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TOPIC: 2015 Spring BBL preseason preview |
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| commish
February 17, 2015
3:59:51 PM
Entry #: 4159007
| Ahhh… the optimism just before the season opener of a new BBL season. Can’t you just smell it in the air? Right about now, every BBL captain is studying the 2015 Spring BBL Draft Board, dreaming of putting their team’s names on a commemorative plaque that will never be glued to the side of the BBL Championship Trophy. This spring – unlike seasons in the past when there were one or two teams that had no chance at wearing the crown – anyone can win the title …. even the Godfathers.
That being said let’s tear apart these captains’ preseason fantasies. After all, only one team can win the coveted 2015 Spring BBL Championship. So here goes the 2015 Spring BBL preseason rankings….
1. No Mercy: Captain Steve Maggs is back and he’s picking off where he left off last spring. Chemistry? That’s for nerds! Maggs chases upside like a chronic gambler betting the mortgage. And this season might be Maggs’ finest collection of offensive jugernauts. Williams! Dunn! A newbie named David Craig. Just like their gun slinging captain, all three guys shoot first and ask questions later. Add Big Boy Schooley in the post and No Mercy’s offense is a BBL matchup nightmare. Sure want to double-team Williams but do you want to leave anyone one of the other guys open? No Mercy has scorers at all five positions. But we can’t just give them the BBL title just yet. As usual, when you mix Williams, Brantley and Maggs, the only team that can stop No Mercy is … well … themselves. Craig – a 6-4 gunner – only adds more gasoline to this volatile basketball experiment. If that isn’t enough combustible material, how do you think the Old School philosophies of No Mercy’s bench players Lee Delinger and Ron Santini will mesh with No Mercy’s quick trigger offense? Can you imagine what those two will be muttering after Williams pulls up for a deep three on a 3-on-1 fastbreak? Does Duke Energy know this team is playing right down the road from a Nuclear reactor? Somebody, please, tell me where I can find some radiation pills. One paper, No Mercy is the clear favorite. Then again, wasn’t that the case last spring? Ka-Booooooom!!!!!
2. Air Raid: Is the third time the charm or will Air Raid waste three seasons of No. 1 pick Bob Vincent? This spring, Air Raid CEO Kocher isn’t taking any chances. The heartless bastard fired his longtime VP of Long Range Bombing Matt Russell – passing on him not once but twice in the third and fourth round. Think of all the pregame memories at Saeeds just flushed down the toilet. That control freak Kocher also undervalued his former VP of Big Boy Operations Richard Schooley, who was recruited away by a more interested competitor. “The stock holders are nervous,” said Kocher. “But I assured them that Air Raid has trimmed the excess fat. And besides, Schooley is way to skinny to play in the post. Even Chris Hunt can throw him around now.” That may or may not be the case, but you know Vincent isn’t going down in his final BBL campaign without a fight. Facing a bitter cold retirement in state of Wisconsin, rumor has it that Vincent will leave everything on the court this season. He’s even been forcing up shots in pickup games to prepare for the upcoming season. This spring, however, there is even more pressure on Air Raid than the stockholders or capitalizing on Vincent’s final campaign. This is definitely a huge test for Khwame Montenari. The whole league is curious to see if Vincent can inspire Montenari to play at the level that made him the No. 1 overall draft pick two seasons ago. If Montenari can’t deliver with Vincent at the helm, expect Khwame’s stock to drop well into the late third round next fall Even the upside captains are passing on him in the first two rounds. We all know Tony can score, but can he fit in with a team concept? If he can, then Air Raid team is certainly a title contender. Fink and Kocher bring quick twitchness and scoring, and Trigger Dan always seems to find his way on a championship team. I think he has three titles now. But if Montenari can’t fit in, Vincent may be leaving Charlotte without a BBL title. That will be nothing, however, compared to what the stockholders will do to Kocher.
3. Chumps: There’s plenty of pressure on Chumps’ Chris Hunt. The Championship-free GM spent the weeks leading up to the draft wheeling and dealing around the draft board. First a trade with the Godfathers to secure the second pick and then a trade with KMR back to the third overall pick for an extra second rounder. Strangely, accusations of collusion ended after teams got a chance to evaluate the Chumps’ draft picks. Was the trio of Chris Davis, Brian Tolleson and Matt Browning worth the shifting on the draftboard? Sure the trio has plenty of size, but is it enough to end the Chumps championship drought? If you ask Hunt, the answer is yes, but he’s still without a championship ring so no one’s listening. Lefty Rob McKinney, Sal and Lawyer Tom will also need to play big time roles in a championship run.
4. Networth: … or as I call them No Mercy lite. Captain Paul Andrews shares the same philosophy as Maggs: “It’s more fun to outscore your opponent than play defense!” If that is indeed his philosophy, then mission accomplished. There is plenty of talent on this squad to light up the Mountain Island scoreboard. Kenny could be the best perimeter scorer in the league not named David Williams and Cliff’s numbers should increase dramatically on the offensive-minded Networth. After two seasons with the half court Chumps, Cliff could really use a team that can keep up with his roadrunner skills. But the key to Network is its third scorer and captain Paul Andrews. Is he still a sleek, Mercedes-driving, hair-gelled, 20-point scorer in the BBL or has the closer-to-50-years-old-than-Chumps-captain-Hunt finally hit the wall. Rumor has it Andrew’s confidence is slipping. Have you seen him in pick up lately? His hair is a mess during pickup and he admitted he’s 22 pounds overweight. Andrews doesn’t even bother to accessorize his outfits anymore. I even saw him wear an old cotton T-shirt to a pickup game recently. These days, he looks more like a Different World’s Dwayne Wayne than the Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade. Everyone knows Paul drafted Denny and Greg Fornelli to raise the profile of his drowning franchise, but the rebranding effort from Just Saying to Networth doesn’t hide the fact he’s driving a Ford Fusion these days. That’s why I have them in fourth. But hey, if Andrews gets fired, spends more time at a hair salon and drops 20 pounds, Networth could win it all.
5. Surf Cowboys: While Networth and No Mercy could care less about chemistry, Ole’ Man Pick thinks its essential. It’s hard to argue with the defending two-time champ. Once again, he drafted players who got his back, but does this team have the talent and energy for a three-peat? JP is really the only young gun on this squad. Usually he has one or two chickenhawks to carry the load. Pick always has a head start on the other captains before the draft starts, but he’s putting a lot of pressure on his bear-belly side kicks Chris Bruce, Bob Dontino and Jay Barnes to carry out their end of the bargain? Can Bruce recapture his quick twitch ways? Will Jay Barnes get confused and shoot at the wrong basket again? Is Dontino happy or sad that he isn’t playing for the Godfathers? We’ll just have to wait and find out.
6. Godfather: Speaking of the Godfathers, nobody ever likes Villanti’s drafts but Villanti. Critics claim he selects beer-drinking buddies instead of basketball players. Did he make the same mistake again? If you ask me, Villanti nailed his first two picks with Zack and Heagle. The question left to be answered is if David Hahl, Vince Zwaydk (drinking buddy alert!) and Brandon Heagle can help Godfather win its first BBL championship? Villanti also has an ace in the hole. He went for the best of both worlds with his last pick when he drafted the ultimate drinking buddy in Party Randy, who has a BBL record four titles to his credit. Could Party Randy be the difference? If that’s the case, it’s gonna’ be one hell of a championship celebration.
7. KMR: Is this team going to see a lot of zone defense this season of what? KMR GM Raz sold his draft board to get Steve Brooks again – the only first-rounder nice enough to answer Raz’s calls every day. That kind of emotional comfort was worth trading away a second round pick. Raz used the rest of his draft picks to snare Reggie “What’s this arcing red line 21 feet from the basket for?” Perry and Mike Stiglitz. He also took on sharpshooters Matt Russell and Jeff Wheeler. Here’s the key. You know KMR is going to play defense, but do they have enough offense. If they shoot well from outside and get out on transition that will open it up for Reggie. If they don’t, well … I can see what their half court offensive sets will look like – Reggie putting his head down and driving recklessly into a wall of five defenders, while his teammates look on helplessly. At least Raz will have his Tuesday morning phone calls with Brooks to help him endure a long season. Look on the bright side Brooks … next fall is right around the corner.
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| Pick
February 17, 2015
6:50:25 PM
Entry #: 4159023
| As usual, excellent write ups by Hunt. Fairly accurate except for one spot. I guess it means the Chumps are better than Surf Cowboys. We will find out soon. Thanks for the inspiration.
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| Net Worth
February 17, 2015
7:01:30 PM
Entry #: 4159024
| Chemistry: The last time Andrews-Shepherd-Fornelli were on the same team, it resulted in an easy championship AND we had to carry Raz around that season.....instead of Raz we have Kenny....Just Sayin'......I don't see alot of roadblocks this season! If my Weight Watchers meetings aren't on Monday Night, then I'm pretty sure Net Worth will be better than 4th.
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| hughbaby
February 20, 2015
8:31:07 PM
Entry #: 4159248
| Hunt, the entertainment value of the write-up obscured the incompetence. nice work on both counts
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February 20, 2015
8:49:40 PM
Entry #: 4159249
| It's a shame the photo albums link is empty. can each team submit a few photos of gamenight?
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February 23, 2015
7:52:41 AM
Entry #: 4159383
| Week One Betting Lines:
No Mercy - 12
Net Worth - 11
Air Raid - 15
Vegas predicts blowouts across the board as the top three teams easily dispose of the bottom feeders.
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February 23, 2015
2:09:30 PM
Entry #: 4159412
| No Mercy with Brantley with a win tonight! Blahahaha. That's funny. Boom goes the fireworks!!!!
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| Tissue Paper
February 23, 2015
3:15:14 PM
Entry #: 4159422
| I can see KMR beating Networthless other than Brad no one else on that team plays defense and I see Reggie scoring pretty easy I would take the +11
Tend to agree with the other spreads
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