Franchise League Week 1 Write-Ups
by Jason on
By CHAS BELLS & CHRIS STULL
Corp VS Top Heavy
Big Lu got this party started with a nice cutting hoop, Ini added a floater Cop in control up 5-0. Hollins finds his spot and gets a post bucket, and then shows hustle getting an obrd put in 5-4. Ini scoop, Big lu steal and finish , Ini lay up of HOh dime it was 11-4. Rooki Lance Li looked very good as he knocked down a J, but Mazz $ a 3 14-6. Hoh nails a 3, Robel responds with a post hoop,Hollins high off the window, and then adds a scoop his footwork is crazy good in the paint 17-12. Ini has obrd fall in his lap, then Hoh gets another 3. Hollins from very deep, and Robel hits a nice rhythm 3, Then Lancenator nails a J for the lead 20-19. Hollins finds his spot, and gets 2, but Mazz ties things up with a big time 3 22 all. Hollins with a beastly and 1, then Lancenator 3, then Hollins 3 yikes what a run 31-22. Hoh with a gigantic 3, but Robel eats in the post 33-25. Mazz 3 “ youre gonan get hurt if you guard me like that”. Hoh adds to that with sick take, and then again! The half ended with Corp up 34-33. Very physical game.
Mazz finds Hoh as that connection looks serious, but Robel responds with hook. Lance hits another J, but Mazz gets the elad back with a 3 39-37. Mazz obrd put in, then Ini in transition, then Ini floater. Lead would stay in the 10 pt range for while, but then Hollins turned on the switch again as he goes through 2 guys making the lead just 51-47. Fatigue set in hard for Top Heavy as Corp starting to get easy bucket after easy bucket, Mazz, Hoh and Ini lead the boys to vicory in week 1. 66-48.
GRADES
Corp
Mazz- A-Rock solid Mazz game. Hit big 3’s to swing things when he needed too. Loved his rebounding/effort level in this game.
Ini-A- Unreal all over the court, did just about as good as job as anybody can expect against Hollins. If hes hitting that floater , this team might not get beat.
Hohrath-A- Guys hes really good, and he and Mazz flow beautifully………..not great.
Big Lu-B-) Started very strong but kinda faded off. Not a ton of shots.
Stull-C+- defense was there, shot was not.
Connor-C+- Ditto Stull, I liked his activity level though.
Top Heavy
Robel-B-) Was in beast mode with 6 blocks but def needed a sub.
Hollins-A-) Man hes good, its going to give us all headaches gameplanning for him.
Matty-C+- not a ton of hoops, but thought he facilitated nicely
Lance-B- Rock solid debut from the rookie, he look like a very strong player, in multiple areas.
Game 2 Koller VS Mojo
Leblanc right out of the gate nails a J, but Keith confidently nails a 3 ball 3-2. Kap with a slashing drive, but Mulv finds his spot and nails middy for the 5-4 lead. Kieth obrd put in. he wa slookign very active, as Mazone adds a runner9-4. Euler showing some athleticism gets 2, followed by a Leblanc 3 to tie things at 9. Keith feeling it hits 3, Koller responds wit float action. Game would stay very even both teams going back n forth trading punches Kieth was on fire and had his team up 28-20. Kap would get a bank shot to go, and even though it was lucky it was big as it sparked his team to get back in striking distance, after Euler line drive buzzer beater it ws 35-32 at the break.
Kap with a drive to start the half, but Keith was just on one as he canned another trey ball. Rooke UnderHill would get a bank 3 to go, but Keith wont quit as floater goes in. This stayed a very competive game the biggest the lead got was 55-51, but Mazone nails big time 3 to make it 55-54. Then Mazone fiinshes a sexy drive for the lead 56-55. Nice possession from Koller club, as they dont panic find a wide open Leblanc for 3………….$$$$ they go up 2. Keith said you know what , Ia m not done playing, as he hits a crazy leaning post hoop to tie it, and send us to OT!!.
1st OT went scoreless, and in the 2nd Kollers team produces better shots, and they were able to sneak out of game 1 with a win 69-63.
GRADES
Team Koller
Koller-A-) Rock solid big man game, thought he was solid on all levels.
Leblanc-A-Hugeeeeeeeeee 333333, man is an assassin…..if the game is before 8 pm.
Kap-B- He was good Kap not great kap, but he will take the W. 5 dimes/3 steals is always a good night
Euler-B-) Being his 1st game I bumped up his grade. Saw some flashes, but also saw someone who wastrying to do way to much out there.
Under-C+- Played his role well, need get that stanimia up a lil bit.
Team Mojo
Keith-A- If it was a win it would have been an A+. Unreal 1st game for him, just did flat out everything.
Mulv-B-) Rebounding was there but they are gonna need atleadt 15 + from him.
Matty-D- Yeeeeeeeshhhhhh, he will have better days.
Mazone-B- took him awile to get going, but hit some big shots. Needs to turn on a lil earlier.
Raskusin-C- Hustled hard, liked his activity
Tim-D- Hustle was there, just nothing to show for it.
Game 3 FWTBT knocks out Point Shaffers
FWTBT took issue with my 10-point line and made me eat my words. Point Shaffers looked like they were still at the beach on vacation and if they don’t get it together quickly Barkley will have them gon fishing in Cabo before thanksgiving. Both teams started off a bit slow as they were feeling each other out but FWTBT quickly got the offense firing on all cylinders. Lerner was getting to the basket at will and playing lock down defense showing that DP’s CAC archive studying paid off on his big rookie acquisition. DP knocked down a three and was getting out on transition at will. Chas then started bombing from deep and I loved that he had no hesitation on his shots and pulled with confidence. Craig also came out with a chip and his shoulder and was playing bully ball down low getting deep in the paint and pushing Shaffer’s big’s around. Jmul was everywhere cutting and moving the ball hitting threes and also driving to the rack. EJ was making the extra pass and had some wide open looks and was able to knock one down. This was truly a clinic of team basketball with ball movement, finding the open man, making smart plays and I thought captain DP did a great job and keeping his guys fresh by subbing and keeping the energy level up. On the other side Joel and team could not get a shot to go down. Cawley was battling and had a couple go in and out. I think they need to give him some space to operate. DJ was hustle on the boards but could quite squeeze the ball a couple times and I thought Craig and Jmul did a great job getting a body on him. Joel probably should’ve shot the long ball some more but it seemed like he was trying to get the other guys involved more but it did not lead to buckets. Demetri was left open a couple times and made FWTBT pay a couple times but they quickly called a TO and rectified that. Reilley was hustling but had a couple TO’s that were ill advised.
I think team stats tell the story here FWTBT shot nearly 50% from three as a team with only 2 TO’s. Joel’s team was not shooting well and had 14 TO’s. All the missed shots and turnovers allowed FWTBT to play to their strength and get out on the break. I completely did not see this coming and was in shock and will now pay the proper respect to this squad. Grades: FWTBT: A+ Notables: Chas 5-6 from three. Shoot the rock with confidence man! Lerner – 21 points, 9 boards played both ends of the floor well Craig 10 points, 9 Rebounds, 2blks – Close to a double/double owned the point Jmul – 12 points, 4 boards, 2 blocks – hustled, moved the ball well very active Point Shaffers: F Cawley – leading scorer with 15 pts, had a bunch of shots go in and out Demitri – made the open ones – look for shots moving forward. Shaffer – 10 points will need to be more aggressive moving forward and get this team back on track
Game 4 SH VS Harry
The late game, and we had a good one here. Oully wide open gets layup to start things, Frongi follows that with a scoop. Harding working hard on the O glass gets 2. Rosi $ middy, Jaksobson wide open lay up, where is the defence from Harry club? 11-2 after Rosi 3. This thing was looking ugly as Harry team could not get stops the lead built to 28-13. Vladi finally started to connect and got cooking , and that gave space for harding to start to do his thing when the dusts settled it was SH up 36-31 on the half.
Vladi staying hit nails 3 right away, but Wise who had a great rookie debut nailed a J to keep pace. Vladi would go right abck at them with tough drive, then Harding from deep made it 40-39. Vladi red hot gets another 3 and they have the lead 42-41. Rosi would get 2 off a broken play to get the lead back. Liam with a middy, but Skates jimmy gets the lead back. Harding relentluss on the O glass gets 2. Frongi responds with lay in, so many lead changes!!!!!Oully hits 3 to give the 4pt edge. Harding just woud not quit, his O brd hustled was fuckign awesome to watch as he gets another 2 off that, landon hit J to tie things, followed by Vladi splash 3 ball. Vladi and Harding really turned it on from here, and kinda left SH in the dust. SH goes down week 1 80-73.
GRADES
SH
Rosi-A-)3 rebounds away from a trip dub, but he would rather the W any day. Needed to take more 3’s.
Oullete-B-) very quiet in the 2nd half, they need him firing away for 40 min.
Frongi-C- Very quiet, had some garbage time points to save his day.
Wise-A- definite brights spot, thought he looked very much the part.
Jaksobson-C-) $ in the 1st half, then couldnt find any open looks
Skates-C+- Saw some flashes, he will be just fine.
DBS
Harry-C- Reboundign was good but thats it.
Harding-A+- Loved the fight/heart he showed in this one. Usually always fills up the stat sheet, but this effort level was epic.
Vladi-A-) couldnt hit the side of a barn, but trusted his shot,a nd kept firing away. Incredibel 2nd half from him.
Liam-A- great defensive effort, and to add 15 pts off that, is a silly good night.
landon-C+- Finding his footing, he will contribute more as the weeks come.
STULL'S UPDATED POWER RANKINGS
#8 Joel – Getting blown out by 37 after I picked them as a 10 point favorite puts them at the bottom of this list. Bigger upset than Deon beating TCU week 1.
#7 MOJO Dojo – Loved the Tie die shirts and the fight but they let their game get away from them late despite a monster Keith performance and what I thought was also a great Tyler game. Need to close out close ones to be in the top half of the league.
#6 – Top Heavy – Robel was blocking shots left and right and Hollis is the real deal. He was getting recruited after the game to join other leagues. Sir Lance a lot joining the league as a rookie also looked good. I expect better games from Matty O’donell and when they have STAT this team will be a problem for squads moving forward.
#5 Basket Cases – Koeller and squad showed grit and won a close one against Keith’s squad in OT. Leblanc hit a bunch of clutch shots and they will need more of this moving forward.
#4 FWTBT – I have to move these guys up into the top half after blowing out Joel’s team. Was this the case of a perfect game vs a disaster or are they actually able to beat some of the top teams in the league?
#3 Super Hoopers – I missed the second half but they were looking good before I left and sounds like things got away from them a bit. I expect them to bounce back well and they have the championship pedigree.
#2 Don’t be Stupid – I had debated putting them at 2 but gave Eric and team the edge based on past performance. Harding and squad came out and got the W to show they are not messing around this year.
#1 Corp – Battled tough against rookie Hollis and had good chemistry for the first time playing together. Ini got the most open layups he’s ever had and Horath matched up well with the Hollis hype. Mazz did Mazz things and the corp passed their first audit to keep them at #1.