5v5 Draft Week 2 Write-Ups
by Jason on
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
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 2 Write-Ups
by Jason on
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.
Saturday Draft League Week 2 Write-Ups
by Jason on
WEEK 2 Write-Ups
56 To the Rak FINAL 88 Rip Hamilton
Subject: # 1 Rip Hamilton Blows out To the Rak in Second Half
By SHAWN WISE
Once again Rip Hamilton, had to start their game without leading MVP candidate, Jamal. To the Rak would try their best to pull away early but were only jump out to an 8 point lead before Jamal’s arrival. During that 8 minutes, Emmanuel was a menace to Rip Hamilton on defense racking up an impressive 4 steals over the first 8 minutes.
To the Rak was able to keep the game close at half time but Jamal was quickly stacking up points towards the end of the half and exploded in the second half to finish the game with 43 points and 20 rebounds. When Jamal wasn’t having his way with the defense, Jamil was able to carry the offense as a secondary option by adding 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Missing their first-round pick, Kevin, definitely hurt To the Rak this week. I was excited to see the matchup of Kevin and Jamal but we’ll have to wait until the rematch between these two teams to see that matchup. Without Kevin To the Rak looked their best with the offense running through Emmanuel and Rob. Rob would finish with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Player(s) of the Game:
- Jamal Brown - 43 points and 20 rebounds in 32 minutes automatically gets you player of the game
- Emmanuel Okharedia - Emmanuel was a menace on the defensive and led his team in both steals and assists.
64 LEBOV FINAL 52 Ghost Rider
Subject: # 3 LEBOV make light work of # 5 Ghost Rider to achieve their first victory of the young season.
By JAMIL BALL
In this 9 AM matchup, team Ghost Rider got off to a horrid start as LEBOV was playing with a purpose. After 5 minutes of play, LEBOV was leading 12 - 6. Ghost (22 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 steal) who finished with a game-high 22 accounted for all 6 of Ghost Rider’s points.
For LEBOV SDL rookie Lucas Guliano (18 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists) got it going early and really set the tone for LEBOV on both ends of the court. Adam Ellabidy (16 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and block) arrived a little after the tip, but it didn’t take long for him to make his impact on the game.
With 3 minutes left in the first half, the lead ballooned to 13 in favor of team Lebov (33-20). Lebov, Guliano, Ellabidy, and DV all were playing inspired team basketball. One of the huge advantages for team LEBOV was rebounding. They would combine for 16 offensive rebounds, while only allowing 3 to their opponents.
At the half, LEBOV would lead 36 - 27. Ghost (14) and Lucas (11) would be the leading scorers for their respective teams.
In the second half, Cam Daniels (16 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists) would really pick up the pace. The fantastic chemistry between Cam & Sheff was on full display. Sheff finished 1 point shy of a triple-dub with 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
He was dealing ball, like Pedro Martinez in his prime. Despite a furious comeback attempt. Team LEBOV had no interest in letting up in this matchup, DV (15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks) would lead all scorers in the second half with 9 points and really help put this game away.
Player(s) of the Game:
- Lucas Guliano - All around great effort for Lucas. Validating my promoting of him as a first round selection.
- Djordje Vlajkovic - DV fell short of his own 20/20 expectation, but still played a heck of a game.
- Adam Ellabidy - Continues to by my favorite for rookie of the year and steal of the draft.
63 Saturday Morning Hypothermia FINAL 65 Slick When Wet
Subject: # 2 Slick When Wet hold off # 4 Saturday Morning Hypothermia to stay undefeated
By JAMIL BALL
A fully staffed Slick When Wet looked to stay undefeated with reigning MVP Adwaith Nair making his season debut. In comparison, the Saturday Morning Hypothermia-led Damian Ruff squad is looking for their first win of the season.
After looking unstoppable in week 1, Slick When Wet looked out of sync at the start of the game. Missed shots, turnovers, and terrible defense led to an early deficit. On the other hand, led by DTO (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists) Saturday Morning Hypothermia got off to a scorching start!
David was a one-man fastbreak and would go on to score 17 of his 22 points in the first half. Adwaith and Ruff, both arrived shortly after the tip (Divas). Once they checked into the game, this matchup got much more interesting.
Adwaith had a monster game with 23 points, 3 steals, and 13 rebounds. His ability to score in bunches created easy baskets for Alan (10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Shawn (12 points and 10 rebounds).
Slick When Wet would go into half-time with a 6-point lead (38 - 32). Ruff hit some huge threes as Saturday Morning Hypothermia mounted a furious comeback, but they would ultimately fall short in the closing seconds.
Other notable highlights:
- Slick “EJ” - Had a very effective game on both ends of the court grabbing 8 rebounds to go along with 8 points.
- Patrick B - Patrick hit some daggers down the stretch that allowed his team to win a game that could’ve gone either way.
- Shawn Wise - The big man is a walking double-double. He didn’t get 20 rebounds this game but was just as effective on both ends of the court.
- Damian Rudd - This dude has found the fountain of youth and his jump shot. Despite being 0 - 2, I’m sure he’s oozing with confidence, knowing his team is capable of beating any team in this league.
- Jorge Morel - Scored 14 points to go along with 16 rebounds. He will determine how successful Saturday Morning Hypothermia will be in this season.
Player of the Game:
Adwaith Nair - Adwaith had a monster game with 23 points, 3 steals, and 13 rebounds. Despite his struggles from beyond the arc, he did everything else to fuel his team to victory.
Saturday Draft League Week 1 Write-Ups
by Jason on
WEEK 1 WRITE-UPS
71 Rip Hamilton FINAL 62 Saturday Morning Hypothermia
Subject: Rip Hamilton gets a run for their money in 71-62 victory.
BY SHAWN WISE
In the first game of the season, Rip Hamilton literally didn’t show up ready to play. Number 1 overall pick, Jamal, didn’t show up until 3 minutes after tipoff. Immediately after subbing himself into the game, Jamal would miss his first two 3-point attempts. Also contributing to the slow start for Rip Hamilton, Jamil would go 0-4 from 3 in the first half, ending the half with just 1 point.
During the second half Jamal and Jamil would find their offensive rhythm. Jamal would have 22 of his eventual 37 points and Jamil would score 13. Ian provides a secondary downlow presence teams will have to account for, chipping in 11 rebounds and drawing 3 shooting fouls on post moves.
On the other side, Saturday Morning Hypothermia (SMH) started the game with great chemistry and was able to jump out to an early lead. SMH had great ball movement and would end up with 5 players in double figure points. Jorge was a defensive force in the first half with 3 blocks and 1 steal at the intermission. Jorge would finish with a team high 22 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Ruff began to find his shot at the end of last season and was able to carry that shooting over to start this session, making 3-4 from deep. DTO and Dylan would contribute 11 and 10 points. SMH
Rip Hamilton sits on top of the power rankings and deserves to stay there until someone knocks them off.
Players of the game:
· Jorge Morel: Jorge was the by far the best player for his team and was the only person on the court that stood a chance of trying to keep Jamal off the offensive boards.
· Jamal Brown: Jamal had an “ugly” 37, 18, and 4 stat line by his standards. The rest of the league better be careful when he has a “good” game.
53 Ghost Rider FINAL 51 To The Rak
Subject: Ghost Rider overcomes early deficit to beat The Rak in OT.
By JAMIL BALL
Ghost Rider vs The Rak was by far the most entertaining matchup on the docket this morning. I didn’t write any pre-game lines this week, but I would’ve had the Rak as heavy favorites. Both teams looked a bit rusty earlier on, which resulted in lots of turnovers and a couple of missed layups, but there was clearly no shortage of confidence and enthusiasm as they continued to chuck.
The 4th overall pick Cam Daniels made his CAC debut and didn’t disappoint with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. He even took on the challenge of guarding Kevin Devine, which some may argue had some undesired results, but never the less he played well.
Mike “Ghost” Fraher (22 points and 7 rebounds) anchored their offense. When they needed a basket Ghost stepped up consistently and they literally rode him to victory, no pun intended.
Both teams would go into the half tied 27 - 27, to the dismay of the spectators it was pretty clear this game was going down to the wire. The star of the game was Kevin Devine (30 points, 20 rebounds, and 2 steals). Ghost Riders had no answer for this dude and despite Cam Daniels's efforts, he didn’t stand a chance in the post.
The Rob Wood (14 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals) and Kevin Devine combination kept The Rak within reach, but they would inevitably run out of gas as the game went on.
In the closing minutes with the game tied at 47, Kevin had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. He got a good look in the paint, despite being surrounded by 3 defenders. This game would go into OT, but you could clearly tell the momentum was with the Ghost Riders.
Musse would go on to hit a dagger, which put them in control of the game and allowed them to pull off a very close victory.
Players of the game:
- Kevin Devine - Was by far the best player on the court at all times in this matchup. I’m used to seeing him distribute the ball, so it’s nice to see him take a more aggressive approach offensively because his team needed it.
- Mike “Ghost” Fraher - Ghost is just a bucket and was a huge reason his team was able to pull out the victory. The aren’t many guys who can score with the efficiency and consistency that he does.
44 LEBOV FINAL 52 Slick When Wet
Subject: No Adwaith, no problem as Slick When Wet pull of the upset
By JAMIL BALL
Slick When Wet pulled off the biggest upset of the day. With Adwaith not in attendance, I didn’t think they stood a chance, but boy was I wrong! Slick When Wet led this one from start to finish and this matchup was never in doubt.
Getting to the action, Led by their experienced captain EJ AKA Slick SWW had the best chemistry of any team that played today. Whatever deficit existed from a talent level, they were quickly able to overcome through fantastic ball movement, enthusiastic defense, and most importantly fantastic shooting from deep.
SWW was significantly undermanned with only 4 starters in attendance, but it was an extremely balanced offensive output as all players were able to reach double digits (EJ (13 points and 8 Rebounds), Shawn (12 points and 22 rebounds), Alan (15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists), and Patrick (12 points and 8 rebounds).
I’ve covered this league for a couple of seasons now and I can’t say I’ve seen Patrick, EJ, or Shawn play as well as they did today on both ends of the court. Despite not being named play of the game, Patrick had a fantastic all-around game and hit multiple big shots! He was also very impressive on the defensive end, forcing turnovers and creating havoc.
Despite LEBOV’s struggles on both ends of the court, you can tell they’ll improve as the season continues. Much of their struggles can be attributed to a lack of chemistry and rust. Djordje Vlajkovic didn’t struggle, his matchup with Shawn was extremely entertaining.
Like Shawn, DV (22 points and 21 rebounds) would have a monster game in a losing effort. He did everything he could possibly do on both ends of the court. Adam Ellabidy (15 points and 7 rebounds) is on my “Rookie of The Session” radar, played extremely well and I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.
Despite the loss, Lebov has the talent to be a contender in this league. I expect them to bounce back next week and I have no doubt Harry will play a lot better than he did today.
Players of the game:
- Djordje Vlajkovic - DV had a monster 20/20 game as he looks to make good on his plan to average ridiculous numbers throughout this season.
- Shawn Wise - Shawn played more assertively than I’ve ever seen him play. Anytime someone grabs 22 rebounds and rejects 2 shots in a winning effort, they have to be in consideration for Player of the game!