SHELBY OPEN: Weekly Recap and Update

AMPT (0-1)
With a new regime this season, Team Captain Azhar Chaundhry looks to make a little noise with the addition of Nick Gegovic, who is the type of player that every team needs. One who is willing to do the dirty work and play defense, without the necessary scoring mentality. Another new addition is Carlin Wilson, who seems to bring the wisdom and a hard work mentality to the team. They are currently 0-1 with having a bye week in week one and losing a close one to the defending champs Y-Lie. We will see how they will measure up towards the end of the season.

Dynasty (1-1)
Dynasty was a team known to be made up of a young nucleus, also surrounded by young players that can PLAY, such as Jawuan Doggett. Though this season’s team only consists of 2 returning players from the previous Dynasty team, Captain Sully Youanis and company continues to make their team a force to be reckoned with. With the addition of Bruno Kalaj (career avg 16.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg), Amir Smith (10.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg) who does a lot more than what his stats show on the court, and Brandon Padgett, who’s returning home from college (Lambton College - Sarnia, Canada) and looking like he’s gotten bigger and smarter, are ready to take on any given team week to week and make some noise. They are currently 1-1 in the standings with losing to Performance in week one and upsetting Show Stoppers this week.

Lake Show (1-1)
Lake Show started off opening night with a BOOM, by dismantling their opponent in week one by 47 points. They appeared to have everything going their way with a strong week one and strong performances from sophomore player Emmanuel Washington scoring 41 points (41.9ppr) and freshman forward Shane Ellis scoring 28 points. Week two was not as promising for them matching up with Performance Fiberglass and losing by 34 points. This early season loss can be a wakeup call for them if they are able to regain focus and get back to playing together as a team. Catching up and speaking with Captain Semir Agic, he stated that the loss really humbled him and his team and now they are refocusing on a different approach that will hopefully assist them in the getting to the playoffs this season.

Performance Fiberglass (2-0)
After not making it to the championship dance last season which is a rarity for this team, they went and appeared to have patched and fixed the holes they had. They acquired forward Brian Olley (currently averaging 15ppg, 6rpg, 5apg), shooters Tony Amabile (currently 21ppg) and Bill Treece (14ppg) who returned back to the team this season. Their first two games appeared to be easy by defeating their opponents by double digits each game. Jason Sawisnki, Mckinsey Golfin, and Tony Amible had big first weeks by all having 20+ point games. Week two was scary with almost every player scoring double figures led by Vaughn Gray’s 24 point performance. After speaking to Vaughan Gray and Mckinsey Golfin, they stated that the first two games felt incredible; everyone talking on defense, sharing the ball on offense, and doing the little things to win shows how focused this team is to get back on top.

Rochester Finesse Kids (0-1)
Rochester Finesse Kids are the new team the season in the summer league. They had a bad match up there first game when the played Lake Show. Though they were out-manned they still displayed a lot of character and fight within themselves by not giving up. Raheem Rahman led the team with 25 points on 10-19 shooting from the field in week one. The team had a bye week in week two and stated that they had a couple more additions and will definitely continue to get better. If the team remains together, they can definitely be a contender in this league.

Show Stoppers (1-1)
Show Stoppers returned this season and beefed up there size by adding Juwan Watson to assist Jonathan Combs on the glass and with scoring. They won their first week match up against the defendant champs Y-Lie defeating them in double overtime. Jon Combs led the team with 25 points, followed by Juwan Watson with 17 and Sarprinder “Kevin” Singh with 16. Week two was an upset with them losing a close one to Dynasty. I believe this team has what it takes to upset a lot of teams because of the smart play and unselfish ball that you see from this team. We will see how they continue to progress throughout the season.

Y-Lie (1-1)
Y-Lie coming off a championship win came into week one a little sluggish and was upset by Show Stoppers by one point. They were able to bounce back in week two and get back on the winning side. Johnnie Brown led his team with 29 point and a monstrous dunk that got the entire gym up on their feet. Dave Stephens and Mikey Perkovic continue to get better and assist with getting wins, but there seems to be a need for one more player to step up and give them that consistent level of play they need to get them another championship.