ALPHARETTA, GA: Preview of Young Guns and Black Ops

Young Guns Analysis by Markeal King:

The fourth-seeded Young Guns are one of the sleeper teams in the Alpharetta league. The Team Captain and GM, Duc Nguyen serves as an inspiration to his team. He joined the league three seasons ago as a free agent for the Underdogs. While his team didn’t win any games, Duc lost 30 pounds through his play and has not only become one of the league’s ambassadors, but also one of Sugarloaf’s sex symbols. The 5’3 shooting guard averages 8.2 points per game, but what he lacks on the court, he makes up for in terms of being the team’s heart and soul.

The Young Guns will face Black Ops in the quarter-final round. They did not play head-to-head in the regular season, so both teams will be playing based on scouting reports. Brandon Johnson, a 6’3 point guard who shoots the three and attacks the basket aggressively, leads the team in scoring. He will need a superstar performance for the Guns to have any chance in their first round match-up. Given that they will be under-sized compared to their competitors, point guard Terry Davis will also need to speed the game up and get the ball to the open man.

Although the Guns are seeded higher than Black Ops, I consider Ops the team that has greater depth and should pull out the win. However, since their leading scorer, Paul Harrison, will reportedly be out of town this weekend, all bets are off. Still, my prediction is Black Ops to win by 5.


Black Ops Analysis by Spencer Wingate

Black Ops has won three in a row entering the playoffs after a rough start to the season. The dominant play of Center Paul Harrison (40.2 ppg, 8 rpg) inside has allowed the team to score points with ease. Harrison coming off a 74 point outburst has been a matchup problem as teams cannot handle the combination of his toughness and athleticism. Combined down low with Power Forward Anthony Evans (13.9 ppg, 13.3 rpg), Blacks Ops has a tremendous size advantage that presents a difficult challenge to any team they face. They will enter the playoffs leading the league in points and rebounds which is a direct result of their formidable frontline.

Guards Alfredo Alonso (19.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 4.0 apg), Thomas Lemon (22.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.8 apg), and Jarrod Miller (9.4 ppg, 6.7 apg) do not just set the big men up for easy buckets but also can score the basketball as well. The team’s up tempo style of play is clicking at just the right time. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the momentum rolling as they take on Young Gun in the first round of the playoffs.

Harrison should be too much to handle for the team as they simply do not possess the size to slow him down. Even if they employ a zone or begin to double team him, the rest of the team is more than dangerous enough to propel Black Ops to the semifinals.

Prediction Black Ops by 5 points.