Practice Tonight Janauary 9, 2020

I realized there was some uncertainty on the Thursday practices after they were moved last week and that's my fault, but they're back on at LA from now on. Enjoy!

Week 4 Baller of the Week

Baller of the week: It was another week where the names we expect to see in this section failed to put up numbers to blow everyone away, but the big man Willy J turned into a prime Kareem Abdul Jabar owning the paint on both ends of the floor. He scored an impressive 18 points and thats no easy task with man mountain Dpoy candidate Cole Connerty lurking down low. With Evan ruled out for the rest of the season many were asking where team Donaruma could get the scoring? The answer may have just showed itself in the form of football phenom Willy J.

Honorable Mentions:
Alex Bushnell/Colin teDuits - Due to a lack of players Colin stepped into Alex Bushnell's spot in the first half of the team Donaruma game this weekend and in reality dominated his matchup. Team Dzwonek simply had no answer and by the time Bush showed up for the 2nd half, team Dzwonek was too tired to clamp him and he added 11 of his own points to build off the 10 colin put up. I guess i'm gonna combine these two halves of basketball and give them both half of a honorable mention for a combined 21 points. 

Brendan Ferrari - In a game that lacked team scoring by team Jarboe, Brendan took over and was the main reason they were able to stay in this game. It's unclear what his game total was, but we know it was somewhere in the 17-22 point range and it came at the right time for team Jarboe. He has a magical way of gliding to the hoop and his lethal three ball was on full display this Sunday. If the rest of the team struggles shooting for the rest of the season, it could be on Brendan's shoulders to carry this team as far as he can.

Sammy Eggiman - Sammy has been, to put it lightly, terrible. He has been a shadow of the player coach Kelly expected to get in the draft and it's unclear if its a real inability to put the ball in the hoop or he's just playing poorly, but this season has been a write off for him so far. However I will give him an honorable mention this week because he scored a full 5 points this week! I know many of you may think that really isn't much at all, but for Sammy it is a season high and something he's really proud about. Word on the street is he took a copy of the box score of his game and put it on his fridge. Nice going Big Red!

Week 4 Results

Bonaventura vs Cianci
45-32
This game gave us exactly what we'd expect for a 7:30 game. Everyone seemed a bit slow and the score at halftime was a mere 18-10 and team Bonaventura was just able to grow their lead from there. Team Cianci didn't have two of their stars in Vcityyy and Cory and without them their offense didn't look near as good as coach Cianci tends to hold his team to. Overall it was a well rounded performance for team Bonaventura as everyone chipped in with some points (team high's being Ansted and Laudenslager with 10 a piece). Debatably the most noticeable number on the stat sheet was Derek's surprisingly low 6 points. It's unclear the reasoning for his poor display, but we hear that he's trying to replicate his good friend Sammy Eggiman's offensive woes. 

teDuits vs Mcnamara
35-30
I've decided to not put team teDuit's name in green because if we're being honest they didn't even win this game. They just got lucky team Mcnamara didn't have enough to win. The ugliness of this game started from the teDuit's brothers awful shooting, in particular Bradley. It even got to the point where I was receiving updates from one of the best mom's in Groton (Mrs. teDuits) about how bad her son was playing. If it wasn't for the Boxtroll (Jared Phelps) hitting a late dagger and stepping up his game all day they could've easily dropped this game to the team who coming into the week was sitting bottom of the barrel in the power rankings.

Strauss vs Kelly
55-35
I think most people saw this coming, team Kelly who's started to struggle as of late couldn't handle the hot flying team Strauss led by first year player Jared Whitby. Team Strauss is full of talent and their big 4 of Matt Fordguy, Jackson Buermeister, Jared Whitby, and Jake Strauss are head and shoulders above any other big 4 and its clear that their opponents are struggling to stop them. It now becomes a question of who can stop team Strauss? 

Anzivino vs Jarboe
50-45
A well fought battle by both teams came down to who was getting the majority of rolls and friendly bounces. In this case the answer was most definitely team Anzivino. It didn't take long for team Anzivino to jump out to an early lead and they we're able to ride it into half time. However early in the 2nd half the good looking pair of Simon and Brendan strung together a few 3's in a row and dragged them back to a one point deficit and it looked like team Jarboe would win it. Will and company had other plans and between Logan, Zach, and Sturmo, team Anzivino was able to keep controlling the boards and thanks to some clutch buckets down the stretch, they pulled out the win.

Donaruma vs Dzwonek
52-46
After having troubles with the rules last week, team Donaruma was able to take advantage of having short numbers and was able to add DPOY candidate Colin teDuits for the first half and this killed team Dzwonek early. Due to a devastating injury to star Evan Biegel, Colin came in and scored a quick 10 points and helped set team Donaruma up with a huge early lead. Despite having short numbers, team Donaruma was not short of heart and big man Willy J led the way with a career high impressive 18 points. Going into the season team Dzwonek was awfully optimistic, but after going 1-3 to start the season, they may need a reality check. Shoutout to Cole Connerty who scored a good few buckets down the stretch getting himself 18 points as well.

Last note I hope all Patriot fans feel better, I understand it was a tough weekend for many of you. I also would like to wish a speedy recovery on behalf of the whole rec league to Evan Biegel who picked up a possible season ending injury over break. 

Week 3 Power Rankings

10. Mcnamara (-1) 1-2 
The equivalent of murder occurred in basketball during week 3 in the Strauss vs Mcnamara game and sadly the victim was team Mcnamara. There was little to no fight from the players and it was almost a depressing performance. The one appealing fact for this team is they are undefeated when Castro shows up, but sadly this has only happened once. Sure they have a win, but it was against our 9th ranked team who were missing their best player. Sorry, but team Mcnamara, you have yet to be impressive.

9. Anzivino (-1) 1-2
I'm well aware that this team just won their first game of the season, but it was against team Kelly without their top pick. In rec you get the sense when one team is missing their star, their chance at winning is slim to none. However somehow Anzivino needed a buzzer beater by Harry Palmer to get this win. If Will Bordes can pull things together and conduct his team to a week 4 win against team Jarboe, we will certainly see a jump in the power rankings for team Anzivino.

8. Cianci (-1) 1-2
Back to back losses for team Cianci now and we are yet to see a whole lot from this team this year. All eyes have to turn to the captain himself Alex Cianci as rumors begin to circle that his incredible leadership qualities displayed for his hockey team are not being transferred to his rec team. Even bigger questions will be asked of him if team Cianci picks up a third loss in a row which it looks like their destined to do facing a still undefeated team Bonaventura.

7. Kelly (-1) 1-2
After a exciting week 2 win, team Kelly has been sucked down to earth after providing team Anzivino with their first win of the season. Part of this loss can be blamed on Sammy failing to wake up for the game, but they were not convincing regardless. For this team to take the next step I think we need more production out of players like Papa Eugino, Josh Booth, and Declan Lowney. This is one of those teams where you can be fairly confident they wont end up at the bottom, but its also hard seeing them make it to the top. 

6. Jarboe (-3) 2-1
I understand team Jarboe has backed themselves into being 2-1 in likely the most unconventional way, but regardless they are somehow still 2-1. They played a good week 1 game against team Dzwonek, but since then it has been back to back embarrassing performances from team Jarboe. They we're played off the court against team Donaruma, but due to circumstances they were gifted a win. If they play the way they have the last two weeks it is a very real possibility team Jarboe are one of the bottom dwellers this year. Having former rec champions and vetrans Max Jarboe and Simon Chandler will definitely help as league sources have told the blog they've been speaking about how to get their season back on track. If there is any team that really needed this few week break it is team Jarboe.

5. Donaruma (+5) 0-3
Yes, I'm aware, team Donaruma is 0-3. You may ask yourself, Simon how could you put the only team that hasn't won a game at 5? Well, let me tell you, this team passes the eye test whether you like it or not. they had their early season struggles, but team Donaruma have officially pulled it together. As much as I didn't want to say it, Bush, Biegel, and RD have looked like a serious threat on the floor. Of course we cant be sure this level of play will be sustainable, but as of this past week they are looking much better. I'm sorry the last game played out the way it did, but you guys should still get recognition across the league. 

4. Dzwonek (+1) 1-2
I'm not sure how this has worked out, but despite team Dzwonek losing, I've decided to move them up a spot. It's pretty evident what this team's story is gonna be the whole season. They have a one trick pony in Stevie D and if he doesn't get any support it's gonna be tough to win. They played a very tough opponent in team Bonaventura and when you only have one player scoring it ends up being very tough to win. It should be interesting this Sunday as team Dzwonek will be playing the winless yet full of fight team Donaruma.

3. Bonaventura (-1) 3-0
Yes team Bonaventura is still undefeated, but they are yet to really kill off any teams. I have a feeling when it comes to a game versus either team Strauss or team teDuits they might not have what it takes. To win this rec league you need a couple tough grit and grind players who can tough it out when times get tough and clamp the other team's best player. Yet this team's most notable player (Derek Caruso) is known for being awfully soft. For instance his elbow injury which kept him out of a few games during his soccer season. In other words this is a good team that may not have what it takes to be #1.

2. Strauss (+2) 2-1
Wow. Team Strauss defined dominance in a win against team Mcnamara. In my opinion the scariest part of their 71 point showing was that none of their players scored more than 20 points. They showed that they have plenty of talented players and they're all not shy to share the ball. It's a shame Whitby wasn't feeling well for the game against team teDuits because this team may realistically be better than teDuits on their day. Nothing but good things to say about team Strauss following a good week 3 performance.

1. teDuits (-) 3-0
A Much less dominant win in comparison to team Strauss, but I can't bump team teDuits down until we see a clear trend that they're the worse team. Not to say team teDuits isn't great, I'm just not sure how much longer they'll be our top team. A third win in a row keeps them as one of only two teams that are undefeated and still a early championship favorite. Bradley was able to keep things moving offensively and a bright performance from Alvin Caruso was enough to take down a not so impressive team Cianci.

Week 3 Baller of the Week

Baller of the week: The big fella shows his worth. Not often will you get a baller of the week from a losing team, but he balled out and dropped a 30 piece so how could I not? He's debatably the biggest three point threat the league has and with giants wobbling around setting picks for him he gets his chances to let it fly. The biggest mistake anyone can make is going under the screen against him and if you do you can just about pencil in 3 points on the stat sheet. In the holiday spirit many were comparing him dropping 3's through the hoop to the big man from the north (Santa Claus) dropping present's down the chimney. After a long break we'll see if the league starts respecting him a bit more by going over screens set for him. 

Honorable Mentions:
Ben Ansted: As a rookie in the rec league, if your names not Chris Smith anything over 10 points is pretty solid and Ben dropped himself 12 points to be the 2nd leading scorer for his team. I think team Bonaventura's mistake was not putting Ben on Stevie on defense because Stevie could not hang with Ben on the other end of the floor. I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say we look forward to watching the growth of Ben for the rest of the season.

Harry Palmer: Maybe not an amazing game by Harry, but Harry get's to log himself in as this seasons first game winner. It's rare that the score is so tight where someone can take the game into his own hands to win the game but the opportunity presented itself for Harry and he took it. A game winning layup followed by that infectious smile and 8 points will get him an honorable mention for sure. 

Ivan Sturm: When I saw team Anzivino getting their first win of the season there was no doubt in my mind that it was thanks to underrated big man Ivan Sturm. After suffering with a hurt elbow his availability for the game was up in the air. However he pulled himself out of bed and after listening to his favorite artist Trippie Tess on the way to the game he balled out and scored a game high 12 points. Have a day Sturmo.

A few updates

All practices at LA and MSS are cancelled tonight December 17th. Also, due to LA needing the gym, Thursday practices are moved to Friday at the Middle School. Teams Bonoventura and Beigel/Donaruma will practice 6-7:25; Teams Kelly and teDuits will practice 7:30-8:55.  No practices during the break. Games resume January 5th.

Week 3 Update

Due to certain rules, team Donaruma has taken a forfeit for week 3 and team Jarboe will get the win. 

Week 3 Results

Strauss vs Mcnamara
71-27
One of the most lopsided games rec ball has ever seen saw team Strauss run riot against a Castelano-less team Mcnamara. It was an incredible team effort where the leading scorer (Whitby) scored only 19 points. They showed how this team has so many different options on offense that even when one player has a poor game, the others can pick up the slack. Team Strauss looked very scary and being able to put Matty Fordham and Whitby together while letting Jake and Burmeister do there thing on a separate line makes them a constant threat. Team Mcnamara had hardly anything going and quite frankly the only entertaining part of their side of the game was Emac hitting back to back free throws and Warren cannoning the ball off the bottom of the backboard. A game to be forgotten for team Mcnamara to say the least. 

Donaruma vs Jarboe
63-37
Back to back losses for team Jarboe which is quite concerning. They were played off the court by a team Donaruma who looked quite good on the day. It was the stars who showed up for team Donaruma and a late addition of Nick Jussaume provided too much to handle for team Jarboe. It was almost like magic, every problem we were able to pick out last week was resolved this week and they seemed to lack any weakness. At times in the game they were able to have Bush, RD, Evan and Nick all playing and there was no way to keep them from scoring. An incredibly disappointing display from Simon who couldn't hit any shots as the battle with the referee left him helpless on offense. Brendan who is usually quite consistent with his 3 ball was off his game and couldn't get much to fall. However all credit should go to team Donaruma who played their socks off to prove that they shouldn't be at the bottom. If Nick Jussaume really is part of this team they could have a good core four to work with.

Teduits vs Cianci
53-35
First real game where we were able to feel out if a full strength team Cianci is the real deal and turns out they aren't. Team teDuits were able to keep rolling and improve to 3-0. Once again they we're in control throughout and the headline today was that Colin teDuits actually hit a 3 point shot which is a christmas miracle. Alvin Caruso scored 11 points and between him, Colin, and Bradley with a modest 17 points, they cruised by team Cianci despite a solid fight from the hockey boys. 

Bonaventura vs Dzwonek
65-52
So I guess team Bonoventura really is the real deal. It looks like the more well rounded teams are getting the wins while the teams with one player doing most of the scoring are starting to lose. Stevie writes his name in the history books being the first player to hit the 30 mark this season, but it wasn't enough as the rest of his team couldn't pull their weight and make up the difference. Between Ben Ansted and Derek Caruso dropping a combined 28 points, team Bonoventura we're able to hold a steady lead of about 10 points throughout and eventually improved to 3-0. We could be looking at a bit of a 3 horse race this season with our two 3-0 teams and team Strauss. I think if team Dzwonek can find a way to get some scoring around Stevie they can compete, but it's gotta be more than a 1 man show.

Anzivino vs Kelly
44-42
It took a clock expiring layup from freshman Harry Palmer to beat team Kelly in the late window. Sadly Sammy Eggiman who's known for not being the brightest when it comes to these kind of things set his alarm for the P.M. and slept right through the game. Many would expect that this would be a Will Bordes scoring show, but it was Sturmo who led the way with 12 points. I was happy to see we finally got our first game that came down to the wire this season, but this game was what rec ball is all about. A tight game that needs someone to step up is what we come to see and thank you to Harry Palmer for providing us with a game winner. 

Power Rankings week 2

10. Donaruma (-2) 0-2
Just a real poor display last week leaves me no option but to send them to the bottom. I think there are issues on both ends of the floor, but if I had to pick one I'd say the defense is lacking. I'd say Bush somewhat resembles a slug and I'd say it's just a tad to easy to blow by him and RD or Evan aren't having much more luck. Sadly team Donaruma is one of only two teams that are yet to get a win and between the two, team Donaruma has been the least convincing. Could we get a bounce back performance and see them beat team Jarboe? Time will tell, but for now it's the bottom of the barrell for team Donaruma. 

9. Mcnamara (+1) 1-1
It may seem a bit cruel to only move them up 1 spot, but realistically they beat a underperforming team Anzivino without their star player. Castelano showing up was a positive and Dummont pulling the strings on offense was also something to smile about. I think like most teams week 3 should tell us more about this team's real identity, they have a tough game against Strauss on the horizon and I think we will soon know what this teams really about. Yet to see Curtis Lacombe really turn it on, but maybe he'll turn it on for a week 3 outbreak.

8. Anzivino (-2) 0-2
Being 0-2 is a scary thing, but it's almost a glass half full, half empty kind of thing. Sure there is only two teams left like that, but your also only a game back of the third best team. It almost seems harsh to put them this far down because its no easy task to beat team teDuits and no matter who you play, if you don't have your playmaker the odds are stacked against you. I've got the butterflies though because I'd say week 2 was a prime example that this team is "no Will, no win." No one could put the ball in the hoop even against one of the weaker opponents. Might be time to chip in some money to send Zach to ball handling camp or else this team really could be the bottom of the league team that we weren't expecting them to be.

7. Cianci (-) 1-1
I didn't move them up after a week 1 win, so I won't move them down after a week 2 loss. They had 3 players show up against a half decent team Dzwonek and this game was over before it started. We really haven't gotten a feel for how this team will do long term, but for now the 7 spot seems like a reasonable home for them and playing team teDuits isn't the easiest thing so good luck. Cory Hanneman seems to be the ray of sunlight shining from this team and as long as hockey games and practices don't keep him off the court, he could help carry them this season.

6. Kelly (+3) 1-1
After what has to be said was a poor showing in week 1, team Kelly looked pretty convincing in week 2. In my opinion this could be the most well rounded team in the league. I'm falling in love with their freshman, they can all hit their shots and although they may be a bit timid, they got the skill set to hang. They got two decent big guys inside and it's hard to say they have a huge weakness. I am a little scared that the handicap on the team being Sammy's somewhat limited offensive game could bite them if it comes down to a last shot kind of scenario.

5. Dzwonek (-1) 1-1
I think team Dzwonek maybe be a top 3 team in terms of talent, but so far they've lost to a good team Jarboe and beat a team with only 3 of their own players and until they get one of those statement wins I find it hard to put them closer to the top. A matchup with and undefeated team Bonoventura should be the perfect test to see where they really should lie in the power rankings. I am still a bit of a firm believer that if you shut down the Steve D 3 you can roll this team. I just think they lack a bit of get to the bucket firepower on offense. 

4. Strauss (-1) 1-1
It's a bit of a reoccurring theme this week with many good teams missing a star player and losing and it's a question of do I drop them down the power rankings and by how much. In this case team Strauss was missing one of the best players in the league in Jared Whitby and it wasn't the right game to miss him because they were playing league leaders team teDuits. Regardless they lost and lost by huge margin. However with the appearance of Whitby on Sunday I'm confident this team will absolutely shred team Mcnamara.

3. Jarboe (-1) 1-1
Surprise, surprise. Another team misses another star and they lose. Team Jarboe missed Brendan Ferrari and had Simon Chandler sick and the team showed that they can't just show up and walk through any team. They deserved to lose and had they been full strength in week 2 they likely would've dropped a few more spots. Many had been talking that they had seen Max working for hours in the lab with role model TJLTraining and it showed on Sunday when he poured in a almost career day with the 3 ball falling consistently. 

2. Bonaventura (+3) 2-0
I suppose this team may just be the real deal. Derek flipped the switch this week and showed why he was the top player in this years draft. Ryan Bernard may not be as terrible as we thought and so if you leave him open he can score. They are one of only two 2-0 teams in the league and they have the quality to stay around the top for the rest of the season. Will Vogel looks to be a diamond in the rough and he has the shot making ability to contribute to what this team is doing offensively.

1. teduits (-) 2-0
I was hoping not to have to write about the teDuits at the top again, but they welcomed team Strauss to the smokehouse and it looked like the teDuits twins could've won the game without anyone else. The young Deveraux showed some skill as did the Boxtroll. If Jack Cunningham starts turning it on we could start watching convincing win after convincing win. It's a sad day when the teDuits succeed and thanks to a rather untalented older brother named Ryan, the rec league never really had to associate the name teDuits with winning, but I suppose this may be the season when it happens.

Very Important Alert

This Sunday December 15th, due to conflicts for a good portion of the players the matchup between Team teDuits and team Cianci will be played at 8:40 and the matchup between Team Kelly and Team Anzivino will be played at 9:50. 

Week 3 Schedule
7:30 Mcnamara vs Strauss
8:40 Jarboe vs Donaruma
8:40 teDuits vs Cianci
9:50 Anzivino vs Kelly 
9:40 Bonaventura vs Dzwonek

Also recently we have had some complaints so I've been asked to remind everyone that GDYBL players are only allowed in the gym and the adjacent bathrooms at LA, not in the locker rooms or on the 2^nd floor.  Don’t be the kid(s) that gets HS Rec thrown out of LA by breaking the rules.