COMMERCE OPEN: Power Rankings | Dat Aint Fair sends a message

There were no surprises in week 1, other than maybe how well Darryl Foster fit in on Dat Aint Fair with two established ball handlers/playmakers. The coming weeks will give us a better idea of how things will shake out in the Winter Session of Ultimate Hoops.

1) Dat Aint Fair (1-0) – The trio of Vaughn Gray, McKinsey Golfin, and newcomer Darryl Foster led DAF to a 114-70 stomping of Squad. Foster was the star of the night scoring 41 pts (17-22 FG) with 8 reb and 5 ast. Not to be outdone by his new teammate, Vaughn Gray added a triple double with 18/11/11. Golfin almost matched Gray with 33/10/7. Any way you look at it, the big 3 of DAF will be a challenge for anyone to contain throughout the rest of the winter season.

2) C4 (1-0) – Perennial power C4 got off to a 1-0 start with a 104-50 victory over Rock City. Big man Joseph Kassis and sharp shooter Jeff Jayson were absent, but a well-rounded attack led by PG Brandon Nafso (19 pts, 12 reb) and SG Matt Manni (31 pts on 9 3pters). All 6 players scored in double figures for C4 who look to be on the road to a championship game appearance for a 3rd straight season.

3) Sons of Basketball (1-0) – The best win of the winter session currently belongs to Sons of basketball who ran away from the Running Rebels in the 2nd half of their game after being down by 6 at half time. SOB outscored RR 54-29 in the 2nd half behind a balanced attack. GM Darius Statum had an efficient 21 pts and 7 ast running the offense while big man Joel Simpson almost had a triple double, collecting 10 reb and 9 ast to go with his 16 pts. Five other players had 6 or more pts for SOB in an important win for them coming off an 0-8 session in the Fall.

4) Running Rebels (0-1) – GM Rashodd Ross was without his best player in Steven Reynolds and it showed in a 19-pt loss to Sons of Basketball. Newcomer Chris Lorente did have a nice debut with 25 pts and 11 reb and shooter Chris Dado knocked down 4 3’s. With a short roster in week 1, it is too early to judge Ross’s team as he may have up to 4 more players join him in week 2. They will be a tough out week in and week out and I would expect them to make the playoffs and be a championship contender down the stretch.

5) Squad (0-1) – Squad got a rude awakening in their Ultimate Hoops debut at the hands of our #1 ranked team DAF. GM Ben Kil was without his two big men, however, all 5 players they did have scored 8+ pts in a balanced attack. With a full roster, Squad will be competitive on a nightly basis starting in a week 2 tilt with #2 C4.

6) Rock City (0-1) – Rock City has some good talent, however, most of these guys had never played together before week #1. Once they develop some roles and chemistry, there is enough talent on this team to be competitive on most nights. Eric Stevens was a bright spot scoring 17 pts in week 1 and 6 players on the team grabbed 5+ rebounds, showing they aren’t afraid to crash the boards. Improvement is expected on a week to week basis for Rock City and I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled off a win sooner than later.