Venomous Vipers:  Joe Vande Vusse is the captain for the Vipers.  With the 1^st overall pick of the draft, Vande Vusse selected last year’s MVP runner up, Lorenzo Farino.  Farino looks forward to the challenge of living up to the hype of being the 1^st overall pick.  Zo will be paired in the back court with the savvy veteran Point Guard, Cory Wilks.  Wilks can take over games with his deep shot threat and ability to get to the rim.  Newcomer Dan Kaminski (who will be making his league debut on Opening Night) will provide front court stability while Farino and Wilks will provide most of the Vipers’ scoring.  Joe later selected Morgan Harris and another newcomer Will Sampson to finish his draft night.  The Vipers have the talent to make a deep playoff run.  Many believe it will be the play of Kaminski and Wilks that will ultimately be the deciding factor in the success of the Vipers’ season.  DRAFT GRADE:  B

Magical Mastodons:  Matt Fay is the captain of the Mastodons.  With the 2^nd overall pick in the draft, Fay selected last year’s MVP-Mike Woolf.  This was a no-brainer for Fay.  Many thought he would be selected with the #1 overall pick, but I am sure Matt was glad he was not.  While it will be tough to repeat as MVP, Woolf is two-way player who can accomplish this.  Last year it was he and his buddy Alex Samuelson who led Benedictine to a Championship.  This year he will share the same back court with Peter Fusilero. (who is one of many making their league debuts on Opening Night) Fusilero can score the ball will be a great compliment to Woolf.  With his third pick, Fay selected Cam Burns.  Burns is the tallest player in this league, and he will be surrounded by a team full of shooters.  Newcomer, Frank Caputo will look to add his shooting to a group who will not by shy -when it comes to taking 3-point attempts.  Fay finished his draft night by selecting his buddy Mike Helwig.  It seems that Helwig’s teams are always in the Championship in this league and he will again look to continue this success with this team.  If they are making their 3-pointers, this team will be tough to beat on a nightly basis.  DRAFT GRADE:  A

Passionate Ponies:  Phil Farino will be leading the Ponies this year.  Farino had the luxury of D1 walk-on, Mike Lelito still available to him when it was his turn to draft with the 3^rd pick in the draft.  Lelito can very well end up being the best player in this league and he can make the first two captains regret passing over him.  With his 2^nd pick, Farino again was lucky Alex Samuelson was still available to him.  Samuelson was the only player to average a double-double last season and he will look to bring his unique post presence with him to the Ponies.  Phil followed the Maine West theme and selected newcomer Sebastian S. followed by Adis Kadiric.  Sebas is hybrid player who might have been drafted higher if more of the captains saw him play more.  However, Farino will see if this pick will pay off for him.  Kadiric is another player who might have been drafted higher but his commitment questions from last season led to his fall on draft night.  The Ponies were able to swing a post-draft trade for Brandon Lernor.  In the deal, they traded Bobby Roller to the Taunting Turtles.  “Roller and I have had our struggles in the past” said Farino.  “I just thin this was the right deal to make for both teams.  The them of Farino’s draft was to select players who were somehow still available at the time of his pick but also to draft on potential.  If the Maine West crew can regain their high school chemistry, that can make up for their lack of having a true point guard.  DRAFT GRADE:  A-

Electrifying Elmos:  Eric Rubel will lead the Electrifying Elmos this year and had the 4^th pick in the draft.  With the 4^th pick, Rubel selected Mike Lelito’s brother, Rick.  It has been said that Rick has the better shot of the two and if he is making his shots, he can carry a team that night.  His back court running mate will be Max Herron.  This is Herron’s second consecutive year on Eric’s team.  Last season, after being traded, Max was a pivotal part of Notre Dame’s end of the year success.  He is known for his handles and can take almost anyone off the dribble.  With his 3^rd pick, Rubel selected Jamarl Eiland who has the potential to be this year’s most-improved player of the year.  The Elmos made a post-draft trade to acquire the always hustling Dominic Guzzarde and Andy Kelliher.  In the deal, the Elmos traded away Jake Mozack & Anthony Manos.  Although the Elmos lack height, the rebounding prowess of the trio of Eiland, Guzzarde & Rubel should be enough to put them over the top.  The trio will look to do the dirty work and it could really bother other teams in this league.  A deep run in the playoffs is within reach for this squad. DRAFT GRADE:  B+

Rallying Rascals:  Joe Rodgers is the captain of the Rascals and held the 5^th pick in this year’s draft.  With the 5^th pick, Rodgers opted to surprise people by taking the sharpshooter and single-game points record holder, Jimmy Orlowski.  Many thought Rodgers would draft one of his Hersey buddies, but he waited until the second round where he selected Kevin Kozil.  Kozil will without question be the floor general for this team.  He is a solid two-way player who knows how to run a team.  With his third pick, Joe went with more scoring has he selected high-volume scorer, Mike Haderspeck.  Although he can score in bunches, it will be interesting to see how Haderspeck & Orlowski can co-exist.  The Rascals were one of the teams to make a post-draft trade as they landed forward Jake Mozack and his buddy, Anthony Manos.  Mozack is a football-type player who can provide toughness for this team and it was assumed that Manos would end up with Rodgers at some point.  Although this team can score the ball, many will question how they will matchup with opposing team’s height.  If they can find a way to do that, they could find themselves playing in the post-season.  DRAFT GRADE:  C-

Taunting Turtles:  League veteran, Tony Marabotti, will be in charge of the Taunting Turtles this season.  With the last pick in the first round, that meant Marabotti would be drafting back to back.  First, Tony drafted the athletic forward Dre Smith.  With his second pick, he selected the best 3-Point shooter in the league, Mark Rubel.  It seems like Rubel and Marabotti always play on each other’s team.  They have developed chemistry on the court that can be seen at weekly open gyms. Many people often criticize the deep shots that Rubel takes but Tony is confident that Mark can help carry the load of the Turtles’ offense.    Many did not have Smith as a first-round draft pick.  However, Marabotti felt this was the right pick for his team. “I needed height and athleticism at the forward position and Dre fits that description,” said Marabotti.  “He will be a big part of our offense and he is able to guard the opposing team’s star player.”  Berto Hernandez, who was on Tony’s team last year will again be the high-motor and 3 and D style player that this team needs.  Chris Schiltz will be helping Marabotti in the backcourt and he can knock down timely 3-pointers when needed.  Schiltz often gets comparisons to Kirk Hinrich’s style of play.  The Turtles traded the final draft pick, Brandon Lernor to the Passionate Ponies for Bobby Roller.  Roller has the ability to knock down open shots and he can also help on the defensive end.  After the draft, many questioned Tony’s draft selections.  However, this team can be a sleeper team to watch out for if they can lock down on the defensive end.  DRAFT GRADE:  B-