SDL Week 1 Write-ups
by Jason on
SDL Week 1 Write-ups
BY JAMIL BALL & DAMIAN RUFF
Ok so maybe I was wrong kinda.
First half:
Coming into the first game of the Fall 2023 Saturday Morning Draft League I had Washed and Folded (WAF) as the 66-56 favorites over Ball Mitzvah (BM). I was starting to like my pick early on because BM was missing their 2nd round pick. On the opposite side WAF had their entire team.
Game was relatively close for most of the first half but BM controlled the game. BM had leads of 11-7 at the 13:27 mark, 20-17 at the 6:43 mark, 24-17 at the 5:40 mark, 32-29 at the 59.4 second mark and finally at the half was up 35-31.
Halftime stats:
WAF:
Jamil Ball 14 pts, 1 stl, 4 orebs, 5 drebs and 3 asts
Ben Butterworth 1 oreb
Robert Wood 2 pts, 1 blk, 6 dreb
Patrick Blaikie 1 blk
Joshua Gettings 10 pts, 4 orebs
Sami Hameid 3 pts, 1 dreb
BM:
Christopher Stull 1 oreb
David Ter-Ovanesyan 13 pts, 4 stls, 4 drebs, 2 asts
John Reilly 2 pts, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 1 dreb
David Pendergast 9 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 2 dreb, 2 ast
Rob Lunder 11 pts, 1 blk, 4 drebs
Player of the half:
David Ter-Ovanesyan
Second half:
It seemed like BM was preparing to pull away up 51-42 with 10:19 left and then again with 4:45 left up 59-51 but WAF had other ideas. The game became a 1 possession contest with 38.9 seconds left 71-68 BM was up. All WAF needed was a stop then a score but unfortunately for them that didn’t happen. BM went on to win this one 75-68.
Player Grades:
Jamil Ball B his three ball was off but still managed to lead the game in scoring. He seemed fatigued too because he took several trips to rest on the chair during free throws. It’s scary because he’s capable of playing better and he probably will.
Ben Butterworth A kind of a high grade but he played the perfect role player game. Shot efficiently and contributed in other areas.
Robert Wood C his midrange was kinda off but overall I don’t think his team used him enough on offense. He’s clearly capable of playing better and I’m sure he will as the season progresses.
Patrick Blaikie C- Pat is my guy so it actually pains me to give a negative to his grade BUT the fact that you questioned how you fouled out has to be called out. I won’t go into the details again here but overall Pat played ok considering his limited opportunities.
Joshua Gettings B his numbers were actually pretty decent. He gets a higher grade if his team wins and he makes a three ball. I have high expectations for Joshua so I can’t really give him too high of a grade this early on.
Sami Hameid B- his game overall was ok I think the China Sully description of his game was pretty spot on. My biggest gripe was his bickering at the ref. Do I do it? Yes. Do others do it? Yes. To me it felt like it was a little obsessive. Not in a disrespectful way but you just have to understand the ref will miss some calls and to complain the majority of the time isn’t helping you or your team.
Christopher Stull A I loved the game he played. Didn’t force any shots and the 2 threes he did make were huge in helping his team secure the victory. He also was able to contribute in other areas.
David Ter-Ovanesyan A had a great shooting and defensive game. If he plays like this each week, we all are in trouble. What’s scary is he can play better and probably will.
John Reilly B gotta knock his grade slightly for fouling out but overall he was just a menace on defense. A lot of what he did isn’t going to show up on the stat sheet but he played the perfect role for his team.
David Pendergast A- I have to knock his grade for his low free throw and three point shooting percentage. I don’t think any of the threes he took were bad ones, they just didn’t go in. Overall he came alive in the second half. Not sure if it was because he was called soft or just a better rhythm regardless he played well.
Rob Lunder A was electric and spry. I guess he took offense that he went 19th overall. Whatever it was I hope he keeps playing this all season long because his team will definitely need it.
Player of the game:
David Ter-Ovanesyan was just the best player on the floor on both ends. Too bad we aren’t teammates anymore 😢but he did what he’s typically been doing for the majority of his SDL career.
Subject: No Hangovers for Hungover Hoopers
Admittedly, I didn’t have Hungover Hoopers as the favorites in this matchup. Without Adwaith, I gave Costa Coast a slight edge.
Through the 9 minutes, Costa Coast held a slight edge (16 - 15). Charles was playing absolutely smothering defense as promised, and Costa Coast looked primed for an early run. Lucas had other plans, as he got out to a scorching start including 3 for 3 shooting from deep.
Jamie Cummins who looks to be the steal of the draft, would match Lucas’ output with 19. They combined 38 of their team's 54 points in an impressive outing.
The Hungover Hoopers' lead would balloon to 12, as they would go into the half leading 33 - 21 with no signs of letting up.
BFFs Robel (11 PTS and 20 REBs) and Musse (3 PTS, 2 STLS, 6 REBS, and 3 ASTS) played extremely well for Hungover Hoopers as they would go on to win this matchup by double-digits easily.
For Costa Coast, I would not overreact to this loss. It’s week one and guys struggled to hit shots they will hit when the games matter the most in week 10. Unlike past seasons, everyone makes the playoffs. Once they build stamina and chemistry, this will be one of the top teams in the league.
Hungover Hoopers
Andrew Marra (C+) - I need more Marra, I need more!
Jamie Cummins (A+) - Steal of the draft! ROY conversation.
Lucas Guliano (A+) - Lucas is my early favorite for the MIP award. He’s always been able to score the ball, but the level of efficiency with which he performed was out of this world. Can he maintain this level of play?
Musse Kassa (A-) - Musse didn’t need to score a bunch of points to impact the outcome of this game. He was by far the best point guard on the floor. I think he actually played defense a couple of times too.
Robel Ghebremichael (A) - Robel dominated the paint and played with a level of dominance I haven’t seen in a while.
Costa Coast
Charles Maneval (B) - Charlie gets an A for his defensive effort, but offensively he struggled mightily. I think pressing full-court in a 90-degree gym might’ve impacted his offensive production a bit.
Dan Waldman (B) - Dan was extremely effective and really scored the ball well for Costa Coast. I’m docking his grade because of his AI-type rant against practice/team pick up.
Dylan Costa (B+) - I love that Dylan was aggressive and assertive on both ends of the court. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but not too many folks did. I look for Dylan to build on this performance and get better as the season progresses.
Joshua Brown (C+) - I’ve watched Josh play 4 or 5 times over the past couple of weeks and he is way more capable than what he displayed on Saturday. I look for Josh to be more assertive in the coming weeks.
Kevin Ross (B) - Kev struggled from deep like many others during week 1, but he still found ways to be effective on both ends of the court. He will be their best player as he starts to round back into form.
Matthew Starr (C+) - I’d love to see Matt assert himself more on both ends of the court. 5 Rebound is not enough for a player with his capability.
Subject: Mamba Forever Dismantles Old School Ballers
E was not happy about his 8th-place power rankings, but let his play do the talking for him as his squad made light work of Nick Lynch and the Old School Ballers.
Early on Djordje and Kopel led the way for MF. Djordje in particular was very effective offensively with 25 points, but his defensive effort was by far the most impressive performance of the day. He and Darby limited Nick Lynch and Ghost to a combined 21 points.
Mamba Forever would go into the half leading by 12 points (35 - 23).
The Old School Ballers' struggles were due to their ineffectiveness offensively. I figured shooting would be one of their strength, but during this week one matchup they couldn’t get much going.
Mamba Forever would go on to win this matchup by 25. Led by fantastic overall team play and a fantastic outing by their leader and do-it-all captain Emmanuel Okharedia (18 PTS, 11 REBs, and 3 ASTs). E controlled all aspects of the game and was extremely effective and efficient.
After this outing, there’s no way in hell this team will remain 8th in the Power Rankings. Looking forward to seeing this entire roster in future weeks.
Old School Ballers
Alan Orellana (B) - AO was efficient per usual. I would love to see him a little more assertive offensively.
Damian Ruff (C) - Ruff looked a little rusty, but gave consistent effort on both ends of the court. As he noted, if his team is going to win, he’ll need to be more impactful in the scoring column.
Erik Johnson (C) - Slick didn’t have his best game, but his effort throughout the game was consistent. I know he will play better in the upcoming games.
Michael Fraher (B) - Ghost was efficient in the week 1 opener, but his team needed more from him offensively.
Nick Lynch (B) - Lynch was a monster, per usual but 11 points will not be enough if his team is going to be successful this season.
Mamba Forever
Djordje Vlajkovic (A+) - Was by far the best player on the floor at all times. His defense and unselfish play led the way for Mamba Forever.
Emmanuel Okharedia (A+) - Per usual, E was effective on both ends of the court. He facilitated the offense efficiently and really controlled the game from start to end.
Jake Darby (B+) - Darby was really effective in his debut. He and Djordje looked good together and controlled the paint.
Seth Kopel (A) - Kopel is already on ROY watch. He had a fantastic outing overall despite struggles from beyond the arc.
Subject: MFs Must’ve Forgotten About Dre
Killa Cam (22 PTS and 11 REBs) wasn’t messing about to start this game. He was the early catalyst for FAD as they jumped out to an early 15-point advantage (25 - 10). This included 4 - 4 shooting from deep. Admittedly, I think Steve was wrong for making Nick Galle guard Cam in his rookie debut because Cam absolutely feasted on the smaller guard.
Jorge Morel embraced his Point-Forward role, nearly notching a triple-double. Civale made his SDL debut and notched a double-double (22 PTS, 2 BLKs, and 10 REBs) as would go into the half leading 43 - 30 with no signs of looking back.
Despite the early deficit, Turbo was having no part in a blowout. Fresh off a monster performance in #FRANCHISE Keith (32 PTS, 17 REBs, and 7 assists) turned on the jets and within a blink of an eye it was a three-point game.
Turbo was feasting in transition and really started to play with more confidence. Keith was by far the best player on the court for either team, once he decided to play defense. Guys like Joe (10 PTS and 6 REBs), Steve (9 PTS, 8 REBs, and 1 Stl), and Nick (7 PTS) really benefited from his play.
Turbo went on a 17 - 5 run and trailed by 2 points (50 - 48). Nick Galle would his a huge three to put Turbo up 1 (51 - 50) with 11 minutes left, but it wasn’t enough as Forgot About Dre would seal the victory from three free throw line, despite poor overall free throw shooting.
Forgot About Dre
Andre Jones (B+) - Debo gets docked some points for showing up late and demanding I open the front door for him. Aside from that, he was extremely effective for them on both ends of the court.
Brian Civale (B+) - Civale let it fly whenever possible. It wasn’t his best shooting performance, but I expect him to get better over time.
Cameron Daniel (A) - Solid overall game for OG Cam Daniels. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Cameron Daniels (B+) - Was the player on the floor during the first half. Disappeared in the second half.
Daniel Lyman (C+) - Very quiet debut. Dan was very active and will play better as he gets comfortable.
Jorge Morel (B+) - Jorge had a nice overall game, but I know he has another level.
Turbo
Gordon Sheffield (A) - 11 rebs and 6 assists. He played the point guard position very well and helped initiate the offense.
Joseph Breda (B) - Struggled early on, but got it going in the second half. More importantly, was not called for a single travel.
Keith Baranowski (A) - Was by far the best player on the floor at all times. Could have easily scored more, but did a fantastic job facilitating.
Neil Aggarwal (B) - Worked his ass off on defense. Struggled a bit offensively.
Nick Galle (B) - One of the best rookie debuts in the league. This kid has some dog in him.
Steve Rakusin (B) - His SDL double-double streak came to an end, in what was an average performance for him. On a bright note, he looked good the next day in pickup. He’ll be better.