Franchise League Week 3 Write-ups

by Jason on May. 19, 2023

WEEK 3 WRITE-UPS

Week 3 Game 1 Super VS Poor 
By Chas

Frongi dives in right away to kick us off, and Oully followed his lead $ a 3, Rosi TD ass to Frongi after steal, then Frongi another lay up sheesh it was an ugly 11-0.Ini goes 1-2 to finanly get them on the board. Mulv goes 2-2 to keep the pressure 13-1. Matty gets a 3 to go thank god! Ini scoop shot, Mazone drives in , Ini 1-2 again, but Oully 3 brakes the run 16-9. Amazon filthy lefty drive, but Oully going step for step wih and 1 19-11. Ini bank shot.19-13. Kap hustle elads to Mulv lay in, then Mulv in the right place at the right time for 2 23-13. Stull 3 ball splash alert, than Keith Obrd put in 26-18. Kap zooms in, but Mazone Trey makes it 28-21. Amazon $ another trey, and another 28-27 we got ball game baby! Frongi calms things with cut, but Ini hook keeps pace. Oily feeling it gets a 3, but Mazone in his bag gets the lefty lay in. Rosi finally in on the act with a J, Frongi running well gets another deuce, but that Ini hook was falling, Frongi just gashing them with another running hoop, then a Kapadon steal 3 ball magic it was a crazy 42-33 at the break. 

Ini grown man lay in, Keith grown man lay in it was 42-37. Mulv brakes mini run with lay in. Mazone sneaky down the base line. Mulv, and smooth Matty J trade 3’s, but Keith gets floater 47-44. Puller big 3 to stretch the lead 50-44. Stull crafty to the line gets 1-2, Mulv would get a J, but Keith sees a 3 go through 52-50. Kap strong righty drive, but Stull not taking no shit $ 3 54-53 what a game! Kap answers with veteran 3 , but Mazone obrd converts, then Matty nice cut we were knotted at 57 all! Mulv obrd leads to big Rosi 3, than Rosi 3 again , after some fts Matty would get a 3 to go making it 64-61. Poor had good 1 n 1 ft chances but kept missing them, and that was huge as Rosi really got going down te stretch, Pulley would add a 3 and that was good night Irene. 77-69 Super stays unbeaten 

Super 

Rosi-B-) Took him way to long to get going, and it almost cost them. As alway he knew when to turn it on and and got out of there with the W. 
Oully-A- Vintage Oully here, he was the efficient assassin we all love. 
Frongi-B+- Run , run, run he knows how to keep pressure on the D, and it gave great results. 
Mulv-B- Solid day, hustled hard , and made an 2nd half impact 
Kap-B+-He’ssssssss back. Much more impactul, getting swipes/3’s,and dimes. 

Poor

Matty-B-) Dude can shoot it, and its beatuful. But needs to get out on shooters more. 
Stull-A-) Really likes his fight/actvity out there.
Ini-B+- Scored the rock well, still not the most efficient from the line. 
Mazone-A-Holy moly this kid is a baller, would have got the A+ with a win. Left drives, just filthy 
Keith-B- Came late but still filled up the stat sheet, rebound excellently maybe one to many 3 down the stretch.

Game 2: Mulholland Drive vs. FTR

ReKAP:

We had a good one in game 2, featuring Mulholland Drive taking on FTR. Houston was out for MD, missing his second straight game, while FTR was fully staffed with Dru making his season debut. It was tight to start, with both teams exchanging baskets. Chas was looking to be more assertive, hitting an early 3 and delivering a number of bellowing screams that hurt my ears. JDM and Harding were exchanging blows as expected and DP delivered a nasty patented drive and spin on LeBlanc. Welcome to the spin cycle LeBlowby! FTR led 15-13 after the first 10 minutes of play.

That’s when it got ugly for FTR. MD ripped off a 22-6 run to close out the final 10 minutes of the first half. Their offense looked much improved, with JMul providing a nice facilitator role. He was moving the ball well and while he didn’t rack up a lot of assists, he did provide a number of “hockey” assists. The assault resulted in a 35-21 MD halftime lead.

FTR has a bunch of guys that can play though, and Harry’s halftime speech must have done something to inspire his team. FTR opened the second half with a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 5. Harding led the charge as usual with some long balls and nice drives to the cup. He looked to be more assertive out of the intermission and it paid dividends. Vladi got in the act as well after a quiet first half and just like that we had a ball game on our hands!

After a timeout, Chas would calm the troops though MD was able to weather the storm. A LeBlanc 3 would push the lead back to 9 and MD remained pretty much in control for the rest of the game. FTR battled their asses off but every time they seemed to get closer, MD had an answer. I am not going to speak on the “self-pass” play by JDM because it was the right call, but I know FTR will be pointing to that play as a pivotal moment late in the game.

Down the stretch JDM and LeBlanc were lethal from the free throw line combining to go 15/16 in the game. Not too shabby! These two would end up combining for 50 points and ultimately it was too much for FTR to overcome. MD comes away with a very solid win, 70-61.

Grades:
JDM (A): JDM was fantastic in this one. He posted a strong 30 point, 10 rebound double double. No offensive rebounds is kinda shocking but he still balled out and made a number of “OMG” shots.
LeBlanc (A-): LeBlanc is still trying to figure out the long ball this season, but he was excellent everywhere else. Floor generaled the game well and made all of his free throws.
JMul (B+): He didn’t take a single 3! He did however, play a really good game despite scoring only 2 points. He was basically the Draymond Green of this team. I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not. He did all the little things in this one really well.
Chas (B+): Pretty solid Chas game here. He was much more assertive on offense as Vladi was giving him ZERO respect on his shot. He ended up going 2/7 from deep but they were all good looks. A solid effort here.
Craig (A-): Craig didn’t get mentioned above, but he did play a really solid game. He went 1/2 from deep and had some nice 2-point buckets. This was definitely one of Craig’s best efforts of the season.

Vladi (C+): Kind of a mixed bag for Vladi. He didn’t shoot that well from deep, but he did make some timely ones. The 3 steals were nice. I am used to more dimes from Vladi but maybe we can blame his teammates for missing shots?
Harding (B): Expectations are high for this guy so I am going with an EH game here. I will cut Harding some slack because MD has a very good defense. Pretty much a run of the mill game here. I did like seeing the 3/5 from deep though.
DP (D+): You might be thinking a D here is harsh, but expectations have gone up! I don’t think DP necessarily played terribly, he was just kind of a non-factor. I feel like DP passed up some open threes as well, and he has been shooting the long ball well this season. Let’s fly homie!
Harry (C): See DP. Not much of a factor, outside of a couple nice mid-range jumpers early (and they were sexy). He missed some easy ones in the second half which hurt. Harry did make a nice play saving one of those misses from gong out of bounds though.
Liam (C+): A tough wide open missed layup late in the second half hurts Liam’s grade but I thought he played fine. He was kind of a non-factor outside his usual stellar defense, but when your team loses the grade suffers.
Dru (D): Would have been an F but it was his first game of the season. That said, woof, rough debut. Played about 5 minutes, had 3 rebounds, 2 ghastly turnovers, and a wild missed drive to the rim. Yuck.

Game 3: Kawhi Me A River vs. All Length, No Girth

ReKAP:

I looked to my left while scoring the previous game and who’s ugly ass do I see walk in…SAMUEL POLLOCK! I guess he got the Tibbs “don’t tell anyone else” approval. I thought this was kind of unfair at first, but after this game I was dead wrong. KMAR was fully staffed while ALNG was without John Reilly. I expected a pretty good game. Woops!

KMAR jumped ALL over ALNG right away behind a masterclass in shooting by the legend Tommy aka RoY Kahana. Holy moly what a show he put on, absolutely dusting Ruiz over and over again. Tommy was absolutely scorching to start the game and in the first half he pretty much hit every single shot he took. He dropped a cool 19 in the first half. Beast!

The Tommy surge really set the tone for the first half and this game overall. ALNG really struggled on offense, especially in the first half. Pollock had trouble fitting in with his new teammates, Ruiz was still looking for answers from deep and Joel couldn’t get much going. KMAR led 39-22 at the break.

The second half was a mere formality. KMAR was not fucking around, maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the half. Tommy cooled off, but his teammates had his back to keep the onslaught going. Koller got going, converting some tough drives at the rim. He was putting all that Djordje MVP buzz to bed. LaPorte continued his torrid three-point shooting and Ben Mac was working in the paint. He had a nice drive in the second half right into Djordje’s grill followed by a Mutombo finger wave. You ain’t stopping this train big fella! KMAR cruises to the 66-50 win with little resistance.

Grades:

Koller (A): Koller had an all-around very good game. 19 points on very efficient shooting. He didn’t miss a 3 or free throw and stuffed the stat sheet.
Ben Mac (A-): Very solid game for Ben Mac. Got the assists back up after last week and was a beast driving the ball to the rack.
Cavano (C+): Cavano wasn’t a huge factor in this game, but he did what his team needed to get the dub. Had a few buckets and hustle plays but otherwise was pretty quiet.
Tommy (A): Quiet second half, but he basically won his team the game in the first. What a showing by the vet. Loved to see it. Tommy is the frontrunner for steal of the draft right now.
LaPorte (A): Speaking of frontrunners, LaPorte is the clear frontrunner at this time for 5th man of the year. He has been stellar off the bench this season and tonight was no different. He is now 6/9 from deep on the season. Bang!
JJ (B): Quiet game for JJ, but he played his role. Didn’t do anything stupid and made a few plays. Can’t ask for much more from a bench guy.
Joel (D): Not a good game for Joel. No dimes, 2 TOs and 10 points. I expect more from a guy of his caliber.
Djordje (C): This was Djordje’s worst game of the season, but it was kind of expected with Koller on the other end. His line was actually pretty decent at face value, but his rebounding was way down. MVP stock…down!
Ruiz (D): Really rough game for Ruiz. Got abused by Tommy, had 4 TOs and went 1/9 from deep. The talent is there but I think he is trying to figure it all out.
Bakolas (B-): Shot well from deep to save his grade, but nothing special here. I like this guy’s game though and I think he has been a good piece for this team.
Pollock (D): Rough debut for Sammy boy. New league, new team so I won’t be too harsh, but he started the game with 3 TOs. Unacceptable.

Game 4: HOLLAND vs. The Corporation

ReKAP:

In the late game we had HOLLAND taking on The Corporation and this one stank of blowout city. Both teams were fully staffed so no excuses! I was looking forward to Devin taking on his idol in Mazz so that was a fun matchup to see.

We had a pretty good on our hands to start. HOLLAND looked a lot better this week, playing like an actual team and giving Corp all they could handle. Devin had an early beautiful high off the glass drive that impressed me. Mazz answered though as these two were exchanging blows. Corp led 17-14 and I thought maybe this could be a game?

Big Lou would spark a little Corp run, doing WORK in the paint. He was converting his little baby hook and when this shot is dropping you ain’t stopping it. He would end up with a solid double double in the game. Corp would push the lead to 11 behind Big Lou’s strong play but enter Civale. Oh baby what a shooting display. Civale nailed his first two treys and you could feel that this was going to be a Civale game. He was COOKIN’ in the first half, keeping HOLLAND within striking distance. Corp would lead by “only” 8 at the break.

Out of the break though, Corp would really start to exert their will. HOLLAND started to resort back to old habits, with a lot of 1:1 play that would result in empty possessions. Corp would capitalize, scoring on a couple Mazz-Walker pick and rolls. All of a sudden, I looked up and Civale was 6/6 from deep and HOLLAND was down 18. How is that possible!?

HOLLAND played hard and looked much better this week, but they couldn’t overcome the early second half run by Corp. The defense by Corp was too much and HOLLAND couldn’t manufacture consistent offense. Despite Mazz and Syd’s horrific three-point shooting, Corp comes away with the expected win 74-57.

Grades:

STAT (B): STAT played a solid game despite only scoring 8 points. He snagged 15 rebounds and only had 1 TO. I need to see more leadership from him though. This team needs some direction!
Devin (D): Devin was pretty quiet after a solid start. Only scored 12 and his team really needs him to get 20+. He will have better days ahead.
King (D): King was more or less a non-factor. He spent too much time complaining about the ref than actually playing ball. We have all been there though, god knows I have.
Bonvie (C): Went 0/5 from deep but part of that is because his team doesn’t really put him in positions to score. Bonvie can stroke with the best of them, and this team needs to figure out how to get him open looks.
Civale (A-): If you go 7/10 from deep, I don’t care if your team loses, that is impressive. Civale added 4 blocks too which was nice to see. Need more defensive rebounds though. One rebound?!
Robel (D): Not a good Robel game. His outside shot was way off tonight, and he just looked rusty overall. I need more!

Mazz (A-): Poor from deep but dominated the game. Dropped 20, had 8 dimes and 1 TO. I feel like he could have done anything he wanted against HOLLAND’s defense.
Cawley (B): Regular Cawley game. Some points, some rebounds, a nice block. The usual shit. Fuck him.
Syd (C): Rough shooting from deep. I liked how Corp’s offense became “feed Syd until he makes one” to keep his confidence up. Did other stuff though to contribute to the win.
Walker (A-): Walker was very good in this game. Made some nice shots around the rim and hit a middy. Also set some good illegal screens one that sent DQ into space.
Big Lou (A): Big Lou! Kid balled out tonight. Double double and a block. Love when he plays well.
EJ (A-): Nice game off the bench for EJ. Made 2 of his 4 from deep and played his role nicely. Two TOs hurt his grade a little.

B1 5v5 WED Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 18, 2023

Game 1- Gravy Trains 2.0 vs. Orange OG’s

By: Ariel G.

What a way to kick off our Wednesday night with this high offensive octane match up against Gravy Trains 2.0 and Orange OG’s.A hard fought game but Orange OG’s were able to squeak out a 64-55 win. Both teams came out firing on all cylinders, specifically Gravy Trains 2.0 being carried by the hot shooting of Eric P. who went ⅘ from 3 in the first half. To combat the hot shooting of the Gravy Trains, Orange OG’s were able to knock down 7 first half 3’s of their own. On top of the hot shooting, Orange OG’s really utilized their pick and roll action to get good looks at the rim and kick outs to open shooters on the perimeter. Both teams were all over the floor, diving for loose balls, and snatching rebounds out mid air. Alex K. for Gravy Trains had 10 rebounds in the first half alone. It was a back and forth battle in the half, but Orange OG’s head into the 2nd half with a 32-27 advantage.

Gravy Trains would not be denied going into the second half, as they went on a 13-7 run out of the gates to take a 40-39 lead and force Orange OG’s into an early timeout. Both teams exchange offensive blows throughout the second half and the hot shooting continued as the teams combined to knock down 18 long range balls. As hot as Eric P. was in the first half for Gravy Trains, it was Brett A. and Zach B. who carried a lot of the offensive load in the second half finishing with 18 points and 11 points, respectively. Jesse O. had an all around game or the Orange OG’s as he packed the stat sheet with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Orange OG’s also had a secret weapon in Judah who came off the bench to give them 17 points. Orange OG’s outscored Gravy Train 25-15 in the second half to take the victory.

Game 2- Intramural Heroes vs. G League

Intramural heroes jumped out to an early league and never looked back as they put up 91 points in a 91-73 win over G League. Tim G. dominated from the tip off to the last buzzer as he finished with a double double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. He was an elite three level scorer in this game and G League had no match for him. The game went back and forth and Bradley R. was able to keep G League in the game in the first half from his hot shooting from 3, knocking down 3 in the first half. Not only was he an offensive terror, him and Giannis V. were both terrors on the defensive end as they combined for 12 steals between the two of them. Jamal B. also started to get going offensively and he finished the half on a 6-0 run. Despite their efforts, G League headed into halftime down 33-51.

Not at all discouraged by the 18 point deficit, G League came out with a spark and went on a 9-0 run to start the half and cut the lead to single digits. However, they did not have the fire power to keep up with the Intramural heroes who had four players who put up 20 points or more. G League got hot late from 3 and got contributions from behind the arc from Jack A., Colin M., Patrick K., and Bradley R. Although the second half was dead even with each team scoring 40 points, the 18 point first half deficit was too much for G League to overcome.

Game 3 - Commando vs. Jelly Not Jam

Commando came out smoking hot to start the game as team captain Max scored the first 12 points of the game to put them up 12-3 early. Jelly Not Jam was not helping their own cause as they turned the ball over on the first 4 possessions of the game and could not hit a shot from the field to start off. After a collision, Max has to go to the bench and Jelly Not Jam takes full advantage by going on a 12-6 run to take the lead. These 12 points mainly came from transition buckets at the rim or from beyond the arc. Dave R. was starting to come alive for Jelly Not Jam and he and Max were both in double digits in the first half. Despite the hot start, Commando goes into half time with only a 5 point lead.

Similarly to the first half, the second half is the Max show as he finishes the game with 26 points and 7 rebounds. His ability to score at will is frustrating for Jelly Not Jam so they start to play a little more physical with him. This physicality leads to 10 trips to the free throw line, where he was able to capitalize on 7 of them. Thankfully, Marcken L. and Griffin M. got hot late in the second half from 3 as they both knocked down two triples to keep the game within reach. Jake H.  also did damage on the offensive end in the second half for Commando as he finished the game with 18 points. Slow start for Jelly Not Jam leads to a tough 8 point loss for them.

Game 4- Big Tuna vs. Tuesday Night Selects

This game between these two teams started off very slow. Both teams combined for only 8 in the first 5 minutes of the game. But when Big Tuna decided to turn it on, they really turned it on. They knocked down back-to-back-to-back 3’s on ensuing possessions to go up early. However, Kyle C. had a few tricks up his sleeve as he then hit back-to-back 3’s to get himself going. Late in the first half it seemed like fatigue set in for Tuesday Night Selects as they started to give up easy transition buckets and they ended the half giving up a 14-2 run. 

Chris L. and Billy A. were the dynamic duo you never knew you needed as they put on an offensive clinic the entire game. Billy A. even tried to throw a lob for Chris to dunk from half court, unsuccessful however. Both finished with 24 and 26 points, respectively. Tuesday Night Selects would not go down without a fight though as they were making huge plays on offense and getting gritty stops on defense when needed. The defensive charge was led by Ben C. and Cam O. as they both came up with two steals a piece in key moments. Quinton D. tried to carry the team as he finished with 14 points, team high honor. However, 3 late triples from Bill, Chris, and Matt C. put the exclamation point on what turned out to be a 22 point blow out win for Big Tuna.

A 5v5 MON Week 3 Write-ups

by Jason on May. 18, 2023

BY NIYATI

Game 1 | Borme’s Disciples (76) - MostHated (53)

Holtze and the Borme’s Disciples Do It Again

Borme’s Disciples are 3-0 so far this season, impressively finishing on MostHated. The game was a fun one to see from the sidelines and almost seemed like a globetrotter game as Borme’s Disciples had a fun night with alley oop attempts and trick shot dunks. Sam Holtze always seemed to have a hand in the plays ending the night with 25 points, 2 steals and assists, 1 defensive glass and going 6 for 7 on free throws, all while staying true to 1 foul early in the first half. 

Further supplementing the win was Mac Bohuny who had a stellar alley oop from noneother than Holtze himself. He ended the game with 17 points, 3 boards on each end, and 1 assist, block, and a stea to round it out. Mike Conlin had 15 points and Will Jackowitz had 12 points.

MostHated seemed to get off to a hot start going on a 8-0 run to start the game. A quick timeout by BD along with a technical foul on Anthony Barbosa quickly shifted the energy. Dakari “Sticks” Hannah-Wornum had 15 points, an astonishing 3 big time blocks, and a steal. James Lambert stuck to his guns in the paint with 13 points and 3 defensive boards. Unfortunately, MostHated lost the rhythm early and BD put the nail in the coffin with a reverse dunk by Mac Bohuny. 

Game 2 | Ronin Blood Warriors (72) - Space & Pace (70)

Space & Pace Turnsover the Halftime Lead 

Despite being up by a bucket at the half, Space & Pace couldn’t finish it out making them 1-2 after last week’s blowout against Hartbrakers. It truly was a nailbiter to the end as both Kevin Nunez (RBW) and James Welch (S&P) hit back to back 3’s to send the game to OT, tied 66 each. 

Nunez and Isaac Lane were the stars for RBW once again this game as Nunez paved the way for the win with the tying 3 and an early dunk in the game taking the lead 10-7. He ended the night with 19 points, 5 defensive boards, 2 offensive boards, 2 assists and a block. Isaac Lane was once again a leading scorer with 22 of the 72 points RBW ended with. He also 6 offensive boards, 4 assists, and 2 defensive boards. It trul was a game of rebounds as Lane showed the hustle needed by chasing each of his missed attempts and converting on 6/8 of his rebounds. Alonzo Cooper had 10 points, 4 assists, 3 defensive boards, and 2 offensive boards. Ryan Canty had 10 points, 6 offensive boards, 1 defensive board and a block to help his team to the win. 

Space & Pace hit an early rhythm that quickl crumbled. Up 2 at the half, they seemed the more dominant team on paper but things quickly shifted in the second half. Jason Marino hit a crucial bucket tying the game at 63 with a minute left in the matchup. Thinking quick S&P called a much needed timeout to think of a game plan. Unfortunately, despite being able to get to OT, RBW completely took over the game scoring 6-4. 

Game 3 | Shooters Shoot (65) - Hartbrakers (64)

Shooters Shoot Barely Narrowly Get Win to Be Undefeated

This was the closest win for Shooters Shoot by far but nonetheless they got the deed done to be the only other team to be 3-0 this season. Despite having no bench, they were up 36-29 at halftime but quickly lost stamina leading to the close game. 

SS went on an early 8-0 run in the first 3 minutes but quickly lost that lead as the Hartbrakers then scored their own run of 12 points in a span of 3 minutes. David Reynolds had 19 points, 5 defensive boards, 2 assists, and 1 offensive board. He was assisted by Luke Rogers and Matt Pattyson who had 17 points and 15 points, respectively. Although big man Hugh O’Neil only had 9 points, he helped under the rim with 4 offensive boards, 3 defensive board and a block at the glass. Zack Armen to Rogers is an elite combo that never fails to make their pass and hit their man. 

Hartbrakers are now 0-3, not showing up for the first game of the season and then losing the next 2. This was the closest one for them yet with their attempt at a comeback with Devin Jensen sinking a triple to bring it to a 1 point game at 43-42 with Shooters Shoot up. Once again Devin Jensen led the game with 28 points, 4 defensive boards, and an assist. Tucker Landry was once again the assistant with 14 points, 4 boards, and a steal.

Game 4 | Team Takeover (49) - Skeleton’s Boys (61) 

After a tough loss last week, Skelton’s Boys bounce back to be 2-1 in a blowout game this season. Led by Erik Pettit and Jon Basett who had 15 and 16 points respectively, Team Takeover was no match for their style of play. Brenden McNamara, Elijah Anderson, and Ben Timme showed up for the team in the paint grabbing boards left and right with 15 total boards among the 3. Although Andrew Yamin was contained to 6 points this game, he passed the ball around the court aggressively to secure the win. 

After an intense matchup last week, it was gonna be interesting to see how TT faced against SB. although only down by 4 heading into the second half, they lost the rhythm a bit as the end of the game reached near. Once again, Jason Feliciano was the leading scorer with 14 points but only going 33% on 3-attempts and 40% on FTs. No one else was able to surpass 10 points to their name but Joel Nkounkou showed up big with boards, grabbing 5 off the glass and rim. 

B2 5v5 MON Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 16, 2023

BY ALEXA S

Game 1 - It Doesn’t Matter (66) vs Gino Time (96)

Gino Time could not be denied on this night getting huge contributions from several players in what may have been some of their best games so far this season. Erik M. could not be stopped going 8/11 (72%) from three point range and had 30 points. Gino Time had the lead for the most of the first half until It Doesn’t Matter came back to tie it up 24 apiece. After regrouping with a timeout, Gino Time pushed back to regain the lead once again into halftime 39-31. Gino Time dominated on the boards all game, especially Greg E. who had a monster game with 18 points and 14 rebounds, 4 of them offensive. The second half was when Gino Time took over, hitting 3 after 3. Max M. went off for 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists and Darren H. did a little bit of everything with 17, 13 and 6 assists, 3 steals and a block. Tauren on IDM was swiping people pocket’s with 7 steals as well as adding in 11 points. Those turnovers couldn’t be converted as well as his team giving up too many offensive rebounds and ultimately IDM ended up losing by 30. 

Game 2 - Wyld Stallyns (30) vs Thank You University (39)

This was a low scoring one and the pace was pretty slow for most of the game. However, the teams were evenly matched with multiple lead changes throughout the first half. Late in the first, Patrick G. had back-to-back And-1’s that cut the Wyld Stallyns deficit to one. The game remained close and Thank You University was up 20-18 at the half. For most of the second, neither team could get the ball to go through the hoop. Shaun H. did his best to keep Wyld Stallyns in the game, putting up 12 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Despite the effort it wasn’t enough as Thank You Uni never gave up the lead and won by 9. Eli V. led his team with 12 and 6. Kevin T. and Ben both had 6 points. Greg P. added 5, 7 and 4 assists.

Game 3 – Eastie Hoops (67) vs We Have Fun (40)

Eastie Hoops came out attacking the basket relentlessly and using good ball movement to get wide open shots. They went up 15-5 to start and the game was in their control until the final buzzer. Lots of turnovers by We Have Fun led to easy transition points and stat padding for Eastie. Although We Have Fun showed moments of life, it looked like Eastie Hoops had better conditioning and more team chemistry. With an 18 point lead after one half, Ryan W. hit consecutive 3s out the gate and crushed any momentum for the We Have Fun squad. Ryan ended up with 26 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 seats while shooting just over 40% on 3PT. Lucas F. chipped in 14, 8 and 4 assists in the win. On the other side of the box score, Marc N. had a solid 11 points and 9 rebounds, while Chris A. and Rob Moran each had 8.

Game 4 – Tomahawks (44) vs Brick Squad (34)

Brick Squad got off to an early 8-0 start with all points coming from Malik R. The Tomahawks started to get going and after tying a few times the score was knotted up at 17 apiece. Players started talking some trash to each other and complaining of missed calls. The Tomahawks stayed poised and took the lead with around 7:00 minutes left in the 1st half, never trailing after that. They scored 11 straight points to lead 31-22 at halftime. Four of the starters managed to hit double figures with Sam B. leading the way with 13 and 8 rebounds. Brick Squad did indeed put up a lot of bricks and had trouble putting numbers on the scoreboard. Malik B. on the Brick Squad was able to get some production with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Franchise League Week 3 Preview

by Jason on May. 16, 2023

BY KAP

WEEK 3 PREVIEW

Two weeks are in the books and the league is starting to take form. I am pretty confident that we have 4 legit contenders at this point, but that could very well change. Don’t forget the Corp started last season 0-2 and ended up winning it all. Will a team emerge from the shadows this season? Time will tell. Two teams that come to mind are Joel’s and Keith’s. The jury is still out on them. Week 3 should shed some more light on those guys.

But first… Week 2 Player of the Week – Your week 2 PoW is Tyler Masone. Young fella went OFF this past week, scoring a league high 37 points to go with 9 boards, 7 dimes and 0 TOs. Masone feasted on HOLLAND’s lack of defense and led Keith to his first win ages. Keith owes this guy a fruit basket at the minimum.

Week 2 Role Player of the Week – Your week 2 RPoW is the ageless Tommy Kahana. Tommy didn’t look a day older than 25 in his week 2 shooting clinic, dropping a team high 19 points on 5/8 shooting from deep. His performance was well timed as the Bens had off nights offensively.

Week 3 Matchups

6:15 – Super Hoopers vs. Poor House

This is a sneaky trap game for SH. The first thing that comes to mind is Ini’s defense on Rosi last season when these two squared off. Ini did a fantastic job limiting Rosi and making him work hard for buckets. If the matchup remains the same, SH will need to get more offense from the supporting cast, especially from yours truly and Frongi after last week’s trash. In fact, I am dubbing myself as a big x-factor in this game. I have no excuse this week as I will not be sitting behind the table prior to playing, so I will be locked and loaded. Vegas has SH as a big favorite here, but if Masone and Keith shoot the long ball like they did last week, watch out.

SH -7.5

Player to watch: Frongi – I think Frongi is going to have some favorable matchups in this one. He has a quick first step to the rim and should be able to use that to his advantage with either Keith, Matty J, Ghost or Stull covering him. FOOD!

7:05 – Mulholland Drive vs. FTR

Oh baby, this is a fun one, a lot of fecal matter on the court. Two of the league’s best square off in JDM and Harding in what figures to be an all out war. Let’s not forget that we also have Chas vs. Harry as well as LeBlanc vs Vladi. Wooooweeeee! Man, I don’t even know what to make of this game. Both teams have been all over the place in the early season. Each team has 1 win, both defeating Joel’s team, so this is a big test for both squads. My gut feeling says that FTR is the team to pick here. MD just hasn’t looked right, especially on offense. JMul hasn’t been great, Chas looks like a lost puppy and LeBlanc’s shot has abandoned him. Give me FTR behind the 3-headed monster of Harding, DP, Vladi.

FTR -3.5.

Players to watch: JMul – We need a JMul game here. Rebounds, threes, blocks. Make it happen you bum.

7:55 – Kawhi Me A River vs. All Length, No Girth

This is a big game for ALNG. Through two weeks they have competed, with a skeleton roster, ultimately coming up short in both games. Will they finally break through and get a dub? It’s going to be tough. KMAR has the personnel to match up nicely with ALNG. Ben Mac can make life difficult for Ruiz, Cavano can handle Joel and Koller can basically cover anyone. ALNG is going to struggle to score so their path to victory has to be to muck this game up. Stay close and make some key plays late. I expect a big Koller game though as he attends the Djordje buffet and leads his boys to a win.

KMAR -5.5.

Player to watch: Ruiz – Round 2 of the Ruiz watch. I think he will shoot better this week after having a game under his belt. His team is gonna need it!

8:45 – HOLLAND vs. The Corporation

Potential blowout in the late game, as HOLLAND has proven they cannot cover ANYONE. Woof their defense is bad, and against Mazz, Cawley and company you better D up. I’m sorry but I just can’t see a win here for HOLLAND. Maybe Bonvie goes nuts from deep? Maybe Syd has a meltdown and gets ejected? Maybe DQ outplays Mazz? Even if all of these things happen it will still be an uphill battle for HOLLAND. I am going to have to see a real defensive effort from them until I pick them to win a game.

Corp -15.5.

Player to watch: STAT – We need a grown mans game from STAT here. He has it in him. He can draw fouls on Syd and take him out of the game, mentally and literally! I think we will learn a lot about the landscape of the league this week. Looking forward to it. - KAP

Over-30 Legends Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 16, 2023

BY CHAS & HANKS

Shorthanded Goyle dispatch Amir Mortals

Week 3 opened with Chas’ Hot Goyle Dojo taking on Harry’s Amir Mortals. Goyle was coming off a tough 1 point loss to Bros last week and Amir Mortals were coming off a strong showing taking home a win against DropStep Murphys. Goyle would be up against it, playing without Weinstein and Ian Marlier. Amir Mortals would be missing Amir himself. I was excited for this matchup as previous Goyle mainstay James Bohnaker was stolen by Harry in the draft and I was hoping to see if this would be a revenge game.

Kodra opened the scoring with a 3 and Harry walked up into a midrange J. Roberts got in the post for 2 and point-god Harry found Bohnaker for 3. Roberts and Kodra would get some buckets for Goyle and Harry would cash two more midrange shots to lead all scorers at that point. Harry would have to sub out with an apparent shoulder injury, it’s possible his shoulder was sore from carrying his team’s offense up to that point.

McPherson would step into a 3 and it was 13-12 Goyle with 12 minutes left in the half. Roberts, who was having a great game for Goyle was bleeding all over his jersey from a cut on his finger, but after wrapping it up, he would be back in the game. Jake Gold would hit a layup and a 3 and Piasta contributed on the offensive glass for Mortals. Harry and Ian Cundall added buckets for Mortals but Jake Gold would score 6 straight for Goyle and they took a 1 point lead into the break.

Coming out of the break, Roberts found Jake running the floor for 2 and hit a 3 of his own and he continued his strong play. McPherson got another 3, but overall he was having a poor shooting game. Chas, who was having a rough shooting night as well, found Jake for 3 and Roberts added another bucket. After Mcpherson got to the line and hit 1 of 2, Goyle was up 36-29 with 16:00 left.

At this point the scoring completely dried up for Mortals and Goyle would start to blow the top off the game. Roberts would bully his way for 6 straight points and was having a dominant game. Jake Gold hit another 3 and dimed up Chas for a layup and Goyle was on another level at this point with pace and ball movement. Mortals seemed stagnant and couldn’t get anything to fall. Roberts and Kodra primarily continued to add it on for Goyle and lead would get up to as high as 20 and Golye would run away with the shorthanded win, 60-44.

Goyle
Chas B- The shot was not falling, but contributed with strong defense, passing and leadership
Jake A shot well and contributed across the board
Roberts A+ 21/10/5, was a monster down low, and made heady plays. Left with a bloody jersey and the W
Kodra B – played strong defense on made great reads

Amir Mortals
McPherson C – I feel like there he has another gear he may be saving for the stretch run
Piasta A – great game, 12/12, lead AM in scoring and rebounding
Bohnaker C – went cold for a long stretch, maybe he was sabotaging
Harry C- really strong first half but the wheels fell off in the 2nd half
Cundall D This was not a great game from Ian, missed a few open looks

Week 3 Game 2 ShawHanks Vs Astrik 

Ray Trey right away with and 1 3-0, then adds spin shot 5-0.Matty in the building at the 17 min mark, but Joel makes hook7-0. Hull working hard gets a scoop, then Paul $ a corner 3 7-5. Joel doing post things gets 2, but Hanks reposnds with a trey 9-8. Ray gets a 3 to go,but Hanks goes off glass for 2 12-10 10 min. Ray with tough taken Slim Reaper finally in on the cat with a 3 17-10. Matty slashes in but Feinstein gets lay up 19-12. Hanks post bucket, then Hull 2-2, then Hull hustle leads to matty trey we were all tied at 19 all! Matty gets to cup, but MJ ties things with floater. Peteet J , Frano J, Joel gets scoop, but Peteet sticks another J Hanks up 27-23 half. 

Joel Gets to post work right away, and than again 27-27. Hull 1-2, but there goes that man Hook shot Joel, but Hanks gets his own 2 in the post. Some crazy action but after Joel obrd hustle it was 34-30 Astrik up. Frano gets middy, but Ray to rack, Hanks not backing down gets 3, and Frano ies it with hook 37-37. Joel just magical tonight gets another lay in, MJ runner, followed by ray smooth move 43-37, then ray $ a 3. Team Shawhanks would not quit, Frano gets 2 off cut, Hull 2-2, Hull 3, and then again and they had the lead 47-46! Ray to rizack, but Hull balling obrd put in 49-48. Joel gets 2 with nice run, Ray hits J, Ray deep 3, MJ jumper, Matty would get 2 t’s and that would be the ball game, Asterisk comes  away 64-51. 

Asterisk 

Ray-B+- Didnt shoot efficenly, but his engine/efoort level is crazy. He is a unstoppable force 
MJ-B-) Didnt shoot as well as he had, but had some nice floaters/J’s. Like to see more dimes
Joel-A- Solid day from joel, very good on bothe ends. He plays like this they are very tough to beat. 
Fein-C- Seems frustrated with lack of looks, saw some eye rolls 
Danner-D+- My main man got the yips right now
Carey-D- Not much impact tonight, needs those 3’s to go down 

ShawHanks 

Hanks-C+- Scored /rebounded fine but Joel really got the better of him in the post. 
Frano-C-) This team needs way more than 10 pts 
Peteet-B-) Always does the little things, 4 nice dimes
Hull-A- He was ballingggggggggg 17 rbs!! Looks like he is getting his legs. 
Paul-C- Cashed a 3, struggled outside of that
Matty-D- The techs didnt cost them the game, but hes gota keep his head. 7 pts aint gonna cut it. 

Week 3 Game 3 Overhated VS EJ

Big Lu gets busy in the post right out of the gate, Ghost nails jimmy 4-0 17 min. Dutton widow work, than Kielley dives in, followed by Lane of glass 6-4. Kielley continues run with obrd finish 8-4. Ghost does Ghost things with j, but Dutton keeps pcae with middy of his own, Skelley post work, Dutton drive, Kielley 3 off Dutton hustle 17-8. Cavano finnay in on the act with runner, Dias gets scoop to go, Cavano 1-2, but Skeeley stops run with p n toll 19-13, Dutton adds obrd put in 21-13. Dias leans in, then Ghost hits J 21-17 half. 

Lindsey trey ball to start half 24-17. Ghost sticks J, but Dutton foster, Keilley j Overhated was balling, kielley gets 2 more in the post, and then Kielley was nailing 3’s by the time I looked up it was 40-27, and team slick never got close or recovered. Overhahted proving the haters wrong 46-37 as they go to 2-1. 

Overrated 

Skelley-B- Didnt score it, but did everything else at a high level. 
Kielley-A- Dude is balling right now, showing he was worth that 8 pick. 
Dutton-A-) Really coming into his own, looking liek the elader and heart of this squad. 
Lane-C- Hustled hard not much results 
Lindsey-C+- Hit a big 3 to send his team on the run to win. 

Team Slick 

Cavano-B- Would not quit, kept hustling his ass off. I had to love it. 
Fraher-C+- Started red hot than went ice cold 
Lu-C-) Really struglled tonight, Skelley struggled. 
EJ-D- Really rough game 
Stull-D+- Hustled but not results 
Dias-C-)Passed well, cant get a 3 to be close. 

Week 3 Game 4 Brothers VS Drop Step 

Cody gets this party started with middy, but than Civale 1-2 2-1. Cody gets a 3 to go 5-1 18 min. Dany $ 3, J.Mul $ 3, then dany $ 3 holy holy 8-7. Cody banks ina  3 , this is a 3 party!! Frongo scoop 13-7. Joey tough take, but Cody trey ball money, but Joey not quitting gets another tough drive 16-11. Dany walking fire ball hits 3 16-14. J.Mul post, but Dany…….you guessed it hits another 3 18-17. Cody wants to be on fire as he hits another 3, Frongi hook shot 26-18 8 min. Frongi gets hot now as he hits 3, than 3-3 from the line after foul, followed by J.Mul 3, then J.Mul obrd hustle it was a god awful  36-21. The half did not get much better as Cody contunued being a walking fire ball, Dany hiting a bunch of 3’s trying to keep pae but it was 50-33 at the break. 

Drop step showed impressive fight here Joey and 1, Murphy post, Joey tough mofoen take, suddenly it was 5-40 they were within striking distance. J.Mul j, and Cody 3 put and end to the run though, and they would run away. Closest things got was 68-59, but the Brothers were just too good, too hot tonight. They win 85-74 go to 3-0. 

Brothers

S.Mul-B-) He was fine, just a soectataor of the 3 ball magic
J.Mul-A-) Rock solid night, they are tough to beat when he plays like this. 
Frongi-A- 11 dimessssssssss, and was very efficient all over the court.
Cody-A+++++++++++- 11 +’s for 11 3’s 
Tomar-C-) Rough shooting night

Drop Step

Joey-B+- Dude showed nice fight, never quits, just keeps making plays
Civale-B-) liked his activity tonight, need more 3 attempts though. 
Dany-A- What a light outs shooting night 8-13 wow!!
Murphy-C+- took him awile to get going, sparked a mini run but that was it.
Clarke -C+- Hustled hard, missed some bunnies 
Choa-A- Sliced in for a tough hoop!!

A 5v5 THU Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 16, 2023

BY DEVIN QUINLIN

Game 1 | Suffolk: 106 - West Coast Elite: 91

Suffolk Beat WCE at Their Own Game, Drop 106 in Win

I didn’t think I would see the day where West Coast Elite play a solid game offensively and simply get outshot and outran by an opponent, but Suffolk did just that in our first game of the night. These guys came out in attack mode, and while they didn’t shoot particularly well from three, the downhill pressure and mid-range shot making got them out to a 60-38 lead at the half. WCE are an offensive juggernaut, and got the game a bit closer in the second half, but the result was never in doubt, as Suffolk won by a final score of 106-91.

It’s hard to even start with someone in this game, as four of the five players for Suffolk went crazy. Sam Holtze had 24, 6 boards, 8 assists, and 2 steals, Steffon Mitchell had 25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, George Grillakis had 26 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, and Bolden Brace had 26 and 13, plus 7 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. Some overall strong statlines obviously, but I was impressed with the chemistry and pace from a team with only five guys. Holtze has to be the quickest mf on the planet, him breaking my ankles last session put me back on IR. He did a fantastic job getting downhill for finishes and mid-range turnarounds, but he’s a fantastic passer as well, finishing with a game-high 8 assists and consistently making the right decision after collapsing the defense. Grillakis also makes great decisions getting downhill, mostly because he just goes to his right and makes a layup every time. I can assure anyone reading this that he’s going to his right and that he will finish high off the glass through contact, but he did a nice job distributing in this one as well. Steffon Mitchell was a fill-in today, not sure how valid it is to have a guy averaging 17.3ppg in Norway this season fill-in, but Mitchell showed up and controlled the entire first half. He was hitting shots from all over the court, finishing four of twelve from deep, though he was like four for nine in the first half. Just a very controlled, smart player who got what he wanted offensively, not surprising that he’s a pro. Even with Mitchell filling in, Bolden Brace was still the best player on the court, shooting four of seven from deep and adding 7 assists. I can’t tell if he’s going half speed and not trying or if that’s just his game, but either way it works. Total dominance on both ends, WCE had no answer for him, and he’s the MVP frontrunner at the moment. Bret Edwards added 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, shooting one of seven from deep. That said, he’s a football player, but he can definitely hoop. He’s got a nice looking shot, and as he gets more reps with his team, I think he’ll hit some big shots in close games when he’s left open. Suffolk is easily the early favorites to win it all, even without Mitchell in the lineup.

West Coast Elite played a decent game, just got outgunned in this one. Jack Fay led the way with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, shooting three of seven from deep and attacking well inside, even against Suffolk’s size. Collin Sawyer added 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 assist, attacking well and hitting two threes. Eric D’Aguanno added 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, playing a decent game but shooting only three of eleven from deep. He’s a top three shooter in the league, and will undoubtedly bounce back in the coming weeks. Derek Retos got going in the second half to finish with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, going four of seven from deep on some deep bombs. Holtze did a nice job denying him the ball, but like all great shooters, he eventually found his spots and capitalized. Tom Palleschi added 11 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, and 1 steal, missing a few shots he would normally make but still playing solid and throwing dimes from the low post. Colin Richey made his session debut with a very solid performance of 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, finishing well on the attack and throwing some solid passes as well. He’ll be a nice addition to this roster. Tough game for WCE, but I still consider them a top team in this division, and I expect them to bounce back. 

Game 2 | Cobras: 67 - Not A Dime Back: 75

Cobras Hold Off Shorthanded NADB in Solid Win

NADB entered this game without their two main creators in Jon Luster and Dre Kontopidis. Everyone on the roster can play, but with clearly defined roles I was curious to see how guys would fill in, especially for Luster, who initiates the entire offense. The Cobras took a 41-37 lead into the half, and while NADB kept the game close, Cobras capitalized on the zone to maintain their lead and pull out a 75-67 win. Great team effort defensively, and some big shotmaking from a few guys helped them pull away at the end.

Warfa Abdillahi showed up right at the tip, and with no warm up, he started pulling immediately. He finished with 17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block, going four of six from deep and pulling up for some tough makes in transition. DeAngelo Alston also went four of six from three to finish with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, but he brought tons of energy on the defensive end, organizing his team and acting as a clear vocal leader while backing it up with big shots on the other end. Carter Burruss hit three threes to add 15 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 big blocks, using his athleticism to find space, lock guys up, and patrol the whole court. Great to see him get aggressive on the offensive end, but I still think he should drive more. Ray Miller added 12 points, 3 boards, 5 assists, and 1 block, going two of four from deep while penetrating the zone well off the catch. I still think he has a lot more to give on the offensive end, despite a strong game in which he initiated great looks for his team. Yusuf Liban hit two threes to finish with 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, and Jamal Fiin added 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. Will Rowe finished with 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, struggling to find spots in NADB’s zone and failing to convert on his threes. Still a top player, who will bounce back. Kevin Querusio added 1 rebound and 1 assist in the win.

For NADB, Chris Connor finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal, going five for nine from deep, including some heavily contested threes down the stretch. He’s a great three level scorer, but he stepped up majorly in this game without Luster in the lineup. Jeff Coulter also stepped up, putting up 22 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals, showcasing his insane finishing skills. A few people in the gym noticed that this guy can finish anything, putting him at the top of the A League with 99 overall layup. Marcus Giese stepped into the facilitator role at the center spot without a true PG, finishing with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in a super well-rounded effort from the big man. I think he could look for his shot a bit more, but he does a lot for them defensively as their only true big, while also just being extremely reliable on offense. Chris Cusano added 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Mike Synott chipped in 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in the loss. Despite the shoddy attendance, decent outing from these guys in the loss, but credit to Cobras for closing it out at the end with some strong defense.

Game 3 | DRBL: 82 - We The Ones: 73

DRBL Pull Out Close Win Against We The Ones

As one of the league favorites, I did not expect DRBL to play a close game against WTOs. Credit to WTOs for improving significantly and making this a close game, but DRBL secured an 82-73 win by pulling it all together at the end on both ends.

Mike Thompson led the way with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal, showing off his dynamic game and shooting two of six from three and four of five from the line. Strong outing from him, as he will be their go to guy in crunch time when his team needs to generate a good shot. Luka Vlajkovic was a bit less aggressive in this one, but still played a strong game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal, moving the ball well and hitting a few threes in the process. I expect him to get better looks as he gels with the team, but he’s a bucket either way. Anthony Colozzo hit two threes to finish with 12 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 1 steal, operating well in the P&R, and I expect him to hit a few more threes in the coming weeks. Lasse Gummerus added 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He’s a knockdown shooter on offense (two for three) while providing some serious interior size on defense. Will Brodnitzki and Jonah St. Clair added 10 points each, with Brodnitzki chipping in 8 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals and St. Clair adding 1 rebound and 1 assist on two of four from deep, both playing strong interior defense and finishing well, too. Salim Belkebir hit two threes as well, putting up 8 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals. These guys are a dynamic group, gambling on defense, pushing the pace on offense, and using momentum to their advantage at all times. Definitely one of the more exciting teams in the league, who are still among my favorites to win it all.

We The Ones have made a big leap this season with the addition of the Belhouchet brothers, and now Josh Bonnie in the backcourt. Bonnie showed up late to the game, but made an immediate impact with his energy alone. He finished with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal, going four for eight from deep, attacking well in transition, and finding open guys for good shots. He doesn’t add much size, but his activity on defense more than makes up for that, and I expect him to take on a huge role for this team. Garrett Stanowicz continues to get buckets under any circumstances, putting up 25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. He’s lethal in transition, has a strong mid-range catch and shoot, and busts his ass on every play. I expect him to make big plays on both ends for these guys and lead them in scoring. Karim Belhouchet really struggled shooting in this one, going zero for seven from three. That said, he’s still an excellent shooter (five for five FTs) and the threat of his shot allowed him to have a big impact regardless. He grabbed 3 rebounds, accumulated 3 steals, and led the game with 8 assists, finding guys for open looks even when he couldn’t hit himself. He will be their most important player, but has already shown his ability to play winning ball. Keith Baranowski added 8 points and 10 boards, plus 1 assist and 1 block. Keith was finishing well inside, and his 1 assist doesn’t reflect his solid passing either. Still, he’ll need to hit more jumpers to keep the defense honest and open things up for everyone. Jordan Carter chipped in 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, while Aidan Stanowicz added 4 points, 8 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the loss. Still, admirable effort from WTOs.

Game 4 | Bing Bong: 44 - Spida Men: 60

Spida Men Power Through Bing Bong with Defense, Size

In a game in which neither team shot particularly well, Spida Men capitalized on their interior presence and chemistry to pull away in the second half. They took a 32-26 lead into the half, expanding it to a 60-44 win as they pounded the ball inside. Ultimately, though, their strong defensive effort (eight steals, five blocks, thirty-one Drebs) put them over the top in this one.

Jamal Brown led the scoring with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. While Jamal still doesn’t quite look like himself, he played a strong overall game, attacking well inside, hitting a few threes, and throwing out 5 assists. A few of his 5 steals were timely defensive stops that got his team four or five point swings, and I only expect him to find his groove as the season progresses. Billy Battaglia hit two threes to add 12 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 2 steals, showing off his versatility on the offensive end and using his shooting threat to find openings in the defense. Tim Gallivan made the first left handed layup of his career to finish with 10 points, 13 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks, simply dominating inside on both ends. He also went zero for four from three, so he has plenty more to contribute, as his long ball is one of the best parts of his game. Still, a lefty layup from Gallivan is a storyline in its own right, and I’m proud of him for even attempting one. Cedric White once again showed up late, and once again entered the game, immediately got buckets, and subbed out. He hit his only three point attempt and three lefty hooks (probably) to finish with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, showing off some nice touch inside. Danny Martin Jr. added 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, not his best game but still a solid outing down low. Lucio Dahlstedt-Brown hit a three to add 5 points and 2 assists, and Hallvard Lundevall finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, also showing up very late to this one. A solid effort from the Spida Men on defense, and I think their offense will pick up over the course of the season.

Bing Bong are still a strong team in my opinion, despite their offensive struggles. Griffin Perry got off to a hot start, finishing with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. He’s strong inside and hit two threes as well. He was pretty frustrated late in the second half after a few defensive lapses by his team, noting that “these mfs got out of bounds plays,” always a disheartening realization in a men’s league game. Aside from Perry’s 15, no one else scored in double digits for Bing Bong. Gavin Keough finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block, hitting only one of his seven three-point attempts and getting some unlucky rolls on the rim. Tyler Lennon also couldn’t find the range, but hit three nice floaters in the lane to finish with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals. I fully expect both of these guys to bounce back offensively. Aaron Jaynes added 4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals, bringing the energy on both ends, while Steve Azums came up with 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal, both guys rebounding well. Mike Boaheng hit a three to add 3 points and 3 rebounds, Andrew Frazer  also hit a three for 3 points and 1 board, while Dante Duncan had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in the loss. Bing Bong have the pieces, but will need to figure out their substitutions and lineups to allow guys to find a rhythm.

B2 5v5 THU Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

BY ALEXA S.
Game 1 - A Team Has No Name (61) vs Clever Trevors (68)

This was a tightly contested game throughout with both teams trading baskets for most of the first half. Clever Trevors were able to find some separation but A Team Has No Name would not let up with Ben S. knocking down key shots. He shot very efficiently going 5/6 (83%) from three point range and finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Mike C. also contributed 17 of his own along with 8 boards and 4 assists. A Team With No Name went up 49-48 mid-way through the second but that didn’t last long as the Clever Trevors got production from the entire team and took back the lead. Andrew C. on CT’s hit a dagger from outside the arc that would seal the game. #1 lead the way with 15 points and 5 boards, while Trevor L. and Pat. H had 13 and 12 points respectively.

Game 2 - Seal Team 69 (84) vs Terminator (75)

Jack S. on Seal Team got going from the jump with 3 threes and gave Seal Team 69 the lead early on. The Terminators were able to offset this hot start, with Fozan being aggressive and setting the tone for his squad in the early going. Seal Team held on to the lead for most of the first half. However, the Terminators were able to stay within the same with big shots from Sam J. who ended up with 31 points, on 7/10 3PT%. Fozan also chipped in 30 points with 5 treys of his own. Terminators were up going into halftime but the second half was all about the Seal Team 

who took back the lead and never looked back, ending their night with a 9 point victory. Caleb G. had a solid game going for Seal Team going for 18 points, 7 boards, 7 dimes and Jack S. stayed hot all game finishing with 30, hitting 6 threes overall and a team leading 8 assists.

Game 3 - Rock Lobsters (33) vs Lexington Steals (41)

The pace of the game was slow at the start with only one shot made after 4 minutes of play. The bench encouraged their teams to pick up the energy and the intensity from the players started to improve from there. Lexington Steals kept the lead by forcing lots of turnovers and good post play by James L. who lead the team with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and a block. Rock Lobsters struggled to get going offensively but managed to stay in it, down only 3 at the half. Orry S. on the Rock Lobsters held it down with 10 points and was the only player scoring in double digits for his team. Balanced scoring from the Lexington Steals proved to be too much in the end and they took home the W.

Game 4 - World Ball (52) vs Furious Rim Ticklers (60)

The final score makes it seem that the game was closer than it actually was for the majority of the game. The Furious Rim Ticklers managed to keep a double digit lead for much of the game, going up by as much as 19 at the start of the second half. Remy B. helped to keep World Ball in the game with timely 3’s and finished with 14 points. Kevin P. gave a good effort putting up 16 points and adding 7 rebounds for World Ball as well. Their production helped their squad chip away at the large deficit, getting as close as 52-48 with 4:00 minutes to go. Tensions rose towards the end of the game, with one player being subbed off by the ref to cool off. The Rim Ticklers pulled away after that and secured the win. Brad M. was a major factor for the Rim Ticklers with 18 points and the duo of Brian P. and Jeff Y. came in clutch each dropping 15.

Franchise League Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

Game 1:

Kawhi Me A River vs. Mulholland Drive

ReKAP

Week 2 kicked off with a solid matchup in Kawhi Me A River vs. Mulholland Drive and this game was expected to be backyard brawl. KMAR was fully staffed while MD was missing Houston, which I thought would be a mild factor in the result. JDM, coming off a rough week 1 showing, looked like a completely different player right out of the gates. He was looking spry, crushing KMAR on the offensive glass and providing MD with a nice early game jolt. He had 3 offensive rebounds and a couple putbacks within the first 3 minutes as MD jumped out to the early lead.

MD would maintain control for most of the first half, until the Tommy-Cavano-LaPorte show kicked off. These guys led KMAR to a quick 9-0 run to take 3-point lead late in the half. These guys were excellent in this game combining to go 10/15 from deep! However, the first half would end up with a MD 32-31 lead, but KMAR had to be happy with that considering the Bens were kind of non-factors.

In the second half the game kind of got away from MD. The shots weren’t falling, especially for LeBlanc who struggled to shoot the rock. Meanwhile, on the other end, Tommy went nuts. Old man Kahana turned back the clock going 5/8 from deep and really providing KMAR with a much-needed spark.

This was a really good game down the stretch. MD would claw back and the cut the deficit to 1 after a JDM three. The balanced KMAR attack would end up being too much though. Amazing three-point shooting and some late free throws would propel KMAR to the win.

KMAR wins 65-59.

Grades:
Koller (C): The points weren’t there, but everything else was. Normally a guy with 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and 6 dimes would get a strong grade, but the bar is high for Koller.
Ben Mac (B): Not too much to say here. Solid game for Ben Mac, but nothing special. He did hit half his threes which is a big for this guy so I will credit him there.
Cavano (A-): Really nice bounce back game for Cavano. He was very good in this game, hitting 3/5 from deep on his way to 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 dimes. He had his fingerprints all over this game.
Tommy (A): Tommy was the MVP of the game. 19 points on 5/8 from deep. Not much else in the stats department but it doesn’t matter if he is shooting like this. Great game from the seasoned vet!
LaPorte (A): LaPorte just continues to roll off the bench. This guy is making an early case for 5th man of the year. He knocked down 2 treys in this one and made all the right plays.
JJ (B): JJ did his thing again off the bench, doing all the little things and giving his team a nice boost. Not much in counting stats, but he did have 8 points on efficient shooting.

JDM (A): It’s amazing what a week can do. JDM was a completely different player this week, going nuts for 25 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 13 rebounds and 7 dimes. Didn’t get the win, but he still played his ass off.
LeBlanc (C): Not a great game for LeBlanc, despite scoring 19. It was an inefficient 19. The 3 ball just wasn’t there for him tonight. You don’t see many nights like this from LeBlanc so we will chalk this up to an off week.
JMul (C+): JMul’s grade was salvaged because he did a nice job on Koller, but on offense he was non-existent. Collected 4 offensive rebounds though which is solid.
Craig (D): Not a good Craig game. Took some sketchy shots and fouled a lot. Credit him for snagging 8 rebounds though and preventing the “F” grade!
Chas (C-): A game to forget for Chas. He wasn’t completely awful, but he wasn’t good. Contributed 6 points, but played too tentative at times, especially when shooting the long ball. Let it fly with confidence my guy! 

Week 2 Game 2 Super VS Corp
BY CHAS

Mulv got us started with a cutting hoop, and then Oully added a transition lay in 4-0. Mazz walk up 3 , yup that good 4-3, then Walker 1-2 to tie things at 4 16min. Rosi strong to the cup, but Mazz responds with 3. Rosi nailed a 3 bomb of his own, and he liked that so much he $ another 12-7. Big Lu got busy in the post, but Rosi was busy from deeep cannes another 3. Jakobson addes runner 17-9. EJ gets a 3 to go , they needed that, but Jakobson sticks J 19-12. Mazz dives in, but Oully keep pace with middy 21-14. Mulv gets 2 down low, Rosi 2-2 25-14. Mazz Jimmy, but Oully 3, followed by Sydorko tech (hand slaps forehead emoji).

31-16 after a Frongi lay in, Super pouring it on as Jaksbosn finishes , Rosi off window 35-16. Mazz stops bleeding with drive, but Rosi 6 th dime to Jakobsn was pure 37-18 at the break. Mulv Obrd put in and this one was getting ugly, after some action and another Rosi 3 it was 43-26, and I was about to stop taking notes. Mazz would not go down without a fight as he would follow a Sydorko spin shot with a three, then Mazz steos through double, then Mazz trey, and how about another trey suddenly it was 43-34. Rosi continued his stellar night with a J, Walker tries to keep pace with post, but Rosi splashes 3 48-36. Mazz deep 3 swishhhhhhhh, hes locked in now, as he lines up another, nothing but the buttom of the net 48-42. Rosi huge response 3 ball, but Mazz just wont stop hittign 3’s, the score go to 54-50, looking like the Corp had super on their heals, but Oully with the big balls 3 ball, Rosi would add a dagger 3 and Super escapes the Mazzalanch 62-53.

Super Rosi-A+- Walking fireball, and did it in big moments as well. Dude is a savage.
Kap-C- 5 dimes is good, 3 points is not. Also had 3 turnovers, I always expect more impact from Kapadon.
Oulley-B- Solid game, nothing crazy just did his job. F
rongi-C- One of the lowest ive seen him score in a awile. Kept the positivity , passed well though.
Mulv-B-) Not a tone of buckets but liked his activity on theboards and on D.
Jakobson-B-Strong 1st half, didnt do much in the 2nd, but when hes hitting that middy it makes this team very tough.

Corp

Mazz-A+- Loved how things were going so bad, but his mental toughness was really on display. Never quit, nearly pulled off, and epic comeback. I loved it!
Sydorko-D- I dont want to be a preacher here, which ive def been guilty of letting my emotions get to me, but man, you are only hurting youre team by flipping out. Jokes on me though because they won the ship anyways with this similar problem so who says i’m right? I was impressed that he calmed down ,and didnt pick up his 5th foul though.
Walker-D+- Very quiet game from one on my favorites.
Big Lu-C-) Rebounding was very good, but again let the ref in his head, and showed have been t’ed up himself. Mental toughnes baby !!
EJ-C+- Hit a 3 , thought he fought hard on the boards, and played some good D on frongi

Game 3

Poor House vs. Holland

ReKAP

HOLLAND took the court with 3 this week with Mulvehill filling in against a fully staffed Poor House team. Would Keith finally get a win, his first one in 85 years? My guess pregame was that he would, and you could tell his team wanted this one too. Onto the action! T

he story early on was the play of Tyler Masone. HOLLAND had absolutely no answer for this guy. Mazz sitting next to me at the scorer’s table said, “Masone is gonna have a huge game tonight” and he was right. Masone was a beast from inside and out. He stroked his first three ball of the game, an excellent sign after last week’s trash. He scored at will at the rim and really looked good out there. HOLLAND had no answer for Masone.

Despite being undermanned, STAT, King, Bonvie and Mulvehill fill in battled in the first half. They hung around and kept this game within reach. STAT was doing a nice job getting his teammates open shots, as King and Bonvie knocked down early triples. Offense was flowing nicely for HOLLAND, in fact, for both teams, as defense was optional. This was a very high scoring game in the first half, and I wondered if HOLLAND could sustain this for a full 40. PH led 48-38 at the break.

Poor House would “pour” it on in the second half. Keith got going, knocking down a couple treys and providing elite energy that sub-less HOLLAND couldn’t match. Ghost started to find the range and Masone continued to destroy anyone who tried to cover him. Matty J made sure to get in the act as well, connecting on a couple long balls. Just like that we had a good old-fashioned blowout! Credit to HOLLAND for playing hard and competing for a half. It’s hard to win when you are missing half your team especially in a league of this quality. Most of the second half ended up being a fun stat-padding affair for both teams, with PH coming away with the 102-79 win.

Congrats Keith!

Grades
Masone (A+): The RARE A+! Masone played a perfect game. He went nuclear, dropping a game high 37 points to go with 9 rebounds, 7 dimes and 0 turnovers. Monster bounce back from week 1.
Keith (A): Not much mention of Keith above, but he really did play an excellent game. This is the first time in a WHILE I have seen him make some outside shots. He was straight up cookin’ in this one, stuffing the shit out of the stat sheet on his way to his first win in many moons.
Ghost (B+): Strong game for Ghost, who chipped in 10 points and a few rebounds. Played his role just fine and did what his team needed to secure the dub.
Johnson (B): Not a great percentage from deep, but Johnson was able to connect on a trio of triples nonetheless. Above average game for him but nothing to rant and rave about.
Ini (B): Ini made his season debut and struggled offensively but stuffed the stat sheet otherwise. He played strong D as usual and had a couple of nice blocks. The 4 dimes was nice too.
Stull (C): Didn’t do much, but his team came away with the easy dub. He was active on the glass, collecting 6 boards, which was good to see.

STAT (B): Despite the blowout, I thought STAT played a very solid game. He had some strong finishes around the rim and moved the ball well. He gets docked because his team got smoked but he did have a good individual game. 8 dimes and only 2 TOs too.
King (C): Not a great game for King. The stats look ok, but I thought he struggled to get into the flow of the game. Not great from deep and had tunnel vision at times. I think he will improve as his team continues to figure out how to gel.
Bonvie (C): Tough game for Bonvie who was forced into 40 minutes of action. I will give him credit for knocking down 5 treys, albeit on 15 attempts. He held his own out there in a difficult situation and should see better days going forward.

Game 4:

All Length, No Girth vs. FTR

ReKAP

There was a lot of buzz heading into the nighcap, with ALNG welcoming their newest addition in Jovan Ruiz. I was intrigued to see how this guy would mesh with his new teammates. ALNG would roll with 5 for this one while FTR would be fully staffed. This was a damn good game for the most part, especially in the first half. Bakolas for ALNG came out swinging, draining 4 of 5 threes in the first half and really setting the tone for ALNG. He really had it going early and often. Joel would contribute a vicious block on Vladi that sent the ball straight to hell, in a half that ended up being a nightmare for Vladi. He was NOT good in the first half.

Lucky for him, Harding was back in action, and he looked like a guy who had been practicing in Italy. His middy was on point, and he did his usual thing getting to the rim against hapless defenders. Harding had some help from DP as well, who has looked sensational through two weeks. We had a tightly contested first half, that ended with a spectacular play from Bakolas to Reilly for a deep 3, giving ALNG a slim 2 point lead the break.

Most of the second half was hotly contested with the two teams exchanging blows in what was a close game. Eventually Vladi decided to show up and take matters into his own hands. After being a complete non-factor for 30 minutes Vladi found the stroke, knocking down 3 late triples to give FTR some breathing room. His surge really ended up being the difference down the stretch. ALNG was not able to recover, as FTR escapes with their first win, 73-62.

Grades:
Joel (B+): Very solid game for Joel. Had a double-double and shot well from deep. Needed more dimes to get into the “A” range but he had a nice game regardless.
Djordje (A): Another incredible game by Djordje. This guy is on a tear! 14 points and 20 rebounds!? Where did this guy come from!? If his team had a win he might be a legit MVP candidate.
Reilly (D): Aside from his end of the half three, this was a game to forget for Reilly. He got blocked by Vladi TWICE and his shot looked horrendous. This one was a far cry from his week 1 success.
Bakolas (A-): Bakolas was awesome in the first half from deep really pacing his team on offense. He disappeared in the second half offensively, but he did enough overall to warrant a strong grade.
Ruiz (C): Expectations were high coming in for Ruiz and I would say it was a mixed bag. He was way off from deep, but he had some grown man finishes at the rim. He also had a couple clutch buckets late to try and keep ALNG in the game. Looking forward to seeing how he responds next game.

Vladi (C): The tale of two halves. F in the first, A in the second. Made the clutch threes when it mattered most. Overall a shit Vladi game but he was instrumental in helping his team get the win.
Liam (B): Liam had a nice game, playing his role well. Knocked down a trey and rebounded the ball well. Added a couple blocks and looks to be fitting in nicely with his new squad.
DP (A): DP came through with another excellent game. Anytime DP is making 2 of 3 from deep the opposing team is in trouble. He looks extra spry this season, especially on the glass. I might have to actually start respecting his game.
Harry (B+): Pretty good Harry game here. Stuffed the stat sheet with 7 boards, 2 dimes, a vicious block, and a bucket. Did his best to limit Djordje but this has proven to be a tall task this season.
Harding (A): Harding returned to action with a purpose, dropping a cool 30 to go with 9 boards. He picked up right where he left off and should be putting up numbers like this all season. That is, if Vladi gets out of his way.

KapVP 

It’s only two weeks I know but here is your early MVP ladder!
1. @e_rosie1
2.@Mr 63
3. @dp
4. @djvlajkovic
5. @bkoller297

B Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITEUPS

Humpty Cundall has fallen down and no Kollers can put him together again!
BY HARRY

Gray Matters had a very disappointing opening night, falling to a Lynch-less Young Bucks squad. Now they face a bigger challenge against Mountains out of Mulvehills, who is earning there number 3 preseason power ranking so far. Ian's team was missing Lamaar, Civale had everyone. TO THE ACTION!

Gray Matters offense really looked bad in week 1, especially during the second half and that continued in the first half of this game. They combined to go 0-8 from 3 in the opening frame, but they did get to the line 12 times, which is pretty impressive. They went 9-12 at the line, which is also pretty good. Koller, led the way with 11 first half points, but that's where the good news ended for these guys. Despite going to the line 12 times, they only managed 23 points, which is GASTLY! Issac, did hit a jumper and a lay-up early on, so maybe he was starting to figure it out?

On the other side of the ball MOOM continued their torrid start. 5 of their 6 guys scored multiple baskets in the first half, with James leading the way with 12 points. MacDonald, continued to spray the ball around and get everyone involved. Ian's team as well as many others do a bad job of noticing when MacDonald is just hunting shooters to dribble screen hand-off to. Everyone seems very confident in their roles on this team and it shows in the movement.

MOOM had firm control of this game as we went into the half, leading 37-23. A 14 point lead on Gray Matters might as well be a 100 at this point. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Apparently, MOOM got concerned about making it home to the Celtics on time and took the second half off. Their offense hit the skids, which was the second week in a row that this happened without any real explanation. I will say, outside of OTTOMATIC, they do have a bunch of guys are capable of missing a whole lot in a row. AKA a bunch of hot and cold players, which is something to monitor.

Lucky for them, both of their games this season have been against the new 7th and 8th ranked teams in my mind. MacDonald led the team with 8 second half points and James had 6. Gross!

Of course that didn't matter, because somehow Gray Matters offense just keeps getting worse as time goes on. Issac, hit some shots early, but couldn't get on the board in the second half. Gray, went 0-7 from three in the game. Ian, would end up leading the team with 9 second half points. Simply put, there's just way too much pressure on guys to do things they probably aren't capable of. Ian and Gray are good open shot shooters, but now they're expected to score enough to open up the floor and be 2nd/3rd options. That won't cut it. Koller isn't a 1 option either. His offensive game is way too limited without someone there to open the floor up. Every game is tough for a top option, but you still have to score.

MOOM cruised to an easy win against the helpless Gray Matter. MOOM continues their rise as contenders, while Gray Matters searches for Cancun vacation spots.

Gray Matters:
Koller B-: Koller's defense was "adequate" against MacDonald, but again you can't have 6 point halves as 1 option.
Ian B: 12 points from Ian is normally quite good, but not on this team. He struggled from deep, 1-6.
Gray D+: Good game on the boards, but 0-7 won't get it done.
Issac C-: Got it going a little, but 1 board? I need more boards with the height.
Tahahaha C-; Where's my electricity?

MOOM:
Ben B: Similar to last week, filled it up, but was on cruise control for 40 minutes.
James B+: Good shooting game by James, but I feel like he could have played a lot better.
Civale C+: Another block?!?! Lordy, but his shot was off in this one. I guess he's just a defensive player now.
Hanks D: Hanks sucked.
Lucas C+: I liked the hustle, but will this kid ever make a free throw?
OTTOMATIC A+: 6 points, 2 steals, 1 block, 7 rebounds. OTTOMATIC is a 10 on the erection scale right now.

Angry Ian Hulks up on 5 weeks and counting
By HARRY

The Great Clasby welcomed back their namesake last week after a tough 1-point loss to my team the week before. A good week for them to build chemistry, because they were facing the short handed 5WNC squad missing Jamil and obviously Nair too. Robel was out for the Great Clasby. TO THE ACTION!

5WNC did welcome back AAAAAAAOOOOOOOO, who was sporting some kind of weird haircut. KD and I were trying to figure it out, but couldn't come up with anything. It looked like a pony tail, but not at the same time. AO was in a foreign country the week before, so maybe that explains it? Anyhow, the weird haircut AO was balling out early in this game, scoring 10 first half points, along with three steals and 5 boards, plus an assist. Lots of good energy from AO in this one.

Maneval looked a lot better to with a fellow SDL guy back on his team, scoring 10 first half points. He did take 7 threes though to get there, although he was the only to make any. The rest of his team went 0-7 from deep, not great. On the other end, the Great Clasby held an early lead, but Scroggins was held without a made FG in the first half. He went 0-5 from deep, perhaps he was too concerned with the Celtics game going on at the time.

Thankfully for the Great Clasby, Angry Ian was on fire, scoring 12 first half points, adding 4 boards and 2 assists. He did get angry at one point too and tossed his headband away. All in all, angry Ian was giving us everything! A true man of the people. Clasby, also looked pretty good himself, scoring 9 first half points, with 2 steals, 4 boards and 2 assists. The Great Clasby was doing a real good job of moving the rock around the court. Great Clasby went into the half with an oddly small, 34-28 lead. Of course when you get nothing from the 1 pick in a half and you go in ahead, then that's a good sign and I'm not just saying that, because I know it's true. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Scroggins awoke from his first half slumber, scoring 21 first half points. He got his jumper going and continued his excellence from the line, going 7-7 for the game. However, the real story was his teammates passing. Clasby/Angry-Ian/Silva/Great One all combined for 12 second half assists. This team was crying about the lack of ball movement last game and really stepped it up here. I love it when a good plan comes together. Let us see if they can continue to do this against better competition.

5WNC put forth an admirable effort, but they were just out gunned in this game (no pun intended). They just couldn't connect from deep either, after a tough first half they matched it in the second half, shooting 2-14 from 3 again. 4-28 from 3 won't do the trick in any game, especially this one. Troy, would be the only one on his team to reach double digits, scoring 11 in the second half. These guys are a long way from getting Nair back. They've also had a tough schedule to be fair as well. The Great Clasby ran away with this game late, only a Big Guns three at the buzzer salvaged pride. 79-56 Final.

5WNC
Troy C+: He did a good job on defense or as well as you can on Scroggins, but his shot was off from 3.
Maneval C: Promising first half, but his shot from 3 was also quite off, going 2-11 won't cut it.
AAAAAAOOOOOO B: AO looked good on the court, except from.....you guessed it, 3. Is 6 steals a career high?
Big Guns B+: Got himself to double-digits which I love, but he missed some easy looks too.

The Great Clasby
Scroggins C: No first half FGs? Gotta call that out, finished with decent stats though.
Great One A-: Very nice, well rounded Great One game.
Angry Ian A+: Doesn't get much better from Angry Ian. He did go 0-3 from line, but had a near triple-double.
Clasby B: Played nicely to start his season, could have been "A" if he wore the right championship gear.
Silva B: Nice Silva game here as well, got his team moving the ball.

Free throws are hard

BY CUNDALL

Apologies for the late writeup, but after what I witnessed last Thursday, I needed a few days to process it. Let’s be honest this game should have been good, but it really wasn’t and whoever the equivalent of Tom Emanski (look it up if you don’t know who that is) is for basketball would have been appalled with what they just watched. With that lead in I know you all can’t wait for the write-up so to the action we go! The big news at tip off was Jack was out for The Counselors. Even though he was the 27th pick Jack showed his far better than that dropping 23/14 the first week, so his absence was the first warning sign for Noah’s squad. Harry’s squad was fully staffed with Pollock finally returning from his cross-country tour celebrating last seasons B Draft championship. Both teams struggled out the gate with points at a premium. Eventually Pollock remembered how to make a layup and got Harry’s team on the board, but other than him they didn’t have much going as six minutes into the game the score was 8-4. As we expected it was the Pollock vs. AJ show to this point as AJ was literally the only person who could hit the rim, let alone make a shot, on Noah’s team. He had the first six points for The Counselors as Harry’s team jumped out to an early 9-6 lead.

The energy started to shift when Karim entered off the bench and he immediately made an impact on both ends. He got on the board quickly and made a couple other nice plays. With 10 minutes left in the first half Harry’s team led 11-6 and things didn’t get any better over the next few minutes, save for AJ knocking down his first three of the half after several misses. It was 16-9 with seven minutes left and if Harry’s team could make a free throw it would have been far worse. Weinstein knocked down both his free throws, but the rest of the team went 1-9 from the line in the first half. The inability to make free throws was jarring, as was Stat’s inability to make a field goal. After going scoreless last week with only three minutes left in the half, he still had a blank 2PM field on the stat sheet. Finally, after 58 minutes of action to start the B Draft season and numerous layups thrown off the backboard, Harry’s nightmare ended and Stat made a layup! That layup propelled Harry’s lead to double digits and was soon followed by Harry making a very impressive layup on the fast break after an outlet pass from Sam. We don’t get to see Harry as the first man out on the break often, so all I can think of was the new haircut he was sporting made all the difference. That was the last notable play of the half as Harry’s team led 26-15 in an absolute brick fest. Pollock led the way for Harry’s team with eight points, but everyone else chipped in between two and five points. For Noah’s team, AJ had nine, Joel had four and David was the only other person to score.

The second half started with Karim again getting to the hoop and exposing the lack of rim protection for The Counselors. AJ finally started to wake up, however knocking down another three to keep it within striking distance. Unfortunately, for the Counselors that layup in the first half seemed to wake up Stat as he also realized their was nobody who could slow him down at the rim and he started to go down there whenever he wanted. He was very active on the offensive glass and when he got to the bucket finished, scoring eight second half points. Meanwhile, after Harry’s team shot 3-11 from the line in the first half, Noah’s team sought to top it. They missed all eight of their free throw attempts in the second half, which really limited their comeback chances. They did, however wake up from three as AJ made a couple more, but each time Trick or Treat had an answer. It was 43-28 Harry’s team with 10 minutes left and over the next few minutes Harry knocked down a big three, showing off again that his new haircut was a game changer and so did Weinstein which kept the lead at a comfortable 16 points, 51-35. With four minutes left Harry’s team led 57-41 and it seemed like all they had to do was run out the clock. Unfortunately Pollock had other plans and started turning the ball over, while Joel knocked down two threes and we had a 10 point game. That was as close as it would get, however as Harry’s team would tack on a couple late buckets to come away with a 63-49 win. More important than the final score, however was that both teams combined to go 5-25 from the free throw line, including 0-10 in the second half. Both teams also shot better from three than the free throw line.

Trick or Treat
Pollock C-: Ok first half, but was very quiet for the majority of the second half and didn’t hit a single three.
Weinstein B: Didn’t have as big an impact with the shots spread around more, but did hit both his free throws which was an accomplishment for this game.
Stat B-: Rough first half, but picked it up in the second half big time. No made free throws dings the grade.
Harry B+: Really solid game with a three, athletic layup and good captain decisions.
Karim B+: Active on both ends and at least made one free throw.
Kenny B+: Nice game on both ends and chipped in double digit points.

The Counselors
AJ B: Led his team in scoring and defended Pollock well, but struggled with his shot.
Joel C+: Awful first half, but much better in the second half and even knocked down a few threes.
Noah D: Didn’t have it at all today.
David B: Solid debut, very active on the glass and chipped in eight points.
Brett C: Worked hard and got into good positions, but need to see him knock down a few more shots.

Throw in the white flag
By HARRY

Danner 18 came into this game suffering a pretty emphatic week 1 loss and Casey responded by ditching his team in week 2. They did welcome Danner and Glynn though. Meanwhile, Cam welcomed his second round pick, Nick Lynch to the team and everyone else was there. TO THE ACTION!

It was a tight back and forth affair in the first half. Matthew Miller came out strong though. He's really good at getting to the line, going 4-4 from the charity stripe in the opening frame. His shot was also falling too, mid-range, inside the paint and he added a 3. He doesn't seem to get tired or take any plays off, especially on offense.

Danner 18 tried to fight back though, with Marcellus coming through big, scoring 8 first half points. Danner 18's offense was pretty pathetic, but Marcellus big buckets kept it close for them. He really struggled badly in week 1, but I'll just blame Casey's bad passes on that. They need him to convert down low on high percentages opportunities.

Despite Marcellus and his efforts, Miller had built such a big lead on Danner 18 that it didn't seem they could crawl out of it. Calderan hit an early 3, but Cavano couldn't find the hoop. He was true to his word in taking a bunch of shots and naturally, he missed all of them. Cavano went 0-7 from deep in the first half and you aren't going to beat Matthew Miller that way.

Glynn and Danner hit a bucket apiece late, but a late Marcellus heave at the buzzer went wide. Danner 18 officially lost the first half to Matthew Miller 17-15. Oh ya and a bunch of other guys scored a whole lot of points on Danner 18 too. DTO had 15 1h points and the Young Bucks went into the half up 44-15.

Despite the embarrassment of losing to one guy in a half, Danner 18 still took the floor in the second half. There is no level of embarrassment to keep Chris Cavano from continuing to play and chuck. Cavano, scored 21 second half points, including hitting four threes. Calderan, also awoke from his first half coma and scored 9 second half points. Danner chipped in with a couple of threes too and Danner 18 was showing signs of life or maybe the Young Bucks just couldn't believe these guys would keep playing and stop us from watching the Celtics.

The lead would actually get down to single digits for one possession in the second half until Miller got a couple buckets to push the lead back. Nick Lynch was quiet until he started trying to dunk and failed twice. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! Cam led his team with 10 second half points and a bunch of missed lay-ups and bad passes. Lucky for the Young Bucks that Danner 18 decided not to play the first half, because they sucked in the second half.

Young Bucks hold on to win 75-57

Danner 18
Cavano D: I don't care what Cavano's final line is, you can put a giant F next to them for FLUFF, because that's what they are, fluff stats.
Danner D+; Somehow Danner is known a 3-point shooter, but he doesn't shoot many anymore. Why?
Glynn D: Glynn was taking pregame shots and I don't know why, because he didn't take any game shots.
Calderan D: Calderan is the 3rd option on this team, so he needs to score consistently.
Marcellus B-: Marcellus was the only one showed up in the first half.

Young Bucks:
Miller A: Another impressive performance, I want to see him against a good team though.
Lynch D+: Filled it up, but missed two dunks, which brings shame upon all us bigs.
DTO A+: DTO looks pretty good when I'm not throwing his shit on Saturdays.
Cam A-: Lots of good defense, but refuses to make his free throws still.
Landy C-: Did he even play?
Bauman B: Very good first half, which for a role player is all you can ask of.

5v5 Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

Week 2 - Write Up Victorious Secret VS. The Motha Effect

by Jamil

This was a fantastic matchup between 2 very talented teams that suffered tough week 1 losses. After struggling mightily in week 1, The Motha Effect had fantastic chemistry from the start. Nate Guzzi (25 points 6 rebounds, and 7 assists) and Nika (15 points and 14 rebounds) were the catalyst for the improved play.

Nate Guzzi was impactful on both ends of the court (2 steals and 2 blocks) and was extremely assertive in scoring the ball. Nika on the other hand, dominated the paint and the offensive glass to the tune of 6 offensive rebounds. I’ve watched him play over the past two sessions and this was by far the best I’ve ever seen him play. 

The Motha Effect would jump out to an early lead, in a game that looked posed to be an absolute blowout, but Victorious Secret wasn’t prepared to go out without a fight. #5v5Draft rookie Jonathan Allen (15 points, 3 steals, and 9 rebounds) played well despite his team trailing in the scoring column. Fellow Rookie Ron Cabeza would have a quiet first half, as he returned from injury but would eventually get it going.

The Motha Effect would go into the half leading 39 - 27 with no signs of slowing down. Motha (13 points and 10 rebounds) Kunal (10 points and 5 rebounds), and Hamza (9 points and 6 rebounds) would all contribute to a very convincing win for The Motha Effect, as they re-establish themselves as a championship contender and one of the top teams in this league.

Week 2 - Write Up The Cambridge Rats VS. Primetime 5.0

By Jamil

Both teams started off slow in this week 2 matchup. Ben Danzig (17 Points and 9 rebounds) got the offense rolling early for Primetime 5.0. His ability to score at all three levels was on full display as he would score in a variety of ways.

Marquis struggled mightly to start the game, but there was an unsung hero by the name of Steve Rakusin (15 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists) that kept The Cambridge Rats within reach of the lead. Steve was incredible on both ends of the floor, but his 5 of 5 clip from three had to be a new personal best.

After some early struggles, Jacob Miller (22 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) hit his groove midway through the first half and controlled the pace of the game. He had the three-ball dropping (3) and penetrated at will for easy scores. 

Primetime 5.0 would go into the half with the lead, but Marquis Victor (35 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks) was saving his best for the second half. Marquis went on to hit 5 of his 7 triples in the second half and 3 absolutely monster rejections getting it done on both ends of the court.

Shawn Wise (10 points and 15 rebounds) was a man amongst boys, putting his week 1 struggles in the rearview mirror and re-establishing himself as of the top centers in the league. 

The Cambridge Rats would go on to beat PrimeTime 5.0 by double-digits despite playing reasonably well. 

Week 2 - Write Up All the Smoke VS. Can’t Miss Keramaris

BY WISE

Can’t Miss Keramaris came into the game missing their MVP candidate, Jacob Held. Unfortunately for All the Smoke, they would be missing their big man, Kola Olugbade, and Jamil would have to play through nagging leg injury. With Brian Horan not able to make the start of the game, All the Smoke would have to start the game with just 5 players. Can’t Miss Keramaris would jump out to an early lead on an undermanned and undersized All the Smoke team.

They jumped out to a 35-23 lead at half and never looked back. Eric Li looked like a mix of Dikembe Mutombo and Steve Nash. Eric was definitely the most impactful player on the court for the first 22 minutes. He had 4 of his 5 blocks and 5 assists in the first half and looked like he was well on his way to a triple double. He would finish the game with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks and a steal.

Mazz made All the Smoke pay when they left him open behind the arc and would finish making 7 three-pointers in the game. He would finish the game with 30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. This game was pretty ugly for All the Smoke from start to finish. Can’t Miss Keramaris capitalized on their bad turnovers and push the ball in transition for easy points. Jamil, Tyrone and Kashawn all would end the game with double digit points but I don’t think any of them would feel like they played well. All the Smoke was able to dig deep and rally back for a couple of minutes in the second half and cut the lead from 18 to single digits. However, they would run out of steam and lose by 18 in the end.

SDL WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS & POWER RANKINGS

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

Week # 2 Power Rankings

1. Costa (3 - 0) - We’re still undefeated after 3 games and have embraced our defensive identity. Dylan Costa is looking like a visionary after forming one of the most formidable teams in the league. Charlie Maneval and Emmanuel Okharedia continue to make every captain regret passing on them. 
2. Nair (1 - 1) - Nair is poised to compete for the # 1 spot in these Power Rankings. If Nick Lynch's 39 points in his debut are any indication of what’s to come we’re all in trouble when Adwaith returns from his broken hand. Can’t wait to see them both on the court at the same time. Can’t forget about the amazing start the DTO and Ruff are off to. 
3. Stull Here (1 - 1) - After an impressive week 1 victory, David P and Co.lost their first game of the season to Team Costa. Jordan Staiger looks to be an excellent addition to not only the team but the league. When fully staffed, this team will be one of the top-tier teams in this league. 
4. Daniels (1 - 2) - Offensively Team Daniels is one of the most talented teams in the league, but they cannot seem to put it together for a full 40 minutes. Cam. Adam, and Ghost average 15+ points, how that’s not translating to wins is baffling.
5. Platano Power (0 - 2) - It’s hard to really gauge this team's ceiling because they haven’t had their full complement of players through the first 2 weeks of the season. AO returned to the lineup, but no Jorge really hurt them against us today. I will say, this team works their ass off on both ends of the court and I can see Tim, AO, and Jorge leading this team to the playoffs. 

Week # 2 WRITE-UPS

Nair VS. Daniels
By JAMIL

Even with Nick in attendance, I had Team Daniels as heavy favorites in this matchup and they didn’t disappoint early on jumping out to a quick lead.  Ghost “MICHAEL FRAHER” got off to a scorching start, scoring 20 of his 27 points in the first half. 

Cam Daniels (21 Points) was stroking it from deep and Team Daniels looked primed to run away with this game leading 24 - 11 through the first 7 minutes. David Ter-Ovanesyan (DTO) led the way early on for Team Nair with a ridiculous 25 points and 18 rebounds! WTF?

Team Nair would go into the half down 11 (47 - 36), but you could tell Nick Lynch was starting to heat up. The second half would be the Nick Lynch (39 points, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 19 rebounds, and 3 assists) show. 

This dude was absolutely unstoppable and despite their efforts, Team Daniels had no answer. 

With under a minute left in regulation, Andrew Marra would hit a huge three to tie the game at 72. With the clocking winding down, Team Daniels would inadvertently foul and Team Nair took full advantage converting the free throws and notching their first victory of the young season. 

Team Nair 

Patrick Blaikie C+ - Patrick is in a shooting slump like I’ve never seen before, but despite his struggles, he’s making a huge impact on the defensive end. I have no doubt he’ll find his stroke, I just hope it’s not against us.

David Ter-Ovanesyan A+ - DTO scored 25 while shooting 44% from three on 9 attempts. He’s off to a fantastic start this season. 

Damian Ruff B - Despite struggles beyond the arc, Ruff did a fantastic job rebounding and distributing the ball to his teammates. His ability to slow down Ghost was the difference in this game. 

Nick Lynch A+ -  39 points, 4 blocks, 19 rebounds do I really need I say more? 

Ben Mitchell A - Did a fantastic job defensively and played within the team offense.

Team Daniels

MICHAEL FRAHER A - 27 and 10 rebounds should have been enough. Ghost played a fantastic game despite his team suffering the loss. 

Cameron Daniels B+ - Cam had 21 points and played well for the most part. I still feel like he has another gear. 

Adam Ellabidy B - Adam struggled early on but still finished with 18 points. Cam and Adam aren’t on the same page yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Andrew Marra A+ - Played fantastic on both ends of the court and hit a couple of huge threes when his team needed it the most. I would love to see him more aggressive on offense.

Costa feasts on Platano Power
BY DRUFF

Coming into this game I was interested in seeing the full Platano Power (PP) squad.  To my disappointment their captain Jorge was missing.  Although PP was already the underdog in this one, they had their 4th overall pick Alan Orellana in attendance so anything was possible.

The game was so bad to start Jamil Ball asked me at the 8:50 mark was the time right?  Umm yes it was and so was the score 25-8.  To close the half, things didn’t get any better, well for PP I mean, Costa went on a 16-3 run and was up 41-11 at the half.

Halftime stats:

Plantano Power

Alan Orellana 6 pts, 1 stl, 2 blks, 4 drebs

Neil Aggarwal 1 blk, 2 drebs

Tim Roberts 5 pts, 1 drebs

Chris Agresti 2 orebs, 4 drebs

Costa

Jamil Ball 19 pts, 1 blk, 3 orebs, 6 drebs, 2 asts

Charlie Maneval 13 pts, 3 drebs

Emmanuel Okharedia 6 pts, 4 stls, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 1 ast

Dylan Costa 6 pts, 1 blk, 9 drebs, 2 asts

Player of the half:

Jamil Ball

Second half

To all the millions of readers across the world, if you’re waiting to read about a crazy comeback or how the game became interesting, keep waiting because neither thing happened.  10 minutes into the half Costa was up 62-23.  Final score ended up being 74-44 Costa with the win.  What’s crazy though is that PP was actually even with Costa the second half.

Player grades

Alan Orellana B after the game we talked briefly he said he didn’t think he could’ve done much more aside from being more aggressive, bingo.

Neil Aggarwal C just an ok game for him.  I actually think he can play better and his team will need him to as well.

Tim Roberts B was obviously the best offensive weapon for his team but would’ve liked to see him do a little more on the defensive end.  Admittedly if his team wins he gets a higher grade

Chris Agresti C+ good rebounding numbers and I liked that he gave me the guys names on the team I didn’t know.  I swear he shoots the ball with both hands so maybe he just needs to figure out which hand to shoot with.

Rob Lunder C+ played sparingly but I did enjoy my conversation with him about the Celtics.

Jamil Ball A- was the best player on the floor only knocking his grade for asking me if I took time off the clock smh.

Charlie Maneval A says he was saving himself for the second game but still managed to shoot decent and get some other stats.

Cameron Daniels A in a blowout victory didn’t miss a three and got some other stats.

Emmanuel Okharedia A— had a solid game with 5 steals but had to give one minus for the 0fer from three.  The other minus is because the trash talk was non-existent.  I actually respect that because the game wasn’t close but there were still opportunities to do this and I was disappointed.

Dylan Costa A although I know Dylan can play better he led his team in rebounding, assists and blocks while also going perfect from the free throw line.  What more do you want?

Player of the game:

Jamil Ball as previously mentioned was simply the best player on the floor and It wasn’t even close.

Back to back no problem

BY RUFF

Coming into this game I thought Stull Here had the advantage of fatigue.  Not only was Costa playing their second game of the day but they only had 4 guys.  Stull Here was missing arguably their best player which obviously didn’t help but no excuses.  A smart thing done slightly before the game by Jamil was telling the ref to put on some tunes.  The music I heard was how do I say it in a nice way, not to my liking.  Cam and I had an interesting conversation about it.  Ok enough rambling let me focus on the game.

The pace of this game was super slow.  With about 10 minutes left in the half there was a total of only 14 points on the board and tied up.  As the half continued, Costa pulled away slightly and ended the half with a nice dime from Jamil Ball to Dylan Costa for the layup right before the buzzer.  Costa was up 19-13.

Halftime stats:

Stull Here

Steve Rakusin 4 orebs, 5 drebs

Christopher Stull 2 drebs

Jordan Staiger 1 pt, 1 stl, 2 drebs

David Pendergast 12 pts, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 6 drebs

Costa

Jamil Ball 11 pts, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 4 dreb, 1 ast

Charlie Maneval 6 pts, 5 drebs

Cameron Daniel 1 oreb, 1 dreb

Dylan Costa 2 pts, 1 blk, 9 drebs

Player of the half:

Jamil Ball

Second half:

2 minutes into the half, Costa went on a 10-2 run forcing Stull Here to call a timeout.  While Stull Here continued to battle, they were never able to recover from that run.  Costa wins 49-39.

Player grades:

Steve Rakusin C while he did have a good rebounding game, he struggled putting the ball in the basket which is what his team needed.  He did go scoreless in the first half and was able to change that in the second, he just needed a similar output to his week 1 performance.

Christopher Stull C- managed to get some rebounds and obviously going 0-7 is not good.  The reason I added the minus to his grade is because he stopped shooting.  I’ve literally seen this man make 4 straight threes in a game last season.  He definitely lost his confidence in this game.  As someone who will continue to make and miss threes, take it from me, don’t stop shooting.  Especially if they are good shots and your team needed some offense.

Erik “Slick” Johnson C+ while Slick was anything but that on the court today.  Hopefully he was at least successful at the casino.  His + grade is because he agrees with me that Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all-time.

Jordan Staiger B- had a good debut in SDL.  I think anytime you’re playing with guys for the first time there will be an adjustment.  The minus to his grade comes from his low three point percentage.

David Pendergast B was obviously the best player on his team.  Would’ve loved to see him be a tad bit more aggressive and use his energy as he did against my team in week 1.

Jamil Ball A— in back to back games was the obvious best player on the floor.  Had to add some minuses to his grade.  The first one was for telling the ref to put on some tunes.  All those in favor of never allowing the ref to play music again, say I, I.  The other minus has to go for saying that LeBron James is a better “basketball” player than Michael Jordan.  I won’t get into it so we can just respectfully agree to disagree.

Charlie Maneval B- actually had a decent game but added the minus because he specifically told me he was saving himself for this game.  For whatever reason his three ball wasn’t what I expected but regardless his team won.

Cameron Daniel C got a few stats and played his role despite not scoring.

Dylan Costa B despite the struggles from the free throw line and three point line, still managed to have a double double and 3 blks.

Player of the game:

Jamil Ball I might have to start excluding him from this if he keeps winning it so easily.  No seriously well deserved and just was really good.

B1 5v5 TUE WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

by Jason on May. 15, 2023

WEEK 2: 

BY LAMARR BENNETT

Game 1: Terminator 2 (65) VS FCHWPO (69)

Welcome back to B1 5x5 Week 2! WE start this week with probably the best game of the week with FCHWPO topping Terminator 2 in a back and forth, overtime deciding victory. Both teams were only running 5 players so no bench help this week, and we started the game off only running 4s. FCH got off to a quick start, starting the game on a quick 10-2 run led by some good ball movement to get some easy baskets. T. Bissell finally made it to the game and he was definitely needed for T2. he immediately called a timeout to get in the game and made his presence immediately. T2 went on their own 10-2 run, pressuring and forcing a few turnovers to lead to fast break points. Low scoring game to this point but FCH had the lead with 9:00 to go in the first half 12-11. J. Maniyaki and CJ got hot for T2, both knocking down multiple 3s to keep the team close but FCH would answer every bucket with their own. Aidan Cyr was a menace on defense and on the boards despite being one the shortest players on the court. McCarthy, the superhero from last week, cooled off some but still had himself a strong half, scoring 16 of his 23 points in the first half. T2 went into halftime down only by 4 with a score of 32-28. They had a well rounded scoring attack in the first half, with 3 players scoring at least 8 points.

FCHWPO came out of the half on fire. Chris Sellew, who had a rough first half shooting the three, came out and hit 2 back to back and had a nice spin move lay up to give his team a quick 12 point lead. But Sam Jenson and Bissell both had hit a three and Jensen with a nice euro step layup to bring it back to 7 at 47-40. T2 started getting really hot at this point, with Maniyaki finally getting it going, and boy he got it going. He hit a 3 and had a nice assist to Jensen who knocked down another three, 52-48 FCH with 7:00 minutes remaining. Few buckets from FCH brought it back up to ten quickly. T2 goes on a 10 - 0 from the 6:00 minute mark to the 4:00, led by two back to back 3s by T. Bissell and 1 more by Maniyika. With under 2:00 to go, Maniyika hit a thre that was answered by a Mccarthy 3, that was again answered by another Maniyaki 3. True definition of  a back and forth game. McCarthy got fouled with 45 seconds to go and had a chance to go up two at the line, he hit the first but missed the second of a 1 and 1. Maniyika took advantage of the miss and hit a midrange faraday jumper to tie the game at 64 a piece. OVERTIME!

First overtime game of the season and it didn't disappoint. McCarthy comes out with a ig thre to start OT, then Cyr had geat steal and lay up to go up by a quick 5. Very next possession, Cyr came up with a big block on the other end and tha sealed the game for FCHWPO. They ended up winning with a score of 69-65. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: J. McCarthy (23 pts, 17 rbs, 2 ast)

GAME 2: Mid Range Magic (43) - Mens league (74)

Game 2 between midrange magic going up against Men's league was , surprisingly, a blow out from the opening tip. Going off what I saw last week, I gave mid range magic a real good chance of winning. But Mens league had full team this week unless last, and there are a force to be reckoned with. The men's league came out on a mission, playing team ball and making all the right plays on both ends of the floor. Tom Smith and Josh Slater set the tone early, both crashing the glass hard and scoring early. Before you knew it the score was 17-5. Mid Range Magic was getting good looks, just couldn't knock anything down, especially from 3. But even though they were not hitting at a high clip, 5 of there first 6 shots were 3 pointers  so that should tell you how the half was going. They did cut the lead down to 4 but after a 4 minute scoring drought, Mens ague got the lead back up to double figures and never looked back. They outscored there opponents to end the half 23-6 to leave the score at 41-22 going into the half. Let's not forget Mens league Captain Geaorge Shultz coming into the game droppin dimes and hitting two big trees. His impact was definitely felt. Mid Range Magic also didn't appreciate a Time Out called with 3 seconds left in the half and let there opponents hear about it. Forward Cliff Bouchereau did all he could in the first half, racking up a handful of rebounds and scoring 8 first half points, but he desperately needed help.

The second half was more of the same if not better than the first half for Mens League. Big man Tyler Seibring just straight took over the game, and I think Midrange magic getting upset at the half fuelled him some. He scored  17 of his game high 23 points all in the second half, capped off with 3 threes and dominating the mid range.His height seemed to be just too much to handle and Mid Range Knew it. Big man Jack Anton, college teammates of Seibring, was dropping dimes left and right and had the first double digit assist game of the season. MId Range fought hard to the end, With Eric Maynard and Cam Kelly getting it going in the second half. Each scoring a couple of buckets and trying to keep a float. Free throws have been a problem for Mid range so far this season, and again it was a problem tonight. A lot of bickering and words to the refs, so they called the game early with about 4:00 minutes left in the game. The men's league ended up with the blowout win, Knocking off mid Range magic by 31 points 43-74.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tyler Seibring (23 pts, 9 rbs, 2 ast)

Game 3: Big Phil From the Hill and team (52) vs Treys for Days (66)

The final game of week two was a pretty good match up between Big Phils Squad and Treys for days. T4Ds came out with a solid 66-52 win. T4Ds came out hot with Devin Santilli all over the place, picking up two quick steals and hitting a quick lay up and 3 to get things going. Things pretty much kept going back and forth for the half, trading buckets. But a seventh foul by Trey for days 5:00 minutes to go left in the half gave Big Phils squad a chance to get back in the game. Henry Lafrancis was his typical dominant force in the paint, scoring at will, drawing fouls and seemingly grabbing every rebound on the offensive glass. Henry Louis was extremely aggressive, attacking the paint and getting to the line (6 free throw shots after the 7th foul). A three from Sean Concannon tied the game up at 21 a piece with 3 minutes to go. Dana Flood helped keep T4D in the game late in the half, scoring 5 big points with 1:30 to go. Both teams traded baskets until the half, where the score was 28-27 with T4Ds up. Lafrancis and Flood combined for 22 of the teams 28 first half points.

Second half is where T4Ds separated themselves and really got it going. a 12-3 run led by a three by both Santilii and Flood and Lafranicis cleaning up the glass. T4Ds were really attacking and killing the offensive glass and it started to pay off. LaFrancis Was a absolute monster in the second half, scoring 19 points and grabbing another handful of rebounds. His second straight week with a dominant performance. Henry Louis kept his team in the game getting to the line at will (12 attempts for the game),  if he had a little more help the score might have been different. Two more big 3s by Dana Food and Santilli and the game was out of reach. The game ended with T4D winning by 14 with a score 66 -52.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kevin “Larry” Lafrancis (29 pts, 13 rbs, 1 ast)

A 5v5 MON Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 11, 2023

By Niyati 

Game 1 | Hartbreakers (69) - Space & Pace (74)

The Devin Jensen Show Despite the Loss

The Hartbrakers were outplayed by Space & Pace but we shouldn’t count them out for future games. Player of the game was without a doubt Devin Jensen, leading both sides with 31 points. He put up 7 deuces and 4 threes but his defensive game was on fire as well with 4 defensive boards, a steal, and despite being involved in almost all the plays ending the game with no PFs on his name. The score going into the second half was 33-41 with Space & Pace up and it would have been a sight to see if the Hartbrakers could have gotten the comeback dub but hey it’s only week 2 and they’re just warming up. 

Jensen did have help with Tim DeMatteo and Tucker Landry to even the scoreboard with DeMatteo having 11 points, and 2 defensive rebounds and Landry notching 9, 2 boards on each end of the court, and a block. Unfortunately the trio could only take it so far with the rest of the bench collecting the final 8 points on their end. 

Space & Pace came out guns ablazing winning the tip and sharing the bucket glory as each player earned points on the sheet. Led by #43 James Welch who was too hot to handle with his no look passers he lead S&P with 17 points, 3 assists, and shooting 50% on FTs. As a newcomer scorekeeper, this team seems to have been playing for years together with their fluidity and chemistry on the court complete with no look passes and an impossible to stop around the horn play. Helping Welch and pad the score was a collective effort by the rest of the team. Jason Marino had 16 points, 3 boards, and a steal despite shooting 25% on FTs. Matt Turkington put up 11. Stephen Valacer helped with 10 additional points, going 4/4 on FTs 

GAME 2 | Borme’s Disciples (60) - Skelton’s Boys (55)

The Mismatch Mistake by Skelton’s Boys 

Despite the deep bench by Borme’s Disciples, the game was tied 24-24 going into the half. The no bench by Skelton’s boys may have aided into the loss as they got tired as the game went on. Though they did connect on backdoor passes and a smart #22 Andrew Yamin going into the second half with 3 fouls in the column. The game really came down to the last few minutes as the game tied 50 apiece with less than 5 minutes left in the week 2 matchup. 

SB put up a tough effort with Erik Pettit tallying 14 points but only going 2/7 from downtown. Elijah Henderson went off playing smart stealing the ball 4 times and converting them into a bucket each opportunity. Travis Sinatro had 3 steals as well and 10 points attempting to make the comeback they were desparately playing for. 

Even with Borme’s Disciples playing aggressively from the get-go they have to be thankful that SB didn’t capitalize on some of the sloppy passes that earned 12 steals. WIth the mismatch on Sam Holtze, he showed SB that no matter who’s on him he’ll find the way to the bucket, earning 25 points for the night. The play of the game goes under his belt as he made a breakaway layup assisted by #4 Garret Ganley who also had 12 points to get the dub. 

Game 3 | Ronin Blood Warrirors (82) - Shooters Shoot (86)

Shooters Shot Their Way to the OT Win

This game was a nail biter as it went into the second half with Ronin Blood Warriors trailing by just 4 points but tying it up to send the game to OT. Despite having two DIII players on their roster, Ronin wasn’t able to keep up with the scoring trio of Hugh O’Neill who had 16 points, Luke Rogers who had 19 points, and David Reynolds who went 6/13 on threes nabbing himself 24 points. 

The rest of SS was padded by Ryan Romich who had 12 points, Matt Pattyson who had 8 points and Ryan Fogarty who had 7 points and went 75% on FTs. The team as a whole was 10 for 12 on shots from downtown. 

Ronin Blood Warriers put up a hard fought fight with the trio of the Kevins and Isaac Lane. Kevin Nunez had 29 points for the night and went 9 for 11 on FTs, missing both in a crucial time with Ronin trailing by 1 point with 1:30 left in OT. Lane went for 22 points and putting up a show on the glass with 2 O’s and 4 D’s and going 100% on FTs for the game. Kevin Vanderhorst ended the night with 10 points. 

Game 4 | MostHated (60) - Team Takeover (66)

Heated Game Ends in Favor of Team Takeover to End Week 2

It almost seemed as if the teams talked trash more to each other than they talked game to their own teammates but nevertheless, it made for an entertaining week 2 final game. Team Takeover dished out just a few more buckets than MostHated could and took the game 66-60. 

MostHated was even across the boards for player’s points with Dakari Hannah-Wornum and Steven Chivallatti leading the team with 12 points each. Dandre Lopes and Anthony Barbosa also helped pad their score with 11 and 10 points, respectively. It seemed like all Lambert had to do was just stand near the paint and he’d make his way to the ball either defensively through boards or offensively through scoring the easy layup from underneath. Barbosa seemed to go through most of the game unguarded despite going 2 for 2 on threes and making all 4 of his FTs. Despite all the positives, they could not hit the nail in the coffin even with the lead for the majority of the second half. MostHated’s nail in their coffin was when they called a timeout that they didn’t have resulting in TT going to the line to secure their win. 

For TT, Jason Feliciano was the showstopper as he banked 27 points, catching 3 defensive boards, 2 assists, and shooting 75% on FTs. Jared Brown and Christian Higgins supported their man Feliciano by scoring 10 apiece. Despite the chirping from either team, it was a tight game from start to finish and I’m excited to see how both teams respond in the rest of the season. 

B DRAFT WRITE-UPS WEEK 1

by Jason on May. 09, 2023

BY HARRY & IAN

Weinstein spoils the Great Clasby’s party  

As tends to be the issue during the summer season both teams had attendance issues in this one. Pollock was out for Trick or Treat and Clasby was out for the Great Clasby. These absences would seem to favor the Great Clasby slightly, but it was really a toss up game as we had no idea what to expect about from the first overall pick Jay. He made a solid, first impression, but was it enough? To the action!

To the shock of nobody, the beginning of this game was bad. Neither team could buy a basket and there were a lot of turnovers and sloppy basketball. Slowly but surely the teams started to figure it out and Weinstein threw the first punch scoring a couple of quick baskets. Things were back and forth in this opening ten minutes with Robel leading the way for the Great Clasby. Unlike past seasons were he hung out on the perimeter, Robel spent a lot of time down low and was doing a good job finishing at the rim. Jay got off to a slow start as Kenny and co were playing solid defense on him, but you could tell it was only a matter of time. 

Halfway through the first half it was 13-12 Trick or Treat and scoring was still at a premium even after it looked like the teams were starting to figure out their offense. Over the rest of the first half, it remained close as Jay was doing a good job distributing for Great Clasby. His shot was off, but you could tell he knew how to read the game and he was doing a great job getting good looks for other players. Angry Ian especially was the recipient of some good pocket passes and he was knocking down his signature mid-range jumper. For Trick or treat they were getting a balanced effort as rookie Karim was very active and looked to be much better than were he was drafted and Harry was knocking down jumpers. Things remained very close as the half closed and we went into half with the Great Clasby holding a slim 28-26 lead. Weinstein led the way with nine points for Trick or Treat, while Robel led the way with eight for Great Clasby.

The second half started with Jay finally getting going. He started to get to the hoop and in a matter of minutes he had equaled his first half point total with three quick buckets. During this time Harry’s team was really struggling to score and all of a sudden Ben’s team had created some separation. Trick or Treat broke their drought when Harry made a nice runner off the dribble and got fouled. He missed the free throw, however and Jay went down and knocked down his first three of the game to push the lead to 43-36. Even though the Great Clasby had some separation, it seemed only a matter of time before Harry’s team made a run. Behind some excellent defense from Karim, Harry’s team got out in transition and started to cut into the lead. A Weinstein bucket tied things up at 43 and then Karim got a block and took it all the way for a layup to give Trick or Treat their first lead since midway through the first half. 

Jay answered quickly after with a tough fadeaway jumper and he scored several times after that as well as he started to take over. There were only five minutes left at this point and Great Clasby held a 51-47 lead. A Weinstein put back made it a two point game, but Robel answered to restore the four point lead with three minutes left. A couple of misses for Great Clasby opened the door for Trick or Treat and after a Weinstein jumper we had a tie game with two minutes left at 53-53. Both teams would miss threes on their ensuing possessions, but Karim would get fouled on back to back possessions. He knocked down four clutch free throws and Harry’s team found them up by 4 at 57-53. A Jay and one cut the lead to one, but inexplicably Silva’s team didn’t foul immediately and the clock ran down from 30 seconds to five. Silva used both his timeouts to advance the ball and had a play drawn up for a three to tie. They inbounded the ball to Jay, but Harry smartly fouled immediately before a shot could be put up. Jay knocked down both free throws even though I think he was trying to miss the second leaving it a one point game with just over two seconds left. Harry got the ball on the inbound and was fouled immediately. He missed the first one and then did the right thing and missed the second as well causing the clock to run out. Final score Trick or Treat 59, Great Clasby 58.

Trick or Treat

Weinstein A: Vintage performance where he carried the offense for the large majority of the game.
Karim A: Really impressive debut. Knows how to play, can finish at the rim and was very good on defense.
Harry B+: 6/6/2 and made two really good captain calls late, giving the foul when up three and then missing a free throw to cause the clock to run out.
Stat D: Didn’t make a field goal, but played solid defense.
Kenny C: Quiet game on offense, but did a good job sticking with Jay

The Great Clasby

Jay B+: 32/10/6 is a great line, but I thought he left a lot of points on the board. If he finds a consistent jump shot we’re all in trouble.
Robel B: Really good first half, but seemed to tire as the game went on.
Angry Ian C+: Really good first half, but plagued by foul trouble in the second half.
Cassel C: Quiet game for the great one with only one three. 
Ben D: Really questionable Captain decision not fouling when down one with 30 seconds left for 20+ seconds dings the grade big time. 

Rookie Miller finds gym and his team a victory!

Our second game of the evening featured Cundall’s team taking on Cam’s team, with both guys counting on rookies to be major contributors. Cam’s team was missing Lynch though, so things weren’t looking up for them. Cundall had everyone. TO THE ACTION!

The first half of this rock fight belonged to Benjamin Koller, who was trying to win one for the CAC vets in this rookie fest. He led all scorers with 14 first half points, adding 7 rebounds along with a steal and block. Pretty much enjoying the fruits of number 1 status and dominating the game along the way. Good thing too, because his teammates outside of small contributions from Cundall and Gray weren’t doing their part. They did have the lead all the way through though.

That’s because the Young Bucks offense kind of sucks. Miller, who I helped get to the gym, you’re welcome Cam, wasn’t afraid to get up shots. He led his team with 13 points and was described as a bigger Weinstein by Cundall, good comparison I’d say. Miller wasn’t efficient, but did a good job getting to the line. He also destroyed Koller on one drive, sending Koller down on his buttocks. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good look at the play. Miller’s teammates outside of 6 Cam points, weren’t doing much. Apparently, DTO can only unlock his powers on Saturday mornings.

Gray Matter went into the half up 30-22. Outside of their respective stars, these teams really looked fucking awful. BACK TO THE ACTION!

I’d like to say the Young Bucks supporting cast stepped up this half, but I’d be lying. Jkjkjk they did a little more than nothing, with Landy and DTO hitting a three. New fan favorite Eric Bauman, added 4 points and did something sexy I can’t remember right now. Cam added his usual effort, hustle and some crazy passes that never had a chance. They looked A LITTLE better, which got them the lead because…..

Gray Matter really sucked in the second half. It’s never good to look at second half and see the leading point scorer had 5 points for you in the half. These guys just couldn’t buy a bucket and you can credit the defense, but man this doesn’t look good. Rookie Julien just couldn’t get good looks for himself. He’s a tall man, but it appears he comes from the Djordje school of bigs who don’t use their body like they should. Cundall’s other rookie LB looked like a player, but he was gassed repeatedly. Taha and Gray did their best to chip, but you’re asking a lot of them to pick up your offense for a half. Then Koller, who dominated the first half, just died in the second. He didn’t look comfortable knowing he had to create buckets for himself late.

Young Bucks mercifully ended this horror show hitting enough free throws late. 55/49 Final.

Grades;

LB B-: Hit some threes, but just couldn’t get a wind all game.
Cundall B: Second on the team in scoring, but couldn’t get the 3-ball to drop.
Koller B: Great first half, but a bad second half full of forced shots.
Taha B-; Brought the energy late, but they’ll need more from him.
Julien C-: He has more in him. I know that already.
Gray B+: Hit his jumpers when he got them.

YOUNG BUCKS:

Cam B: Good activity and defense, but left points on the board.
Landy B-: Shot was off, but contributed else where. Had a nice block too!
DTO C-: This should have been a good DTO game, but it wasn’t.
Miller A-: Ultimately won the game for his team, but I except more.
Bauman C+: The new fan favorite needs to make his threes and FTs.

Counselors lecture 5 weeks and counting the hard way

Another game, another team full of rookies. Thankfully, we had one team with known commodities. The Counselors rolled into the season with the reigning OPOY and a good supporting cast. While Jamil’s team went with the long game and rookies, along with BIG GUNS. Joel and the other Julien was out for Noah’s team. TO THE ACTION!

Cam filled in until Jamil got there. Naturally, this didn’t lead to a great first half showing as the Counselors wrecked havoc upon 5WNC’s defense. They hit 10 first half threes, 4 from Jack and 3 apiece from AJ/Noah. AJ, led the world in 1h scoring with 19. It was a buffet at the Golden Corral.

Troy had some nice takes, co-leading the team with 10 first half points. Cold off the streets, Jamil had 10 points himself. Things are obviously going to be an uphill climb on both ends without Nair.

Counselors went into the half up 51-31.

BACK TO THE ACTION!

The bright spot for 5WNC was Big Guns notching a double digit rebound game. I also thought Maneval looked like a pretty good defender. AJ is a tough guard for anyone, so no shame giving up buckets there. These guys just need to work on their chemistry.

The Counselors slowed down a bit as the game moved on. They moved the ball nicely in this game. I’ll be looking closely at their ball movement as they play harder games down the stretch. Rookie Bret looked like a good hustle player and a willing passer.

Counselors cruised to an easy victory. Nice way to start the year.

Grades:
Maneval C-: Rough game shooting the ball.
Big Guns B+: I like this career high in rebounds. Can it continue?
Troy C+: Good effort on the boards and scored it, but shot was a bit off too.
Jamil B-: Late start, but still lead the team in points. We’re leaving too many points out there though.

Counselors:

Team grade: A+ Everyone played good and shared the ball. Noah almost had a triple-double. AJ and Jack had double-doubles. No negative comments.

Civale the defender

We finally reached a game where we knew all the key figures as Calderan’s Danner 18 took on Civale’s Mountains out of Mulvehills. Hanks was out for Civale and Glynn as well as their namesake was out for Calderan. TO THE ACTION!

MOOM came out guns ablazing behind their captain and leading contender for DPOY after one game, Civale. Civale had 13 first half points, along with a steal, 6 boards and FIVE blocks. Who is this man and what did he do with the Civale we know?!?!! The rest of the team wasn’t too shabby either. James, led the team with 18 points in the first half and the reigning MVP had 7 assists, along with 8 boards. We also got an OTTOMATIC sighting. The good times were rolling here.

Meanwhile, Danner 18 struggled with their putrid defense. Calderan did ball out early though, with 10 first half points, 8 boards and 2 assists. Not bad work for a half. Rookie Marcellus struggled though, missing a bunch of easy shots. He may need a week or two to get going in this league. Casey and Cavano combined for a bunch of bricks from deep early. They combined to 4-19 from deep. Gross, Marcellus and Calderan also missed 3 from deep, hitting none.

MOOM went into the half up 47-36. There was a funny moment in the first half when Macdonald forgot who was in and tossed the ball out to OTTOMATIC. BACK TO THE ACTION!

Things would get tighter in the second half with Cavano coming alive for Danner 18. Young Christopher did a great job attacking the cup this half, scoring 19 second half points. Cavano tends to get stronger as games go on and teams wear down. This appeared to be another case of that. Everyone else chipped with a few buckets as well.

With Cavano charging, his Wednesday teammate provided the answers. Macdonald scored 10 second half points, but shot an ugly 0-5 from deep. He ended up one assist shy of a triple double. It wasn’t his most efficient scoring game though. Civale, continued his good play, scoring 12 more points and picking up another block.

Unfortunately, Danner 18 just couldn’t cut into the lead enough to make this game feel uncomfortable for MOOM. They really struggled from 3. 77-70 Final MOOM.

Grades:

Macdonald B: Stuffed the sheet, played good D, but inefficient shooting.
Civale A+: Drink it in, this might be the greatest Civale defensive performance we’ll never see again.
James B: Great first half, but struggled in the second half shooting it. Did get a double-double though.
Lucas B+: Very nice showing and he had a monster block,
OTTOMATIC A: I loved what I saw in his return,

DANNER 18:

Casey C+: A cool 3 for 17 from 3 and he missed FTs. Yuck.
Cavano B+: Continues to suck from 3, but he played well.
Calderan A-: Really filled it up, but his shot from 3 has been off.
Marcellus C-: Tough first game, needs to convert on his open shots.

Over-30 Legends Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 09, 2023

BY CHAS & HANKS

Week 2: Game 1 Skelley Vs ShawHanks 

Frano nails jumper right away to kick us off, but Dutton hits the elusive 3 ball 3-2. Matty O slashes in for the deuce, but Skelley responds with Obrd power 5-4. Hanks walks up into a 3 and it was money, but Dutton unleashing a 3 ball of his own. Frano converts pump fake shot, then rookie Hull showed that 1st step gets ti the rim 11-8 16 min. Frano gets anothe post 2 13-8. Worth/Keilley splash trey balls, lane continues run with bank shot, but a Hull 3 ties things at 16. Matty middy, Frano finishes runner, but Lane keeps pace with calm J. Matty finds Frano TD pass, then Matty and 1, Frano finished high off window 27-18. Dutton finishes at rim, but Hanks hits middy, then they traded hoops again 31-22. Hanks splashes a 3, then in the post hes balling 36-22. Worth 1-2, Skelley Obrd, but Shawhanks finish half with Matty spin shot, and Hanks Obrd 40-28. 

Hull strong take to start half, Kielley responds 2-2, but Frano pos work keeps lead at 44-29. Dutton nails another 3, Skelley P n roll, but Paul gets hook to go 46-34.Matty finds Frano and this one was not looking good, Team Skelley would never quit and got the lead down to a respectable 6 pts, but team Hanks just to consistent they win despite some late 3’s 64-61. 

ShawHanks 

Hanks-A- Rock solid night hit 3’s got steals/blocks, loved it!
Frano-A-) Knows how to put the ball in the hoop 
Matty-B+- Passing was beautiful, this team needed a facilitator and they got one. 
Hull-B- Looking more comfortable, got to se that burst off the 1st step.
Peteet-C+- Hustle was there, rebounded well. 
Paul-C-) Hit the hook but not much else. 

Team Skelley
Skelley-B+- Nice big man double double, playing well this young session. 
Dutton-B+- Shot the ball great, they will need that. 
Worth-A-) Dude was all over the place, hit 3’s, had some dimes
Lane-C-) started well but couldnt get anymore buckets 
Kielley-C- Really struggled shooting, rebounding D were there though
Lindsey-D- Didnt see much from my guy tonight. 

 Week 2 Game 3: Drop step Vs Amir Mortals 

Joey Randal 3 ball sex right off the tip, but Bohnaker obrd makes it 3-2. Bohanker 2-2, ut Murphy nails J, and then converts Obrd 7-4 15 min. Bohna 2-2, but Murphy hot ,dives in 9-6. Randal steal, and finish , then Randal 3 ohhhhhhhbabyyyyyyyyyy 14-6. Bohna 2-2, but Randal sticks J 16-10 10 min. Randal a walking fire ball gets runner, but Ian hits big 3 to keep his team in it, Pizza reponds with J, Randal converts slash than another randal 3 magiccccccccc 23-15. Amir $ 3, but Dany $ 3, Amir said stop that and hit another three 28-21. Choa nails jumper, but MCHPher 2-2, Murphy goes off glass, Ian 2-2, but Dany 3 35-25. Mchpher finally gets a 3 to go, and then htis J to end the half 35-30. 

Bohna Obrd 35-32. Murphy keeps his team out front with drive 37-22, Randal adds to that with bank shot 39-32. Pizza post work, but Murphy locked in $ J. The ace got frantic here both teams throwing hay makers after a broken play Dany got free and hits J 46-41 15 min to go. Dany hots nother 3 , randal slides in 51-41. Pizza strong take/Mchph J/, but Dany keeps pressure with up N under 53-45. Mchpher deep 3, Murphy 1-2 54-48 11 min. Mchpher J, Pizza nice cut/ but Choa trying to play hero gets J to go 56-52. Mchpher trey ball $, Bohna slashes in for the lead 57-56. Mch 3, but Drop Step would not quit, Murphy dives in, Dany hits big time 3 making it 62-61, but there goes that man Mchpher has no fear and drains 3, Bohna would dominate in the post down the stretch due to some ian dimes, and AM runs away 76-64. 

Drop Step
Randal-A- Throw back, dude was a savage out there. Sub woud have helped. 
Choa-A- 40 min and hung in there tough. Played D hit J’s, great job!!!
Murphy-A-) Didnt get the win, but played very well and efficient
Dany-A-) Was solid, loved loved loved loved loved the 5 steals 

Amir Mortals 
Mchpher-A-) Took him awile to get going but when he did, he showed he can take the league over. 
Amir-A- $ 3’s thank you very much!! 
Bohna-A+- Baller alertttttttttttttttttttt. My guy refused to lose, great finishing around the hoop 
Pizza-B+- Nice night here, was the lift they needed. Positive vibes are contagious 
Harry-C-) Defense was good, but man I need some hoops 
Ian-B-Did a nice job getting his boys the loosk they needed 8 dimes int eh 2nd half. 

Week2 Game 4: Asterisk VS EJ

Freinstein got a J right off the tip, and we were off and running 2-0. Fraher robotic jumper good 2-2 18 min. Big Lu gets Big for 2, Franher sticks J. Ray gets in on the act with a smoooth deep 3, but Ghost feeling it gets hook to go, then another perfect J 10-5. Jeffries now called “The Slim Reaper” $ 3 ball, he liked that so much he did it again, Ray said I like that 2, and hits another 314-10 Astrik up. Fraher calms things with a J, but Ray red hot hits another 3, then sticks middy, then converts drive 21-12. Cavano keeping his guys in it with a 3, but Joel with a nice finsih at the rim 24-15. Stull would geta  3 to go, but Ray oh my hits another walk up 3, you gota get out on that, oh wait whoops he hit another one, Dias cuts in but it was 30-20 7 min. Fraher with the rare trey ball , Cavano dives in, but there goes Ray Trey again , then Danner caught the 3 bug, and nailed it, danner lay up, Jefferies 3……………this one really got away. 

The 2nd half would not get better at all, as Astrik looks like a fucking Jauggaurnaught by the time I stopped taking notes it was 55-31, and to do that to a team at full strength is very very impressive they dominate 84-55. 

Asterisk 
Ray Trey-A+- 1 st game and absolutely killed them. Very active player, going to be a true handful for the league. 
Jefferies “ Slim Reaper”-A- Another deadly night from 3, striking fear into his opponents as hie rips their souls out. 
Joel-B- He was good, just overshadowed by his studs. 
Danner-C+- Did his thing, nothign crazy but solid as always 
Feinstein-B-) Didnt shoot 3 as good but still looks like a solid high IQ player, steal for Joel. 
Carey-B- they leave him open he hits 3 its simple. 

Team Slick 
Cavanao-C- Did all he could but struggled to shoot the 3, and let ray walk into to many 3’s. 
Fraher-B-) Fuego in the 1st, but really cooled off
Lu-C- got toasted on D, finished well in the 2nd half, but they need more. 
Ej-D-) Really rough right. 
Stull-B+- I really like the pep in his step so far, nailed 3 3’s. 
Dias-D+- Rebounded well, but struggled getting hoops. 

A 5v5 THU Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 07, 2023

BY DEVIN QUINLIN

Game 1 | Bing Bong: 68 - Cobras: 60

Bing Bong Impress in A League Debut

Bing Bong came into the season as the only team I knew nothing about. Since I procrastinated my preseason research, I decided to just let them play and see what they had, and they came out ready to go against A League regular Cobras. The game was tied 30-30 at the half, with both teams making some shots but neither separating themselves. As the second half wore on, Bing Bong really started to establish themselves down low, finishing the game with 38 rebounds to the Cobras’ 26, and 18 twos to the Cobras’ 12. Solid debut from Bing Bong, who will be a competitive addition to the A League.

Gavin Keough led the scoring with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. He converted four of his six three-point attempts, showing off a fluid game and establishing himself as a strong catch-and-shoot guy. Tyler Lennon added 13 points, hitting three of his six attempts from deep and adding 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He’s got that slow, shifty game where he doesn’t get sped up and showed off a few impressive moves in the pick and roll up top. Sam Goy was impressive on the attack, going hard downhill in transition and off the catch for some explosive finishes, including a nice dunk on the baseline and a crazy missed poster. He finished with 10 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal. Aaron Jaynes was extremely active on both ends, finishing with 8 points, 11 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. His high motor down the stretch was a key factor in Bing Bong pulling away for the win. Griffin Perry was another guy who’s active effort played a role in the win, as he only scored 2 points, but added 6 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists, including some excellent extra passes for threes for Lennon or Keough. Mike Boaheng was bringing the energy all game, hitting a three to finish with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block, while Steve Azums was strong inside with 4 points, and 4 rebounds. Andrew Frazer hit a pull-up middy and a nice bucket in transition to finish with 4 points and 3 rebounds, and Dante Duncan was steady at the point with 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. The only issue with these guys is that they have too many players, as 6-7 players seems to be the sweet spot for most teams to both preserve energy and help each other get a rhythm. Still, I think all of these guys can play well at this level and I expect them to be competitive in every game.

Cobras showed some strong flashes, and continue to play solid defense, but just couldn’t finish it out. Will Rowe continues to show out in this league, finishing with 21 points and 4 rebounds. He shot only one of six from the free-throw line, but hit all four of his three-point attempts and operated well down low as usual. He will be their key player come playoff time. Warfa Abdillahi finished with 15 points on three of seven shooting from downtown, plus 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, running the point well and knocking down shots as usual. DeAngelo Alston hit two threes of his own to finish with 8 points and 3 rebounds, and I liked his defensive energy as well. Ray Miller added 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, but he showed some impressive poise with the ball in his hands. After a lot of complaining to the refs about contact, I expect him to adjust his game and make a big impact going forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up as their best player by the end of the season. Jamal Fiin added 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, but couldn’t find the range, going zero for five from three. I expect him to turn it back around quickly, though, as his offensive attack has been much improved recently. Carter Burruss added 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, and I’d love to see him shoot and/or attack more, as he’s just an insane athlete and an underrated passer. Kevin Querusio added 1 points, 3 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the loss.

Game 2 | We The Ones: 64 - Suffolk: 77

Suffolk Bring Balanced Attack to Overcome We The Ones

The Suffolk squad got off to a strong start, taking a commanding lead early into the second half and pushing the ball out in transition. We The Ones would not go away, though, as they found some offensive chemistry and started hitting threes to get the game to single digits in the second half. Eventually, though, Suffolk turned it on offensively and pulled away, winning by a final score of 77-64. 

George Grillakis made his return to Thursday A League, missing last session with an injury. Looks like he fully recovered, as he was just as explosive and strong in the open court. This guy has never once gone left in his entire life, but it doesn't matter, as he finished with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a game-high 6 steals. Great physicality from Grillakis in his return. Bolden Brace added 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, a pretty good statline considering he was going about half speed. He did shoot one of six from three, but even with his shot off he was still highly impactful, leading his team in assists and blocks. Sam Holtze added a near double-double with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a game-high 8 assists, taking a back seat with his shooting but facilitating as well as anyone during week 1. This trio will be at the top of the league this season, pushing for a championship. Logan O’Donnell added 10 points, 7 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block, finishing well inside and patrolling the paint on defense, while Mike McEneney couldn’t miss from the mid-range to finish with 9 points and 5 rebounds. With these two inside, Brace’s length on the perimeter, and Holtze’s quickness and strength against lead guards, this is a formidable defensive group. Kerry Weldon only enhances every part of their team, as he’s a strong finisher inside, moves the ball well, and can guard multiple positions as well. I definitely see these guys as a top team, I’m curious to see how they match up against other top competitors.

We The Ones have clearly upgraded from last season, with better ball movement, disruptive defense, and smarter overall play. Brother Karim and Marat Belhouchet had a huge impact in their A League debut, putting up similar statlines. Karim led the way with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists, showing off a quick release jumper (six for eleven from three), some smooth handles, and good chemistry with his brother. Marat led the team in assists, finishing with 15 points, 3 rebonds, 4 steals, and 5 assists, hitting three threes, some nice pullups, and distributing the ball really well. Jordan Carter hit three threes of his own to finish with 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 3 steals, rounding out some really strong guard play from We The Ones, a big improvement from previous seasons. Garrett Stanowicz continues to score the ball well, adding 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, hitting jumpers in the mid-range and finishing well at the rim. His brother, Aidan Stanowicz, added 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Keith Baranowski hit a big three down the stretch to finish with 3 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, putting in a well-rounded effort on both ends.

Game 3 | West Coast Elite: 102 - DRBL: 90

West Coast Elite Outlast DRBL in Fast-Paced Shootout

In a matchup of two of the top teams in the division, this game was competitive until the very end (though WCE pulled away at the end with free-throws and open threes on DRBL defensive gambles). A high-scoring affair, both teams were pushing the ball, getting out in transition, and putting up plenty of threes. West Coast Elite eventually secured a 102-90 victory, shooting an absurd twenty of fourty from three and combining for twenty total assists as a team.

Derek Retos picked up right where he left off last season, shooting ten of seventeen from three to finish with 30 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. He started the game seven for eight from three before forcing Mike Thompson to switch on to him. Thompson did a nice job with his size and athleticism advantage, but Retos was patient and hit two huge threes late in the second half to help WCE pull away. Perhaps the best shooter I've ever seen. Jack Fay played a very solid game with three threes of his own to finish with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal, jumping right back into the league lead in assists and generally playing his solid game. Tom Palleschi added 8 points, 11 boards, 5 assists, and 2 blocks, dominating inside defensively. I expect him to hit more jumpers going forward as well, but his passing out of the post remains elite. Shooters Shoot have switched to the Monday division, but Andrew Jaworski and Stephen Tam both filled in today for WCE. Jaworski finished with 30 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, knocking down all five of his free-throws and three of his seven three-point attempts. The guy just scores on anyone and the threat of his jumper opens up his game to attack for floaters and kick-outs. Stephen Tam shot four of seven from deep to finish with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, and 1 block consistently making smart plays, disrupting DRBL’s offensive rhythm, and knocking down some key buckets in the second half. Hard to judge WCE given the heavy contributions from two guys not even on their roster (though they may be added?), but they are consistently a top A League team and they came out ready for the challenge against DRBL.

DRBL returned with largely the same roster, but new addition Luka Vlajkovic made a big impact in his first game. He finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals, bringing great energy, solid size, and excellent skills. He was crashing offensive boards for easy putbacks one play, and hitting walk-up threes the next time down the court, going three for seven from out there. Definitely an excellent addition to an already talented group. Anthony Colozzo came out firing in this one, running the point effectively to the tune of 22 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals. His chemistry with Vlajkovic and Brodnitzki in the pick and roll is a key part of their offense, but his ability to create threes off the dribble for himself stood out in this one. Will he shoot six of eight every game and add two tough pull-ups in the mid-range? Maybe not, but he’s a big-time shot maker who I expect to be toward the top of the league in assists and threes made, and he’ll be a huge part of their offensive success. Mike Thompson added 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 big block in the loss, shooting only two of eleven from three and three of seven from the free-throw line. Even on the off-shooting night, Thompson is an exciting playmaker who is relentless on the attack and a strong defender. I would love to see his guys set him up for more catch-and-shoot threes, as he’s fully capable of making his tough stepbacks off the dribble, but could benefit from easier looks in rhythm. Jonah St. Clair added 13 points, 9 boards, 1 assist, and 2 steals, finishing well inside and playing excellent on ball defense on Jaworski in iso situations, while Will Brodnitzki added 13 of his own, plus 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, finishing well inside and grabbing 5 offensive rebounds. Salim Belkebir struggled to find the range in this one, but looks to be another shooting threat, adding 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal, and he will be a nice floor space for them this season. Despite the loss, DRBL remains one of my favorites to win it all.

Game 4 | Spida Men: 76 - Not A Dime Back: 82

Not A Dime Back Hold Off Late Spida Men Comeback

Not A Dime Back went into the half down 42-45 against the Spida Men, but quickly pulled away in the second half on a three-point barrage. In the last few minutes, though, the game got away from them and they couldn’t convert their open looks and gave up too many careless turnovers. The Spida Men took full advantage, tying the game at 75, and a missed one-and-one ended regulation with the score tied. Chris Connor hit a massive three in OT, and the game was all but over from there, as NADB won by a final of 82-76.

Chris Connor hit the big shot, but he was big all game, finishing as one of three 30 point scorers on the night, adding 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal in the win. Connor shot five of nine from three while adding a few nice post moves and mid-range buckets, using his height to rise above defenders and pour it on. His 4 assists are a great sign as well, as he will draw doubles down low all season. Jon Luster must have read my preseason write-ups (does anyone read these?), in which I told him to be more selfish. Luster was definitely hunting his shot more, and despite a tough start in the first half, he quickly found the range to finish with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal. His 6 assists was a game-high, and he is the cog that makes this team run so well. Jeff Coulter added 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. Always active on both ends, Coulter is a great finisher off of cuts, and serves as one of their best defenders, who can handle bigs but quickly switch onto guards and wings as well. Chris Cusano added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a week-high 4 blocks. He’s a reliable mid-range shooter, so it was nice to see him look for it a bit more in this one. He’s also gotta be one of the best shot-blocking guards I’ve ever seen, as he frequently denies guards attacking the rim, and he blocked a few jumpers in this one as well. Mike Synott added 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, moving the ball well and looking for his shot a bit more, which will be key to NADB’s offense as Luster and Connor get more attention. NADB is always difficult to gauge because they’re such an excellent team, but their lack of size is always a question. Even without Giese and Kontopidis, it didn’t hurt them in this one, but it could present problems come playoff time. Still, one of the best teams in the division, and I’m excited to see how they rise to the occasion.

The Spida Men were a bit sloppy at times, but I saw a lot of good stuff here. Last session, I don’t think they would have made the late game push that they did, but they locked in defensively and converted some tough buckets late. Billy Battaglia went five for seven from three to finish with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, showing off a versatile offensive skill set, but doing most of his damage, as usual, from beyond the arc. He’s key to balancing out their offensive attack, as they love to dump the ball inside. The main reason is Danny Martin Jr., who finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Love Dan’s game, as he busts his ass on every possession and always plays to win. He also converted seven of his ten free-throws, despite missing a few early on. Tim Gallivan added 11 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block, though he uncharacteristically missed four free-throws. Still, strong defensive game from Gallivan, who should be getting up more than two threes a game, especially since this team needs the spacing. Eric Fleming finished with 10 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists, knocking down middy after middy and generally playing solid all game, while Jamal Brown added 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, knocking down a three as well. Both guys should look for their shots more, especially Jamal, whose strength makes him brutal on the attack. Lucio Dahlstedt-Brown hit a three to finish with 5 points and 1 rebound in his A League debut, while Cedric White added 2 points and 5 boards.

SDL Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 07, 2023

WEEK 1 SDL WRITE-UPS

Stull Here vs NAIR

BY JAMIL

The man, the myth, the legend David Pendergast made his much-anticipated debut and didn’t disappoint. With 29 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal David put the entire league on notice. Admittedly, these stats would be more impressive, if Nair had a single player over 5”9. Nonetheless, I have no doubt David will be in contention for MVP when it’s all said and done. 

David got out to a hot start scoring his team's first 7 points in a variety of ways. Steve Rakusin had an impressive 17 points and 14 rebounds as Team Stull Here dominated the glass and pace of play. However, despite only having 4 players Team Nair was not backing down. Led by Damian Ruff (16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) and DTO
(18 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 steals) neither team was able to pull away in this low-scoring affair. 

Stull Here would enjoy a slight advantage going into halftime leading 28 - 25. Team Nair did their best to keep the game competitive, but once Devin Quinlin got it going in the second half, this game got out of hand very quickly and Stull is here never looked back.

David, Devin, and Steve have the potential to be one of the better trios in this league. This team will be contenders when it’s all said and done, Jack, who?

DANIELS vs Platano Power

By JAMIL

After losing the first game of their opening week double-header, Team Daniels had the opportunity to redeem themselves against an understaffed Platano Power. Admittedly, this game got off to a very ugly start but Cam D’s aggressive kept Team Daniels in the game. 

Cam would finish with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, but more important managed to find his three-point stroke. Jorge (23)  and Tim (22) were fantastic for Platano Power as they did everything within their power to keep this game competitive. 

Platano Power would enjoy a slight advantage going into halftime leading 28 - 27, but when has a one-point lead ever been safe in a CAC League? Exactly never! Playing the second of back-to-backs without Adam Ellabidy I could tell the fatigue was starting to set in for Team Daniels, but Joe Breda (11 Points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists) was still going 100 MPH, as he did his best impression of Russell Westbrook with the one man fast break. 

This game would come down to the final minutes. Tied at 60 with 7 seconds on the clock, Team Daniels got Ghost opened for the screen at the top of the key and Mike nailed the three with seconds left on the clock. 

Neil tried to get a shot off to tie the game as time expired, but Joe Breda called game, stealing the ball from Neil, before he could get the attempt out of hands.

COSTA vs DANIELS

And we are back…

Week 1 is here and not only are there a lot of familiar faces back in the league, but I, Damian Ruff, am back providing some of the league coverage for the first time since 2019.  Will this trend continue, ask my wife.

Coming into this game I expected it to be highly competitive.  Both teams were fully staffed and there was only 1 “true” rookie playing in this game.  A “true” rookie to me is someone who has never played in any CAC leagues.

To my surprise, team Costa completely controlled the half.  They pretty much led throughout.  To end the half, Jamil completely bricked a three point shot off the backboard, followed it up perfectly with an oreb and then was able to lay the ball in right before the buzzer.  Team Costa was up 36-24 at the half.

First half stats:

Team Daniels

Andre Jones 1 stl, 3 drebs, 1 ast

Michael “Ghost” Fraher 10 pts, 2 orebs, 5 drebs, 2 asts 

Andrew Marra  1 dreb, 1 ast

Cameron Daniels 7 pts, 1 stl, 3 drebs, 2 asts

Adam Ellabidy 2 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb, 1 ast

Joseph Breda 5 pts, 1 dreb, 1 ast

Team Costa

Jamil Ball 13 pts, 4 oreb, 2 dreb, 3 ast

Charlie Maneval 9 pts, 1 blk, 7 dreb

Cameron Daniel 3 pts, 1 blk, 1 dreb

Emmanuel Okharedia 4 pts, 4 stls, 1 dreb, 1 ast

Dylan Costa 5 pts, 1 oreb, 7 drebs, 3 asts

Dan Waldman 2 pts

Player of the half:

Jamil Ball

For the second half, I really would love to talk about the competitiveness of the game but I can’t, team Costa dominated winning 69-55.

Player Grades:

Andre Jones A- I think Andre played a great game especially rebounding but I’m giving him the minus grade because he has to attempt some shots and score.
Michael “Ghost” Fraher A- it’s clear that Ghost will most likely be the go-to scorer for this team all season.  While he did have a nice double double, he’ll need to attemp more FGAs for this team to win games.
Andrew Marra C+ really just played his role and took advantage of the opportunities presented to him.
Cameron Daniels C has to be more aggressive and not let the opposing player get him off his game.  Didn’t play awful but expected more.
Adam Ellaby B- was happy to see him start in the second half and as a result really got things going on offense.  Would’ve liked to see him do more on the defensive side of the ball.
Joseph Breda B+ the + is for the fact that he remembered that I threw him out of a game (yes I refereed at CAC too) and he said I was right, imagine that.  Joe did a decent job scoring the ball (fortunately for him I don’t keep track of missed twos).  I think he needs to talk a lot more and give some energy and effort on the defensive end as well.

Jamil Ball A although he didn’t shoot the three ball well he played a really solid overall game.  I especially liked how he rallied the troops during a timeout early in the first half.  This made a huge difference in the game to me and they never looked back.
Charlie Maneval B- didn’t shoot his best but did rebound well on the defensive end in a team win.
Cameron Daniel A played his role perfectly and shot efficiently.
Emmanuel Okharedia A+ I think statistically he can do more but his trash talk was at an elite level today and was entertaining.  My favorite quotes were “I got three shooters” “send the double” “he acts like I won’t lock that up”. When I think of the top 5 trash talkers in this league it’s 1) Emmanuel 2) Emmanuel 3) Emmanuel 4) Emmanuel 5) Emmanuel.  I also feel like he walked away from this game owning real estate in two guys' heads (not gonna name any names but you know who you are).  With all that said, I still can’t wait for my Del Frisco’s 😂
Dylan Costa A+ completely dominated the game and shot the three ball well.
Dan Waldman C did nothing to cost his team the game, I just feel like he’s capable of playing better.

Player of the game:

Dylan Costa had a massive double double and shot the three ball well in the team win.  Great way to start of the season with a win and as a first time captain.

SDL WEEK 1 OVERREACTION POWER RANKINGS

by Jason on May. 07, 2023

Week # 1 Overreaction Power Rankings

By JAMIL BALL

# 1 Costa - Despite poorly handling the coveted # 1 pick, My guy Dylan managed to assemble a very formidable roster. Defensively, led by Dylan Costa, Emmanual Okharedia, and Charlie Maneval we will be a pain in the ass for opponents all season. Can’t wait to see the Awaith Nair vs Dan Waldman matchup. Our 5th round pick definitely has a chip on his shoulder. Last but not least, there’s the original Cameron Daniels whose physical defensive style will make the captain regret not picking him up earlier. Our victory over the “other” Cam Daniels had to be a moral victory for him today, as we impatiently await the results of the Who’s the real Cameron Daniels, please stand up! @dcosta32 @dan_waldman @cameron (edited)

# 2 Stull Here - Admittedly, this they’re victory over Team Nair wasn’t overly impressive, but $20 dollars is $20 dollars. What was impressive was the play of David Pendergast. David was extremely impressive in his league debut, it helped that Team Nair did have a single player over 5”10, but you can tell the talent is there. Last session Most Improve Player (MIP) award winner Steve Rakusin, had a monster game with 17 points and 14 rebounds, which made a huge difference in their matchup today. Can he produce at the level consistently? On this team, absolutely. David is out there dimming dudes! Harry D was an impressive fill-in, despite not trying offensively. 13 rebounds and 2 blocks isn’t too shabby. Last, but far from least is the # 2 pick Devin Quinlin who had an up-and-down game in his debut. Got some points in garbage time to finish with 16 points, but I expect him to get better as the season progresses. @srakusin87 @devinquinlin7 @dp

# 3 Nair - Admittedly, I expected a blowout, but played extremely well despite the absence of Adwaith and Nick Lynch. DTO led all scorers with 18 points and matched his offensive intensity on the defensive end. Damian Ruff continues to regain his form and shot finishing with 16 points and holding his own with 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Patrick Blaikie didn’t shoot as well, but grabbed 7 rebounds and recorded 2 steals. This team was built in the image of their captain. Once Adwaith returns, Patrick is going to absolutely feast. Ben Mithell was solid, steady, and productive! Another guy that’s going to thrive when they have their full roster or at least Nick Lynch. @waith @damruff @pat_blaikie @bmitch

# 4 Daniels - First-time captain, Cam Daniels drafted a fantastic team. Mike Fraher, Adam Ellabidy, Andre Jones, Joe Breda, and Andrew Marra are all very capable and productive players. Joe Breda is my early favorite for ROY. I love the enthusiasm, toughness, and most importantly banter. I think Cam made a fantastic decision trading for him. Mike Fraher and Cam have fantastic chemistry and as the season progress, I have no doubt they’ll be more effective on both ends of the court. I have them at 4 because they didn’t look good today, even in their win. I have no doubt Cam will get the troops in order when the games matter the most. @Mike F. @Cam D @AndreJones24

# 5 Platano Power - I love Jorge Morel, Tim Roberts, and AO, so selfishly I want this team to be good, but they’re not. Offensively, they have no shortage of firepower Tim Roberts is one of the top scorers in the league and that was on display today, as he poured in 23 points. Jorge Morel, consistently one of the best players in the league over the past 2 sessions, finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 steals. When AO returns from drinking wine and getting fat in Italy, he will give them a stabilizing guard which will only help Tim and Jorge. After surviving TAYO ESPN 30 for 30 Neil Aggarwal has a renewed enthusiasm for basketball, hopefully, it has a positive effect on his questionable attendance (lol). Chris Agresti and Rob Lunder were solid but do little to address this team's biggest weakness: size. Jorge drafted 5 guards, which will either be brilliant or have him on the outside looking in for the second consecutive post-season. Regardless of all the nonsense above, this team is going to be fun to watch.

ALAN'S RUN ON SDL DRAFT REACTION

by Jason on May. 05, 2023

BY AO

AO's Draft Reactions that nobody asked for but I'm drinking wine in Italia and love run-on sentences.

ROUND 1

1. Costa - Ball Excellent choice, especially for defensive stud and the SDL ASG MVP! Like this Cabernet sauvignon Ball has aged gracefully into a complete guard. It's only because of his stupid false humility that there was even a chance he would go 2nd, nevermind in the second round. Glad to see him go first after all the work he does for the SDL.
2. DP - Quin Second best pick goes... Second. Easy enough and another good pairing, like this fancy cheese I can't pronounce. Stoked to have DP back; thought he'd never return after getting sucker punched by Mr. 63 in the SDL playoffs. I would never endanger my good looks like that, and he's even more handsome than I.
3. Daniels - Ghost Lol, I forgot Ghost is not his actual Christian name. Old reliable continues the chalk trend, and honestly it should. Ghost is the first 'big' body to complement the first guard captain. Plus they have chemistry from last season.
4. Jorge - AO What a stupid idiot pick. I'm available for trade.
5. Nair - DTO DTO is like the pick above, but better. Cooks me every time we play and smiles while he does. Fits nicely with Nair. More on this in the power rankings, but Nair's big question will revolve around his return and less about the actual draft results.

ROUND 2

1. Nair - DTO - Lynch Interesting. I had Lynch at 3 on my big board. An actual D3 player should always go #1 in this watered down rec league. But questions abound after he got injured. Hopefully he returns to form quickly, as they'll need help immediately.
2. Jorge - AO - Roberts Tim is a walking bucket. He was a big reason his team played in the finals two seasons past. Not sure if the captains remembered him but honestly this was the spot he would have gone regardless. Only issue is this team is tiny.
3. Daniels - Ghost - Ellabidy Adam is good. You put a lefty in a league of chumps and no one knows how to play defense. Which is a problem when we don't want to play defense to begin with. But are you telling me half and Adam is better than a full glass of E, Charles, or rookie X..? Actually ya.
4. DP - Quin - Jack DP continues to take people I don't know so I'm forced to make shit up. Lucky I do that for a living. Jack gives this team more size. If he can walk and chew gum look out. Even if not I really like the idea of 2 wings/guard setup. This should be an athletic team.
5. DC - Ball - E Augh. This was the only place I thought would fit and surprise! There he goes. E brings crazy intense defense and a wilder shot selection. But the man makes winning plays and on team that can hide his offensive warts he should shine. The slide ends here

ROUND 3

1. DC - Ball - E - Charles Sir Charles completes an impressive starting group. He started turning heads halfway through the season as a stretch 4 and never looked back. Ball & I talked him up during the ASG so I'm not shocked they pair up here. With the best player setting these guys up this will be the best defensive unit. No weaknesses. Yet.
2. DP - Quin - Jack - Rak Ahhh... Idk. I thought I knew what DP was cooking. You take a bunch of handsome athletic runners and let loose the hounds of war. Rakusin is like putting a pitbull in the mix. Will the MIP fit in? Will he change his game again?? Will people understand this unbelievably beautiful metaphor??? Only time will tell.
3. Daniels - Ghost - Adam - Pat Cam!!!! Pat was supposed to reunite with his pickup crew. Instead he gets rewarded for another growth season with a starting role. Pat gives this team the spacing on O. I'm curious who he guards on a weekly basis. Less about him then the 5th pick when Adam is out. PS - he should have been MIP again but the committee (JAMIL) outvoted me.
4. Jorge - Alan - Roberts - Lunder Here comes the thunder! I have no freaking clue about this guy but it felt like a good time for a rookie pick. Theoretically a 2/2 wing/guard setup should work this season. God I hope so. Somebody save me.
5. Nair - DTO - Lynch - Ruff What was the name of the QB everyone thought was going to Houston only to sit in the green room all day? Levis?? Ruff did not deserve this fate, and hopefully he remembers I wrote nice things about him before we play. I see many 3s and shoulder shimmies already. We've always been friends. Honestly though, Nair lucked out with a guy that can captain a team while he recovers. Get well soon bud.

ROUND 4

I'm running out of steam, sobriety and wine.

Nair - DTO - Lynch - Ruff - Breda "Talks a lot" small guard. Yikes. Who wants another AO? I take back the nice things I said. Unless this is a sand bag? Feels like a sand bag.

Jorge - AO - Roberts - Lunder - Agresti Sweet pick. Someone to do all the dirty things so I can relax on the sidelines and play 2mins a quarter. Chris will be sneaky good in a small watered down league. And he screens better than my captain. PS - our team name is Under Agresti.

Daniels - Ghost - Adam - Pat - Dre You forgot about Dre. He only made it to the chip. Another awesome role player. Let him guard the best player on the other team. That's what I did.

DP - Quin - Jack - Rak - Slick There are 3 timelines here: 1) Slick is inebriated and doesn't know he got picked 2) Slick is big mad he got picked this late and will actually do the drills I sent him 3) Slick is too preoccupied with the NYK to care Fwiw I love this pick. Shooting and gives a shit attitude from your 5th man is a luxury. Made real strides last season, got some reps in the CAC CUP finals.

DC - Ball - E - Charles - Cam The other Cam Daniel. Honestly thought he would go higher this round. Tougher than he looks. Works for everything. And doesn't let you take a play off on defense with his cutting. I regret we didn't take him because now I have to guard him. Damn it.

ROUND 5

DC - Ball - E - Charles - Cam - Waldman Forget what I said about the last round. I'm wine happy and the captains are idiots. Should have taken a swing on the not short rookie a round ago. DC completes his team with no weaknesses. The only way he loses is if I steal his gun before every game.

DP - Quin - Jack - Rak - Slick - Stull Stull nailed SEVEN 3s one time last season. Against my team of course. Many on me. And then he immediately turned back into a pumpkin. I don't think any other last round picks have that upside.

Daniels - Ghost - Adam - Pat - Dre - Marra Ehh, maybe Marra could hit 7 treys. But he won't take that many shots bc he's a good team player. Makes me sick. Be selfish !

Jorge - AO - Roberts - Lunder - Agresti - Neil I don't know anyone braver than Neil. He survived a season with the Tayos and CAME BACK. Makes him either a sadist or braver than the troops. Who can tell?

Nair - DTO - Lynch - Ruff - Breda - Ben Mr. Irrelevant! Welcome back!! Come hoop with me at Powder House again.

That's it for the draft and my liver boys. Hope you enjoyed it because I don't get paid for this analysis.

Good luck tomorrow, unless we play, in which case get bent.

Franchise Draft League Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 05, 2023

BY KAPVP & CHAS BELLS

Game 1: Super VS STAT

BY CHAS BELLS

There was some real excitement and curiosity what D.Quin would bring to this game, and he got cooking right away with a flash like drive to the cup 2-0. Kap coming out swinging as well as he $ floater 2-2. Kap followed that up with a 3, and D.Quin responded with and up n under 5-4. Eric get an easy 2 of cut, then Kap another 3 Kap was gassed “ I need a sub!!” 10-4 16 min mark. D.Quiin was the teams only offense as he drove in for the hoop, and then did it again 10-8. Rosi calmed things with a trey ball, Mulville copied that with a 3 of his own 16-8. King would get on the stat sheet as he got a 3 to go, and then $ another 3 on the next possession 16-14. This was Kpas half though as he had the long range working , hitting another 3, but Civale snipers a 3 19-17. Rosi hesi gets to the rim, then connects on middy, Oulley 3 ball, Rosi 3 ball A’O……Frongi drive it was 31-20.King trying to keep them in it with strong take, but Oully breaking there heart with a 4pt play 35-24 2min in the half. Jakobson middy, but King heating up gets another drive 40-28. Jakonson runner. Than Rosi hits long buzzer beating 3, everything going Supers way 45-26. 

D.Quin pull up 3 to start half, but Mulville gets easy 2 off p n roll, D. Quin get a drive, but this game just got worse, and worse, and WORSE the score would ballon all the way to 40………..40………….. Rosi hitting 3’s dishing dimes, Oulley nailing 3’s, Frongi bi 2nd half and this one was over and ugly 98-52. 

Super Hoopers

Rosi-A- Lead all scoreres, never took his foot off the gas. 

Oulley-A- Reunited with his squad, and it must feel so fucking good. Looking like the assasin we all know. 

Kap-B+- Slowed down the scoring in the 2nd hlaf, but 8 dimes , 8 rebounds doing all the solid kap stuff out there. 

Frongi-A-) Erupted in the 2nd half, as he smelled blood, and started running the floor getting easy hoops. 

Mulv-A-Scoring was good, but his defense was even better 3 blocks, showing that he will be the paint presence that this team needs

Jakobson-B- Rock solid, hustle was awesome to watch, along with that pretty mid range. 

Team STAT 

Stat-D-) Almost an F but his 5 dimes save his night slightly. He just looked out of it tonight, made no adjustments, it was rough. 

D.Quin-B-) Scored the rock well in the 1st half, but with Super pouring it on the game got away from him a little bit. This team needs the bal in his hands every possession. 

Civale-C-) Where are my rebounds???/Struggled to get back on D. 3 looked good though. 

Robel-D- Rough night, thought he settled way wayyyyyyyyy to much for deep 3’s. Struggled to get back on D. 

Gus-C- Showed some flashes, thought he shot too many 3’s. Like to see him drive and create a bit more for his teammates. 

Bonvie-B- Thought he as a bright spot. Passed/rebounded well, even added a block. They will need more 3’s from him. Got to create and find him open because he will drain that shit. 

Game 2: Mulholland Drive vs. All Length, No Girth

ReKAP:

Game 2 featured Chas versus Joel and this game lost a lot of its luster with no Lucio in the building. All Length, No Girth (ALNG) ran with four for the evening as they were without Hayden as well. Mulholland Drive (MD) on the other hand was fully staffed, but boy did they look AWFUL out of the gates. JDM looked rusty, coming off injury, as he struggled all night to find the range. The rough start allowed ALNG to get off to a nice 8-2 start, behind a Joel three (his only make of the game) and some terrific facilitating by rookie John Reilly. The real story in the early going though was the activity of Djordje. He really abused JMul in this one, collecting 8 offensive rebounds which directly resulted in JMul only collecting 3 for the game (how is that possible?!). Djordje was a beast in the first half, grabbing EVERY rebound on both ends and making several tough finishes around the basket, which we all know he usually misses. Chas would call a timeout though and rally the troops. MD started to get the shots to fall and close the gap. LeBlanc would knock down a 3 to stop the hemorrhaging and JDM would get a couple to go down. What was once an 18-8 lead for ALNG eventually turned into just a 1-point lead at half for ALNG.

The second half opened with a beautiful and smooth move for a layup by another rookie, Demetri Bakolas. More on him later. After that though, MD really flipped the switch. Craig started to get going (never thought I’d say that), banking a 3 and making a tough layup inside. Houston, we did not have a problem, inexplicably called his own number converting a wild three. Just like that MD had a 6-point lead and it just felt like ALNG was running out of steam. The Jerk Store connection of JMul and LeBlanc would lead to a 3 for each of them, kapping off a 13-2 MD run. They would never look back. The offense went cold for ALNG and despite a very valiant effort without their prized rookie, ALNG would come up short in what was really an ugly ass game by both teams. MD wins 54-46.

Grades:

JDM (C) – Cutting him a little slack coming off injury here, but he did not play well. Did a nice job on the glass and on defense but we can put this one in the rearview for JDM.
LeBlanc (B-): Not a great game for LeBlanc, but he made some clutch plays when it mattered most. Surprisingly poor shooting, but it’s week 1 so everyone gets a little reprieve from me, even LeScrub.
JMul (C-): The blocks were nice, but this was not a good JMul game. Yes, he hit a clutch 3, but he allowed Djordje to go bonkers on the glass. Three rebounds?! Bruh.
Houston (B-): I think this guy has potential to be a nice piece for MD, but his decision making is poor. Tunnel vision city. He ended up with a nice line but this grade could have been way wore if some of those tough shots didn’t fall. That said, buckets are buckets!
Craig (A-): See Houston. Decision making was poor but it worked out. Overall I would say this was a very good Craig game. His team needed all 12 of his points. If Craig is going 2/4 from deep you are taking that every single time.
Chas (D): Bad game from Chas. No need to dissect this one, just chalk it up as the week 1 blues.

Joel (B): Shot was off, but I thought this was an overall solid game for Joel. He got his rookies involved, rebounded well, and had 3 swats. He will see better days offensively.
Demetri (B+): I liked what I saw from this kid. He has a smoothness to his game. He made some moves the basket that really impressed me, which is tough to do. I would like to see him contribute in other ways but it’s just one game so we will see.
Reilly (B+): Another rookie who impressed. This guy won’t get you a lot of points, but he’s a terrific passer and very active defender. He should be a solid piece for this team.
Djordje (A): This would have been an A+ if we saw less long two-point attempts. Wow, what a game from Djordje. I felt like he got every single rebound no matter where the ball was ending up. This guy covered so much ground it’s crazy. What a game, too bad it came in a loss.

Game 3: Poor House vs. The Corporation

ReKAP

Game 3 was expected to be a laugher, and the situation got worse when we found out Ini was not going to play. As a result, we had a fully staffed defending champ Corp versus a seriously undermanned Keith team. No Super Bowl hangover for the Corp here. They went bananas right from the tip, jumping out to an 18-4 lead. I think this game started 13-0 Corp? It was ugly. Mazz hit his first 3, Cawley with a middy, Syd and Lou manning the paint…everything was working for Corp. Timeout Poor House (PH). PH played hard, but the first half was tough sledding for them. Masone and Johnson could not find the range from deep (combined 5/23 in the game) going 0fer from deep in the first half. Keith provided a mixed bag, doing a nice job on the glass and in the hustle department, but his outside shot was just completely lost. Offense was very tough to come by for PH which resulted in a 40-20 deficit. The second half really seemed like a formality for the Corp, but not for PH. They played HARD. Johnson finally found the stroke, hitting back-to-back bombs to make this thing respectable. With 13 minutes left the lead for Corp was only 12. It was clear that the Corp took their foot off the gas, which is to be expected in a game like this, but they were able to maintain a decent lead by making enough plays. Big Lou in particular, who apparently does not take compliments well, did a nice job owning the paint and collecting a number of tough rebounds. Walker as well deserves a shout out for making a number of tough buckets off of Mazz missed threes. It was an off-shooting night for Mazz, but he did have 2 blocks which was a rare sight.

The Corp would build the lead back to 18 with 6 mins to go, but amazingly PH did not go away. Things got EXTREMELY sloppy with Mazz and Cawley turning the ball over at a impressive rate. The TOs allowed PH to chip away and actually make this thing kind of interesting. The chaos really favored them. Keith was a menace down the stretch, completely stuffing the stat sheet, but the deficit was too much. The Corp would survive winning by 3 after a wild ending.

Grades:

Masone (C+): Very mixed bag here. Three ball was way off, no assists, but had 5 steals and had to cover Mazz all game. He did have some impressive steals off Mazz but his team really needed his long ball in this one.
Keith (A-): Such a tough grade here because there was a ton of good and bad. Ultimately, given the circumstances, I will give Keith the benefit of the doubt. A triple double is a triple double, but he has to clean up the TOs and the jump shot.
Ghost (B): Ghost didn’t make the reKap above, but he had a solid game. Made a bunch of jump shots and was admirable on the glass when Keith wasn’t grabbing the rebound. Ghost should be a solid piece for this team especially when Ini returns.
Johnson (B-): The tale of two halves. Couldn’t hit the ocean in the first, but in the second he almost sparked the comeback of the century. Johnson also moved the ball well and stuffed the stat sheet nicely.
Stull (C-): Tough game for Stull. I thought he forced some ill-advised deep threes but other than that he was fine. Stull will need to make some key shots this season for PH to be successful.

Mazz (C): Expectations are high for Mazz on any given night so you could argue this C is generous. I think this was a poor Mazz game. Not great from 3 and too many TOs. The steals and blocks were there though which was a nice touch.
Cawley (C+): Not a great game for Cawley. An absolutely putrid assist-turnover ratio but made up for it with 18 points and steals and blocks. Also didn’t get to the line which was surprising.
Syd (B): Syd’s grade goes way up because he actually behaved really well in terms of not getting ejected haha. As for his on the court play, nothing special. Missed all his threes, but did a nice job on the glass. One game in the books and no techs…win!
Walker (A-): Perfect Walker game for this team. He fit in really nicely and did his thing. Grabbed a bunch of ORebs and made some putbacks. He is going to be a critical piece for the Corp this season.
Big Lou (A): Very strong game for Lou. I don’t care that you only scored 9 points big fella! There is more to the game than points and you proved that. 16 rebounds, 4 dimes, 0 TOs. Well done.
EJ (A): EJ joins Djordje in the prestigious “A” club. Excellent all-around game for EJ off the bench. He was 3/5 from deep and played his role perfectly out there. If EJ is going 3/5 from deep the Corp is winning that game.

Game 4: Kawhi Me A River vs. FTR

ReKAP:

The late game had the looks of a really good one…until we found out no Harding. Kawhi Me A River (KMAR) took on FTR and without Harding I knew this would be a tough one for FTR to win. KMAR was fully staffed, so let’s get right to it.

Offenses were cooking in the first half for both teams, but it was KMAR who really impressed me. I have a feeling my preseason assessment was a little off with this team. The Ben-Ben combo looked really good and old man Tommy looked like young buck. Shocking I know. Tommy opened the show right away with an early three and he looked ready to cook. Koller and Ben Mac came out cooking as well. I think Koller missed one single shot in the first half, absolutely roasting Harry to the fine tune of 18 points. The other Ben, Ben Mac, was also playing lights out, running point extremely well and converting several tough finishes at the rim.

FTR played horrid defense, but their offense sort of kept the in the game. DP looked really solid in his return, knocking down an early 3 and going to work around the rim. Kid looked SPRY tonight. Liam and Vladi also were hot from deep, but they still trailed by 10 at the break. FTR surrendered 48 first half points. 48! C’mon.

KMAR maintained their lead for pretty much the entire second half. Koller would really slow down the scoring, only tallying 4 second half points, but his friends were there to pick up the slack. KMAR’s bench really came to play in the second half. LaPorte and JJ were awesome. Their activity and decision making in this game was impressive to be honest. These two had a combined stat line of 21 points, 13 rebounds (6 offensive) and 5 dimes. That’s a damn good showing from your bench guys.

Credit to Vladi and company for hanging around for most of the game without any subs. Vladi made some really tough threes in the second half but FTR ran out of steam. KMAR would end up pulling away and wining this one easily, 86-68.

Grades:

KMAR

Koller (A) – Kinda disappeared in the second half, but the entire body of work speaks for itself. Huge game from the MVP candidate. 22 points and 18 rebounds? Not bad. Also 2/3 from deep. Love that.

Ben Mac (A) – Excellent game for Ben Mac. Ran the show beautifully and made a ton of winning plays. Missed all of his threes, but he was good everywhere I am not docking his grade. MVP cancdidtae? Fuck no.

Cavano (C+) – Awful night from 3 for Cavano, but he saved his grade by doing other stuff. Did his typical thing on the glass and payed solid D. Should have better days offensively.

Tommy (B+) – He’s back! And he looked good. Tommy’s shot was falling and despite a horrible assist-turnover ratio this was an excellent debut from the veteran.

LaPorte (A) – Really can’t ask for much more from your bench guys. 9 points on 2/3 from deep with other stats. LaPorte looked very comfortable in his role on this team and should be a legit asset for them all season.

JJ (A) – See LaPorte. Same shit, different bench guy! Really nice game for JJ. Played his role perfectly and did all the little things.

FTR

Vladi (A) – Very good game from Vladi. Made 7/15 threes on his way to a game high 27 points. His defense was kinda sus but he still balled out despite being an overall scrub in life.

Liam (A-) – Solid game for Liam. Shot well from deep (3/7) and contributed 4 dimes. Would have loved to have seen those threes in the playoffs last season!

DP (A) – Nice return to action for DP. 26 points and 13 rebounds. Knocked down a couple treys and should have had a third. Defense may have been bad, I forget…but as I am writing this and giving everyone on this team an “A” despite giving up 86 points I am thinking something ain’t right.

Harry (C) – Pretty much a typical Harry game. A couple buckets, some rebounds, getting cooked by Koller…you know, the usual. Figure out the defense buddy!

CORPORATE 5v5 WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS

by Jason on May. 05, 2023

BY WADA KING

Game 1:  Fast pp(45) vs Big Ballers(48)

Well this was a great way to start the spring corporate league of 2023, an good game that came down to the wire. Fast pp started off on a hot start in the first half, playing good defense and being aggressive on the offensive end of the ball to help them have 33-22 point lead in the first half. On the other hand Big Baller had pat who was a big reason why they are only down by 11 points in the first half. He led both teams in points with 14 points in the first half. In the second half the game got a little more competetive, Big ballers got more contribution from guys like Mertcon and Gio. The game came down to the wire and they Gio, after stepping up big in the second half, hit one of the craziest game winning threes to give them a 48-45 win over Fast pp.

Game 2: Saus(83) vs The Jack Daniels Martins(49)

As the score shows this game was not close at all, Saus was just the better team this night. The game was a team effort on both sides of the ball and most of the players contributed to the game in different ways. In the first half they were already up by 21 points with a 43-22 led. By the end of the game 5 of their guys had double digit points showing how balanced their scoring was. A standout player was Toth, who not only tied for the game high in points with 17 points but he also had 6 steals and 7 assist. Overall the team played very well in this dominant win, shooting 50% from the three and distributing the ball very well. Giving them a 34 point victory.

Game 3: The market Baskets(47) vs We Know dis(37)

The third game of the night and it was a good game, it was not a one sided onslaught like the game before this one. It was a tough shooting night for both teams, especially at the three point line. But both teams was playing good defense, almost everybody that stepped on the court had a steal. But the market Baskets started doing a little more on the defensive and offensive end to pull away with the 10 point lead.

Game 4: Hakream OLajuwan(59) Vs Vericel(46)

Pretty competitive game in the first half, both teams have good chemistry offensively and defensively. Not a great shooting night from either team from the three point with Hakream shooting 38% and Vericel shooting 28%. The biggest difference was Hakream played good defense to slow down Vericel.  Leading the charge for them was Talcott who had 9 steals and a block leading to many of their fast breaks. Another big contributor for their victory was Devin who led the team in points and was a good play maker with 4 assist. Helping get a 59-46 victory.

Spring 2023 A 5v5 THU Preseason Preview

by Jason on May. 04, 2023

By Devin Quinlin

SPRING 2023 A 5v5 THU Preseason Preview

West Coast Elite:

West Coast Elite returns after a dominant regular season and disappointing first round exit last session. I fully expect these guys to make a deep playoff run, as they will be back with a vengeance. The shooting tandem of Eric D’Aguanno and Derek Retos combined for 11.6 threes per game last season, with D’Aguanno shooting 45.8% on twelve attempts per game and Retos shooting 48.4% on twelve and a half attempts. With their offense tailored around the shooting prowess of these two, WCE is insanely annoying to defend. Jack Fay adds his own shooting threat while being one of the top passers in the A League, while Tom Palleschi has shown some impressive touch while picking defenses apart from the low and high post, which only makes their shooters more dangerous. Collin Sawyer is their primary attacking wing, who can light it up from deep while slashing through the lane for tough finishes in transition and in half court sets, while Sam Dowden acts as a versatile stretch big who can do it all. Devin Jensen is arguably the best player in any CAC division, and if he shows up consistently these guys will be among the favorites once again.

We The Ones:

Keith has once again returned with a mishmash of players who have never met each other, so I am expecting 0 organization from this group initially. That said, Keith himself is a solid stretch big/wing who can consistently hit shots and defend, and Garrett Stanowicz returns as a 20ppg scorer with a high motor on both ends who can finish as well as anyone in the league. His brother Aidan returns after a season off, adding some interior presence on defense and a capable mid-range shooter and passer, and Jordan Carter is back in the guard spot as a knockdown shooter. The addition of brothers Karim and Marat Belhouchet add some much needed guard depth, but their skillset is unknown as of now, though Keith says good things. Sayvonn Houston is a huge addition to this team, as just a few sessions ago he had a monster season for Mambas, and he will look to plant himself firmly among the league’s top bigs by the end of the season. A lot of unknowns here, but past records make me hesitant to rank these guys too highly.

The Spida Men:

The Spida Men are coming off a lackluster season after winning the A League the session prior. The talent and chemistry are always there, but attendance has been an issue and guys will need to be more consistent going forward. Jamal Brown leads the offense at the point, using his strength to make himself a constant triple-double threat and a perennial MVP candidate. He will need to bounce back after last session if these guys want to get back to the top. Danny Martin Jr. brings his signature hook shot and insane motor to the front court, providing a double double average and a go-to scorer outside of Jamal. Tim Gallivan brings his interior size as well, holding down the paint defensively while adding a lethal three-point threat as well. He’s never taken a layup on the left side, but still finishes well anyway. Billy Battaglia has one of the prettiest jumpers I’ve ever seen, adding a facilitating threat from the guard spot as well. He will need to find his shot more consistently to balance the inside-outside attack on this team, but he’s been a steadying backcourt presence for these guys the last two sessions. Hallvard Lundevall has been a versatile threat as well, bringing his athleticism, defensive prowess, and pure shooting stroke to the backcourt. Cedric White brings his signature lefty hook and mid-range bank shot back to the table, with new addition Lucio Dahlstedt-Brown making his A League debut from the guard/wing spot.

Suffolk:

This Suffolk squad has some familiar faces, though they seem to have split from Cobras. Captain George Grillakis returns from injury looking to only drive to his right, though I don’t know if anyone can stop him from doing that. He might not be the tallest, but he’s definitely one of the strongest, putting tons of pressure on defenses in transition and on any kind of perimeter attack. Sam Holtze has moved his BC squad over to Monday A League, but will be a welcome backcourt addition to this team. He will be vying for defensive player of the year again, and I’m curious to see how aggressive he is offensively. He’s shown that he can lead a team deep into the playoffs as the #1 option, but with other players of his caliber on the team, we’ll have to see how that dynamic plays out. Logan O’Donnell, Kerry Weldon, and Mike McEneney all played D3 ball and should be good additions to this roster, especially with O’Donnell and McEneney both standing at 6’10”. Bret Edwards will be interesting, as he had a strong football career at UNH, but can he hoop? Or is he going to embody this video? Only time will tell. One thing I do know is that Bolden Brace rounds out this lineup, and he would be my preseason pick for MVP. A high level player who can score at all three levels and defend well, I’m curious to see how other teams match up with him while Grillakis and Holtze attack the rim and other guys provide serious size down low. Definitely some unknowns here, but Suffolk looks to have a strong roster.

Not A Dime Back:
The WPI squad return with the exact same roster that found them some good success last session in their first run in the A League. Jon Luster leads the way at the point, where he’s as good as anyone in this league. Luster always plays the right way, as he’s unselfish and intelligent, but for NADB to take the next step, he will need to be more selfish, either looking for his shot or attacking lanes more often. He’s just too good not to. Chris Connor returns after a stellar season beyond the arc, shooting 45.7% on over eight attempts per game as a capable stretch-4. He also showed off some good court vision in the high post, making him a key in their offensive attack. Jeff Coulter is another guy coming off of a strong season, where he established himself as one of the league’s best defenders and continued his strong finishing inside off of backdoor cuts. He also showed off some range, shooting the three ball well on low attempts. Marcus Giese slots in at center, patrolling the paint defensively and causing tons of turnovers through his blocks, steals, and deflections. He’s also an excellent mid-range shooter and a reliable finisher inside. Chris Connor and Mike Synott add shooting from the guard spot, plus some very solid defense and ball movement to fit nicely with the others. Dre Kontopidis will be the x-factor for this group, as his size and skill make him a devastating offensive threat when he’s in rhythm, but his three-ball is inconsistent. Regardless, I expect these guys to be competitive in every single game.

DRBL:

DRBL returns with a very similar roster to two sessions ago when they finished the regular season with only 1 loss and made it all the way to the championship before falling to the Spida Men. Mike Thompson has that superstar flair, as he’ll pull from halfcourt, explode through the lane for a crazy finish, and throw a pinpoint behind the back pass in three consecutive possessions. When he’s hot, he’s a top player in this league, but some ill advised shots may cost his team some possessions. Avery Davis won DPOY a few sessions ago, as a fearsome perimeter defender who can also get inside at will on offense for floaters or quick shovel passes for easy finishes. He’s an excellent decision maker, and the more he’s involved on offense, the better this team plays. Lasse Gummerus and Will Brodnitzki add some size down low, with Gummerus finishing well inside off of dishes, but mostly being a three-point sniper with his high release point. Brodnitzki is an early candidate for strongest player in the league, who has provided some clutch performances for this team in key games while battling anyone and everyone inside on both ends. Anthony Colozzo adds a serious deep threat with his lefty long ball, plus some strong facilitating skills and shit talk to match, while Jonah St. Clair and his strange three-point form bring one of the most well rounded skillsets in the league to the table. Think Shawn Marion, he can make shots but his defensive presence, rebounding, and passing make for an great all-around player. Unfortunately, DRBL has parted ways with my guy Hassan Paige and have replaced him with Luka Vlajkovic and Salim Belkebir. Don’t know these guys, but I’ll give them and their team the benefit of the doubt. I think DRBL will be among the favorites to win it all once again.

Cobras:

The Cobras return after a lackluster regular season, followed by an impressive playoff run last session. Warfa Abdillahi will be getting his shots up from the point guard spot, and much of their team success is predicated on his shooting splits. He’s more than capable, and I’ll be curious to see if he can facilitate more consistently. He had a few games last session with 5+ assists and he makes good reads out of the P&R, but a few games where he didn’t get much ball movement going. Jamal Fiin had a stellar performance last session, averaging nearly 15ppg on 42% from three, plus his steady defensive presence and tough rebounding. He showed a lot of progress as a slasher last session, and I’m hoping to see him in attack mode putting pressure on defenses once again. Carter Burruss also returns with his crazy bounce, and I would definitely like to see him get more aggressive on offense. He’s a decent shooter, but is at his best attacking the rim, he just needs to get more looks and get aggressive. Yusuf Liban is a sniper, so he’s either going six for eleven or one for eight from deep, but has shown off some strong passing skills as well. Curls will need to find his rhythm early, and he’ll be a fantastic bench guy for them, as will Kevin Querusio, who has shown he can battle with bigs down low and stretch the floor on offense. Will Rowe will be the key for these guys, as he’s a super skilled big man who has excellent footwork and touch, but can also extend the defense with a respectable three-ball. His defensive presence is key, and with his Suffolk season over, I expect him to be in attendance for most of the games. Cobras did lose Mike Gillespie and Chris Cardoso, who were perhaps their two most talented players last session, but they added DeAngelo Alston who had a solid run at ENC, and Rayshawn Miller, who played the 1 at UMass Amherst. Two good players on paper, but we’ll see what they bring to the table.

Bing Bong:

I don’t know a single one of these guys, and I like that. Instead of doing research, I’m just going to let them play and make my judgments from there. I also forgot to do this and am now rushing to finish. Regardless, this is a young team, with no one over the age of 27, and making the jump right to CAC’s top league tells me that these guys are confident and ready to compete. They’ll have a good test against Cobras in our first game of the entire session.

Pre-Season Power Rankings:

N/A: Bing Bong → don’t know these guys, let’s see what they got.

Middle Tier:

7.) We Them Ones!! → Keith! I’m sorry my guy but have no choice other than to put you here after the last two sessions. Also tough as this is the team I play on when healthy, but they need to secure some wins before they move up.

6.) Cobras → Curious to see what Alston and Miller bring to the table, and I’m confident that this team will remain competitive in most, if not all games. Just need to see that consistency on both sides first, as they’ve shown some serious disinterest on the defensive end the last few sessions.

5.) The Spida Men → these guys won it two sessions ago and could easily be higher, but they looked a bit too sloppy last session. I expect them to rise as the season goes along, but can’t give them the benefit of the doubt after their first round exit last session.

4.) Not A Dime Back → These guys are as solid as they come, playing smart, skilled hoops at all times, plus their chemistry is unreal. I put them at #4 as I question their size against some of these other teams, but if anyone can overcome that, it’s probably a team with their shooting and chemistry.

Top Tier:

3.) West Coast Elite → No shortage of talent as always, but need the defensive effort to turn up and want to see guys showing up consistently. Still one of the favorites in my opinion.

2.) Suffolk → A LOT of unknowns here, but the combo of Brace and Holtze is a scary one for opponents. Throw in Grillakis on the relentless attack, plus some of their interior size, and these guys could be pretty damn good.

1.) DRBL → I feel like there are probably better teams on paper, but one thing I learned with DRBL is that they will find ways to win games. They always bring the energy, they go hard on defense, everyone knows their role, and everyone is confident in their role. I expect these guys to come out firing and have no doubt they can get back to the championship.

B1 5v5 TUE Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 04, 2023

BY LAMARR BENNETT

Game 1: Terminator 2 (78) - Mens League (38)

Welcome back team! This year's B1 5x5 league looks to be a good one. We started off week 1 off with Terminator 2 absolutely destroying there opponents, The Men's League. Terminator 2 got off to a very fast start, starting the game on a 14 - 2 run, led by leading scorer (21 pts) Julian Manyika. Granted, Men's League started off the game with only 4 players, but that didn't stop T2 from keeping there foot on the gas. The first half was a transition game for T2, as soon as the team got the rebound they were off and running. Guards Thomas Bissell and Samuel Jenson were the engine for T2. Both men were pushing the pace and finding open teammates at ease. By the 12:00 minute mark the score was 7-19 T2 up. Another 11-2 run by T2 put them up 9 - 31 with just under 7 minutes left in the half. But Will Childs-Klein was doing everything in his power to keep the Men's League in striking distance. Childs-Klein had 7 of his team's first 9 points, along with the majority of the rebounds. But that was about it for the Men's League in the first half. Missing all 9 of the 3 pointers the team took in the first half. On the other hand T2 knocked down 7 first half threes, led by Manyika. Now it was Brendt Stephens time to get into the action. After the 7:00 minute mark in the first half, Stephens went off for 7 straight points for T2, grabbing rebounds and playing really solid defense during the stretch. With such a great team effort T2 went into halftime with a nice 38-21 lead. The men's league was outscored from the 3 pointers 7 to 0 which was a big indication of how the game was going. 

 Second half started off the same as the first half basically. T2 continued pushing the pace, crashing the boards and firing away from the 3 point line. Mens League did start the half better, with Tom Smith getting it going down in the paint and making his presence felt. He made a nice pull up jumper and a few quick lay ups to start the half, giving Mens league some hope. But Manyika and T2 had to shut that down quickly. Another three by Manyika and a couple quick hustle points by Carl Bunge brought the score to 54 - 32 T2 up with 13:00 to go in the half. From that point on, Mens League could only muster up 6 total points for the remainder of the game, which says a lot about the defense T2 was playing. T2 outscored Mens league 40 to 18 in the second half, led by great scoring from Manyika and a great team effort by the rest of the team. T2 outscored mens league from the 3-point line 16 to 1.

Player of the game: Julian Manyika (21 pts, 5 rbs, 3 ast)

 

GAME 2: Treys 4 Days (62) vs Mid Range Magic (52)

Ok time for the game of the night! Trey 4 days and Mid Range Magic battled it out in a great game where T4Ds ended up getting the win 62 to 52. MRM got off to a hot start with 2 3s to start the game from guard James Smith. A quick 7-0 start was quickly erased by T4D, big man Kevin “Larry” Lefrancis made sure his presence was felt early in the game. Coring 4 quick paint points and grabbing 3 straight offensive rebounds. At that point I think MRM knew they might have their hands full in the paint. But they definitely were not intimidated. Big men Clifford Bouchereau E. Maynard started to really protect the paint and not give up anything easy. A quick transition 3  Dana flood brought the lead to 17 - 14 for T4D with 15:00 to go in the half. This is where T4D made there first little run of the game. Big man Lafrancis continued to dominate the paint and the glass, but got some nice help from fellow big man Wes Schroll who was huge on the glass. The two combined for 16 first half rebounds. As it looked like T4D was about to take control of the game, the Zahner brothers finally got going. Zack, who is more of a point guard of the two, found his Cam brother twice. Once for an open three and the other a nice mid range pull up. This seems to get Cam going as he knocked down another 3 pointer from the wing which brought the game to 30-32. Layups from Lafrancis and forward Luke Davidosn gave T4D a 8 point lead, but a 3 from Zack Zahner cut the lead to 5 and the score was 38 - 33 halftime with T4D up. Lafrancis had 11 rebounds in the first half alone. James Smith led mid range magic with ten first half points.

Second half continued on the same as the first half with both teams trading baskets, going back and forth with nobody taking a sizable lead. Mid range really started to make things difficult in the paint with Bouchereau taking on the challenge of big man Lafrancis. He really held his own on both ends, forcing tough shots and making some key baskets. But thats when an unexpected player started to take over the game and that was S. Issenberg. This man was an absolute beast on the offensive boards and in the paint in the second half. Yes he did miss a lot of free throws, but racking up fouls left and right, taking rebounds against all the big. His energy was infectious for his team. Davidson and Flood were also all over the place, deflecting pases left and right, rebounding and just  making the smart winning plays. With 15:00 minutes to go T4D was leading 49 - 42 but knew the game wasn't close to being over. MRM just kept at it slowly but surely keeping the game close with timely 3s and great ball movement led by Zahner (game high 5 assist). Forward Cam Kelly was also huge during the stretch hitting two nice layups and an impressive and-one.  A 3 pointer by James Smith cut the lead to 2 with 5:00 to go causing a time out from T4D. With the score close with T4D leading 52-54, guard Devin Santilli might have made the play of the game, coming up with a huge steal and knocking down a big 3 to give T4D a 5 point lead with 1:30 seconds to go. Then comes up with another steal on the next possession that really helped seal the game. Lafrancis finished off the game with two more layups and T4D ended up winning by ten with a score of 62-52 but the game was probably a lot closer than the score shows.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kevin “Larry” LeFrancis (15 pts, 17 rbs, 4 ast)

Game 3: FCHWPO (75) vs BIg Phil from the hill and team (50)

THe final game of the evening didn't turn out to be the most competitive game with FCHWPO coming out with a very dominant and impressive win Over Big Phil and the squad. FCHW got out to a blazing start, hitting 3 threes and 3 quick lay ups to start the game on a 15 - 2 run. Big man brothers Eric and Chris Sellew were dominant from the jump. Eric, the younger of the two, used his quick speed to get to the rim at ease and Chris with his smooth jumpshot couldn't seem to miss. A quick time out for the Big Phils squad was exactly what they needed to try to get going. Peter Noland and Henry Louis started to get going after the timeout going on a mini 7-0 run, but that didn't last too long because this is when the Man himself began one of the greatest shooting clinics ive ever seen in person. It all started with a smooth jab step three from the corner, which brought the lead to 26-11 FCHWPO. Two more threes from 3s from McCarthy and C. Sellew and we thought the game was over. Not if Big Phils squad had anything to do with it. C. Sellew at one point was outsourcing the other team 13-12 by himself. Quick 3s from Noland and Jonathan Fruend helped cut the lead down some. This is when big man Eric Sellew popped his shoulder out of pocket. Horrible news from a player who was having a great game. After taking a couple minutes the action started back up. The end of the half was a little off because of the injury, as both teams traded baskets until the half. Score of 25 - 42 with FCHWPO up. Eric did not end up continuing to play but the good news is his shoulder seems to be fine ( with the help of his opponent Henry Louis).

Second half continued as both teams decided to continue the game 4 on 4, great sportsmanship from Big Phils Squad who agreed but could have continued the game with 5. Second half was all about John McCarthy. Hitting three 3s in the first half, his man hit SEVEN more in the second half alone. He was absolutely unconscious, hitting step back threes, side steps, 5 feet behind the lie. He was having target practice out there. Even his own teammates seemed to be shocked at the performance. It was definitely something to remember. But Big Phil, led by guard Henry Louis definitely had a better second half than first. Getting to the basket and finding open teammates at ease. He had himself a great second half. Sean Conannon and Hernan Perdomo were also better in the second half  making this difficult on the defensive end. It was just a little too late because of the deficit in the first half and McCarthy watching basket for basket with the other team. The threes did start falling for big phil and hopefully it carries to next week because i think this team can do some real damage when the shots are falling. They shot 4 for 17 from three for the game and that's not gonna get the job done. The score ended up 75 - 50 with FCHWPO getting the big win. But let's hope this team can stay healthy if they can. I think they have a chance to win the whole thing.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Johnny McCarthy (38 pts, 8 rbs, 4 ast)

B2 5v5 TUE Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 03, 2023

By WADA KING

WEEK 1

Game 1: Centre Realty Group(52) vs Plenty OF Lotion(64)

Week 1 of the B2 5v5 spring23 for Tuesday night started off great with a bang with this game. To tough teams that play great defense as well as score on all three levels. This was a tough back and forth game, but as the game came down the wire Plenty Of Lotion hit more shots and created more stops. But plenty of lotion did not win this without a fight, Centre had players like Ian who played great physical defense and was a monster on both the offensive and defensive rebound. Another notable player was ricky who as played good defense getting a couple and also attacking the basket. But unfortunately those two player were not enough for the balanced offense of plenty of lotion. With three guys in Jeff, Guy, and Yancy with double digit points and the whole team started playing off of each other and playmaking for each other. Down the stretch plenty of lotion played great enough to go up 1-0 for the season.
 

Game 2: Julius Swerving(63) vs Calypso North Stars(53)

Unlike game 1, game 2 was honestly a shootout. Both teams have good shooters and guys who are not afraid to shoot the ball. For Julius swerving they put up 29 threes and Calypso shot 26 threes respectively. But the biggest difference is that swerving shot a good 48% at 14/29 from the three and Calypso shot 35% for 9/26 as a team. Leading the charge for Swerving was Mazz who was looking like curry in the first half by hitting 5 threes in the first half opening up the floor for the rest of his teammates to also thrive. On the other side Calypso is a very good thing and they have players who play well on both sides of the court. They had three players in double digits with Tony, Ben and Trevor playing well off of each other. But unfortunately for them they ran into the hotter team. 
 

Game 3: Tough Buffers(39) vs Miyagi Fang(84)

There was nothing else to say but just this was just a blowout from start to end. The only time that Tough Buffers had the lead was the first minute of the game, after that it was all Miyagi Fang. By half time they was up by 22 points with the score of 40-18. 6 of their 7 guys had double digit points to at the end of the game. Everyone from Miyagi was in rhythm and had a great game, from Greg coming in and play making and accumulating 11 assists with some crazy passes. Then you have Djordje and Joe playing great defense with their blocks and steals as well as scoring. And then you have greg who was very impactful on the boards with joe and calvin to help their team create extra possessions or keep the defense to one shot. Overall Miyagi seemed too big and too much for tough buffers and it showed.