MONTVALE, NJ: By The Numbers

Nothing changed Wednesday night in terms of the league’s pecking order. We saw all four teams on the slate play short-handed and the top two record-wise (RUNt and Dream Team) win again. But we were treated to five 20-point performances and a few monster double-doubles in the process. So let’s put the Ws and Ls aside for a second and take a look at a unique statistical measure to highlight a few of this season’s top performers. You might be surprised…

Sure, the brilliant UHoops statisticians may miss an occasional steal, block or assist once in a while. And maybe individual numbers can be inflated when a squad is running five guys for all 44 minutes. Well, here’s an interesting figure to consider that doesn’t just add up points and rebounds. It rewards much more than that.

It’s called the PPR (Player Performance Rating). Much like the NFL’s Quarterback Rating, nobody really knows what the complicated formula is or how the score is arrived at. We do know, however, that it’s a solid measure of overall efficiency. We’re going to give three Montvale UHoops players their due here, as each have over a 15.0:

1. Michael Kern (RUNt) – 19.2 – 59% from the field and 43% from 3 is exactly what we’re talking about here with efficiency. A 20-point, 7-rebound guy is solid all around and worthy of the number one spot right now. He just went for 31 last night. MVP of the league’s best team?


2. Tom Alexiou (Justin) – 18.7 – Tom is an inside guy, and embraces the role very well. He’s been the one constant on a team that has had a lot of players miss games. His field goal percentage is crazy good (67%) and he can quietly fill up a stat sheet any night. Definitely as important (if not more) on defense as he is on offense.


3. Alexis Drullinsky (Randy) – 15.2 – He had the big-time double-double Wednesday with 29 and 13. If his first shot doesn’t go in, it doesn’t seem to matter. He will grab the offensive board and put it back in more often than not. He was a big reason why Team Randy battled to the end in a close call vs. RUNt.


You may have noticed that two of those three players are members of struggling teams. Well, let’s examine this further- 15 of our league’s 40 players have a PPR over 5.0. RUNt and Dream Team each have four, Justin three and Randy and the Ferrall Ballerz two. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?