WATCH: Video highlights from COLORADO SPRINGS | Week 3 Preview & League Rankings
Fighting For Position
By Jason Berney, Regional Coordinator
The first two weeks have proved that if Downtown is going to 3-Peat, they’ve got some stiff competition from a top-heavy Spring league.
Before taking a sneak peak at the Week 3 matchups, be sure to check out Week 2’s video highlights posted above.
------------------------GAME 1: Thursday (6:30pm)------------------------
(1-1) Downtown
After a rare loss (just the third in as many seasons) on Opening Night to the new and improved Hooligans after leading for much of the contest, the 2-time defending champs came out firing on all cylinders in Week 2, laying a crushing blow to a talented Team Flight squad. Who Dat will be looking for their first victory on the season and will have to be nearly perfect if Downtown has indeed found their groove. For DT, they must continue to rely on balanced team play funneled through Jazz, their enormously talented PG (and Stat Man-Recap Extraordinaire) who is leading the entire league in points (20ppg) and steals (3 spg). Inside, the 4-headed monster of Fig, MC Hammer and Brian/Bryan will only increase their dominance as the season progresses. Question is, who will knock down the most Downtowners? Phillip Valdez who hit as many 3-pointers as minutes played in week 2, is keeping pace with Jazz and team leader Neal Robinson.
League Rankings:
69.5 Points Per Game (2nd)
58.5 Points Allowed (2nd)
26.5 Rebounds (5th)
7.5 Assists (4th)
11.0 Steals (2nd)
3.0 Blocks (T-2nd)
Stat-Men
(appropriately named for Jazz in this case)
Points: Jasmin Williams – 20.0
Rebounds: Israel Figueroa – 10.5
Assists: Jasmin Williams – 3.0
Steals: Jasmin Williams – 4.5
Blocks: Israel Figueroa – 2.0
vs.
(0-2) Who Dat
Despite being winless heading into Week 3’s matchup against the champs, Who Dat carries a well-balanced team that has gotten steady production inside from Reggie Small, who is nearly averaging a double-double a game, while guard play relies on a 4-man rotation with nearly identical contributions. The problem is the scoring needs to rise to truly be competitive with the rest of the league’s top teams. The first 2 games, Who Dat has posted final totals of 53 and 54, both below league averages. Downtown held Team Flight, who pulled out a narrow win over Who Dat in Week 1, to 52 pts. Even if Who Dat can’t pull off the upset, raising the offensive outputs will be key for setting the bar for the rest of the season.
League Rankings:
53.5 Points Per Game (5th)
66.0 Points Allowed (T-4th)
27.0 Rebounds (4th)
5.0 Assist (5th)
5.0 Steals (T-5th)
4.0 Blocks (1st)
Stat-Men
Points: Geoff Page / Reggie Small – 10.5
Rebounds: Reggie Small – 8.0
Assists: Henry Cuadra – 2.0
Steals: Geoff Page – 2.5
Blocks: Reggie Small – 3.5
--------------------------- GAME 2: Thursday (7:30pm) -------------------------
(2-0) Hooligans
The Hooligans, last season’s No. 3-seeded team, wanted to come out and prove they could keep pace with Downtown. They knew they needed to mix things up a bit so they added size, kept valuable team pieces and got a chance to prove themselves against Downtown and show the rest of the league they could compete by clipping the champions in a hotly-contested opening game to the season. Was this game a precursor for things to come? So far the Hooligans have had all the answers. After rolling over Medico Legal in Week 2, they face another key test in undefeated Pull the Trigger. This week’s game of the week will either create some separation for the Hooligans or make the top of the standings even more murky.
League Rankings:
72.0 Points Per Game (1st)
53.5 Points Allowed (2nd)
35.5 Rebounds (1st)
16.5 Assist (1st)
6.0 Steals (3rd)
3.0 Blocks (T-2nd)
Stat-Men
Points: Michael Harper – 17.5
Rebounds: Tim Kohere – 11.0
Assists: Michael Harper – 4.5
Steals: James Elton – 2.0
Blocks: Tim Kohere – 1.0
vs.
(2-0) Pull the Trigger
What an interesting game Pull the Trigger had in week 2, overcoming a 22-point; 9-point deficit at half. PTT was missing dead-eye from downtown, Ben Feilmielier and Tevin Holt, leaving them with 5 players. In a first half filled with dismal shooting, PTT not only recovered and never showed signs of wearing, they won by 20+ points and all 5 players ended the game in double figures. If this team Pulls the Trigger like they did in last week’s second half, we will be looking at the only undefeated team and adding more fuel to the fire debate as to who is this league’s favorite heading into the all-important Week 4.
League Rankings:
65.5 Points Per Game (3rd)
47.5 Points Allowed (1st)
32.0 Rebounds (2nd)
10.5 Assists (3rd)
12.0 Steals (1st)
2.5 Blocks (4th)
Stat-Men
Points: Mike Danielson – 17.5
Rebounds: Corey Brown – 8.0
Assists: Corey Brown / Noah Garguile – 3.0
Steals: Mike Danielson – 4.0
Blocks: Corey Brown – 1.5
--------------------------- GAME 3: Thursday (8:30pm) -------------------------
(1-1) Team Flight
Team Flight is very talented, experienced, balanced and…inconsistent. Not necessarily in the team numbers as both their win against the Who Dat and loss against Downtown produced similar PPG’s at 58 and 52, respectively, but at each position there is the opportunity for a star performance but with the overall balance of the team, a lack of statistical consistency could hurt them in the end. Flight actually had 2 new players on the lineup card in Week 2: Rachel Schmitt, the league’s only female player and Malcolm “Kobe” Robertson, who’s already made a name for himself but found a new home in Team Flight just minutes before tipoff. Schmitt’s energy and Robertson’s athleticism will no doubt only increase the team’s talent and if they can find a consistent chemistry for this balanced team, Flight should not be overlooked.
League Rankings:
55.0 Points Per Game (4th)
66.0 Points Allowed (T-4th)
23.0 Rebounds (6th)
12.0 Assist (2nd)
5.5 Steals (4th)
2.0 Blocks (5th)
Stat-Men
Points: Khalil Hicks– 17.0
Rebounds: Forrest Dyer – 8.0
Assists: Mika Ewald – 3.5
Steals: Khalil Hicks – 2.5
Blocks: Forrest Dyer / Malcolm Robertson – 1.0
vs.
(0-2) Medico Legal
When you look at Medico Legal’s League Rankings below, there doesn’t seem much to get excited about. But what the numbers can tell you is that if there were team rankings for playing for fitness, friends and fun…these guys will always be near the top. In week 1, ML had 12 points at halftime. Did this lead to heads down? Not a chance. The team came out and actually outscored Pull the Trigger 30-25 in the second half. In week 2, they rasied their game total by 6 points while running into the Hooligans, one of the league favorites. They may have lost by 30+ but they didn’t go down without a fight…literally. Just ask Jon Harvey, who took a shot to the face and broke his nose. Too bad it wasn’t to the mouth because let’s just say these guys know a dentist or two, or three.
League Rankings:
45.0 Points Per Game (6th)
68.0 Points Allowed (6th)
30.0 Rebounds (3rd)
3.5 Assists (6th)
5.0 Steals (T-5th)
0.0 Blocks (6th)
Stat-Men
Points: Joshua Bevans – 18.5
Rebounds: Dan McOmber – 8.0
Assists: Dustin Dial – 1.5
Steals: Dan McOmber – 2.5
Blocks: N/A – 0.0
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