JCC of Central New Jersey Men's Basketball

The regular season is officially at the midway point and one thing has not changed...the Greatest Show on Courts remains the lone undefeated team and sits two games ahead of anyone else in the standings. But the big news of the week was the unfortunate reality in sports - injuries. Orlando Jean-Charles, amongst the leaders for rookie-of-the-year honors, suffered a devastating ruptured Achilles injury that will obviously cost him his season.  I know I speak for everyone in wishing Orlando a speedy recovery and we can't wait to see him back on the court when healthy.  And based on his competiveness on the court, I'm sure he will attack his rehab in a similar manner.  The Silent Killers are adding Eddie Ford for the stretch run and I anticipate him making a big instant impact for captain Siri Carpien's team.  Sadly this wasn't the only injury this week as Dan Amsellem injured his calf, an injury which will cost him 4-6 weeks, but he's hopeful of returning before the regular season ends.  With 6 weeks now in the books, that officially brings us past the trade deadline as well as the deadline to add replacement players.  No trades occurred this season but I know behind the scenes there were lots of conversations amongst captains. So let's take a look at what happened in week 6:

JCC You in the Finals 64 - The Pipe Layers 44: The Pipe Layers were coming off their first win of the season and were hoping to make it two in a row. However, if they were to pull out this win they would need to do it without two of their starters, Ben Carr and Jordan Perlmutter, as well as Erez Liebermann.  JCC You was not all full strength either as they were missing captain Jason Narod. JCC You has alternated between wins and losses all season long and coming off a loss were due for a win.  JCC You came out of the gates on fire, quickly dismantling The Pipe Layers zone defense and taking a 12-0 lead thanks in large part to Steve Bachman, who scored 8 of the team's first 12 points. Steve finished with 10 points, all in the first half, and was one of four players for JCC You to finish with double digits.  The Pipe Layers hung tough and made multiple runs throughout the game to cut the lead to 6 points but the undermanned squad ultimately was unable to stick with JCC You. The Pipe Layers were led by captain Adam Hynes' 16 points followed by 12 by Midrange Mike Korn. Andrew Merel put up a near triple-double with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists but struggled when it came to maintaining his balance on the bleachers:

For JCC You, it was the Jim Korn show.  Jim has been getting better with each passing week and is starting to resemble 2019 Jim Korn, who won a championship for the Green team.  Fortunately for 2025 Jim Korn, his jersey fits way better than the 2019 version (recently discovered photo from Brian Schiller):

Jim scored 22 points and added 10 rebounds, showing off his impressive post game as well as multiple Dirk Nowitzki-like step back shots off of one foot.  Damien Jackson was an absolute beast on the boards (19 total) and also contributed 12 points in the winning effort.  Ed Seiden tallied 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.  The biggest difference in this game was the rebounding, JCC You outrebounded The Pipe Layers 54-30 (with 20 of those 54 coming on the offensive end).  The win brings JCC You to 3-3 on the season while the loss drops The Pipe Layers to 1-5.

Splash 60 - Bagels & Blox 44: This game was a story of two teams going in opposite directions. Splash came into the contest sporting a 3-2 record while Bagels & Blox were 1-4 but in the midst of a 4-game losing streak. Bagels & Blox opened the game with a 12-3 run and looked like maybe they had found whatever had been missing in recent weeks.  Unfortunately for Bagels & Blox, the good play didn't last long as Splash answered with a 17-5 run to open a 20-15 lead, a lead which they would hold for most of the rest of the game.  Splash's 3-guard rotation of captain Jon Ackerman, Shamar Mason and Adam Driansky continue to be a nightmare for opposing defenses. All three are quick, can score both inside and outside and also play excellent defense.  When you factor in their new addition, Mike Glanzman, who has been a beast both defensively and on the glass, this team is a scary matchup.  Last season on the blue squad, Ackerman and Driansky struggled shooting from three-point range but it's clear both have worked on that part of their game, making them both much more difficult to match up against.  Ackerman led the team with 19 points, Driansky added 16 points/12 rebs/4 assists and Shamar put up 14 points/9 rebs. Most teams do not possess enough speed defensively to match up with all three of these guys and they've been taking advantage of the mismatches.  Glanzman added 7 points, 8 rebounds and 2 more blocks.  For Bagels & Blox, Jamal Berry again led the team in points (16) and rebounds (10) and was the only player to total double digits for the team. Ben Huber and Brian Schiller each contributed 8 points but it was a poor shooting night for Bagels & Blox, especially from 3-point range (4/21 or 19%).  Coach Jon Kanarek is left looking for answers for how to right this ship and is probably regretting giving up his acting career just to chase his dream of JCC hoops stardom:

Splash moved to 4-2 with the win and will face their biggest test of the season this coming week against the undefeated Greatest Show on Courts.  Bagels & Blox fell to 1-5 and in desperate need of a win.

Team Psycho 73 - 99 Problems (But a Swish Ain't One) 68: This game pitted the team giving up the fewest points in the league facing one of the highest scoring teams in the league.  Team Psycho came out firing on all cylinders offensively and built an early lead which they maintained for most of the first half. Early on, Dan Amsellem paced the offernse, scoring a quick 8 points on 4/6 shooting. However, as mentioned earlier, Dan was forced to leave the game early after injuring his calf late in the first half.  Team Psycho has looked best offensively this season when they've run the offense through Dan, as he has either taken advantage of the size mismatch or kicked the ball out to open shooters. Without Dan in the lineup, the offense became much more outside shot dependent.  Now if you haven't heard this before, I'm going to let you all in on a little secret - TJ Farrell likes to take 3-pointers. And while he did convert on only 4/13 three-pointers for the game, it was enough to co-lead the team in scoring with 15 points.  For 99 Problems, it was the Jorge show.  L'il annoying was certainly doing his thing on this night, scoring 30 points while also contributing 5 assists and 5 steals (the league leader in the category).  Here's my advice if you're facing 99 Problems - don't be throwing weak-ass passes anywhere near Jorge and maybe keep a second ball handler nearby for when Jorge presses.  Because as soon as he gets his hands on the ball, you can pretty much chalk it up as a fast break basket.  Watching the tape it felt like Jorge was just moving at a different speed than everyone else on the court and that is saying something considering Colin Neff was also on the court. Unfortunately for Jorge, he didn't get a ton of help on the offensive end - with Jason Lorenzo being the only other player to amass double digits (10).  Captain Bryan Minasian did have an outstanding game for 99 Problems, scoring an efficient 8 points, while adding 18 rebounds and 4 assists.  Once Dan left the game, a lot of pressure fell onto the shoulders of Drew Mandelbaum, being the only other big on the roster. Drew did not disappoint in this contest, scoring 8 big points.  Colin Neff gutted it out in this game, nursing an ankle injury, but still put up 15 points/9 rebs/6 assists and was flying all over the court.  The game remained close for the first 10 minutes of the second half but Team Psycho built up a 6-8 point lead which they never squandered the rest of the way.  99 Problems did seem to adjust the strategy from last week where they attempted 50 three-pointers. This week they only tried 29 (as opposed to 35 2-pointers) but the more balanced shot distribution was not enough to get them over the hump and into the win column.  Both teams now sit at 3-3 with Team Psycho due to face The Silent Killers while 99 Problems will take on The Pipe Layers.

The Greatest Show on Courts 79 - The Silent Killers 69: This game looked to be the marquee matchup of the week.  Would this be the week that a team finally beat The Greatest Show on Courts? This is obviously just rhetorical because the score clearly shows they didn't lose but I'm trying to build some drama here.  The Greatest Show was missing Justin Dank, but was happy to welcome Flex Huberman (The Neighbor) back into the lineup.  Would Huberman be exhausted after welcoming a new child into the home last week? Well if this is what exhausted looks like, then sign me up.  Flex put up a monster line of 20 PTS/7 ASTS/6 STLS/11 REBS and has this writer trying to convince his wife to have another kid if it might lead to this kind of on-court performance.  As mentioned earlier, the big story of this game was the loss of Orlando Jean-Charles to an achilles injury.  Without Orlando, the scoring burden realy fell to Siri Carpien and Jason Pompeo and they certainly did their parts offensively to keep the game close.  Pompeo put up a game-high 24 points while Siri added 16 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.  The Silent Killers shot an impressive 13/26 from three-point range to keep the score close and strangely every player on the team that attempted a 3-pointer shot 50% for the game:

Siri Carpien/Rory Sculman/Alex Fisher 2/4 each

Jason Pompeo 5/10

Eric Lai/Seth Niessen 1/2 each (though video evidence showed that Eric's made three should've been a two)

The game was very tight until midway through the second half when The Gretest Show went on a run fueled by three straight steals and fast breaks, usually finished by the Gazelle in human form, Eric Sass.  Sass possesses a rare blend of size and speed and is often seen sprinting past all defenders en route to fast break layups. Sass finished the game with 16 PTS/11 REBS/5 ASTS.  Team captain Matt Ceccarelli looked like he might've suffered a serious ankle injury early in the game but it didn't seem to affect his performance for the duration of the game, scoring 18 points on a very impressive 9/13 shooting. Finally, Will "Hogwarts" Howarth, continues to improve on a weekly basis, this week leading the team in scoring with 21 points, while also adding 6 rebounds and 7 assists.  Now it's time to revisit a storyline from week 1. If you'll remember, David Steinbruck scored 16 points in the first game of the season (against only 4 players - and you thought I wouldn't mention it this week) and at the time I set an over/under of 3.5 games for how many games it would take for Steinbruck to total 16 points. Well, this was Steinbruck's 4th game played since then and he came into this game having totaled 14 points over the last 3 games.  He only needed 3 points to pay off all those bettors who took the under and after this play there was some question whether he would get his 4 points:

So close.  But Steinbruck did put this brick behind him and made a 3-pointer soon after en route to 4 points and 18 since week 1. When my commissioner days are done I think I have a future as a JCC Men's Basketball oddsmaker.   Greatest Show hung on for the 10-point win and remained undefeated at 6-0 with a red hot Splash team waiting as their next opponent.  The Silent Killers dropped to 3-3 with Eddie Ford set to join the team for the stretch run.

Power Rankings:

1. Greatest Show - Obviously they are undefeated and untested thus far. But they have a big test upcoming against Splash
2. Splash - They are undersized but might be the toughest team to match up against defensively.  
3. The Silent Killers - The brutal injury to Orlando will test this team but the addition of Eddie Ford gives them much needed height and this is a very deep roster
4. 99 Problems - They have lost two straight but this team can score points in bunches. If they can improve their defensive game (currently giving up the most points per game) then they will be a tough out
5. JCC You - This team goes through the big man duo and both seem to be rounding into form.  If they can get enough production from the non-bigs to prevent constant double-teams, they're going to be tough to beat
6. Team Psycho - Great defense but suspect offense.  The loss of Dan for the next 4+ weeks will be a real test
7. The Pipe Layers - They've won more recnetly than Bagels & Blox and this team has talent but they need to work on the defense and rebounding if they're going to get some wins
8. Bagels & Blox - Best player in the league can carry this team to wins any week.  It's just a matter of them all putting it together in the same week

Stats:

Points:

Jamal Berry - 25.0 ppg

Mike Huberman - 19.4 ppg

Siri Carpien - 18.7 ppg

Rebounds:

Bryan Minasian - 14 rpg

Eric Sass - 12.2 rpg

Jamal Berry - 11.5 rpg

Assists:

Mike Huberman - 4.2 apg

Jordan Perlmutter - 4.0 apg

Will Howarth - 3.8 apg

Steals:

Jorge Mangui - 4.0 spg

Mike Huberman - 3.4 spg

Jamal Berry - 3.0 spg

Blocks (total):

Damien Jackson - 8

Eric Sass/Mike Korn - 7

Mike Glanzman - 5 (in just two games)

Three-pointers made:

TJ Farrell - 15

Siri Carpien - 14

Jason Pompeo - 13

Good luck to all this week and sorry for it taking a little longer to get this recap out.