive boards and clean work on their opponents misses as well. 

Meanwhile, relatively short-handed Markit Basketball (missing key pieces Cameron Gleichauf and defensive menace Victor Chang - at least for most of the game) showed heart in the second half, but ultimately did not have the firepower on either end to slow Skelton for long enough. Justin Dorosh and Peter Chang did their best to keep Markit in the game with 18 points apiece, and especially late, but their runs ended up being too little, too late, including an 8-0 run to open the second half. Last-minute arrival Victor Chang showed exactly what the team was missing, immediately imposing his size and shooting touch, grabbing an offensive board and a 3-point make in his few possessions on the court at the very end of regulation. George Phillips had the look of a difference maker throughout the game, leaping high for rebounds, leading the team in assists, and shooting 2 of 3 from deep - Phillips’ usage should tick up throughout the season. Raj Patel started the game out hot, making an early three and generally being active around the court, tying with Phillips for the team lead in boards, but his shots stopped falling over the course of the game, and Markit fell behind 38-24 at the half, in what turned out to be an insurmountable deficit.

Next up:
Markit Basketball (2-1) at Wat Rats (1-1) - 9/26 8:30p
Skelton’s Boys (2-0) at Men’s League (2-1) - 9/26 7:30p

Treys For Days (67) v. Eastie Hoops (56)

Treys make hay inside as Eastie Hoops’ shooting isn’t enough to hold off the Days’ second-half onslaught

It was a back-and-forth first half, with Eastie Hoops barely behind at the break 35 to 36. Ryan WIllis was the leading scorer for Eastie, pulling up without hesitation from beyond the arc and making 6 of 13 deep balls. Willis also showed off his athleticism on the defensive end, grabbing 3 steals and a block (a defensive line matched only by teammate Kyle Coughlin). The team was also extremely adept at getting offensive boards, getting 10, highlighted by Gary Howell-Walton and Christian Garcia, who used positioning and fight more than height or even hops. The aforementioned Coughlin was Eastie’s second-leading scorer, making 2 threes on his way to 14 points. Chisom Nnadi rounded out the top trio despite a late start, but his physical style of play led him to foul trouble as he ended the game with 5 fouls. On the bench, Nnadi bemoaned the team’s jump-shooting style of play, especially when the team’s shooting streak wore off down the stretch. 

Treys For Days brought out the defensive clamps in the second half, allowing only 21 points and cutting Eastie’s 70-point pace to a final score of 56. Dana Flood returned to the Treys to lead them in scoring with a solid 18 points. Luke Davidson made his impact felt on both end of the floor, grabbing 11 points from the paint and the free throw line and stealing the ball 4 times with his aggressive on- and off-ball defense. He also took a big hit from Nnadi to take possession on a charge just before halftime, lighting up the Treys bench and starting a swing in momentum that wouldn’t subside for the remainder of the game. Big man George Thissell was second in scoring with 12 points, banging hard down low to get himself easy looks right at the bucket. Multiple Eastie players tried to draw charges on Thissell as he backed them down with his strength, but the refs didn’t see much untoward as no whistles were heard, despite Eastie’s pleas to the contrary. Richard Kruszkowski was a solid defensive presence throughout the contest with 2 steals and 2 blocks, and even made a surprising three to the delight of his teammates. Treys For Days look like they could be the best team in the league when their key players are present - let's see if they can keep up their pace.

Next up: 
Treys For Days (2-1) at CCC Studios (0-2) - 9/26 6:30p
Eastie Hoops (0-3) - BYE

3 Stars:

• JP Wilkinson (Men’s League) - 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
• Erik Pettit (Skelton’s Boys) - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Marco Coppola (Wat Rats) - 25 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Power Rankings:

1. Skelton’s Boys (+2)
2. Men’s League (+2)
3. Markit Basketball (-2)
4. Treys For Days (+1)
5. Wat Rats (-3)
6. Eastie Hoops (+1)
7. CCC Studios (-1)

Over-30 Legends 4v4 DRAFT Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITEUPS 9/18

By: CHAS BELLS & CHRIS STULL

6:15 Bros VS Drop Step

Matty got things going with a drive looking like playing 2 days a week is helping his game 2-0. Jet came out firing nailes a 3, then Jet drives in, Eth adds a scoop drive,S.Mul adds Ord put in, then he goes 2-2 it was an ugly 11-2. Murphy finally gets a post bucket for DSM. But A’o ft’s Jet 3, AO 3 it was 19-4. This was shocking DSM couldnt through the ball into the ocean, they looked cursed so many in and outs, and To’s. The write up is short for a reason as this game didnt change, Bro’s dominated this game start to finish, and it was neither exciting or close 52-34. 

Bros

Jet-A-Hes been practicing that 3 ball!! Jet looks like Jet which is huge for this team. 

J.Mul-B- Rock solid, 3 steals, played very much within himself. Like to see more 3’s but he didnt need to. 

S.Mul-A+-Not only doing his normal swatting/rebounding but added 17 pts, a 3 and 4-4 from the line. 

Eth-B-So solid and whats scary is hes just going to keep getting better every week. 

Stull-C-) Hustled hard but my man getting no 3pts love. 

A’O-B- Looked sharp. Could be a huge addition to this team. 

DSM

Randal-C+- Rebounded his butt off, but just wasnt his night. 

Kerr-D- Worst game ive ever seen him play. He will have better days. 

Murphy-B- Was a bright spot almost had the double double, and 3 dimes. 

Matty-B- Hustled hard, basket had a lid on it. 

Jimmy-B+- Block party!!!!

7:55 Team Slick VS W&S

No Mchfear for this one, but Roberts dont care as he gets 2 in the post. Kap responds with a floater. Joel nice cutting basket, but EJ nails a 3 5-4. Joel nifty move gets 2, but Kap has the answer with drive by 7-6.Roberts with the nice left hand, then adds a triple off Clarke hustle 11-7. Joel scoop 13-7. Kap keeping pace as he gets 3, then Frano high off glass, Kap adds fancy footwork hoop for the lead14-13. Dany gets the lead back, then Joels adds obrd put in, then Marlier splashes a 3 ball 21-14!! Dany adds 2 more, but Kap starts the come back with drive, Amir adds a big 3, but Dany keeps the elad with floater 25-19. Kap drains 3 ball, but Marlier gets cutting hoop, Kap said stop that and hit another trey, Frano adds middy we were tied 27 all good half of ball. 

Frano cleans up the glass to start 2nd half, then adds cutting hoop 31-27. Roberts post work, and then patient again ties up the game at 31. Kap was on one tonight as after some action he hits yet another 3, and adds floater 41-37. W&S trying to hang around but Amir ruins dreams witha splash 3. Game would stay with in the 5 to 7 point range, but Kap and the boys have Ej’s sqad out to a 2-0 start 54-47. 

Team Slick 

Kap-A+ Not sure how he can pplay better, or do more.

Frano-B- Hes was good not great, but did what they needed too. 

EJ-B+- Not a ton of stats, but I think he played a really greatbasketball game. 

Butter-D- Love the hustle, just try and be a little more careful haha. 

Amir-Doing his job hitting treys. 

W&S

Roberts-B+- He was a constent force, tried to will his boys.

Dany-C+- expecting alot more from him, he did some nice things but 0-8 from 3. 

Joel-B+- Very active in the 1st half ran out of gas a bit, only 2 2nd half points. 

Clarke-C-) Very quiet game from the husting big man. 

Marlier-A- Played is role perfect I thought. 

8:45 PM Buddys VS Corp X

Buddys huge underdogs in this one didnt play like that as Dutton Drives in right away. Mazz responds with a 3, but Worth takes the lead with floater 4-3.B.Robb gets 2 in the post, and then dennis adds p n roll hoop, Dennis steal and finish it was 9-4. Buddys did not quit Dutton tough take, but Mazz was a crafty drive 11-6. Worth float action, but Mazz see’s a 3 go through 13-10. Skelley nice post move, but Mazz with the answer yet again with drive 15-12. Dutton slashing hard gets 2,then Worth jimmy gives them the lead 16-15. Then yup you guessed it Mazz 3 to get the lead back, but then Worth splashes trey and another 23-18 at the half Buddys up!

Kielley J riding the momentum 25-18. Ian 1-2, then Mazz 3, Dennis adds cutting bucket 26-24. Skelley gets hoop to stop the bleeding 28-24. Then Mazz witht he left ahnd, and then cannes a 3 30-29 Corp up. Kielley ends that with 3, Stephenson 1-2 but a Skelley obrd put in make it 35-30. Stephenson huge bucket, then Mazz steal and fin, then mazz take for the lead 36-35. Dennis lines up a big time 3, and it was good 39-35. Buddys gets Corp to miss some ft’s and we ewere tied, but then team Budds decided to foul B.Robb. B.Robb hits the clutch ft but misses the 2nd. Worth comes down the court for the final shot, hold waits, gets good screen, the shot was up  and………….. Just missed right Copr survives 41-40. 

Buddys

Skelley-B- he was solid, nothing crazy just did his thing. 

Kielley-C+- Not as effective as last session yet. Love his hustle and fight though

Worth-B-) awesome in the 1st half, but the scoring dried up. 

Dutton-B-) Hustle was there but when you lose by 1 and see 1-6 from the line, you dont love it. 

Corp X

Mazz-A- hes had better statiscalgames, but this dude is showing his compete leve. 3 more steals, 3 more blocks 

Dennis-B+- Really controlled the rebounding, what a monster the former Chasmanian Devil of the session is. 

B.Robb-C-) Man he doesnt look like hismelf right now

Ian-D- Nearly invisible 

Stephenson-D- Very quiet, not much impact

Bonvie-D- Not as impactful as i thought, he will find his spots soon.

B2 5v5 MON Week 2 Write-Up

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 2 Write-Ups

By DEVIN QUINLIN

Game 1 | Handler’s Handlers: 49 - SAUS: 55

SAUS Survive Handlers’ Comeback Attempt, Move To 2-0

SAUS jumped out to a big lead in this one, leading 18-6 with about 10 minutes left in the first half (which includes their 0-3 start for not having CAC jerseys). All the sudden, though, Handler’s Handlers turned it around with some swarming defense and efficient ball movement, closing the gap to a 24-21 lead for SAUS at the half. Kevin Toth went down with an injury in the first half, which opened the door for the Handlers to mount a comeback, but to SAUS’ credit, they fought off the second half push and held on to win 55-49.

Cam McCann was hot all game, finishing five for ten from three to the tune of 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block. His catch and shoot was on point, and he finished a few nice layups and iced both of his free-throws at the end of the game to seal the game for his team in a clutch offensive performance. John Capin was equally clutch, as he scored only 2 points in the first half, but came alive to finish with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He shot three of four from three, all in the second half, and handled most of the ball handling duties down the stretch with Toth on the bench. Definitely an excellent pickup for SAUS, as Capin’s smart play probably won them the game. Kevin Toth finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals in about 12 minutes of play, just getting whatever he wanted on both ends. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Mike Baker finished with 5 points and 9 rebounds, playing hard inside and finishing a few layups, while Gareth Goh was solid, hitting his only shot attempt to finish with 3 points and 3 assists. Griffin Haas added 4 assists and 2 steals, but I thought he played pretty well and had a larger impact than his box score indicates. Good win for SAUS without their two best players, as they move to 2-0 on the season.

Handler’s Handlers definitely found more of a rhythm in this one, but still struggled with their shooting, going five of thirty from three and ten of twenty from the line. Brian Horan showed up late, but still led his team in scoring with 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. He’s shown a nice ability to finish on the drive, though he shot only one of seven from three in this one. Jack Gallagher added 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, hitting two threes and canning three of his four attempts at the charity stripe. He’s been very solid in both games this session, making plays on both ends and converting open looks. Ryan Kuchar played well at the point, finishing with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals. He couldn’t get the three ball to fall, but had some impressive finishes at the rim. Danny H finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists (game-high), 2 steals, and 1 block in a stat stuffing effort. He did a fantastic job facilitating and getting his team out in transition and he was active on defense as well. Ben Handler hit two threes to finish with 6 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal, while Sean Lovett added 2 rebounds and 1 steal, and Billy Christopher was extremely active to chip in 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal from the guard spot. Definitely some bright spots for the Handlers, who really just need to convert a few more open shots to get back into the win column.

Game 2 | Gino Time: 62 - Unreliables: 51

Gino Time Jump Out to Early Lead, Hold On for Win

Gino Time have cemented themselves as league favorites with a strong win over the Unreliables, dominating the first half to lead 35-17 at the break. Samir Shah went down early in the first, so David Pendergast (Mark It Zero) filled in for the entire game, but it didn't matter, as Gino Time dominated inside and came up with a 62-51 win to move to 2-0 on the season. 

Captain Greg Eusden was a monster in this one, putting up an impressive 14 point, 12 rebound (6 offensive) double-double, plus 2 steals and 3 blocks. He did well to fill the lane on the break, but finished nicely in half-court sets as well. His length and athleticism on defense make him a matchup nightmare for any big, and he set the tone for his team in this one. Chris Cameron wasn’t far behind with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, showing off a beautiful jumper and a few nice finishes as well, while Max McKee added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, though he shot better last week. Regardless, both of these guys can light it up and will continue to get them up as the season progresses. Darren Hartwell finished with an efficient 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, and while he didn’t reach double digit assists in this one, he played excellent defense on McDonough and had some nice attacks in transition. Erik Maynard had a relatively quiet game offensively, but still played well with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, while Jack Chen hit two threes to finish with 6 points and 1 assist. Jon Ross (2 points, 4 rebounds) led his team with 4 assists, while Bo Cramer added 4 boards, 1 steal, and 1 block. While the Unreliables did mount a pretty nice comeback, this game was never really in doubt, as Gino Time were a force on the interior and continue to cause matchup problems for opponents.

For the Unreliables, Matt McDonough scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block. While his shot was a bit off, he was still effective on both ends and managed to lead the game in scoring. Eric Fleming wasn’t far behind with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, dealing in the midrange while going two of three from deep as well. Nate Koslof finished with 1 point, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal, while TJ Green added 4 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Samir Shah unfortunately got hurt very early in the first half going for a rebound, so David Pendergast filled in for basically the entire game and added 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block. Hard to judge this game from the Unreliables, who had only four of their own players and no subs, going up against the top team in this division. I still view them as a top team when fully staffed. Best wishes to Samir.

Game 3 | Mark It Zero: 36 - Thank You University: 55

Mark It Zero Secure Win in Battle With Thank You Uni

Mark It Zero jumped out to some big leads in the first half, but Thank You Uni continually fought back to keep this game competitive from start to finish. With the score tied 36-36 at the half, this was anyone’s game. Mark It Zero pulled away in the end behind some clutch free-throw shooting and strong rebounding, finishing this one off 64-55.

Cam Daniels led Mark It Zero in this one, finishing with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. Daniels was highly efficient and consistently made the right reads from the point guard spot, and he knocked down all five of his free-throw attempts, including four to seal the game late in the second half. Brian Civale made his session debut with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks. Civale is a bucket, that’s really all there is to it. He immediately hit a three to start the game, and hit two more and finished four of five from the free-throw line. He also matched Thank You Uni’s physicality on defense, accumulating 3 blocks along the way. James Mulvehill was a force inside, finishing with 11 points, 16 rebounds (5 offensive), 1 assist, and 4 steals, constantly moving on both ends and causing disruption in Mark It Zero’s favor throughout the game, while hitting the final two free-throws to finish the game off. David Pendergast struggled with leg cramps in this game after playing nearly the entire game before, but still finished with11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He still has a whole other gear to his game, as he transitions from the 4v4 to the 5v5 setup. Jeremey Levenson was extremely active in this game, finishing with only 2 points, but grabbing 10 boards (3 offensive), dishing out 1 assist, and garnering 1 steal in an awesome display of defensive intensity. Rob Lunder added 1 rebound, 3 assists (team-high), and 1 block in a solid effort, as Mark It Zero get into the win column.

Thank You University were led by Eli Vogel’s 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Vogel truly did it all for his team in this one, shooting three of seven from three, attacking the rim in transition, defending at a high level, just whatever it took to win. Very impressive performance from a versatile player. Ben Hayes shot a blistering four of five from three in the first half, finishing with 12 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal, but his gravity from his early shooting display opened up the game for the rest of his team after he drew so much defensive focus in the second half. Kevin Toomey finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, hitting a three and using some fancy footwork for some strong finishes inside, while Anthony Paolillo added 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in a well-rounded effort inside. Andrew Pratt chipped in 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block in the loss. Thank You Uni have looked solid in these first two games, and with a full roster I expect them to be competitive with most teams in this division.

Game 4 | First Team CAC Benchwarmers: 77 - Bricksquad: 45

Benchwarmers Come Alive, Dominate in Win

After getting absolutely cranked last week, the Benchwarmers came back with a vengeance (and some new players) this week, putting together a dominant win. With a 36-14 lead at the half, they never looked back, beating Bricksquad by a 77-45 final score.

Zack Gray was back, though he only used his signature behind the back move once in this game. Flash or not, he finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds (6 offensive), 4 assists, and 5 steals (league-high), and he’s proven he can score with anyone in this league. He hit three threes, but also followed up his 8 steal performance from the first game with 5 this week. Noah Colon made his season debut and was the best player on the floor with 19 points, 11 rebounds (5 offensive), 6 assists, and 1 steal. He hit all three of his free-throws, and was simply relentless attacking the rim for some strong finishes in traffic. He also led his team with 6 assists, really just getting whatever he wanted. John Z added 8 points, 11 rebounds (5 offensive), 3 assists, and 1 steal, showing off some smooth finishes and smart passing, while Jason (fill-in) added 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals while going about half speed. Bugra Akaktan hit his only three point attempt and some nice mid-range jumpers for 9 points and 1 assist, while Matt Mackay added 8 more points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist in the win. Joe Walsh grabbed 5 rebounds and 1 assist, and Chris Alphen put up 4 boards and 2 steals. Altogether, this was a dominant win for the Benchwarmers in which the whole team contributed. They finished with 20 offensive rebounds as a unit, stole the ball 14 times, and dished out 16 assists, while knocking down seven of eight from the line. Great team win for them.

Bricksquad struggled in this one, though they had a few bright spots on offense. Big man Tenzin Pharachesur finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal with some strong finishes at the rim, while Nanu Adu added 10 points, 2 rebounds, and a league-high 7 assists, all while laughing at his own teammates’ airballs and turnovers. Even with the offense struggling, Adu was really distributing the ball well and getting his guys great looks all game. Julius Zuckerman had a solid game with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, finishing well inside. I think he could look for his offense a bit more. Dahlha Cheshatsang hit two threes for 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, playing pretty smart ball all around. Fill-in Clark added 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in the loss. Bricksquad definitely have some talent, but they are not in shape and don’t really try to rebound, giving up plenty of easy buckets. Still, there’s some promise here, and I think they can put it together with captain Dahlha Cheshatsang back in action.

5v5 Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

BY: SHAWN WISE & DREW DEBARI

The Lost Boys vs The Reboot

The Lost Boys found themselves this week with a statement win against The Reboot. The Lost Boys put on a clinic in this game. Andre’s pick swapping with Jamil during the draft definitely paid off for them in this game. Aidan was unguardable/unguarded. I’m not sure which one it was since they switched the person guarding him multiple times, but he continued to get wide open looks. Drew led all players with 11 rebounds and had an efficient 19 points on his way to his first double-double of the season. Ryan has a scary fall in the second half going up for a rebound with Jamil. Luckily, he was alright and able to lead his team with 24 points, 9 rebounds.

This game was not pretty and it was not a good week for everyone but Rich and Jamil. The rest of the team combined for just 9 points. Ghost was missing his patented mid-range jumpers. Chris Whitney missed several good looks as well. I love Drew’s hustle on the boards but there is no way Drew should ever out rebound Chris Whitney let alone get twice as many. I’m going to chalk this one up to just a bad night for now. Hopefully they’ll be able to reboot for the next game.

Final Score: The Lost Boys win 81-53 

Player of the game: Aidan Enright

GAME 2

Ok so with Jamil playing the late game, I thought this one would have a little less Jawing to start…I was wrong.  However it wasn’t between teams.  Emmanuel quickly got T’d up just a couple minutes in to the game, and continued to talk with the ref (whose name is Justbelieveme - fact).  At one point Justbelieveme saw an Eye Roll from Emmanuel and exclaimed “yo you’re acting like a female.”  Entertainment AND basketball people.

On to the actual game. The basketball in the first 10 minutes could be described as shaky as best, as no one really went on a run or did anything special.  Halfway into the first half the score was sitting at 11-9 Miller Time.  A sweet play followed the halfway point with Ty getting a great steal, going to the length of the floor, trailed by Marcus who had a great finish at the rim.  Kyle on MT hit his first 3, but proceeded to miss his next 5. As soon as I wrote that he popped one from NBA range to hit his 2nd of the day.  But MT was cold overall, and was trailing 25-19 at the half.  Quick fashion note – I may be an old man, and I know the kids like the short shorts these days, but Ty’s shorts were shooooooort.  Like the size my 7 year old daughter wears.  Just saying bro - no one needs to see those upper thighs.

Quick stat note -  Kunal was 3/7 from at the half (didn’t attempt one in the 2nd half), but his 3’s were interesting.  Banked one in, a couple airballs.  But hey I’d take 3/7 any night.

Again the 2nd half started out pretty uneventful with BH seeing their lead peak at 8, only to go completely cold for a few minutes in a row.  With just over 10 to play, Alex Yuen sets up Kyle for a sweet dime, which ignited Kyle on a hot streak and also gave MT their first lead of the half at 36-35.  (And yes Alex looked over to make sure he got his assist).  Kyle would hit a few more as MT extended their lead to 8 with just 5 to go, and from there most of BH decided to call it a night.

Final score Miller Time 51 - Brick House 45

Player of the game: Would have definitely been Emmanuel if BH had gotten the win.  He did a little bit of everything to try and will his team to a victory. But honors go to Kyle Miller, who dropped 21 of his teams 51 on 5/11 shooting from 3.

GAME 3: Live ’95 vs The Swish Kebabs

Well rested after a week 1 bye, Live ’95 came out energized and ready to play. This might have been one of the better games I have seen from Marquis. He picked up right where he left off last season making his first 3 of the season. Slow starts plagued Marquis at times last season but that was not the case this season. He would have 16 of his eventual 28 points at halftime. His 2nd round draft pick, Jake Jobe, looks like he might be the steal of the draft (21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals). The two of them look like they already have great chemistry and play well

A 5v5 THU Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 18, 2023

By DEVIN QUINLIN

WEEK 2 9/14

Game 1 | Ronin Blood Warriors: 5 - Zards: 2

Ronin Blood Warriors Get Free Win as Zards Forfeit

Game 2 | The Spida Men: 87 - West Coast Shooters: 91

West Coast Shooters Hold Off Spida Men in Win

The first game of the night was a five on five matchup between two Thursday A League staples. Despite falling to 0-2 on the season, the Spida Men have looked like a formidable team in the early stages of the season, and they were once again competitive with one of the league’s top teams. Regardless, WCS were firing on all cylinders offensively, shooting seventeen for forty-two (40.5%) from three and accumulating 20 assists as a group. They held on to their 45-39 halftime lead, winning by a final score of 91-87 to move to 2-0 on the season.

David Reynolds led the attack for WCS in this one in his season debut, dropping 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting seven of fifteen from three. The Spida Men really had no answer for him on the perimeter as he knocked down a flurry of threes in the first half and used that to his advantage for the rest of the game by attacking off the dribble. His three level scoring ability adds a whole new dimension to this offense. Matt Pattyson played a very strong game, putting up 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. As one of the league’s best defenders, Pattyson shot three of four from deep and added some nice finishes inside. He has always been an above-average shooter, but his attacks off the dribble in this game helped showcase his high IQ playmaking, finishing with a game high 6 assists as well. Derek Retos shot four of nine from three to finish with 17 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 1 steal, while his shooting counterpart Eric D’Aguanno struggled with his outside shot (three of twelve), but did everything else, finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Hugh O’Neil made his season debut with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals, dominating inside per usual and getting the ball up quickly to start transition.

The Spida Men continue to impress with two strong performances against the league’s top teams. Tim Gallivan shook off his Week 1 rust to the tune of 27 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. He was a monster on both ends, hitting three threes and finishing well on offense, while grabbing 11 boards and playing well down low. John Lithio also continues to impress, finishing with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assist, and 1 steal, just playing incredibly smart, efficient basketball on both ends. Lithio is the type of player who can fit into any system and make an impact, and he has been a huge net positive for the Spida Men this session. Nick Mazzeo finished with 17 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal, and has been playing very well at the point guard spot this season. He had a solid look toward the end of the game to tie it up that he missed, but he also hit a few clutch ones during a late Spida Men push to keep them in the game. Danny Martin Jr. put up yet another double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, while Cedric White added 4 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. The big man passing ability in this group definitely gives them a unique offensive approach, which I’m confident will lead to some wins soon.

Game 3 | Not A Dime Back: 70 - We The Ones!: 61

NADB Move to 2-0, Hold Off WTOs

Even without Dom Black and Dre Kontopidis, NADB continue to do their thing, securing a win against a gritty WTOs team behind some stellar defense and their signature ball movement. With a 37-31 lead at the half, NADB held off a late WTOs surge to win by a final score of 70-61.

Jon Luster continues his MVP campaign by playing with immense patience. He finished with 21 points, 8 boards, 5 assists, and 1 steal, going three of five from deep and hitting both of his free-throws. I would love to see a shooter of his caliber put up more than five threes, but I can’t argue with a guy who led his team in both points and assists and made almost no mistakes for the entire 40 minutes. Chris Connor shot five of twelve from three to finish with 21 points of his own, adding 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. At this point, the whole league knows about his shooting prowess, but his interior defense and passing ability continue to impress me, as his whole game has taken a jump since NADB moved up to the A League. Jeff Coulter brought his usual toughness and activity to this one with a 14 point, 10 rebound (4 offensive) double-double, plus 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He hit a clutch three late in the second, and continues to cement himself as the best cutter in any CAC division. Marcus Giese was productive before turning his ankle, finishing with 10 points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 1 assist, and 1 steal. With Kontopidis out, he has done a phenomenal job holding down the paint and getting NADB out in transition. Chris Cusano chipped in 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, and Mike Synott came up with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in the win, as NADB continue their dominance in CAC’s most competitive division.

WTOs fought hard, relying on their guard play to hit threes and wreak havoc on defense. Ty Moore was hot early in this one, finishing five for nine from three for 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He’s proven to be a knockdown shooter in his first two CAC games, hitting five threes in each game both off the dribble and on the catch, and his offensive ability will be key to WTOs getting some wins. Jalen Bruce has also been impressive in the backcourt, going three of six from downtown for 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, showcasing an impressive pull-up jumper and some smooth finishes inside. Grady Levi added 7 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists (team-high), 3 steals, and 1 block, bringing some major motor to both ends and filling in any and every role he could to drive his squad to the win. Jordan Carter also had 7 points, plus 3 assists and 1 steal, while Garrett Stanowicz had a clean 7 and 7 with 4 offensive rebounds. WTOs has definitely looked better than previous seasons, but will need to string together some defensive stops down the stretch and find some chemistry instead of relying on hot shooting.

Game 4 | Suffolk: 68 - Team Takeover: 65

Suffolk Survives Team Takeover Push

Suffolk came into this season as perhaps the most talented team in this division from top to bottom, and while they are 2-0, their two wins have been battles. They held a slim 28-26 lead at the half against Team Takeover, shooting on four of sixteen from three on the game and giving up 14 offensive rebounds. Still, they managed to hold on, winning the game 68-65 and moving to 2-0.

George Grillakis was the story in this one, putting up a monster 32 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Team Takeover was genuinely incredulous that they knew exactly what move he was going to do every play, yet they still could not stop him. To Grillakis’ credit, he did drive left on several occasions, and whether or not he goes right most of the time, he can flat out score. His combination of speed and strength at the guard position is unmatched, and he will undoubtedly find himself among the league’s leading scorers at the end of the season. Grillakis aside, Bolden Brace is still the best player on this team, and he did not disappoint with 22 and 9, plus 4 assists and 5 steals. At one point in the first half, he got mad and decided to dribble down the court three times, hit three tough threes, and then go back to chilling. He’s a top tier passer in this league, but I would love to see him look for his shot more, especially in a close game like this. Mike McEneney finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, hitting his signature mid-range jumpers and holding down the paint on defense. Bret Edwards looks much more comfortable this session, and while he went oh for four from three, he finished with 4 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals with some nice takes to the hoop and strong perimeter defense. Nick Budesheim chipped in 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in the win.

Team Takeover was led by Trevor Parker’s 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 steal. He hit four threes and was dangerous in transition, but he shot four of fifteen from three and two of seven from the charity stripe. He really just needs some consistency with his jumper, or he needs to attack the rim more, but either way, he carries a big portion of this offense. Jared Johson showed up late to this one, but got going quickly with 15 points and 3 rebounds. He has become one of the league’s top scoring threats, as a guy who can go get a bucket at all three levels at any point in the game. Michel Toney finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks in a stat-stuffing effort. He three monster blocks in transition, pinning shots to the glass and getting his team out in transition quickly. His defense and effort are never in question as his team’s captain, and he shot a respectable two of six from deep as well. Sana Dahaba made his debut this week and was impactful with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He hit a three and was poised at the point guard spot, and had a few highlight worthy hezis to get defenders jumping. Julian Beach had a strong game down low with 5 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists, Emmanuel Nkounkou finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, and Zach Scott chipped in 2 steals and 1 board in the loss.

B2 5v5 THU Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 18, 2023

By: JAY SHAH

WEEK 2 9/14

Lexington Steals (49) v. Julius Swerving (63)

Swerving use 3-point barrage to down the Steals in Lexington’s first true competition of the season

In their first game of the season after an unfortunate forfeit in Week 1, the Lexington Steals came out looking solid. Andrew led the way early while the Steals’ attendance was low, especially leading the team in energy throughout the game, drawing a couple fouls as he drove down low. Late arrival Eli Brick dominated the pace of play once he entered the game, grabbing plenty of defensive boards and firing away from deep, with 7 attempts (somewhat living up to his name). Brick transitioned from a shooting role to assisting his teammates, racking up 5 assists. He also did well on the defensive end, nabbing a couple steals. John Moscatel led the team in scoring, hitting a few 3s and 2s alike. James Long contributed a solid 11 points all on the inside, and did extremely well on the boards, getting 3 on the offensive glass alone. None of these components were anywhere near enough in the end however, as once Swerving got going, it was a dominant showing for them.

Will Otto, Anthony Dinuzzo, and Jim Birrell led the way for Julius Swerving in scoring, with 19, 16, and 14 points respectively. Otto came on late for Swerving, scoring the majority of his points in the second half as he began to assert himself in the paint among his 6 makes within the arc, along with 3 offensive rebounds. Dinuzzo, meanwhile, cashed in from beyond the arc with 4/7 shooting from deep. In fact, Swerving in general shot it prolifically from deep, with 25 attempts from deep and 12 of those converted. With more than half of their points from 3-pointers, it is clear what teams seeking to deal them a loss in the future will have to focus on. 

Next up:
Lexington Steals (0-2) v. Furious Rim Ticklers (1-1) - 9/21 6:00p
Julius Swerving (2-0) v. BADDIES (1-1) - 9/21 9:00p

Run and Gun (56) v. A Team Has No Name (69)

Run and Gun have too little, too late, as A Team Has No Name dominates from start to finish

A Team Has No Name was dialed in on the defensive end after their heartbreak last week, racking up as a team 6 steals and 5 blocks, along with 8 offensive boards to show exactly how big they are as a team. The rock was moving well for the team as well, with 15 assists for the team. Michael Chroney led the team in scoring with 17 points, getting each of his buckets from inside as he consistently pushed the ball up the floor. He baited Eduardo Deleon time and again, getting him to gamble for a steal before snatching the chance away with the ball and putting his head down on his way to blowing past Deleon on the way to the basket for a relatively easy layup. Eric Bradanese backed up Chroney with 16 points, though he once again got his primarily from beyond the arc, shooting 4/7 from that range. Steven McGuire was a dominant presence down low, having height that Run and Gun often simply could not match. Andy Coppage served as the teams point guard, setting the table beautifully for Bradanese and Chroney to get clean looks at the hoop as he played with a bemused smile on his face. Navid Sharifi played an excellent game as well, but ended up the target of late game fouls in an attempt by Run and Gun to extend the contest. Sharifi instead iced the game, making all but one of his attempts from the charity stripe. This is a team of players that know their roles and how to play them.

Run and Gun played with a deep lineup, having 8 players all see significant time on the floor. Daniel Depina got the scoring started early, drawing 2 fouls (including a 3-point attempt) and sank all his attempts. These 5 quick points allowed Depina to lead the team in scoring with 13 points. Stevy Alves and Eduardo Deleon were close behind with 11 and 10 points respectively, with Deleon once again sneaking between opposing players for shocking offensive boards. In all, it simply was not a strong enough team performance for the Gunners. Alves and Robinson Tejeda looked to pass relatively often, but the 5 team assists weren’t enough to compete with the chemistry displayed by the No Namers. Run and Gun had a heated team meeting after the loss; look for the Gunners to bounce back in a big way next week and perhaps break through for their first win of the season.

Next up:
Run and Gun (0-2) v. NNHS (1-1) - 9/21 7:00p
A Team Has No Name (1-1) at Calypso North Stars (2-0) - 9/21 8:00p

Furious Rim Ticklers (55) v. BADDIES (38)

Rim Ticklers run away with the win as BADDIES unable to score with any pace to make a run

The BADDIES were eager to get the season started, as the win they had landed in Week 1 was handed to them via forfeit. Late arrival Alan Gomez sank a couple deep balls to lead the team in scoring with 10 points, with Michael Weinstein and his own 3-pointer close behind with 9 points. The lack of scoring from beyond the arc - those 3 were their only treys of the contest - was a death knell for the BADDIES chances at winning the game, as they only cashed 25% of their looks. Jake Goldstein in particular will be looking for his shot to fall more going forward, going 0/4 from deep. Big man Matt Roberts filled his role well down low, leading his team in rebounds and also setting the table for his teammates a few times. The team will also be looking to do better from the free throw line in the future, as the points left behind on their 7/12 performance at the line will certainly sting when looking at the final score. 

The Rim Ticklers, meanwhile, had to have been galvanized by such a strong showing after a loss to league-leading Julius Swerving last time out. Point guard Drew DeBari led the backcourt, setting up his teammates with 4 assists and also controlling the defensive glass with a solid 10 total boards. Michael Rogosa had the team lead in scoring, with 14 points purely on 7 made baskets inside. Rogosa had a well-rounded game despite his lack of deep scoring, nabbing 3 steals, a block, 5 boards and dishing to his teammates for 4 assists. Djordje Vlajkovic put in an incredible performance on the boards once again, jumping relentlessly on his way to 6 offensive boards. Brian Phillips (13 points) and Jeff Yeakley (9 points) fired away with abandon from deep, combining for an astonishing 19 attempts, themselves eclipsing the entirety of the attempts by the BADDIES. The Ticklers’ 14 team assists were the other major difference in their performance from their opponents, the clean looks generated crucial in the Rim Ticklers securing their win.

Next up:
Furious Rim Ticklers (1-1) at Lexington Steals (0-2) - 9/21 6:00p
BADDIES (1-1) at Julius Swerving (2-0) - 9/21 9:00p

Calypso North Stars (60) v. NNHS (49)

Caletti carries scoring load as furious second-half rally by NNHS falls short

Tony Caletti was the story of the game for the North Stars, scoring a massive 30 of the Stars’ 60 points to deliver the win over NNHS. Caletti scored in every phase of the game, making 75% of his shots from the free throw line, 6 shots from 2-point range, 5 of 13 from 3-point range, 3 steals, and four assists. He eclipsed each half of NNHS’ production on his own. Trevor Britton was the second-leading scorer for the North Stars, making 3 treys on his way to 9 points to go with his 2 assists and relentless activity on the boards. Lucas Rathjens and Brian Vogt chipped in 5 points apiece, with Rathjens making some free throws to make NNHS pay for hacking him in the paint. Chris’ 9 points rounded out the scoring with John Letteney’s 2 points, with Letteney grabbing a couple of late, crucial steals to seal the win. 

Deven Labovitch was the top scorer for NNHS, scoring inside and out on his way to 15 points. When Calypso started fast, opening up an 8 to 0 lead, Labovitch struck back practically on his own, going on a personal 7 to 0 run to prevent the game from getting out of hand too quickly. Mike Gately followed close behind with 13 points, showing up all over the court to collect an offensive board, a block, and two steals as well. Gately tied for the team lead in assists as well, with Philip Barnett, who struggled to score but was similarly active around the court, grabbing a couple steals to boot. Matt Wood and Charlie Rao rounded out the scoring with 9 points apiece. NNHS put on the heat late, trying to mount a strong comeback in the closing minutes but came up short, simply running out of time in the end. 

Next up:
Calypso North Stars (2-0) v. A Team Has No Name (1-1) - 9/21 8:00p
NNHS (1-1) at Run and Gun (0-2) - 9/21 7:00p

3 Stars:

• Tony Caletti (Calypso North Stars) - 30 points (5/13 3PM), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
• Will Otto (Julius Swerving) - 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks
• Michael Chroney (A Team Has No Name) - 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Power Rankings:

1. Julius Swerving (+1)
2. Calypso North Stars (+2)
3. A Team Has No Name (0)
4. NNHS (-3)
5. Furious Rim Ticklers (0)
6. Run and Gun (0)
7. Lexington Steals (+1)
8. BADDIES (-1)

B2 5v5 TUE Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 18, 2023

By: DEVIN QUINLIN

Game 1 | Plenty of Lotion: 50 - Bears: 44

POL Mount Major Second Half Comeback To Overcome Bears

Plenty of Lotion had nothing going on early in this one, trailing 20-32 at the half with no one shooting well, and the Bears capitalizing on defensive lapses. They flipped the switch in the second half, though, outsourcing the bears 30-12 in a dominant defensive effort. Their offense wasn’t quite as high-powered as it was during Week 1, but they got the job done, pulling out the 50-44 victory.

Guy Pistone had another solid game this week, tallying 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists in a near triple-double performance. While he wasn’t able to slice through the lane quite as easily as he did in Week 1, he was still the best offensive player on either team, getting some clutch buckets in the second half and distributing well with a league-high 9 assists, cementing himself as a top playmaker in this division. Garrett Vinett also had a stellar game, putting up 7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 1 block, dominating the defensive end and hitting a few nice jumpers as well. Yancy Brown added 8 points and 1 block, canning all four of his free-throw attempts, while Jeff Yeakley added 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, and 1 block, hitting two threes in the win. Anthony McDaniels also added two threes, finishing with 6 points and 3 rebounds, while Drew DeBari came up with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Dan Ollquist was also solid with 3 points, 5 boards, and 1 steal. Great comeback by POL, who fought their way back in the second half mostly through their defensive pressure.

Heartbreaking loss for the Bears, who simply couldn’t generate enough offense in the second half to hold their big lead. Danny Shapiro led the way once again, putting up 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. As his team’s best offensive player, I would love to see him look for his own shot more, especially off dribble hand-offs near the top of the key. Will Estes has been another bright spot for the Bears this season, coming up with 11 points and 6 boards while hitting two threes and three of his four free-throw attempts. His offensive jump has been much needed for the Bears, who have not shot the three ball well, and his defensive toughness has always been there. Other than these two, no one else scored in double figures. John Bowllan came up with 5 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, while Ted Blake added 4 points, 10 rebounds, and 1 block, both guys making a lot happen but not scoring much. Will Ross returned after missing Week 1, and he looked rusty (one for nine from three). However, he is probably their best overall player, and is a consistent knockdown shooter. He will be a big add on both ends once he finds his rhythm again. This team has the pieces, but they need to close out some games to get back into the win column.

Game 2 | The Substitutes: 50 - Team Ahern: 57

Team Ahern Pull Out Victory Against Gritty Substitutes Squad

Team Ahern dominated portions of this game, yet found themselves down 23-25 at the half and winning by a final of only 57-50. The Substitutes deserve a lot of credit for battling on both ends and hitting some clutch shots throughout the game, but ultimately Team Ahern had too much size inside, and despite missing all their free-throws, they held on for the win.

Nick Martin was a force inside in this one, putting up 16 points, 10 rebounds (6 offensive), 1 assist, and 1 block. While he did go zero for three at the free-throw line, he was unstoppable rolling to the rim, especially in the second half. His 6 offensive rebounds were a league-high, and he used his physicality well on both ends. Ethan Collins added 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, just a monster athlete in this division. His impact on both ends was noticeable, as he was all over the court once again. Eric Bauman hit two threes to finish with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal, while Zack Gordon had a very impressive game with 9 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists. Similar to Martin, he was just too imposing inside, but showed off some versatility with a team-high (tied) 4 assists as well. Asher Bean added 6 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 1 steal on some tough takes to the cup to go along with some flashy dimes. As a unit, Team Ahern grabbed 22 offensive rebounds and had three players tally 4 assists (Cam Letalien: 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks), using this size to their advantage and sharing the ball to come away with a nice win.

The Substitutes were definitely physically outmatched in this one, but they hit ten threes and stole the ball ten times to keep themselves in this game. Yianni Grupen was on fire in this one, going for 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Grupen shot five of nine from downtown, and was instant offense for his team. While I’m not sure the Substitutes will be able to compete with the better teams in this division, I do think Grupen will be one of the top offensive threats, and he will have to carry his team on that end going forward. Paul Habelow played a nice game, putting up 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals, showing off a smooth looking shot and a nice handle. He will need to put up more than four threes to take some of the offensive burden off of Grupen. Doug Law added 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, hitting some impressive threes in the process, while Lexi Kimball hit two threes of her own to finish with 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals (game-high). While they may lack some offensive firepower, the Substitutes have some solid pieces. They will need to find some chemistry and continue to shoot the three ball well to win some games this session.

Game 3 | Miyagi-Fang: 72 - Splash City: 48

Miyagi-Fang Dominate in Easy Win

This game was never close, as Miyagi-Fang gave Splash City a brutal welcome to the B2 Tuesday division after a bye in Week 1. With a 42-19 lead at the half, Miyagi-Fang were just the better team, as they cruised to a 72-48 victory without much resistance.

Dan Lerner came alive with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists, slicing through the lane at will and going two of three from downtown as well, in an impressive offensive showcase. John Harding did much of the same, adding 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists (game-high), and 2 blocks. This duo puts so much downhill pressure on defenses, and I’m just not sure how other teams will be able to stop both. Joe Dwyer couldn't find his three ball, but did everything else, putting up 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. After missing Week 1, his return adds yet another offensive threat. In their supportive roles, the rest of this team did exactly what they needed to. Djordje Vlajkovic came up with 6 points, 16 rebounds (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, just dominating inside on defense, while Greg Eusden added 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist as well. Harry “Poing Gawd” Demakes added 7 boards, 2 assists, and 1 steal in the win.

Splash City just couldn’t find the range in this one, going five of thirty-two from three and being outrebounded 18-54. Matthew Wulbrecht shot only one of eight from deep, but found a rhythm as the game progressed to finish with 17 points and 1 rebound. He was strong on the attack and hit all four of his free-throws, and with solid form, I expect him to hit some more threes going forward. Amy Peters finished with 12 points and 2 steals, but shot two of twelve from three. Most of her shots were pretty close, and like Wulbrecht, I expect her to find the range as the season progresses. Vijay Jeevanandam added 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, and I thought he could have looked for his offense more. Four players scored 2 points for Splash City, with Ben Bennet adding 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, and 1 block as he patrolled the paint well on defense. Tough outing for Splash City, but they have some nice pieces and had a tough initial matchup with the heavy favorites.

B2 5v5 MON Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 14, 2023

By DEVIN QUINLIN

Game 1 | First Team CAC Benchwarmers: 30 - Gino Time: 83

Gino Time Rolls Benchwarmers in Season Opener

This game was never really in doubt, as Gino Time took a 49-20 lead into the half and just dominated the entire game from start to finish. To be fair to the Benchwarmers, they had no subs while Gino Time came with eight guys, but I’m not sure it would’ve made too much of a difference, as Gino Time was simply too dominant in this one, winning by a final of 83-30.

Erik Maynard and Max McKee led the scoring for Gino Time, hitting a flurry of threes early on and continuing their scoring throughout the game. Maynard finished with a league-high 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 steal, shooting four of nine from deep and dominating all facets of the game. McKee added 20 points on four of seven from deep, plus 5 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal. He had some nice takes to the rim and was relentless in transition as well. Greg Eusden also added a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, doing some damage inside, while Johnathan Ross played a very strong game on both ends, putting up 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Darren Hartwell scored only 4 points, but was perhaps his team’s most impressive player, hounding the opposing guard on defense and finishing with a league high 10 assists to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 steals, while Liam Abbott added 3 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in a stat-stuffing effort. Altogether, this team looks dangerous with their combination of size and athleticism, cementing themselves as the early favorites to win this division after a dominant win.

The Benchwarmers struggled in this one, but Zack Gray was a bright spot for his team. He finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a league-high 8 steals. He shot three of seven from deep, showing off a nice looking shot and some impressive moves in transition, including his signature behind the back wrap off the dribble, which he did about seven times. Joseph Walsh hit two threes to finish with 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal, while Chris Alphen added 4 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks in the loss. Matt Mackay chipped in 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, and Bugra Akaktan added 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Tough loss for the Benchwarmers, but it’s hard to play a full team with no subs. They will have better games in the coming weeks.

Game 2 | Thank You University: 34 - Handler’s Handlers: 31

Thank You University Pull Out Gritty Win in Low Scoring Affair

This game was either a defensive battle or two teams generating no offense, but it was competitive from start to finish. Thank you Uni held a narrow 17-11 halftime lead, with both teams shaking off some rust in their first game of the season. This game ended up coming down to the wire, but an Andrew Pratt corner three ball sealed the game for Thank You Uni by a final score of 34-31.

Pratt led the offense for Thank You Uni, going three of five from deep to finish with 11 points and 4 rebounds. After missing a few shots early on, he got going in the second half and ultimately won his team the game with the clutch three. Ben Hayes isn’t even on the roster, but he hit three threes to finish with 9 points and 2 assists, breaking out Jamal Murray the bow and arrow celebration on all three of his buckets. Electric stuff from the sharpshooter. Greg Palazzo added 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, making things happen on both ends, while Kevin Toomey finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds, playing well inside on both ends. Even with a lackluster offensive performance from both teams, Thank You Uni deserves their credit for coming up with some key stops down the stretch, with credit going to Eli Vogel (2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals) on the perimeter and Kelsey Cornwell (3 rebounds, 1 steal) inside. That effort, plus some clutch shotmaking from Pratt, and they pull out the hard fought victory in Week 1.

Handler’s Handlers honestly looked much better than their 31 point output might suggest, but they ultimately just couldn’t hit their shots, going five of twenty-eight from three as a group and zero for four from the charity stripe. Brian Horan shot three of seven from three to finish with 11 points and 7 rebounds, while Danny H was active on both ends, putting up 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Jack Gallagher finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists (game-high), and 1 steal, and Ryan Kuchar added 5 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, though he had beautiful jump shot form and I expect him to shoot better than one for six in the coming weeks. Even with their dominance on the boards and defensively (2 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals for big man Sean Lovett), the Handlers just couldn’t convert enough shots to win this one, but I think they have a solid roster and can settle in nicely as the season progresses and they find their rhythm.

Game 3 | SAUS: 68 - Mark It Zero: 33

SAUS Dominate in First B2 Game

SAUS have long dominated Corporate League, rolling through opponents handily. They finally made the jump to B2, and things are no different, as they handled business against Mark It Zero. The scoring was nearly identical in both halves, as SAUS led 32-16 early on, and finishing this one with a final score of 68-33 in dominant fashion.

SAUS benefited from an incredibly well-rounded offensive attack, with four guys in double figures and two more barely missing out. Michel Nofal was dominant early on, finishing with 13 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. He quickly hit two threes to start the game, which set the tone for this one. Cam McCann also hit three threes to finish with 13 points of his own, plus 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, while Mike Baker did some serious damage inside with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block down low. Kevin “Half Speed” Toth is far and away the best player in this division, and he did not disappoint with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. Even against some solid defenders, he’s just two steps ahead of everyone else, even with some questionable effort. Chin Kuo chipped in 9 points on three threes, plus 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, and Griffin Haas added 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal while rocking the Jason Williams Kings jersey. Captain Gareth Goh added 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals in the win, and I expect big things from a very capable SAUS team this session, even after moving up a division.

Mark It Zero struggled in this one, but they have no shortage of talent. I am on this team, and will hopefully be back by Week 6 or 7 to add some much needed shooting, as our squad went three of thirty-one from deep. Still, knowing these guys and having seen them all play before, I am confident that those shooting numbers will not stand. Cam Daniels was a bright spot for us, as he finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals, coming alive in the second half and applying serious pressure on defense. David Ter-Ovanesyan added 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 steal, but these two each shot one of seven from deep. David Pendergast added 6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists (team-high), and 1 block, but he will need to be more assertive on the attack if Mark It Zero wants to win games. Rob Lunder played solid, adding 5 points and 4 rebounds, while James Mulvehill struggled with his shot (zero for eight) but did everything else to chip in 2 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Tough game for Mark It Zero, but I see better days ahead later in the season.

Game 4 | Bricksquad: 33 - The Unreliables: 49

Unreliables Cruise to Week 1 Victory

The Unreliables put together a strong Week 1 performance, taking a 21-12 lead into the half and moving the ball well the entire game. This is a group with excellent chemistry, and the addition of Matt McDonough adds another go-to-scorer to take some of the offensive pressure off of Eric Flemming. The combination of shooting, passing, and defense put the Unreliables over the top in this one, as they pulled away with a 49-33 win.

Matt McDonough led the scoring effort, shooting five of nine from three to finish with a commanding 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, fitting in seamlessly and knocking down jumpers at an impressive clip. Eric Flemming also played a strong game, adding 15 points, 8 rebounds (5 offensive), and 4 assists, knocking down his signature midrange jumper and distributing the ball well in the half court. Nate Koslof showed off his dynamic game with 5 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists (game-high), and 4 steals, making plays on both sides per usual and finding shooters and cutters at will. TJ Green chipped in 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in the win, rock solid as always, while Samir Shah came up with 2 points and 6 boards.. The Unreliables looked very solid in their first outing, and we’ll see if they can continue their momentum against the top tier teams in this league.

Like most other teams in Week 1, Bricksquad struggled offensively, but they showed some flashes. Tenzin Nanglo finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, and while his shot wasn’t falling, he displayed a nice offensive arsenal and hitting a few shots in the second half. Tenzin Pharachesur also showed some flashes, adding 10 points of his own, plus 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals, while Nana Adu chipped in 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Julius Zuckerman also added 5 points, 4 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. This team definitely lacked some offensive firepower, but I think they have solid pieces who will find their rhythm as the season progresses.

B1 5v5 TUE Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 13, 2023

B1 5v5 TUE Week 2 Write-Ups

By JAY SHAH

Skelton’s Boys (71) v. Eastie Hoops (57)

Initially shorthanded Eastie Hoops runs out of gas late to fall to Skelton’s Boys

It was an incredible start for Eastie, as the team played the entirety of the first half with only 4 players but managed to come out with a very solid 10-point lead at half, leading 36 to 26. Chisom Nnadi led the way for Eastie in the first half, driving to the basket time and again with ferocity while also contributing on the glass on his way to grabbing 9 boards. He used his ability to penetrate to dish to teammates as well, dishing out 4 assists. Lucas Fortier galvanized the team throughout the contest with his 3-point shooting, once again draining buckets from deep to keep the game competitive. Fortier also contributed defensively, stealing a pass and denying a Skelton shot while tying with Nnadi for the team lead in assists. Kyle Coughlin and Grant Miller were key in securing the lead in the first half, doing all the little things like chasing Skelton players around screens and hounding them throughout the game while taking smart, open shots when the opportunities presented themselves. Late arrival Gary Howell-Walton allowed Eastie to finally field a full 5-man squad, but the second half spelled doom for the squad, as it was clear that the toll of the first half was being paid.

Skelton made shot after shot in the second, scoring an incredible 45 points after managing only 26 while playing 4-on-5 in the first. It was a very egalitarian performance by the squad, as all 5 active players managed to score in double digits. Elijah led the way with 16 points and 11 boards, knocking down a couple 3 to go with his inside game. Doug Horan had a game-high 5 assists and came on strong in the second half, scoring all of his points then. Every player both managed to make at least 1 3-pointer and take at least 1 trip to the charity stripe, and even though they left points on the board from there, their second half onslaught was simply too much for Eastie to bear. Erik Pettit, similar to Horan, really stepped up his game in the second half, asserting himself and looking for his own shot far more than he had in the first. Ryan Fitzpatrick had his shot dialed in from deep, helping keep the game close in the first and opening it up in the second with his 12 points from beyond the arc. Henry Bayly was a strong presence throughout the contest, scoring from 2-point range 5 times and staying active on the defensive end to compile a steal and a block to boot. It was an oddly resilient performance for the team in their first game of the season considering their initial numbers advantage evaporating without a lead and set an excellent tone for the season to come.

Next up:
Skelton’s Boys (1-0) at Markit Basketball (2-0) - 9/19 7:30p
Eastie Hoops (0-2) at Treys for Days (1-1) - 9/19 8:30p

Men’s League (70) v. CCC Studios (65)

Thrilling second half comeback by Men’s League capped by dominant overtime period in disappointing CCC Studios loss

It was a very different type of game this time around for George Schultz, who last time around led Men’s League in scoring in their loss to Treys for Days. In the matchup against CCC Studios, however, Schultz put up no points, and further hardly shot the ball at all, just missing the mark twice from deep. But his team’s result was different this time, and the rest of his team showed up - particularly James Morse, who didn’t play last time out, and Will Childs-Klein, who asserted his size around the basket with much more tenacity than in his season debut. Morse had a tough first half in his own season debut here against CCC, because though his defensive intensity never waned (3 steals), his shot simply would not find the bottom of the net, particularly from deep. In the second half, however, and especially at the tail end of the matchup, Morse’s shots began to fall, including a massive 3-pointer to tie the game at 65 and eventually send the game to overtime. Morse was also perfect from the free throw line, making 100% of his 8 attempts down the stretch. Childs-Klein didn’t settle for pull-up jumpers this game, instead working his way relentlessly toward the basket to get excellent looks, utilizing every inch of his size to press his advantage. His 7 2-point makes, plus a clutch triple no one in the gym but him expected, were absolutely key in Men’s Leagues comeback, as were his countless boards and 3 blocks. Meanwhile, bruiser Matt Goodwin looked strong down low, picking up a couple offensive boards he had no business getting to and setting up some second-chance points. Tom Smith once again looked like a seasoned vet on the floor, calling for his teammates to push at any opportunity, recognizing that CCC’s lack of a bench would eventually catch up to them. JP Wilkinson scored a few key baskets, but his primary impact was certainly felt on the defensive end, as he matched up with Mike Salis to try and prevent him from dictating the game. His physical play clearly riled Salis up, and despite Salis knocking down a 3 in his face while talking directly at Wilkinson, it was Wilkinson’s team that walked away with the win.

CCC Studios, meanwhile, started out relatively hot, outscoring Men’s League 35-28 in the first half, led by the downhill and teammate-centric approach of the aforementioned Salis. He and Zac Brown were particularly effective in the paint, each drawing multiple fouls and converting a high percentage of their looks from the free throw line. Salis also fired from deep more than he had in his first game, converting 50% of his looks from downtown on his way to 21 points. Mike Simoni was similarly effective from deep, cashing in an even higher percentage of his looks on his way to 18 points. Unfortunately, he missed both of his shots from the charity stripe, which could have been key points to have in hand for CCC down the stretch. It was a somewhat quiet game for Chris Voukides, who made a big 3 down the stretch, but came up a little short on his other looks. Fill-in Matty followed the Mikes’ lead from beyond the arc, beginning to fire away in the second half to temporarily prolong CCC’s lead with his 3 triples. In the end it was a disappointing loss for CCC, who watched their lead slip away without the possibility of any injection of bench energy. Watch for them to show up with a deeper bench next time out.

Next up: 
Men’s League (1-1) at Wat Rats (1-0) - 9/19 6:30p
CCC Studios (0-2) BYE

Markit Basketball (52) v. Treys for Days (38)

Markit utilizes every ounce of lengthy roster in dominant win over 6-man Treys for Days squad

In by far the lowest-scoring matchup of the night, Markit Basketball made a defensive statement. The Markiters swarmed across the court with little regard for the limits of stamina, with nearly every one of their 9 players recording at least one steal. Victor Chang led the way on that end, nabbing an incredible 6 steals, adding a block for good measure and leading the team in rebounds. George Phillips led the team in scoring with 11 and was the only player to score in the double digits, as he especially forced the Treys to deal with him on the inside, making 3 separate trips to the charity stripe. All 9 Markit Basketball players managed to put the ball through the hoop at least once, with Cameron Gleichauf once again looking stellar, racking up 4 buckets from in close (including an and-1) and dishing out a team-high 4 assists. Jonathan Chang had a intriguing season debut, utilizing a unique shooting form to cash in once from deep and flashing all over the floor to even grab an offensive board. In all, it was an impressively democratic game from Markit Basketball, with every present member contributing in some significant way and no fall-off with the introduction of any given sub. An incredibly deep team and one to watch going forward.

Treys for Days, meanwhile, had some clear drop-off in their production from their first game, missing key members from their win against Men’s League. Wes Schroll returned and was in good form, though unable to cash in from deep as he was previously. He was a huge presence on defense though, helping keep the game manageable for the Treys squad with an unbelievable 6 blocks and 2 steals, plus 8 boards to go with his 8 points. Collin Yip, Kevin McGovern and Devin Santilli had 6, 6, and 5 points respectively to round out the scoring, with McGovern in particular involved in nearly every play or point scored. Yip was a wily presence on the defensive end, grabbing 2 steals from unsuspecting Markit players. The team lead in scoring went to fill-in Ando, who scored a few fastbreak buckets late on his way to 13 points. Look for Treys for Days to rebound in a big way next week with a more complete squad. 

Next up:
Markit Basketball (2-0) v. Skelton’s Boys (1-0) - 9/19 7:30p
Treys for Days (1-1) v. Eastie Hoops (0-2) - 9/19 8:30p

Three Stars:

• Markit Basketball Attendance - 9 players, all played and scored
• Doug Horan (Skelton’s Boys) - 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
• Chisom Nnadi - 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists

Power Rankings:

1. Markit Basketball (0)
2. Wat Rats (0)
3. Skelton’s Boys (+4)
4. Men’s League (+2)
5. Treys for Days (-1)
6. CCC Studios (-3)
7. Eastie Hoops (-2)

B DRAFT WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS

by Jason on Sep. 12, 2023

By HARRY DEMAKES & IAN CUNDALL

40 minutes of eye bleeding 3s later, X marks the spot for Cundall!

I thought this might be the best game of the evening between two contending teams in the top half of the rankings. News of AJ being out kind of softened that though, but nonetheless Etheridge built a pretty deep squad. Cundall had everyone at his disposal. TO THE BRICK SHOW!

X Personalities got ahead early in this one thanks to the play of Bdraft Tim Roberts. He some good SDL numbers, but those mean little in the big time over in Bdraft. If you don’t believe me, compare Lynch’s numbers between leagues last season. Anyhow, Roberts was cooking the defense with mid-range and some tough finishes at the cup. It looks like Koller found himself a running mate this season. Speaking of Koller, he added 10 first half points and was decisively winning his matchup with fellow top 10 pick Angelo. He also took his first career first half sub. A milestone day for all involved as X personalities stretched their lead into double digit territory.

Meanwhile, Swish & Dish was making a mockery of the game of basketball. Apparently, the entire team looked up AJ’s numbers and got scared they might never shoot a shot when he plays, so they went a chucking. Swish & Dish missed all 20 of their first half 3-point attempts. Hanks was 0-7, Angelo was 0-5, Waldman 0-6. Yuck, yuck and yuck. What a miserable performance. Let’s just go to the half.

X Personalities went into the half up 32-11. Swish and Dish did have one highlight with rookie Dan Waldman taking a charge. That was cool, but X Personalities was dominating this game. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Swish & Dish got their miss count up to 22 from three before the basketball gods took pity on them and Waldman banked one in. Hanks, would hit two real ones later on, but I don’t know who told these guys they were 3-point shooters. A real disappointing week 1 showing here, AJ will make things better, but I expected a lot better from these guys.

X Personalities went on cruise control for most of the second half. Rookie Padavick looked pretty good, hitting 2 treys and being active on the boards. These guys have a good starting lineup and an active bench. If only Packard would stop trying to break the backboard on every 3-point attempt, I think they got something.

X Personalities crushes Swish & Dish 63-33. Another season of blowouts is upon us. God help us all.

Grades:

Koller A: Good opening night, crushed his matchup and took subs.
Roberts A+: Great start to his Bdraft career. Kid gets buckets.
Padavick B+: Good start, just needs to cut down on turnovers.
Cundall C: Mediocre night for Ian who still can’t hit free throws.
Packard D: Tough first game, too many turnovers and missed 3s.
OTTOMATIC B: Solid game for the veteran.

Swish & Dish:
Etheridge C-: Mixed bag here. Some tough drives, but lots of shooting misses and turnovers.
Hanks D+: If you aren’t a shooter, you should never touch 12 three point attempts.
Angelo D: Better days to come on both ends of the floor.
Waldman D+: The charge gets a plus, but the shooting. WOOF!
Weaver C: Not a bad debut, at least he didn’t catch any of the bad on him.

Miller who? Goes off in opening night win

The biggest storyline going into this game was Cam facing off against another friend he betrayed in the draft for someone better. Then trying to play it off like “nah, I just like tall dudes.” Cam, pretty much brought back his team from last season, but saved Gray from the Ian/Koller combo of doom and drafted rookie KG. They had everyone, while Civale’s team was missing himself. TO THE ACTION!

It was a tight back and forth first half, with Remy leading the way for Civale’s team. There was some concern that Remy might suck now due to old age, but he looked quite spry taking every shot he could in this game. He led all scorers with 11 first half points. Rookie Joe, got off to a slow start only scoring 4 first half points and going 0-4 from deep. He did have 7 boards and 4 assists though in the opening frame. The Great One added a couple treys of his own as well.

Meanwhile, Cam’s squad spread out the love early on, with multiple guys picking up multiple FGs. DTO led the team with 10 points in the first and 3 assists. Lynch, only had 3 points in his new role as big dog of the team. We went into the half tied at 28. Seemed like a bad sign that Cam’s team couldn’t find a lead, but would it end up that way? BACK TO THE ACTION!

Rookie Joe continued his first half slumber into a second half coma. He didn’t score in the last 20 minutes of the game, which is quite unacceptable for a first rounder. He can’t be a non-factor out there for his team on offense. This led to Remy deciding he would just shoot every time. Remy shot 5-17 from 3 in this game, 4-12 in the second half. The Great One nailed 2 more treys as well, but they couldn’t keep up on either end in the second half.

Cam’s squad went offffff in this half, especially rookie KG, who hit 4 second half threes. Kid, could be a big pickup for a team who needs extra scoring. I will have my eye on him in weeks to come. Cam joined the game too, hitting two treys himself.

DTO hit a couple as well and Lynch added one. Miller who? went a combined 9-11 from 3 in the second half. Did they blow their load in week 1? Time will tell. 75-56 final for Miller Who? They continue their regular season winning ways.

Grades:

Cam A: Cam outplayed his buddy for 40 minutes, which is a huge win for his team.
Lynch B: Bdraft Lynch was ok, he’ll need better games in the future.
DTO A: If DTO wasn’t a turnover machine this would be an “A+” effort.
Bauman A: Solid double-double from Bauman here. Gray B: Nice effort, I like his hustle and effort.
KG A+: This going to be his best game, so drink it in.

CIVALE:

Joe K. D: Letting your buddy outshine you that didn’t pick you isn’t a good sign IMO. Also, give me buckets.
Remy B-: It is a good sign that Remy can still score, though he needs to be more efficient.
Glynn C+: shooting, but he did some good things else where.
Great One B+: Your standard above average Great One game
Clarke B: Solid Clarke game and my stat sheet claims he hit a 3. I don’t believe it

Nate Not So Great opening night

The last game of the evening was between Nate’s dead last ranked team that people have going no where against Noah’s contending squad. Everyone would eventually be there for both teams. TO THE ACTION!

This game would start ugly for both teams as they traded missed 3s to start the game, like every other game so far. Nate’s team went 2-17 from 3 in the first half. Lucky for them Noah’s team forgot about Ghost in the first half and he scored 13 first half points, more than the rest of his team in the opening frame. Nate got their late, but didn’t miss the chance to get up a bunch of shots to a mixed bag of efficiently. He did have 10 first half points, but was 1-6 from deep. If you can do math, that means the rest of the team only had 2 points, including Joel, who had zero.

On the other side of the court it was Pollock and Kenny carrying the load. Both men combined for 23 of their teams 33 first half points. They weren’t much better from 3 though, going 2-12 from 3 as a team. Noah’s team led 32-25 at the half. Might as well have been up a 100 at this point, since Nate was getting “I’m just here to set meaningless off ball screens and stand in the corner” Joel. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Noah’s team stepped on the gas pedal in the second half, thanks to Pollock’s week 1 MVP effort. He added 15 second half points to his total, with a couple assists. Robel joined the party with 10 second half points that included a trey. Angry Ian led the team with 3 second half assists and Dias got himself to 11 boards for the game. A good all around effort from Noah’s team against weak competition.

Somehow Nate’s offense got worse in the second half. Ghost made like a ghost and disappeared. Nate also flew off and Joel had as many trips to the ground as he had FGs made. Troy lapped his teammates in points by 3x with 10 in the second half, that include 3 threes. Rookie Maloof wasn’t a factor and if he’s 5’10, then I’m 6’3.

Rough game for a team that’ll see plenty more. Nice start for Noah’s team to build chemistry. 65-42 Final.

GRADES
Joel F+: Score points.
Ghost B: Pretty much your standard Ghost line.
Silva C+; Good rebounding, had 2 assists, but shot it poorly.
Troy B-: Not too bad, but most of the damage was done when the game was over.
Nate C: Tough night from 3, did lead the team in assists.
Maloof D: Not a good start to his Bdraft career.

NOAH:
Pollock A+: Owned his counterpart and played like an MVP.
Angry Ian C+: His shot was the shits, but he put in work else where.
Kenny B: Impressive that Kenny got to 16 points without hitting a three.
Noah D+: Did a whole lot of nothing, but I guess he got hurt.
Dias B: Great game on the boards and provided a bunch of energy.
Robel B+: Show up on time.

Over-30 Legends Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 12, 2023

By CHAS BELLS & CHRIS HANKS

GAME 1

Woke and Swole outmuscle Goyle

For the first matchup of the fall 23 Over30 season we had Roberts’ Woke and Swole taking on Chas’ Hot Goyle Departed. Fresh off winning a championship with Goyle Roberts would be matched up against the remains of his squad from the previous season. Roberts had a great draft, putting together a contender with plenty of size and shooting. Goyle returns without a key piece in Kodra and with some new faces. This game would be a battle between the size and Strength of Roberts team against the shooting and quickness of Goyle. Weinstein opened the scoring by cashing a three, but MacPherson answered by crashing the offensive glass of a put back. After the draft, I predicted a big season for MacPherson coming off somewhat of a quiet Over-30 debut last season, and this game would indicate a trend in that direction. Swole would go on a run led by Macpherson and Danny. Goyle would be in a hole at this point in the half and big Lu would call out his team on the defensive end. He backed that up by snatching a steal at midcourt and drawing a foul. Weinstein would make some buckets and get to the line and Swole’s lead would drop to 5. Swole would keep applying pressure on both ends, with McPherson and Danny continuing to score and Clarke getting a nice block. Jake Gold would score 8 straight for Goyle to keep them in it. With time winding down in the half Jeffries walked into a 3 and Goyle would go into the half only trailing by 4.

Coming out of the half, Joel sparked a run for Swole, hitting a rare three and getting some great looks in the post. He was really looking to run and pushing the ball in transition. The second half was all Swole and the lead would balloon to around 20 points. Goyle did not have the size to compete against Swole’s bigger lineup and Swole would take home the 30-point victory. Goyle may have issues going forward against some of the bigger teams in this league, such as Jimsanity and the Mulholland Bros.

Goyle

Chas C – not a great opening game from Chas. Expect bigger games going forward
Jefferies C played ok, could’ve been dishing it out a bit more.
Weinstein B – average game for Weinstein, he is capable of a lot more
Perry C- hit the offensive glass, but didn’t contribute much else
Luigi C+ the fire was there but this might be a long season for big Lu being the only size on this team
Jake A- kept Goyle in the game for a bit before things got away

Swole
Joel A played really well in the second half, looks motivated after last season’s last place finish
Ian C hustled and hit the boards, but failed to convert his two free throw attempts
MacPherson A led all scored and was big on both sides of the ball
Roberts A- had some nice buckets and was distributing well
Clarke A – did all the TC things, blocking shots and getting boards
Danny B – kind of a quiet night likely due to the big lead.

Game 2 Corp X VS Drop

Step Murpheys Kerr looked spry out of the gate as he gathered an obrd put in, Murphy with a post bucket for a quick 4-0 lead. Stevenson gets Corp on the board, and Bonvie gives them the lead with a trey 5-4.Mazz 2-2, than Bonvie again they were on a 10-0 run. Hanks stops the bleeding with paint bucket, Matty obrd finish, but Ian responds with scoop, Stephenson adds another J for the 16-8 lead. After a Kerr hoop Mazz finally hit a 3 19-10, and then hits another after a Hanks J 22-12. Zeng beautiful cut, Hanks 3, but Mazz nails 2 straight deep 3’s 29-20. Matty O got a 3 to go, kerr gets 2 off hustle, Randal 3, and his team was fighting well as Hanks would hit a 3 making it 34-32 at the half with his team up.

Randalls team would keep their foot on Corp, Kerr 2-2, Zeng up n under. Drop Step would maintain a 10 pt lead throughout the 2nd half as Kerr was using his size/huslte to get easy hoops and keep Corp in check. Corp would make a push but Zeng hit a big J. Corp would show shome fight at the end getting steals and hoops but it was not enough. Randall starts his boys off well 66-59.

DSM
Kerr-A-) Wasnt spectacular but dman effective. His size his a problem.
Randall-B-) Thought he kept his boys calm, they played the matchups well. Good captain game here.
Matty-B-) He was solid on both ends, nothing crazy just good.
Murphy-B+- Did it all kinda. PASSED well/ 3 steals 1 block, very nice night.
Zeng-A- I dont think he missed a shot, was very active.
Hanks-A- Shot them back into the game. Making you all pay for letting him fall in the draft.

Corp X
Mazz-A-) 30 pts in no joke, but I wanted him to be even more aggressive wth Dennis/B.Robb out. Thought he fought despite the frustaration good sign for Corp going forward.
Ian-B-) he was just ok, they needed so more shooting from him.
Stephenson-C+- Strated red hot, but kinda disappeared.
Bovie-C- Same thing as Ben, on fire to start but faded hard.
B.Robbb-N/A- Was very late.

Game 3 Ej Vs Blood Line

EJ comes in hot as he canned a 3 right away, Frano followed that with a Pnroll hoop 5-0. Liam gets his boys in it with a trey, but Kap to the rizack7-3. Kap middy, than Frano scoop, followed by Kap slash 14-3 they were rolling. Carey hits a big momentum 3 14-6, but Kap nails deeps 3 right abc at them 17-6. EJ another 3 and this game was getting ugle, as BloodLine O was puke worthy, not getting any good looks, no energy, honestly not a ton of fight. The half would end with a Frano J making it 28-16 at the break. The closest the score would get 33-24, as EJ’s squad looked like they were on a mission all over the floor. Kap was hounding Frongi the former MVP’s life, Amir splashing 3’s, and this game really never was in doubt. EJ got his boys balling they win 56-38.

Team Slick
Frano-B+- Rock solid night, wasnt as aggressive when the lead was big, but really looked good.
Kap-A- Would have been an A+ if he shot the 3 more effecently, but man did he ball out all over the court.
Butter-B-) D was good O was not.
EJ-A-) Solid EJ game, took good shots, played good D.
Amir-A- Doing his J O B which is nail open 3’s.

BloodLine
Cawley-B-) Saves his day with some great hustle and D, they need 20 ppg from him or they are in trouble.
Harry-D- Where is the fight, wheres the Harry yelling “what the fuck are we doing”. Week 1 I guess but I dont like a complacent Hareld.
Frongi-C- Kap really bothered him, he was so hesitant like Kap was in his head.
Liam-B-)He was steady, nothing crazy either way.
Carey-A-Leave him open and see 3’s go throught he hoop.
Danner-D- my man struggled out there. He will have better nights.

Game 4 Bros Vs Buddys 

J.Mul looking sexy and confident nailed the 3 ball. Lane hustling his ass off gets Obrd assist to Kielley 3-3. J.Mul locked in slashes 3, Jet floater and hesssssssss backkkkkkkkkkkk 8-3. Eth nice cutting hoop 10-3. Skelley sick reveurse lay in, then adds an Obrd finish. J.Mul had the answer with a middy, but Worth drains a 3 14-10. Lane cutting hoop to cut the lead to 2, but Lane hustle leads to another Kielley cutting hoop 15-14. Skelley post for the lead but Eth right back at him. J.Mul would finish his strong half with some hoops and it was 22-17 at the break.

J.Mul a killer today, nails another middy, but Kielley responds with tough finish 25-19. J.Mul unconscious hits another trey 28-19. This game stayed within the 9 to ll point range as Brothers defesne was stifling, there was nothing easy out there for the Buddy’s, and the Bros continue their successes together 42-36.

Buddys
Skelley-A-) Thought he was a bright spot, hustled hard, and his finsihsing gets better every session.
Kielley-B-) Not a terrible game, but they will need much more from him if they are gonna get w’s.
Worth-D- Grade is harsh because we all know he can play way better, his team neds him to.
Lane-B+- His hustle was crazy 5 obrs, 3 steals, I loved it!!!

Bro’s
Jet-B-) Shot was a lil off, but it was awseome to wathc him flyyyyyyyyyy again.
ETH-B-) Lil rusty getting his legs/wind back, but saw some Eth flashes.
J.Mul-A+- He was awesome , MVP level play.
S.Mul-B- only guy who can geta B scoring 0. His D is so nuts.
Stull-C- Hustled hard but 0-6 is 0-6.