Spring 2024 5v5 Draft Preview

by Jason on Apr. 30, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My gut reaction rankings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winter 24 5v5 Draft Awards & Playoff Preview

by Jason on Mar. 28, 2024

WINTER 24 5v5 DRAFT AWARDS
By Matt Killeen

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

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

MVP

Rookie of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

ALL 5v5 DRAFT WINTER TEAMS

All 5v5 Draft Winter 1st Team 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All 5v5 Draft Winter 2nd Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All 5v5 Draft Winter 3rd Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All 5v5 Draft Winter 4th Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALL 5v5 DRAFT DEFENSIVE TEAMS

All Defense 5v5 Draft Winter 1st Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All Defense 5v5 Draft Winter 2nd Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALL 5v5 DRAFT MUST WATCH TEAM

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

All 5v5 Draft “Must Watch” Team

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

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

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

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

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

TOP 10 GAMES OF THE SEASON

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

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

#1 Seed - Wise Shots

Vs

#4 Seed - Hoopa Loompas

#2 Seed - Shoot First Moran 

Vs 

#3 Seed - Country Billy Made a Couple Milly

Let’s start from the bottom up

HOOPA LOOMPAS

Why They’ll Win

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

Why They’ll Lose

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

Record vs Playoff Teams

Shoot First Moran: 1-1

Country Billy Made a Couple Milly: 0-1

Wise Shots: 0-1 

COUNTRY BILLY MADE A COUPLE MILLY

Why They’ll Win

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

Why They’ll Lose

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

Record vs Playoff Teams

Shoot First Moran: 0-1

Hoopa Loompas: 1-0

Wise Shots: 1-1

SHOOT FIRST MORAN

Why They’ll Win

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

Why They’ll Lose

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

Record vs Playoff Teams

Country Billy Made a Couple Milly: 1-0

Hoopa Loompas: 1-1

Wise Shots: 0-2

WISE SHOTS

Why They’ll Win

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

Why They’ll Lose

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

Week 1 - Alex Biskelonis (15)

Week 2 - Dan Barbour (31)

Week 3 - Jacob Miller (21)

Week 4 - Kyle MIller (15)

Week 5 - Luke Altobeli (26)

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

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

Week 9 - Multiple Shoot First Moran guys had 10+

Week 10 - Barbour (40)

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

Record vs Playoff Teams

Country Billy Made a Couple Milly: 1-1

Hoopa Loompas: 1-0

Shoot First Moran: 2-0

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

5v5 Draft Winter 24 Draft Recap

by Jason on Jan. 14, 2024

Winter 24 5v5 Draft Recap 

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

No. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5v5 Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 20, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

BY: SHAWN WISE & DREW DEBARI

The Lost Boys vs The Reboot

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

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

Final Score: The Lost Boys win 81-53 

Player of the game: Aidan Enright

GAME 2

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

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

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

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

Final score Miller Time 51 - Brick House 45

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

GAME 3: Live ’95 vs The Swish Kebabs

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

5v5 Draft Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on Sep. 11, 2023

5v5 DRAFT WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS

BY SHAWN WISE & DREW DEBARI

Week 1 in the books, and the basketball was actually way better than I would have expected!  Joe from Reboot had 4 o boards in the first 6 minutes of the game…..and missed 3 of the 4 putback attempts.  Hey gotta pad those stats!  10 Minutes in however it was Brick House who found themselves ahead 16-10 on the back on 4-6 shooting from deep.  Marcus was also cleaning up misses from Reboot, collecting 6 of his 8 d boards in the first half.  The game continued the same way until half where Brick House held a 25-21 lead.  Rich was keeping Reboot alive with a 12/7 first half.

Brick House couldn’t find the basket to start the 2nd half.  Jamil, after missing on his first 3 (or more) shot attempts of the day, hit a wide open 3, and started jawing a bit, giving Reboot their first lead of the night at 28-25.  Aron, who put up a blank 1st half stat line started to get going as well, with a sweet steal and coast to coast layup which bumped Reboot’s lead up to 40-29 with just 10 to play.

Brick House would push back, with Marcus having a great and-1 finish on Chris (but missed the FT) making it 40-35 with 8 left.  It went back and forth from here, with the lead teetering between 5-10.  Then Corey hit a 3, closing the gap to 48-44 with just 90 seconds left.  That would be the last bucket of the game for Brick House, and they eventually fell to Reboot by a final of 54-44.

Player of the game: Rich - A very ball dominant and volume based scorer, but he ended being efficient enough to get his team the win tonight, while filling up the stat line.  23pts, 10rb, 3stl, 2blk, 1 ast.  5/5 from the line.

The Swish Kebabs vs The Lost Boys

GAME OF THE NIGHT

The Lost Boys started the game with a 1-point advantage due to an equipment violation on The Swish Kebabs (bring a CAC jersey). The Lost Boys began the game by clogging the paint on defense and were able to build a double digit first half lead. Cote and Nett were able limit Jacob’s impact in the paint. Nett’s jump shot was efficient all game. He was perfect 2-2 from three and it felt like he was 6-9 from 2. The Lost Boys would take 35-28 lead into half.

The Swish Kebabs did not start the game well. Jacob’s first two picks in the draft didn’t score in the first half. If it wasn’t for James Bohnaker’s hot shooting this game could have gotted out of hand before the second half. Not sure what was said at half time, but The Swish Kebabs were a completely different team in the second half. Early in the second half they would go on an 11-0 run to eventually take the lead. The game would be back and forth until the end.

The Swish Kebabs would be trailing in the final minute when two clutch 3s from Rafael allowed them to inch out a hard fought 2-point victory.

Player of the game: James Bohnaker. His jump shot kept them in the game in the first half and led the way during the 2nd half comeback.

Left, Right, Goodnight vs It’s Miller Time

This game was a lot closer than I thought it would be. What Miller Time lacks in size they make up for in hustle. It seemed like they got to every 50-50 ball and refused to go away and somehow ended up with more offensive boards than the larger LRG team. I can see this team being a pain in the ass to play against each week, but a lack of size will ultimately be their undoing. One thing we learned from the Millers, they love to take 3s. Kyle attempted 12 and Jacob attempted 7. Kyle only had one basket that wasn’t a 3.  

I was not impressed with the performance of LRG. They were able to eek out a win here, but it was not a strong showing for anyone not named Allen. Nika had a respectable but seemed to disappear at times. Before the game, I thought Nika and Allen would dominate the offensive boards but 0 combine offensive rebounds between the two of them isn’t going to cut it most nights. The rest of the team shooting an abysmal 2-15 from 3 didn’t help much either. If Allen wasn’t a bulldozer driving to the basket over and over again. I don’t see them winning this one. Allen will need more from his teammates going forward, but he was enough to carry them to victory.

Player of the game: Allen Williamson scoring just under half your teams points in a victory gets you the nod. 

5v5 Draft Week 4 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 24, 2023

SPECIAL GUEST ARIEL G

Game 1 – All the Smoke vs Motha Effect

Our Tuesday night games kicked off with a 63-49 Motha Effect win over All the Smoke. Both teams started off pretty slow offensively and All the Smoke had a ton of turnovers early in the game which allowed Motha Effect to take the lead and never look back. Jack C. for Motha Effect was doing the dirty work early and carrying his team in the first half until Nate G. started going and once he got going, he was unstoppable. All the Smoke pulled within 8 points going into halftime behind the big first half efforts Dainis D who had 16 of his teams first 29 points. Despite his huge offensive production, All the Smoke trailed Motha Effect 29-38 going into the second half.

After going on a 12-5 run to end the half, Motha Effect really struggled to put the ball in the basket at the start of the second half and only scored 3 points through the first 13 minutes of the concluding period. All the Smoke used this offensive lull to go on a 7-3 run to bring the them within 5 points with 14:32 left in the second. Unfortunately, this is the closest All the Smoke would get as Nate G. rattled off 14 points in the second half. He, Jeff M., and Kunal C. for Motha Effect all finished in double digits as only two players from All the Smoke finished with 10 or more points.

Game 2- Primetime 2.0 vs. Can’t Miss Keramaris

In the second game of our tripleheader, Can’t Miss Keramaris gave Primetime 2.0 everything they could handle and then some as they handed them a 79-53 blowout loss. Can’t Miss went up 10-2 early and forced Primetime to call an early timeout as they had gone down 2-15 with 15 minutes left in the first half. It is not for lack of effort however, Primetime was getting great shots at the rim but seemed as though there was a lid on their basket. Chris J. started to come alive late in the first half but no one could stop Jacob H. as he posted an 18 point 12 rebound double double in the first half. Despite going on a 10-1 run to close out the half, Primetime trailed 22-44 heading into the second half.

After an intense pump up speech from John M. and Chris J., Primetime came out firing on all cylinders putting together a 20-4 run to cut the deficit to 6 points. However, they had no match for the big guys on the class and got absolutely crushed on the O boards, giving up 17 that led to 20 second chance points. As much as Jacob H. did in the first half, it was Tommy S. that was the unsung hero of the second half for Can’t Miss. He stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block, and 3 assists. This team was a lot of fun to watch and truly played team basketball!

Game 3 – Cambridge Rats vs. Victorious Secret

Game 3 brought a ton of emotions to the court as the Cambridge Rats took on Victorious Secret. There was a ton of back and forth this game, but ultimately Cambridge Rats pulled out the 72-67 win. Brian H. for Cambridge Rats came out absolutely smoking hot as he scored the first 8 of his teams points and went on to knock down four first half 3’s. Not only did his hot shooting get them an early lead but they were able to convert 6 offensive rebounds to 11 second chance points. As soon as Cambridge Rats started to pull away, Rich D. put the team on his back and really used his athleticism and length in both halves to finish around the basket. As soon as Victorious Secret would make runs, the Cambridge Rats sliced and diced the defense behind the vision of Marquis V. who finished the first half with 3 assists. Cambridge Rats 34, Victorious Secret 30.

As the second half started, you could sense that Victorious Secret was getting a little chippy with one another and the 10-5 run they started the half with, slowly dissipated as they started playing more individually. This turmoil within the team led to late careless TO’s in the half which equated to second chance points, miscommunications on screens in big moments, and poor shot selection. The saving grace for Victorious Secret was the ultra-smooth Ronnie C. who tried his best to keep his teammates head in the game late down the stretch. He was the ultimate teammate, leading vocally and by example, posting 18 points to end the game. Two huge 3’s from Marquis V. late in the game on bad communication on a ball screen put the nail in the coffin for Victorious Secret as they were scoreless in the last minute of the game.

5v5 Draft Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 23, 2023

BY JAMIL

Week 3 - Write Up The Cambridge Rats VS. The Motha Effect

The Cambridge Rats came into this matchup undefeated, but unfortunately for them, that streak would come to an end after a fantastic battle between two teams very evenly matched teams. 

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to create any real breathing room. For the Cambridge Rats, Marquis led all scorers with 12 points in the first half, Alex B chipped in 8, and Shawn Wise made his presence felt on the defensive end with 3 steals and 1 block.

The Motha Effect led by Guzzi and Hamza would go into the half leading 34-30 and were really controlling the pace of the game. The most notable accomplishment of the Motha Effect was the defense played on Marquis. They were throwing body after body at him and did the most effective job of any team this season slowing him down.

Nika, Motha, and Hamza led them in scoring with 7 points each, as they went into the half with a lot of momentum on their side. 

The Mothat Effect led by their dynamic trio of Motha, Hamza, and Guzzi dominated the pace of the game in the second half, as they’d pull away from the Cambridge Rats and never look back. As a team, they all played well and controlled the pace of the game. 
 

Marquis would finish with 18 and Alex B would score 11, but no other players would achieve double-digit scoring as their offensive struggles continue. Nevertheless, this was a fantastic team victory for The Motha Effect, as they move to 2 - 1 on the season.

Week 3 - Write Up Victorious Secret VS. Can’t Miss Keramaris

Victorious Secret notches their second victory of the season behind MVP leader Rish DiSola. Rich would go on to score 30 points and grab 15 rebounds in a game against a very tough opponent in Can’t Miss Keramaris. 

Can’t Miss Keramaris led by Eric Li (19 points) would jump out to the early lead. Eric and Mazz continue to be a very potent backcourt combination, as they managed to dictate the pace very early on in this matchup. 

Despite their offensive prowess, Victorious Secret would go into the half leading 29 - 26. With both teams jockeying for the lead I knew this game would come down to final seconds. Eric Li was more assertive than I’ve ever seen him, scoring 6 consecutive points to put Can’t Miss Keramaris up one in the closing minutes, but it wasn’t enough as this battle was destined for OT. 

Ronnie and Chris B lead the way in OT for Victorious Secret combing for the first 4 points and Can’t Miss Keramaris never recovered.

Other notable performances include Ronnies 10 points, 2 steals, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. His clutch steal helped Victorious Secret force OT. Chris B was a steady presence on both ends of the floor, as he looks to be getting better week to week, Thomas Skates also had a fantastic game despite suffering the tough loss. Thomas had 7 points to go along with 14 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive.

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.

5v5 Draft Awards Watch

by Jason on May. 03, 2023

BY JAMIL BALL

5v5 Draft Awards Watch - Week 1

MVP 

1. Jacob Held
2. Marquis Victor
3. Tyrone Mullings
4. Rich DiSola

GM Of The Year

1. Nick Keramaris 
2. Jamil Ball
3. Alex Biskelonis

Defensive Player Of The Year

1. Eric Li
2. Dan Schwartz 
3. Evan Valcourt

Most Improved Player

1. Kevin Gillooly
2. Kola Olugbade
3. Nika Sulakvelidze

6th Man Of The Year 

1. Jamil Ball 
2. Steve Rakusin
3. Kunal Chawla

Rookie Of The Year

1. Jon Allen
2. Dennis Klavins
3. Brian Horan

5v5 Draft Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on May. 03, 2023

By JAMIL BALL

WEEK 1 (Preview)     

5/2/2023    6:30 PM    1 # The Cambridge Rats    VS.   4 # KERAMARIS MLK Jr School    

Marquis Victor is the only reason I ranked The Cambridge Rats number 1 in the Way Too Early Power Rankings. Biskelonis's team has a lot of size (Wise 6”5, Rakusin 6”2, and Schwartz 6”2) and shooting (Biskelonis, Horton, Connell, Schluns, and Victor). 

On the other hand, Team KERAMARIS has no shortage of firepower with Held, Mazz, Figuereo, and my personal favorite Eric Li. There are a lot of personalities on this team and I am very interested in seeing how they mesh.

Needless to say, I am going to give The Cambridge Rats the edge in this matchup, because they have straight-up dawgs on defense!  Marquis is absolutely going to feast offensively because there is not a single player on Team KERAMARIS that can guard him. I said, what I said! 

Wise, Schwartz, and Rakusin will dominate and control the paint. The Cambridge Rats over KERAMARIS + 6.

The Cambridge Rats - Project Starters

1. Alex B
2. Marquis Victor
3. Brian Horton 
4. Dan Schwartz 
5. Shawn Wise

KERAMARIS - Project Starters

1. Li 
2. Skates 
3. Mazz
4. Nick K 
5. Jacob Held

Week 1 - Write Up 1 # The Cambridge Rats    VS.   4 # KERAMARIS

By JAMIL BALL

I had The Cambridge Rats listed as the favorites in this matchup against Can’t Miss Keramaris, but Jacob Held (24 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 steals) was prepared to win this game himself. Jacob and company got off to a scorching start and led by as many as 10 very early on in the matchup. 

Eric Li (9 points and 6 assists) did a fantastic job defending Marquis Victor, distributing the ball, and finding teammates for easy baskets. The chemistry between Held and Keramris was the true bright spot for this squad. These two were absolutely dominant combing for 29 rebounds! 

It looked like Can’t Miss Keramaris was going to run away with this game until Jacob went down with a nasty-looking injury with a little under 7 minutes left in the second half. While finishing off the fast break, Jacob appeared to sprain his ankle pretty badly. I hope you’re ok big fellas!

Once Jacob went down, Mazz (17 points, 2 steals, and 4 assists) stepped up and filled the void offensively, but The Cambridge Rats started to mount a comeback over the phone. 

Marquis Victor struggled mightly in the first half but went nuclear when the game mattered the most. Finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 assists. His rebounding was just as impressive as his shooting. Eric Li did a fantastic job defensively, but the Cambridge Rats did an amazing job initiating the pick-roll offense.

Alex B (9 points and 8 rebounds) and Dan Schwartz (9 rebounds, 4 steals, and 10 rebounds) had monster games and played really well on both ends of the court. Dan's play defensively in the second half was a huge catalyst for The Cambridge Rats' comeback victory.

WEEK 1 (Preview)     

By Jamil Ball

5/2/2023    7:30 PM    6 # GILLOOLY    VS.    2 # All the Smoke MLK Jr School    

Despite original reports of a multi-week absence, Ron Cabeza will only miss one week before making his 5v5 Draft debut. Team GILLOOLY has no shortage of talent with reigning MVP Rich DiSola, Aidan Enright, and team captain Kevin Gillooly, but they are lacking a true/traditional post player with Aidan and DiSola being the tallest players on the team. 

Jonathan Allen’s play will be a huge factor in the outcome of the game. No pressure at all buddy! 

I am really excited about my team! The Tyrone Mullings and Kashawn Harrison combination is going to surprise quite a few folks. Ty was an MVP candidate last session and arguably the best guard in this league. Kashawn is an absolute lights-out shooter that will give DiSola some competition on both ends of the court. Brian Horan's profile is a pic of him throwing down a dunk with two hands, so hopefully, that translates into some on-court success. Dainis Klavins at the ripe age of 42 might be the biggest surprise, if my sources are correct. 

While the guards will dictate the pace of play, I expect Brad Myatt, Kola Olugbade, and Brian Horan to take advantage of the size advantages, as we (All the Smoke) move to 1 - 0 on the season.

All the Smoke Over GILLOOLY + 8 

GILLOOLY - Project Starters

1. Kevin G
2. Aidan E
3. Jonathan Allen
4. Rich DiSola
5. Chris Blakeley

All the Smoke - Projected Starters

1. Tyrone Mullings 
2. Jamil Ball
3. Kashawn Harrison
4. Brian Horan 
5. Kola Olugbade

WEEK 1 (Preview)     

By Jamil Ball

5/2/2023    8:30 PM   3 # Primetime 5.0    VS.    # 5 The Motha Effect

Motha draft strategy hit a glitch when Kevin drafted Ronnie at 7, but despite not knowing many of the players in the league he still managed to recover well. I think Jack Chen and Hamza are going to absolutely thrive playing alongside Motha and Guzzi. Nika when in attendance will be a solid contributor too! 

Primetime 5.0 will be by far one of the best defensive teams in the league. Led by Muccio, Valcourt, Danzig, Jenco and Miller my 6-place rating is looking pretty foolish at the moment. Stull, Corey, and Scotty Glynn give them three legitimate three-point threats coming off the bench, which is huge against bigger teams.

Admittedly, it’s hard to bet against Guzzi, Motha, and company but I think the defending champs pull off a close victory and prove my Way Too Early Rankings are absolutely garbage. 

Primetime 5.0  Over The Motha Effect +3.5

The Motha Effect - Projected Starters

1. Eric Li 
2. Jack Chen
3. Nate Guzzi
4. Hamza
5. Jeff Motha

Primetime 5.0 - Projected Starters

1. Jacob Miller
2. Muccio 
3. Chris Jenco 
4. Ben Danzig 
5. Evan Valcourt 

Week 1 - Write Up 3 # Primetime 5.0    VS.    # 5 The Motha Effect

By Jamil Ball

The defending champs Primetime 5.0 were the favorites in this matchup against The Motha Effect. This was a super physical matchup, so I imagine some folks are waking up today sore and bruised as bodies were literally flying (Jacob).

Getting to the gameplay, Primetime 5.0 jumped out to the early lead. Similar to the last session, their ball movement was impeccable and their scoring was distributed in a very balanced manner (Jacob (17), Danzig (16), Jenco (13), Muccio (11), and Valcourt (8) ) displaying their overall depth. 

The Motha Effect was slow out of the gate but got it really going in the second half. Nate Guzzi (24 points and 10 rebounds) )and Hamza Abdul (17 points and 6 rebounds) are going to be a fantastic duo as they get more comfortable playing with one another. Both are very long athletic guards that can really create transition.

Jeff Motha did a fantastic job grabbing boards (11) and facilitating the offense (4 assists) but struggled offensively with 6 points total.

Jacob Miller (17 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists) was huge down the stretch hitting back-to-back threes. To force OT! I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to piss him off, but they sure as hell lit a fire because was playing pretty passive up to that point. 

This game would go into overtime and come down to the final possession. Muccio won the game with an absolute circus shot that only Muccio would hit. Muccio was doubled-teamed and pivoted his way to a three-point heave from the left three-point wing as time expired to win by 1.

All the Smoke 73 – Victorious Secret 65

This was a back forth game from start to finish. Neither team was able to gain any separation for the first 40 minutes of play. Led by Rich’s 20-point first half, Victorious Secret would take a 3-point lead at the break. That lead would quickly be cut to 1 in the first 5 seconds of the second half with Victorious Secret defending the wrong basket. Rich kept his team close and finished the game with 36 points and 12 rebounds. Jonathan Allen would struggle to find his stroke starting the game 1-5 from 3 and finishing 2-7. Rich will score a ton of points each night but will need others to step and make baskets.

All the Smoke’s dynamic backcourt of Jamil and Tyrone led the way to an 8 point victory. Each of them would score in the 20’s and have 5 assists. After the first week, they look like the best back-court in the league. Kola would get into some foul trouble but his presence was felt while he was on the court, finishing with 10 rebounds in limited minutes.

5v5 Draft Week 3 Write-Ups

by Jason on Feb. 07, 2023

Week 3 

Subject: Team Robel (63) makes light work of shorthanded Shooters Over Bigs (45)

By JAMIL BALL

The score is a clear and accurate indication of how this lopsided match played out. Aside from some impressive shooting from Chris Jenco (25 points, 2 steals, and 4 rebounds) early on, offense was at a premium for Ryan Glynn-led Shooters Over Bigs. 

However, their opponent Team Robel had no issue scoring the ball. Led by the consistent Tyrone Mullings (21 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 7 rebounds), they were getting to the basket and scoring at will. 

In addition to Tyrone, there were some surprise contributions from two of my favorites Steve Rakusin (14 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Kevin Gillooly (11 points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3).

Steve’s (14 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) got Team Robel off to a hot start, with their starting center Robel Ghebremichael coming off the bench in this matchup. Let’s say there wasn’t much of a drop-off offensively. I have watched Steve play off the last three seasons and this was by far his most impressive outing. 

Kevin Gillooly (11 points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3) my friend and teammate in #SDL 4v4 can shoot the hell out of the ball, but for whatever reason, it hadn’t translated when the game matter the most, well today it did. I’d argue he probably should’ve shot more.

Needless to say, Team Robel would run away with a lopsided victory that moves them to 2 - 1 on the season, as they go into week # 4 excited about the highly anticipated debut of Nahom Brhane. 

Players of the game: 

• Tyrone Mullings (21 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 7 rebounds)
• Steve’s Rakusin (14 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists)

Subject: PRIMETIME 4.0 (57) stays undefeated as they hold off Hooptopia (48) to move to 3 - 0 

By JAMIL BALL

Admittedly, this game was never in doubt for PRIMETIME 4.0 as they start 3 - 0 for the second consecutive season. Led by Moooch (17 points and 6 Rebounds) Adam Liu (12 points and 3 steals), and Jacob Miller (15 points and 2 steals) they controlled this game from start to finish.

With two of the more physical teams in the league, this matchup obviously got a little chippy. It started with the physical defense of Adam Liu and David Thompson and that lit a fire under my guy Dan Schwartz (9 points and 12 rebounds).

PRIMETIME 4.0 combined for a mind-blowing 19 fouls, I’d argue it should’ve been more. I think Dan would agree with me, but you have to adjust and that’s what Hooptopia did in the second half. 

Ben Levin (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals) played an exceptional all-around game for Hooptopia. Not only embracing the contact but creating some of his own while dominating the block. As he in Dan Schwartz put the team on their backs as they mounted an impressive comeback. Ryan Nett played really well too with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. He did an amazing job facilitating the ball on a team with no shortage of weapons. 

Hooptopia efforts, Adam Liu played his best ball in the closing minutes shutting down any comeback attempts, as PRIMETIME continues to dominate against strong competition. 

Players of the game:

• Moooch (17 points and 6 Rebounds) 
• Adam Liu (12 points and 3 steals)

Subject: Danzig With the Stars (40) win an ugly matchup against Gear PF 

BY JAMIL BALL

In what was by the ugliest game of the season came down to the final seconds and a huge three made by my boy Mike Garofalo (11 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 5 rebounds). Aside from the game-winning shot, there weren’t many highlights. 

At the half, Danzig With the Stars led Gear PF 16 - 12. No that’s not a typo. Both teams combined for a mind-blowing 28 points. While the frustration was channeled toward the officiating crew, I’d argue the poor play was more attributable to sloppy basketball, missed layups, and lots of turnovers. 

Despite being injured, Hamza (15 points and 6 rebounds) gave it a go and was one of the lone bright spots for Gear PF who are now 0 -3 on the season. He continues to be their primary scorer. 

Surprisingly, Miguel Monclova (9 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists) has struggled to find any offensive consistency this season after being nearly unstoppable last season. I’d argue he’s best with the ball in his hands facilitating the team offense. 

Unlike Gear PF, Danzig With the Stars featured a more balanced offensive approach. They got offensive contributions from a variety of players Carlos (7 points), Held (11 points and 17 rebounds), Matt ( 8 points), and (Duff (4). Despite their struggles offensively, they found a way to convert with the game on the line.

In the final moments down 2 points, Mike G put his clutch gene on full display as he connected on a huge 3 from the top of the key that would go on to be the game-winner. This team is going to be ridiculous when Ben finally returns from injury.

This was a heck of a finish after such an ugly start. Great game fellas! 

Player of the game: 

• Mike Garofalo (11 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 5 rebounds)

Team COTE is handed their first loss of the season.

by ANDRE JONES

• Player of the game: Rich Disola

  The Boston Three Party

  From the start it looked like Mazz was going to lead his team to victory once again, but things took a slight turn right before the half as The Boston Three Party began to defensively harass COTE. The overly aggressive play seemed to have them flustered and it continued the rest of the night. Johnathan Abreu made his impact in this game. His numbers don’t show it but he seemed to make every play when it was necessary for his team. Scoring 8 points 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

  Rich Disola made the biggest impact on the scoreboard with 24 points. He was clutch from three point range shooting 50%, along with Matt Johnson shooting 42%. Rich also made a commitment to crash the boards against a much larger opponent with 11 boards.

  Matt walked away with 11 points.

  Eric Li scored 9 points and shot 71% from the free throw line.

  Tim Donnelly 8 points 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

  Richard Beato only scored 3 points but I swear he’s a much better ball player than what he displayed in the game. He can actually ball, don't let the numbers fool you.

  Nika needs more play time. It seemed like he could have more of an impact but every time he got in it seemed like he was pulled out 3 minutes later. 3 points 6 rebounds.

   

  COTE

  Mazz started off hot but then cooled off as the game went on. The collective defense of The Boston Three Party swarmed all over him. Rich got a nice block on him with some complementary trash talk at the end of it. Mazz and his teammates were getting fouled a lot especially in the beginning parts of the game. Boston Three Party had 8 team fouls in the first half. I really do think that physical play just wore them down. Mazzeo scored 22 points, while shooting 50% 5/10 from downtown.

  Evan and Jackson surely were needed in this game. I think their lack of impact on the rebounding was a contributing factor in this game. This was low for Evan who normally gets about 10 rebounds a game. Both players combined for 8 points and 17 rebounds (Jackson 11 rebounds total).

  Liam played like his usual self out there scoring 14 points and shooting 42% from long distance.

  Jamil the floor general came back to life scoring 9 points 4 rebounds and shooting perfect from the free throw line. Not his normal self but he’s playing with some injuries.

  Aidan Enright scored 4 points. His lack of scoring was definitely an impact in this game. He’ll be ready for the next game.

   

  
   

5v5 Draft Week 2 Write-Ups

by Jason on Jan. 27, 2023

WEEK 2 WRITE-UPS

HOOPTOPIA 69 vs SHOOTERS OVER BIGS 29

By JAMIL BALL

Subject: Hooptopia destroys short staffed Shooters Over Bigs squad 

This was the first of two lopsided matches on the night.

Hooptopia would get off to a ridiculous start led by Dan Schwartz. Dan started the game on fire! Scoring 8 consecutive points as Hooptopia jumped out to the early lead, this included back-to-back threes and they made quick work of the understaffed Shooters Over Bigs squad. 

Hooptopia looked like they’re building some team chemistry after a disastrous season opener. 

On the other hand, Ryan Glynn led Shooters Over Bigs is battling despite being significantly understaffed. They were able to assemble 4 of their regulars, but it wasn’t going to be enough of this match-up as Hooptopia was taking no prisoners. 

With three minutes left in the first half, Hooptopia led 31 - 13, as their lead continues to balloon. Focusing on the positives, Ben Levin (6 points, 2 blocks, and 3 rebounds ) has been absolutely balling in his season debut. Give that man the rock! 

At the half, Hooptopia dominated their competition leading by 27 (40-13). Ryan (10 points and 5 rebounds) and Dan (15 and 10 rebounds). Overall it’s been a total team effort, especially on defense. 

Van Wert (2 steals), Christian (2 steals) Andre (2blocks), and Ben (2 blocks) have created havoc defensively. Their team defense has led to easy baskets in transition which has blown the gates of this game, to say the least.

Players of the game:

• Dan Schwartz - Dan had a monster game. He was a problem for Shooters Over Bigs all night! 
• Ryan Nett - Ryan had a fantastic all-around game and will only get better as his squad builds more chemistry. 

PRIMETIME 4.0 64 VS ROBEL 43

BY JAMIL BALL

Subject: Primetime 4.0 destroys ROBEL in a late-night matchup 

Both teams came into this matchup undefeated, Primetime 4.0 would have the last laugh in what was a pretty uneventful matchup. Led by suffocating defense Primetime 4.0 would jump out to a very early lead. 

The Primetime 4.0 roster is DEEP and tonight would be the Admin Liu (19 points, 2 steals, and 7 rebounds) show. Admittedly, this game was a bit more physical than I am accustomed to, but you have to adjust to the officiating and Adan Liu did just that. 

For Team Robel, Tyrone Mullings continued to be the only consistent offense for them. His 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists led the way for them. Aside from Ty, their other primary scorers X (Xavier Abreu) and Musse Kassa really struggled to find any offensive consistency. 

Robel was able to score 9 points to go along with 3 trays, 4 blocks, and 8 rebounds. He continues to draw double and triple teams, but with his team struggling from beyond the arc it didn’t really translate into easy offense on his kick outs. 

Primetime 4.0 would take a 29 - 21 lead into the half and never looked back. Jacob Miller (13 points, 4 steals, and 10 rebounds) struggled mightily in the first half, but got it going in the second half. This dude can really hoop whether he has the shot going or not! 

My favorite interaction of the night was the battle between David Thompson and Cameron Daniel. These are literally two of the nicest guys in the world and they we’re in a heated physical battle. It’s nice to see these guys bring out the best in each other! 

This game would end in a blow victory for Primetime 4.0 as they continue to prove the doubters wrong with their second consecutive blowout win.

Players of the game:

• Manny Sutton - I don’t think Manny actually had to try in this game, but still ended up with 12 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. The depth of this team is ridiculous. 
• Adam Liu - Adam's defense set the tone for his team's victory. Along with Mooch, David Thompson, and Jacob Miller, they combined for 9 steals. 
• Jacob Miller - Despite the tough shooting night, Jacob’s commitment to defense and finding open teammates made a huge difference!

BOSTON THREE PARTY 52 VS DANZIG WITH THE STARS 50

BY JAMIL BALL

Subject: The Boston Three Party continues to tempt fate in a win

The Boston Three Party was totally out of sync at to start of the game. Between the missed layups, turnovers, and airballs they didn’t resemble the team that won impressively in week 1. 

For Danzig With the Stars, Jacob Held (14 points, 4 steals, 27 rebounds) and Mike Garofalo (21 points, 3 steals, and 8 rebounds) duo continues to impress. They were literally unstoppable on both ends of the court. 

Danzig With the Stars led 28 - 20 going into the half, but the Boston Three Party proved no lead is safe after as they mounted a furious comeback for the second consecutive week. 

Led by Rich DiSola (17 points, 3 steals, and 10 rebounds) The Boston Three Party got it going in the second half. In addition to Rich, Jonathan Abreu (10 points and 11 rebounds), Eric Li (7 points and 5 rebounds), and Richard Beato ( 7 points, 2 steals, and 6 rebounds) hit clutch shot after clutch shot.

In the closing minutes of the game, both teams would trade baskets as the score remained close. Carlos Cruz’s (8 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists)  free throws on a very questionable foul would tie the game with seconds left in regulation.

For the second week in a row, The Boston Three Party led by Rich DiSola called the game with little to no time left on the shot clock. Rich scored the game-winning basket after collecting an offensive rebound on his own missed shot. 

Matty J may have struggled from three, but he did a heck of a job coaching and guiding his team to victory. 

Players of the game:

• Jonathan Abreu - Jonathan is not a center, but did a heck of a job guarding Jacob Held which isn’t an easy task for anyone. He struggled early on but found his rhythm when they needed him the most. 
• Rich DiSola - There’s no question that the Splash King has the clutch DNA. His player rating would be through the roof if this was 2K. Just give that man the ball and let him cook dammit!  

Mazz leads the way.

by ANDRE JONES

Player of the game: Nick Mazzeo

COTE:

Nick came out firing in the beginning of this game, but then Monclova started playing pestering defense midway through the game. Mazz managed to hit big shots throughout the game that seemed to always put a dagger in the hearts of Gear PF despite all of their efforts. Mazz lead all scorers with 23 points and was clutch from long distance shooting 50% 5/10.

Mazz partner in crime Liam Corrigan showed up as usual with 11 points and 2 steals.

Aidan Enright came up big time this game with 12 points and was nailing his shots from 3 going 2/4.

Evan Valcourt was a force on the boards again with 12. He needs to take his time and make himself more of a presence when he sees a smaller defender on him.

Jamil was a force defensively with 3 steals and 9 defensive rebounds.

Gear PF:

What can I say they fought and played hard in the paint. Their constant acting of the offensive glass is what made them stay in this game. A team total of (17) WoW! Impressive. David, Brad and Deron just kept on fighting and giving this team second chances offensively.

Todd Dowrey was hitting the mid-range shot. He scored 14 points 2/5 for three point land.

Miguel Monclava stepped up big time defensively using his height and size to cause Mazz fits and impeded his progress to some degree. If it weren’t for him switching defensively this game would’ve been a whole lot different. Mazz probably would’ve scored 30 something. Miguel scored 10 points and had 5 rebounds.

Both David Dias and Deron Hines combined for 12 points 16 rebounds. They were both aggressive attacking the offensive glass.

Hamza Abdul was completely off, and I do mean off. 0/9 from 3-point range. He was a force on the boards though 13 rebounds and made himself a presence defensively with 4 steals.

Henry Morales scored 4 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.

5v5 Draft Power Rankings - Week 2

by Jason on Jan. 23, 2023

By JAMIL BALL

5v5 Draft Week # 2 Power Rankings:

8 # Shooters Over Bigs - looked completely overmatched against their week 1 opponent. I don’t want to overreact to the loss itself, but it’s how they lost that concerns me. They have no shortage of talent, but Jonah Feldman is going to need help offensively.

7 # Hooptopia - After getting out to a fast start, Hooptopia struggled mightily to generate any offense. I don’t want to overreact to a poor outing in week 1, but their ability to attend with the top-tier teams will be dependent on how productive Ben Levin can be in his debut. The good thing for Christian and company is Ryan Nett is the real deal. That dude can shoot the rock and score in multiple ways. 

6 # Robel - Team Robel is the second biggest drop in my week 2 Power Rankings. How does a team drop 5 spots after winning their opening matchup? Because of parity in the league. I’d argue 3 - 6 is interchangeable. I imagine, if Tyrone showed up before halftime they would have won going away. They’re still not fully staffed, but they are 100% a contender I have no doubt. 

5 # Danzig With the Stars - Jacob Held played out of his mind and they lost a heartbreaker without Danzig. I’m sure they’re looking forward to the rematch and admittedly, so aren’t we (COTE). I came into the season with a lot of questions about their supporting cast and they’ve proven to be reliable productive players. Carlos Cruz will be in contention for a draft steal when it’s all said and done. 

4 # COTE - Yeah, we’re rising in the Power Rankings despite our ugly week 1 win. We have a tough matchup against The Boston Three Party this week, but I am confident that our team can compete against any team in the league due to our ability to defend at a high level. Cote has been a superb balanced leader and rookies Daniel Hasegawa and Aidan Enright will only get better. 

3 # Primetime 4.0 - When you beat a team by 21 points while missing your first-round pick you’re putting the league on notice. Jacob Miller AKA Luka has to be the steal of the draft. This dude can straight-up hoop. Looking forward to seeing what he and my boy Manny Sutton can do together. 

2 # Gear PF - Admittedly, this is a sandbag special, but we’ve moved past that, right? Hamza Abdul is the real deal and will battle it out with Rich DiSola for MVP honors when it’s all said and done. The week one statistics are misleading because everyone on this team can hoop. 

1 # The Boston Three Party - This team should have been called “Fully Loaded”. They are stacked and primed to make a championship run. Matty J has done it again and produced another contender. 

5v5 Draft Week 1 Write-Ups

by Jason on Jan. 20, 2023

WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS

Robel vs Hooptopia 

By Jamil Ball

Subject: Team Robel uses a furious comeback to defeat Hooptopia 

After what seemed like an eternity, the 5v5 Draft Winter session opening night is finally here and it wouldn’t disappoint. Team Robel vs Hooptopia set the tone for a super competitive week 1. 

To start the season, I had Team Robel # 1 in my way-too-early rankings, and despite getting off to a slow start, they rounded into shape when Tyrone Mullings (12 points, 3 steals, and 4 rebounds) showed up at halftime. 

Hooptopia led by Ryan Nett got out to a hot start on both ends of the floor, jumping out to an 8 - 0 lead. Ryan (13 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 8 rebounds) led the way for Hooptopia offensively. Despite the hot start, they struggled mightily to convert on the offensive end. 

Defensively, they had no answer for Robel (4 blocks and 12 rebounds). The stats do not reflect the overall impact he had on the game. His ability to draw double teams led to easy wide-open baskets for his teammates and they made them pay in the second half. 

Kevin, Cameron, and Musse were the primary benefactors and hit some huge shots, as they recovered from a slow start to pull away in the closing minutes. Last but not least, there’s Xavier (X) who struggled from beyond the arc, but was the team's second-leading scorer with 10 points.

As X and Tyrone build chemistry and get into basketball shape, their potential is going to be unlimited in a guard-dominated league. I am super excited to see this team progress as we get later into the season.

Despite suffering the loss, Andre Jones (7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) had a block that would’ve been featured on ESPN’s top 10 plays of the night. He blocked a shot by literally snatching it out of the air with one hand. I have been covering league games for a long time and admittedly, I have never seen a block that impressive! Shoutout to Dre! 

Players of the game:

• Robel Ghebremichael - His defense propelled this team to victory. 
• Ryan Nett - The # 2 Draft Pick, showed off a fantastic jump and played extremely well. I expect him to be more dominant as the season continues. 

COTE 52 vs DANZING With the Stars 45

by Andre Jones

Player of the game: Nick Mazzeo

COTE: 

Nick Mazzeo was on point as usual with 19 points shooting 40% from 3. His late 3 point shot in Overtime pretty much sealed the deal.

Jackson Cote started off hot and was causing Jacob Held fits on the defensive end but eventually got into foul trouble and fouled out. Scored 9 points and had 10 rebounds.

Liam Corrigan struggled for a bit but still managed to come away with 10 points.

Despite Jamil’s off night from 3 0/6. He still showed great leadership and defensive poise. He got fouled several times from his opponent Matt but no calls, a lot of hand checking. Scored 4 points with 6 assists.

Evan Valcourt was an absolute monster on the boards with 14.

DANZING With the Stars:

No Danzing really hurt this team but Jacob Held kept them close and helped put this team in contention to win. His scoring is what made this game go into Overtime. Jacob came away with 23 points and 22 rebounds and 4 blocks. He was a monster once he got Jackson Cote into foul trouble. Would’ve clearly been awarded player of the game if it weren't for his team losing.

Mike Garafolo scored 10 points and helped a lot with his physical play style. Shot the ball a lot and I do mean a lot.

Matthew Lewis showed up big with 2 clutch 3 point shots that shorten the lead going into the stretch of the 4 quarter helping his team go into Overtime. His overly physical play on Jamil is what kept the game close in my opinion. 

Once Ben gets back I believe DANZING With the Stars will be good to go.

Gear PF VS The Boston Three Party

By Jamil Ball

Subject: Boston Three Party upset Gear PF in double OT 

Game 2 was by far the most exciting game of the night. This matchup would future Gear PF and BostonThree Party, the top 2 teams in my Week 2 Power Rankings. Coming into the matchup, I was anxious to see the draft mystery man Hamza Abdul (27 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals) and he did not disappoint. 

Hamza would go on to lead all scores with 27 points. He shot 6 of 14 from beyond the arc, which was an impressive 42%, and hit big shot after big shot to keep his team within reach. His play was complemented by Corey Fein who connected on 4 threes of his own. Did I mention Corey shot 57% from three? I know it’s too early for a splash brothers comparison, but they were electric during the first week of the season. 

The Boston Three Party was equally impressive. This team is DEEP! Led by Rich DiSola’s team-high 22 points, 20 rebounds, and 2 blocks. They had 3 other players score double-digits (Beato, J. Abreu, and Matty J). 

Matty, Jonathan, and Beato shot the ball extremely well from deep combing for 11 made three-pointers on 16 attempts which equates to 69%. If they shot so well, why was this game so close? Because both of these teams are fucking good. 

The Hamza and DiSola matchup grew more entertaining as the game went out. The banter and commentary left all in attendance entertained. After going into double OT DiSola would get the last laugh, but I have no doubt Hamza is looking forward to their next matchup. 

Needless to say, with so many rookies on both sides I had no idea what to expect, but they all played extremely well and they’ll only get better as the season progresses. For Boston Three Party Nika, Matthew, and Eric look like complete studs. They all outplayed their draft slots and performed well when called upon. 

Gear PF featured 4 rookies, Deron, David, Henry, and Hamza played extremely well together. Their unselfishness and defensive intensity will be the reason, this team is one of the top teams in the league when it’s all said and done.

Players of the game:

• Rich DiSola - Rich continues to get better every time I see him play. Despite being down in the closing minutes, his confidence never wavered as he lead his team to victory. If I had to choose an MVP today, he’d be my choice. Very impressive game my guy! 
• Hamza Abdul - He played an outstanding game and is on my shortlist for MVP. 

Primetime 4.0 vs Shooters Over Bigs

By Jamil Ball

Subject: Primetime finally looks like a contender, as they destroy Shooters Over Bigs

Despite a fantastic night for Jonah Feldman (18 points, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and 8 rebounds) there weren’t many highlights on the night for Shooters Over Bigs. They were completely outclassed by a very motivated and focused Primetime 4.0.

Jacob “Luka” Miller’s 26 points and 5 rebounds on 60% shooting from beyond the arc set the tone for this game early on. Despite being without the 5th overall pick Manny Sutton, Primetime 4.0 jumped out to an early double-digit lead fueled by their defense. 

Rookies Adam Liu (9 points) and Eric Tung (10 points) created havoc by playing suffocating defense and forcing multiple turnovers that led to easy offensive baskets. Veterans Nick Keramaris, John Muccio, and Scott Glynn contributed significantly on the defensive end. 

This team has skyrocketed to # 3 in my week 2 power rankings and the best is yet to come. Next week’s matchup against Team Robel will be an opportunity for them to put the league on notice. 

I know the night didn’t go as expected Shooters Over Bigs, but on the bright side, rookies Alex Yuen (9 points and 9 rebounds) and Alejandro Osorio (9 points and 9 rebounds) looked extremely impressive on both ends of the court.

I have to say, I am extremely impressed with every rookie this season. The quality of the player, skill level, and character are a welcomed addition to this league. 

Players of the game:

• Jacob Miller - Jacob “Luka” Miller was impressive on both ends of the court. He’s certainly entered the MVP conversation with his fantastic play. 
• Adam Liu - Adam’s number doesn’t jump out at you, but he played so well on both ends of the court. I have a feeling, by the season's end, he will be one of my favorite players in this league. That kind of energy and effort is contagious. 

5v5 Draft Winter 23 Draft Recap & Way Too Early Power Rankings

by Jason on Jan. 17, 2023

Way Too Early Power Rankings!

The 5v5 Winter 23 draft has commenced, so it’s time for the Way Too Early Power Rankings.

There was no shortage of disappointment and controversy, as Player Requests (Demands) continued to dominate the pre-draft discussions. With that said, some other highlights include: 

• Dowrey and Miguel successfully orchestrated their plot to draft 3 of their friends. Dowrey is claiming innocence, but I’ll be the judge of that. 
• Van Wert and Garofalo were denied the opportunity to play together for the second consecutive season. I’m thinking one of them should be a captain to avoid this outcome next session.
• Musse and Robel got their boy Nah Berhand. He will be in the running for Rookie of the Session. 
• Danzig is a hell of a captain, who would’ve thought? He didn’t just talk about wanting to play with Held, he trades up to # 3 and left no room for chance. There’s going to be the best big-man duo in the league. 
• Despite my effort to tank my draft, Jackson drafted me and Andre stepped up to cover my games and ultimately save the day. Thanks, Dre! You are very much appreciated. 

Needless to say, there was no shortage of excitement and I am looking forward to seeing what all these new guys can do. 

Moving on, here are your Winter 2023 pre-season Power Rankings.

Way Too Early Power Rankings

8. GLYNN (Shooters Over Bigs)

Despite my last-place ranking, I do not doubt that Ryan’s team has the potential to finish in the upper echelon of the league. There are a lot of unknowns here, but my biggest concern is their lack of size. 

Feldman is a scrappy baller, who plays well bigger than his 6”2 frame. Brian Horton has some size and can assist with matchups against bigger teams, but this does have the potential to be a challenge for them. 

With that said, this team will be in contention when it’s all said and done. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Feldman, F. Horton, F. Jenco, G. Biskelonis, and G. Ryan Glynn

Draft Grades

• 6 – Feldman A+ – Jonah Feldman was the highest-rated player in the draft, so getting him at 6 was an absolute no-brainer. 
• 11 – Horton A – Brian is a very capable scorer and was an absolute no-brainer with the 11th pick. 
• 22 – Biskelonis A – Alex is a skilled point guard that will hit open shots and facilitate the offense. Based on the other players available at 22, I think he was the best fit for this team. 
• 27 – Jenco B – My grade here has nothing to do with Jenco, but I would’ve loved to see them draft some size to compliment Jonah here. Jenco is a two-way player capable of rebounding and scoring consistently.
• 38 – Rivadeniero A  – Carlos has the potential to be a double-digit scorer off the bench. Coming off a stellar season in the over-30 league, I’m interested to see what he can do as he transitioned to a 5v5 league. 
• 43 – Yuen A – Alex Yuen has the potential to be the steal of the draft. Potent 3-point shooter and a very capable scorer. How the hell did he fall to 43? 
• 54 – Ng A – Big Gunz has been working out three days per week and is ready to battle. Let’s fucking go! 

7. MUCCIO (Primetime 4.0)

Mooch did a fantastic job drafting this team. My rankings have more to do with the parity in the league and absolutely nothing to do with the overall potential for the team to outperform their initial rankings. 

Sutton at # 5 was an absolute no-brainer for me. This dude is an absolute mismatch in the post. He and Nick Keramaris make for an interesting pairing, but a fantastic strategy. Unlike most big men, they do not occupy the same space.

To round out the lineup, Mooch drafted Thompson who fantastic point guard that is at his best when he’s playing aggressively. Overall, this was Mooch’s best draft in multiple seasons and I would not be surprised if this team outplays their rankings. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Keramaris, F. Sutton, F. Mooch, G. Liu, and G. Thompson

Draft Grades

• 5 Sutton A+ – I believe Manny was one of the top players in this draft. Getting him at 5 was a no-brainer. 
• 12 Keramaris B – Admittedly, I have some questions about Nick’s fit here. Nick is a fantastic defender and rebounder, I wonder after last season’s offensive struggles if Mooch should have targeted a scorer at 12. 
• 21 Thompson A – This was a huge value pick. David went 10th overall last session, so getting him at 21 was an absolute no-brainer. 
• 28 Liu C+ – Hard to gauge how effective Adam will be in this league. He averaged 11 PPG in a super competitive B2 5v5 league last session, but his team went 0 – 9 and averaged a 13-point loss, so does it really matter? 
• 37 Tung A – Getting a 3-point sharpshooter at 37 is a savvy move, no arguing Eric will be a draft steal. 
• 44 S. Glynn A – The real “Glynn” Scott was relatively quiet last season. After back-to-back championship seasons, his team failed to make it out of the first round. I do not doubt that Scott will make teams pay once again for passing on him. 
• 53 Miller C – I’m grading the shitty rookie bio. Why join a draft league and give captains absolutely no details? 

6. Cote (TBD)

Heading into the draft, I didn’t think there was any chance in hell, that Mazz and I would end up on the same team. Clearly, Jackson had other plans. I understand Mazz at 4, but I think I was a reach at 13. 

Defensively, my team has a lot of potential. Led by Valcourt, Corrigan, and fearless leader, Jackson Cote, we have the potential for something special. 

The offensive end is where my concerns lie. This isn’t 4v4 and Mazz is not going to average 30+ PPG. Who else is going to step up and score?  Enright and Hasegawa will be the wildcards. If one of them can average double-digits I like our chances against any team in this league. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Jackson, F. Valcourt, F. Corrigan, G. Mazz, and G. Ball

Draft Grades

• 4 Mazz A – Mazz was the perfect pick for Jackson at 4. The big man isn’t much of an offensive threat, but he’s an incredible defender and rebounder. Who better to kick out to than Mazz waiting for a wide-open three-point shot? 
• 13 Ball C+ – Admittedly, I think drafting me at 13th was a stretch, but Mazz can’t pass the ball to himself, right? Hopefully, Andre keeps track of all my assists. 
• 20 Enright A – I am excited about Aidan’s potential. His ability to hoop might make or break our season. 
• 29 Corrigan A+ – Liam’s stats do him no justice. He’s a fantastic defender that is more than capable offensively. Liam and Mazz will have plenty of chemistry based on their familiarity. 
• 34 Valcourt A+ – Multiple teams were trying to trade for him and then my captain pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Evan has consistently been one of the top defenders and rebounders in this league for multiple sessions. I am ecstatic that he’s on my team. 
• 41 Hasegawa B – Sounds like he’s going to be a fantastic defender. I am looking forward to hooping with him. 
• 52 Zeng C+ – “Center trapped in a point guard body”? I am not sure how I feel about this, but I’m looking forward to hooping with you Regardless.  

5. BALCERZAK (TBD)

This team has unlimited potential. Christian did a fantastic job drafting one of the deepest teams in the league. I love the trio of Nett, Levin, and Schwartz. Van Wert at 36 gives BALCERZAK one of the biggest and deepest teams in the league.

What’s missing? A Point guard. Who will quarterback all this assembled talent? I can Andre Jones playing a significant role on this team. Kyle and Patrick were draft steals at 45th and 47th. I think they will drive on this team. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Nett, F. Schwartz, F. Levin, G. Jones, and G. Schluns 

Draft Grades

• 2 Nett A+ – I had Nett ranked as the # 2 player in this draft. What’s not to like about a former D3 basketball player? 
• 15 Levin A+ – Taking a flyer on Ben brilliant. I think he’s going to be a difference-maker on this team and in this league. 
• 18 Schwartz A+ – Dan Schwartz is one of the top players and defenders in this league. I can’t believe he was available at 18! 
• 31 Jones A – Andre is coming off a fantastic season. His game-winning buzzer-beater was one of his many highlights and I look for him to build upon that success. 
• 36 Van Wert A  – I do not doubt that Van Wert will outplay his draft position. I know he wanted to play with Mike G, but his pairing with former teammate Andre should make it a little more bearable. 
• 45 Aspell A+ – Patrick was absolutely amazing during our championship run last season. He has now participated in and won back-to-back championships. Could there be a third in his future?
• 47 Schluns A+ – Kyle is going thrive being surrounded by talented high IQ players. Perfect fit for him. 

4. Dowrey (Gear PF)

I honestly don’t know what to expect from this team, but the fact they assembled B2 team in a draft league, I have doubts they’ll be one of the better teams in the league. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Monclova, F. Myatt, F. Abdul, G. Morales, and G. Dowrey

Draft Grades

• 8 Monclova A – 6”2 point guard with the 8th pick. Doesn’t get much better than that. 
• 9 Abdul A+ – 35% shooter from beyond the arc? Between him and Miguel this team is going to have no shortage of firepower. 
• 19 Morales A – Todd wanted to hoop with him, so I am assuming he’s good. 
• 30 Remy B+ – Remy gives them some much-needed depth at the guard spot and provides fantastic three-point shooting, 
• 35 Fein A – The three-point marksman himself. Corey is coming off a fantastic season and his ability to shoot the three-point well is going to make this team even more dynamic than it already is. 
• 46 Myatt A – I was really hoping to hoop with Brad this season. He’s a solid big man that stretches the floor with his midrange game. This team lacked size, so being able to draft Brad 46 was crucial. 
• 51 Dias A – Dias at 51 was a steal. I have no idea why he fell so low, but I have doubt teams are going to regret passing on him.  

3. Danzig (Danzig with the Star)

Danzig assembled the best starting 5 in the league. The combination of Held, Danzig, and Garofalo is going to be nearly impossible to stop. Most teams struggled to assemble 2 bigs, Danzig messed around and drafted 3. 

If this team is that talented, why did I rank them # 3? Because I have some serious questions about their depth. If they are able to get consistent production from Mukalel, Duff, and Quan, Danzig and company have to be one of the top teams in the league. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Held, F. Danzig, F. Garofalo, G. Cruz, and G. Lewis 

Draft Grades

• 3 Held A+ – Held is one of the most skilled players in this league. He and Danzig together will be one of the top duos in this league. 
• 14 Garofalo A+ – Mike is coming off a monster season. He continues to be underrated, but it worked out perfectly because he landed on a loaded team. 
• 24 Cruz A – Solid rookie profile, looks like he’ll be a core player on this team. 
• 25 Lewis A – Solid rookie profile, looks like he’ll be a core player on this team. 
• 40 Mukalel B+ – Amal at 40 was a solid pick. What he lacks in talent, he makes up for in effort. He has consistently gotten better each session, so I know his best is yet to come. 
• 50 Duff B – I love Duff’s potential! I was hoping to hoop with him, but my captain made an executive decision to trade him away. 
• 56 Quan A – Chao’s Player Rating continues to be deceiving. He has consistently played well in the biggest game and will be a productive member of this team without a doubt. 

2. JOHNSON (Shooters Over Bigs)

Led by Matty J and DiSola, this squad is going to be extremely difficult to guard. They are ridiculously deep 1 – 8. 

Tim, Matty, Beato, and DiSola will pace them offensively but don’t Jonathan Abreu, he is a more than capable scorer. Admittedly, I do have concerns about their lack of size and that could prove to be troublesome, but as long as they score more than the other team they have a chance. 

With that said, I expect them to be one of the league’s top teams, and I am excited to see how this plays out. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Sulakvelidze, F. J Abreu, F. DiSola, G. Johnson, and G. Donnelly

Draft Grades

• 1 DiSola A – Rich is coming off a championship MVP-worthy season. There’s no question that he’s the number one player in this draft and Matty surrounded him with a ton of talent. 
• 16 Donnelly B+ – Tim is one of the best two-way players in the league when he’s in attendance. Tim, Matty, Beato, and DiSola will be the top three-point shooting team in the league. 
• 17 Sulakvelidze A – Getting 6’4″ 200 rookie at 17 was a great value pick. This team is devoid of a true big man, so Nika, Jonathan, and Disola will have to step up! 
• 32 Beato A+ – Beato is going to get buckets in this league. This dude should’ve gone ahead of me. The fact that Matty got him at 32 is obnoxious. 
• 33 J Abreu A+ – Jonathan at 33 was a steal. He’s a very capable player on both ends of the court and provides Matty with so much-needed size. 
• 48 Li B+ – The rookie had a solid bio and adds depth to Matty’s ridiculous embarrassment of riches. 
• 49 Lambalot B+ – Another solid rookie that played at a high level. This team is absolutely stacked and primed for success. 

1. GHEBREMICHAEL (TBD)

Robel and Musse assembled a ridiculous team that is posed to be one of the top teams in the league Berhanu eventually makes his debut. 

The combination of Mullings and X might just be the best backcourt in the league on both ends of the floor. Berhanu is going to give them a 3-headed monster and we can’t forget the big dawg himself Robel. 

Add Musse, Kevin, Steve, and Cameron into the mix and you have one hell of a team. 

Projected Starting 5 

1. Robel, F. Rakusin, G. X, G, Berhanu, and G. Mullings

Draft Grades

• 7 Mullings A+ – Solid point guard that will pace his team offensively. Perfect pairing with X and Robel. This team is going to be very entertaining to watch. 
• 10 X A+ – X is coming off a monster 5v5 Draft session. I love the pairing of him, Berhanu, and Tyrone. This squad is very reminiscent of Robel’s Championship bound squad. Team name suggestion, Championship Won? 
• 23 Berhanu A+ – From my understanding, Nah might end up being the steal of the draft. This team is stacked. 
• 26 Musse A – Musse isn’t Musse yet, but he looks more comfortable in every game. I’m excited to have him in the league and 
• 39 Gillooly A – Kevin when left open can make teams pay from beyond the arc. Surrounded by all this talent, Kevin is going to absolutely thrive offensively.
• 42 Rakusin A – Steve was a great selection to play with the big dawg. Steve is a fantastic rebounder and defender, but offensively he stretches the floor as a very capable 3-point shooter. 
• 55 Cameron A – Cameron at 55 is a serious draft steal. He is the reason this is one of the deepest teams in the league.