Season Award Predictions

MVP: Bradley teDuits

Many view Bradley as the most skilled player in the league which could come as a surprise as just a year ago he led his team with 0 points and 1 technical foul in the most important game of his season. When you look at his team however it is evident he will need to step up and put up big numbers if this team is going to win as you can't imagine Colin tossing hand grenades at the hoop will get them the points they need to go the distance. Bradley should be able to guard just about anyone in this league and it's hard to bet against him scoring 20+ a game, which if this team goes as far as we predict them to, should be enough to win himself the MVP award. 

Other potential contenders: Derek Caruso, Will Bordes, Sammy Eggiman, 

Defensive Player of the Year: Colin (Quail) teDuits

It's quite scary to think Colin and his less handsome brother could take home the 2 most prestigious awards this league has to offer, but it's a very real possibility. He is practically useless when it comes to offense, but you can bet on a quiet day for whoever he is guarding on the other end of the floor. Colin is known for sending poor small freshman's shots miles into the stands and pick pocketing just about anyone who tries dribbling by him. His incredibly lanky arms and aggressive mentality on the defensive side of the ball leaves him in the discussion for DPOY every season and if he could pull it together on offense, he could easily be in the MVP talks as well. 

Other potential contenders: Sammy Eggiman, Jacob Strauss, Cole Connerty, Simon (Handsome) Chandler

Rookie of the Year: Evan Laudenslager

This is another one of those tough awards as no one really knows how this batch of freshman will play until the season stars, but Evan Laudenslager looks to be the early candidate for ROY. In evals he showed some maturity and the confidence that not to many could handle and could end up being one of the most impactful freshman we'll have the pleasure to watch this year. He is not one of the taller freshman and it's possible he doesn't quite have the muscle to hang with the upperclassman, but we hope he proves us wrong.

Other potential contenders: Rhein Stelzer, Jimmy Anzivino, Will Vogel, Nate Spinale, 

Sixth Man of the Year: Joseph Pang

This man knows how to be heard by his team mates, his clapping from the corner can be heard by anyone who is near the Lawrence Academy gym in the early hours of Sunday morning each week. Joseph Pang is known for his lethal 3 ball and when he gets his shot up you almost know it's going to fall. He could be the key for team teDuits to get them over the hump this year and secure them a championship. 

Other potential contenders: Ryan Taylor, TJ Sannazaro, Dylan Cianci, Ethan Ebersman, Rhein Stelzer

Most Improved Player: Jon Eisenklam

Jon has what many of the athletes this season don't have. The height. He's a slept on man mountain and has the potential to really break out this year and be a star. He's on a team full of players that can be labeled average at best and a breakout from Jon could be what this team needs to pull them off the bottom. Word on the street is he suffered from a scary back injury that we all hope he recovers from in time for week one, but we also hope he takes as long as he needs to nurse that precious back of his all the way to full strength.

Other potential contenders: Alex Caruso, Ivan Sturm, Richard Silva, Ethan McNamara

Worst Player: Ryan Bernard

It is a bit of a mystery why team Bonaventura drafted Ryan Bernard. The only logical reasoning is that they wanted his younger brother and he got dragged along with him. Most coaches wouldn't draft Lebron James had he been in the draft if it mean't they had to draft Ryan Bernard as well. Time will tell if he's gotten better since last year, but Ryan Bernard you are truly a poison to team Bonaventura. His jump-shot is terrible and he's constantly getting blocked and handing the ball back to his opponent.

Other potential contenders: Will Kenny, Sam Smethurst,

Worst Shot Form: Will Kenny

This goes hand and hand with the worst player award so it is no surprise to see Will Kenny and Ryan Bernard's names pop up again in this section, but our favorite has to be Will Kenny. It is truly a mystery how he started shooting the ball like this, but we would be shocked to see a single shot fall this season. He takes his shots like he's trying to make a bridge between a soccer throw in and a basketball shot. Let's just hope he can pull it together for team Cianci/Hanneman because as far as were concerned, he could be about as useful as a lamppost out on the court.

Other potential contenders: Colin teDuits, Zach El Masri, Ryan Bernard, 

Coach of the Year: Jarboe

This is the obvious tough one each year, but Mr Jarboe has the resume to back it up. He is the only coach that has a championship to his name and his pure passion for the sport is normally replicated by his team who often put in great performances. Only time will tell if he will be bringing the trophy home for another year. 

Other potential contenders: Mcnamara (Has to deal with Castelano, good luck)

  

Most likely to be the first to dunk this season: Jared Phelps/Sammy Volante

There have been many rumors circling around the rec league that the boxtroll has been spending countless hours in the gym bouncing between the leg press and the box jumps. It will not come as a surprise if he's throwing down everything from windmill dunks to between the legs posterizers. If it wasn't for Sammy Volante's sneaky hops, the boxtroll would be the odds on favorite without any doubt, but Sammy's also looking scary good. 

Other potential contenders: Derek Caruso, Simon Chandler

Best Foreigner: Paul Waltz/ Harald Gemmel

These two players are both foreigners who may have never touched a basketball before showing up to the GD Rec league. They are both starting from scratch and are a real unknown for mostly everyone in the league. Both are tremendous athletes and have all the room to grow in the world and if they hit there maximum potential from there size and athletic prowess, they can easily be huge impact players for their respective teams. It should be a amazing battle to see who pulls this one out. A battle between Germany and Sweeden, soccer and football, Paul and Harald, good luck to the both of you.

Other potential contenders: None

Pre-Season Power Rankings

Now that the draft is done and rosters are set, we are ready for our first set of power rankings for the year. Please keep in mind that this is all for fun and by no means is this meant to throw shade at any individual or team. As has been proven before by Team Jarboe who went from being ranked 2nd to last, and then winning the championship last year. Everyone has a great chance at going all the way so don't let this discourage you.

1. teDuits
This team has the star power that no other team can compare to.  The teDuits twins are no joke and in the areas where one lacks, the other has it covered. Colin's Draymond Green play style adds very little if anything to the offense, but his defensive prowess on the other end of the court makes up for the liability he is on offense. Bradley on the other hand can sometimes find himself getting streaky hot and can take over games, but usually comes crashing down to earth when his massive head gets in the way. Jared (Boxtroll) Phelps was also a sneaky good pick and knows how to score himself a bucket. Time will tell if this team really is the real deal, but if Joseph (Pangarang) Pang, Jay Fulreader, and Jack Cunningham can get their 3 balls falling, this team will be extremely hard to stop.

2. Jarboe
Coming in at the 2 seed has to be team Jarboe as they look to defend their title. This team has a player for every category you could want on a basketball team. Expect to see first year rec player Brendan Ferrari doing everything from finishing around the rim, to cashing in on the three ball, as well as clamping the opposing teams best player. The incredibly well rounded Simon Chandler knows how to not only get himself a hoop, but also find some of the hot 3 point shooters he's surrounded with. Max Jarboe, Richard Silva, and Raef Burhoe can all hit the 3 ball with confidence and it's hard to see where this team will struggle.

3. Anzivino
This team is headlined by Will Bordes who has been slept on for much too long and it wasn't till the end of last season when he began eating his way through the competition and led team Manzi to a 2nd place finish that many realized he was in fact the real deal. He can drop 25 points on any given morning and with Logan Hillberg and Zac Elmasri this team is not short of height. This team is another team who really lacks any weakness and could keep their place close to the top of the power rankings all season.

4. Connerty/Dzwonek
This team is one of the biggest teams the rec league has ever seen. This team has quietly taken 4 of the tallest players in the league and although they may not be good at it, they all like to shoot the 3. They should be a force to be reckoned with this season, but could very easily be beat on the fast break. Stevie Dzwonek is without doubt the Luka Doncic of the league because he is incredibly good, but really no one knows how. Pairing him with the awfuly strong Tommy Raymond and Cole Connerty and letting the man in Groton with the most beautiful chin (Sam Smethurst) hoist up his fair share of 3's could be a recipe for a lot of wins.

5. Donaruma/Beigel
Team Donaruma/Beigel could pan out to be a real nice team this season with quite possibly the best 3 point shooter this league has in Alex Bushnell. Although he is only 1/4 as good as his handsome older brother, he can still let them fly from all over the court. Evan Beigel is one of the most athletic kids this league has and should have the ability to guard just about anyone other teams will throw his way. The real question that faces this team, is will they handle the Sri Dendukuri turnovers and forced shots that comes with having him on your team well or will that be their downfall.

6. Kelly
This team is built around twin towers Josh Booth and Mason (Boofma) Noseworthy. They should out-rebound just about every team in the league this season. Sammy Eggiman who is mostly known for his dashingly handsome all red school outfits and impressive leg press records will lead mostly everything that goes right offensively for this team. They have two athletic wings in Declan Lowney and Eugenio (Papa) Rivera who will contribute nicely on both ends of the floor. However most of the unknown from this team comes from the 5 freshman who are yet to prove themselves in the rec league.

7. Cianci/Hanneman
This team isn't the most talented in the league, but make up for it in their outstanding chemistry. All these boys know each other like brothers and it will be interesting to see if that love for each other will carry over on to the court. There is no doubt they have one of the best three point shooters this league has ever seen in Down-Town-Jake-Brown, but this team could often be short of players as almost all of their players are known to have spotty attendance records. We'll have to monitor the tedious shoulder injury that Sammy Volante has suffered during the football season, but once he returns to action this team will have one of the most talented point guards in the league.

8. Bonaventura
There are really only two sure things on this team and its Derek Caruso hitting 16 foot mid range shots and Ryan Bernard turning the ball over at least 10 times a game. It will be extremely interesting to see how the rookie combination of Ben Ansted, Will Vogel, and Evan Laudenslager fair and if this team has aspirations of making a run this season, they'll all have to contribute signifcantly. If it wasn't for the god awful Ryan Bernard this team may be higher, but it's hard to imagine such a liability not hurting this team. Good luck to team Bonaventura and if Ryan decides not to show up I'm sure you'll do great.

9. Strauss
This team has a clear and obvious weakness and it's height, their obscure draft strategies never fail to surprise others, but more often than not it works. This team could be pretty solid on the defensive side led by DPOY candidate Jacob Strauss, but it's not clear who there primary scorer will be. This team certainly has the ability to surprise us this year as so many of their players are rec rookies, but it's hard to see how such a small team will be able to handle a team of giants like Dzwonek/Connerty.

10. Mcnamara
This team could very easily prove me wrong, but I would never bet on a team with Alex Castelano as a key contributor. Although he has amazing hair and a real handsome smile, he is known for oversleeping his alarm and being quite the nuisance when it comes to his contributions to a team. Sophomore stud Curtis Lacombe will have to make his presence felt week in and week out if this team wants to make some noise throughout the season. Warren Callen has without doubt the most intimidating frame of all big men in this league and very well could get rebounds by scaring his opponents away, but unless this team really clicks on offense and shots fall consistently, I can't imagine this team winning a ton of games.

Open Gym

Lawrence Academy will be open to anyone who wants to shoot around or play small games from 8:00-9:30 PM both Tuesday 11/19 and Thursday 11/21.

2019-2020 Rec Basketball Season

Welcome to the 2019-2020 Rec Basketball season

The season will start with evals during the week of the 11th, with the schedule looking like this

Last Name	Date	Day	Time	Location
A – G	11/12	Tues	8 - 9:30	LA
H - Z	11/14	Thurs.	8 - 9:30	LA

There will not be any formal practices until after the first round of games which will take place on 12/1, but it is possible there will be an open gym or two before those games for anyone who's interested in playing some pickup or shooting around. 

Championship Result and Playoff MVP

5 Manzi vs. 2 Jarboe
58-51
In one of the most emotionally and physically intense games of the year, Jarboe capped off an incredible season and playoff run by knocking off Team Manzi in the finals. Star point guard Andrew Watkins put up 28 points in a MVP-type performance, carrying the offensive load despite being the primary focus of Manzi's defensive scheme. In the final rec game of his career, HOFer Sam Boudreau gave everything he could to keep things competitive, at one point scoring 15 straight points. At the end of the day, Team Jarboe's star power and defensive identity has simply been too much for any team to overcome all season, and their championship victory was well-deserved.

Playoff MVP: Andrew Watkins
The sweet-stroking sophomore couldn't be stopped all postseason, even by the best defenders the league had to offer. Stellar performances in back-to-back games made this an easy choice.

Championship Weekend Schedule

Friday 3/15 - Final Four
7:00 PM
2 Jarboe vs. 3 Southwick
@ LA

8:15 PM
1 Strauss vs. 5 Manzi
@ LA

Sunday 3/17 - Championship
6:30 PM
Jarboe/Southwick vs. Strauss/Manzi
@ GDRHS

7:45 PM
All-Star Game
@ GDRHS

Round 2 Results

1 Strauss vs. 8 McNamara
57-23
Strauss looked as dominant as ever, and, indeed, left Borsque & Co. with just the Co. Strauss really looks like a heavy favorite for the championship crown, and it'll take a near-perfect performance for anyone to take them down.

3 Southwick vs. 6 Hastings
59-51
Harrison overslept, leaving Mainerd to coach the team. Mainerd didn't even have to lace them up for Southwick to come up with the W, and with the win, they knock off the wildcard Team Hastings. As Hastings' season comes to an end, the performances by Chris Smith and Max Phanord all year cannot go unnoticed. These two put up two of the greatest rec seasons we have seen in recent memory, and both are serious contenders for league MVP. Let's forget about that and focus more on the iron horse that is Team Southwick. They are coming for Team Jarboe, knocking at their door. My one piece of advice for the Meerkat and friends is do not open that door for the horse. Good lord, don't open the door.

2 Jarboe vs. 7 KK
51-38
Despite going up 9 early, Jarboe proved to just have too many weapons. With a perfect blend of size, athleticism, quickness and defense, Jarboe will be a tough out for any team that goes against them. KK's strategy of not guarding the meerkat somehow didn't work, as it turns out meerkats can actually play basketball.

4 Townsend vs. 5 Manzi
36-27
Manzi came up with probably the biggest win they'll have all year, and are on cloud nine going into the semis. They were able to take down the 4 seed Team Townsend, who did not have the detriment of Hank the Tank on the floor, and did it WITHOUT Sam Boudreau. With Sam back for the semis, the rest of the league needs to watch out.

Round 1 Results

KK vs. Willson
49-47

This game was a fantastic way to cap off the first round of rec playoffs. In a true battle of grit, Team KK was able to topple Willson thanks to a clutch mid-range shot by D-Rod. Although he showed up late and threw up twice during the game, Alex "CASTRO" Castellano played one heck of a game. After holding The Waffle House to only 2 points he told us writers here at the blog, "I am the best defender in the league". Some would say that his one point on a bank shot free throw was the reason that KK won, and even the reason that basketball is still alive.

McNamara vs. Booth
40-34

Borsque & Co. were able to clinch the win against Booth Friday night. Borsque played his big kind heart out and prevailed. Although Matty "Bo" Binks did everything in his power to win, the Borsque was just bigger. Borsque told us writers here at the blog that Bo was "sooo quick dood". Game respect game. 

Hastings vs. Sellers
61-51

Many expected this game to be slight work for Hastings, however, Sellers made sure to give them a good old fashioned fight to the death. I'll say this much, neither team really wanted to win considering who they would be playing round two. Alas, Alex Sellers seemed to be everywhere with putback after putback and rebound after rebound. This story is about a different Alex though, Alex Bushnell. Young Shnell was pulling up from everywhere and rained in a solid 24 points on the night. Alex's brother, Joe, nodded in approval at this performance.

Playoff Prediction 2 (Harrison Southwick)

Round 1

6 Hastings vs. 11 Sellers
52-31

This one is extremely obvious, Sellers is statistically the worst team in the league. Although Hastings has simmered down from their supernova start to the year, they are still luke-warm and should easily defeat the silent assassin, Alex Sellers.

10 Willson vs. 7 KK
43-39

Listen to me, both these teams are pretty rotten. HOWEVER, Team Willson has an X-factor, The Waffle House (Matt Lagar Jafar). The Waffle House is going to be open all day Friday and expect a huge game from him. One other thing that leads me to believe that KK will lose is that this teams best player will be canceled out by the worst player to touch the rec court, Alex Castrollano. Good lord this guy is terrible at basketball. Like so bad.

8 McNamara vs. 9 Booth
52-46

All year McNamara has hovered between the 6-8 seedings, this is hugely due to the fact that no one on this team ever shows up. Borsque & Co is often without the Borsque and left with the Co. When Borsque shows up to the game on Friday it will be a Bo on Borsque duel. The denser of the two is bound to prevail.

Elite 8

4 Townsend vs. 5 Manzi
55-44

After watching these two teams face off in the last game of the season the crowd was left begging for more. Thanks to Townsend, Team Manzi dropped from the 3 to 5 seed and was forced to play Townsend again in their first playoff game. Oh, the drama. Kyle Plausse has proved that he can wolly-wop anyone he so chooses, he promised me he would hit Team Manzi with the works and he did just that in the last regular season game. One would assume that this game would be much closer but it has come to our attention that Samuel Boudreau will be missing this game to travel to the magical land of Delaware, for shame Samuel, for shame.

3 Southwick vs. 6 Hastings
72-58

If this game is anything like the first time these two teams faced off then Southwick will be tasting the sweet sweet nectars of a rump whooping. It is clear that Team Southwick is so good at basketball it's crazy. As long as Jack Barry plays like he normally does and Sammy "Lovecraft" Eggiman maintains his triple double stats, then Southwick will have zero problems.

2 Jarboe vs. 10 Willson
51-38

After the Waffle House being open for a consecutive 48 hours, its employees will be all tuckered out and ready to quit. Meanwhile, the most hated player in the league, Mr. Chandler, will be all revved up and ready to rumble after his short meerkat hibernation. Expect this game to be a blowout, after all, it is a 2 seed versus 10 matchup. Chatters around the league predict that if Chandler equips his going out Topper before the big game then he could, in fact, break the 43 point league history high.

1 Strauss vs. 8 McNamara
45-38

Although Borsque is the Earth's mightiest hero, I don't believe he has the power to single-handedly take down the most annoying team to play in the league. Strauss for some reason is good and it really angers everyone. Strauss may not have the most star power in the league but they get it done.

Final Four

3 Southwick vs. 2 Jarboe
45-42

I envision this game being as close as it was the first time. I personally have never been more angry as I was when that snarky little meerkat hit a game winning three against my fantastic team. I can assure you that will never happen again. Simon Chandler is the complete opposite of a threat, its laughable. While Jarboe has been solid all year and is arguably the best defensive team in the league, they will without a doubt fall short to the sweet delicious power of Team Southwick.

4 Townsend vs. 1 Strauss
52-47

I have two words for you, Kyle and Plausse. The real deal is going to have to pick up a massive workload with the league's best/worst player, Hankus the Tankus being gone. Hank is going to North Carolina to check out the Duke basketball team. They have been blowing up his phone, knocking at his door, and delivering sweet baskets of edible arrangements in hopes of signing the young superstar. Ha, kidding. Seriously though Strauss is going down. They are overrated.

Championship

3 Southwick vs. 4 Townsend
66-64 OT

This will be the best game of the year. There is no question about it. After trash talking each other's teams all season, Southwick and Townsend will duel it out one more time for all the marbles. History will repeat itself. Southwick will win. Expect me to go down with some sort of outlandish injury as well. Jack Barry will cancel out with Kyle Plausse, Zach Millet will cancel out with Nate Townsend. That leaves us with two players, Lovecraft and the Hank. Fire versus Ice. Good versus evil. Light versus dark. Most importantly, talent over garbage. Pack the stadium for this Sunday night duel in two weeks. After you watch Southwick win you can watch team leader, me, recover from my injury and run up a check in the All-Star Game.

Playoff Prediction 1 (Jeremy Keast)

Round 1

6 Hastings vs. 11 Sellers

50-47

Coach Eddie tells his team they are only allowed to shoot threes. Chris Smith and Max Phanord go crazy from deep, but they are the only ones who score for Hastings all game. Alex Sellers goes beast mode, being the loud and emotional leader he is, and his squad pulls out the tight W.

8 McNamara vs. 9 Booth

54-60

Friday night lights, Matty Bo vs. Borsque. This game is rowdy from the jump, with emotions running high. McNamara gets out to a big lead, but Booth starts crawling back into it, much to the dismay of the Borsque. Borsque's emotions are tested, as he grows angry and extra hulk-ish while Booth makes their comeback. With two minutes left, Borsque and Matty Bo get into a vicious fist fight, and both are ejected. Booth wins.

7 KK vs. 10 Willson

64-63

In a rematch from just 5 days earlier, Willson and KK battle it out in an intense back-and-forth game. Alex Castellano emerges from the shadows for the first time since Week 2, but chooses to stand in the fan section and root against Team KK. In a game that comes down to the wire, Coach Keast expertly draws up an out-of-bounds play that sees Joseph Pang splash a three at the buzzer for the win.

Elite 8

3 Southwick vs. 11 Sellers

56-48

Sellers' title hopes come up short, as Team Southwick lucks out and watches Harrison forget how to walk as he steps onto the court for tip-off. Harrison has no choice but to either sit on the ground during the game or coach from the sideline, so Mrs. Booth lets him coach. With Harrison now being a non-factor for his team, Southwick is able to take care of business against Sellers.

1 Strauss vs. 9 Booth

65-40

Team Strauss gameplans intensely for Team Booth, and they decide to quadruple-team Matty Bo. 34 seconds into the game, Bo gets so annoyed that he walks off the court and goes home. Booth, having no one to turn to for scoring, struggle against the high-powered Strauss and crumble.

2 Jarboe vs. 7 KK

52-66

Warmed up from their Friday night game, KK comes out firing. Jarboe relies heavily on Watkins to provide for the team, but he appears to lose control of his pet meerkat who unexpectedly turns feral at halftime and bites him, and Watkins is forced to be stretchered off. Too busy trying to tame the wild beast in the second half, Team Jarboe falls apart and KK cruises into the semis.

4 Townsend vs. 5 Manzi

48-70

Following an emotional game last week for Manzi after losing at the buzzer. Sam Boudreau activates playoff mode and goes berzerk. He drops 45 on Hank in the first half alone. Adamant that he will not switch on defense, Hank remains on Sam and ends his valiant rec career with two broken ankles and a fat L in a blowout win for Manzi.

Final Four

3 Southwick vs. 7 KK

50-57

In the battle of the blog admins, Team KK is a heavy underdog. Zach Millett and Jack Barry are ready to go to work, but in a shocking turn of events, Mainerd is spotted lacing them up. After receiving word that his son is now paraplegic, he decides to take his place on the roster. Mainerd goes for 26, but its not enough as D-Rod and Keast combine for 60 on 2 total missed shots.

1 Strauss vs. 5 Manzi

67-65

This is the best game of the playoffs. Team Manzi plots to get inside of Dougie's head, and does so successfully. Bursa heckles Dougie from the sideline all game long, and Dougie, evidently rattled, breaks into tears before halftime. Needing to carry the load, Jack Blount is no match for the onslaught of Brad & Sam, as Manzi is able to pull off the close upset.

Championship

5 Manzi vs. 7 KK

It's a packed house at GDRHS, and the closest thing either Sam or Jeremy will feel to being on varsity again. Right before tip-off, the meerkat returns. It storms the court and consumes the game ball in protest, then proceeds to eat every other ball it can find in the gym. With no ball to play with, an anonymous PA announcer states that the championship will be decided by a rap battle between a member from each team. Coach Manzi steps up as Roy Kunk Lug. Alex Castellano, still rooting against his team from the stands, comes onto the court for the debut performance of "Castroworld." Casto wins the hearts of the crowd and KK is named league champs. Castellano wins league MVP.