D Po: best left hand in the league
The league by the numbers:
League cumulative percentages, Week Three:
Three pointers: 22/106 = 20.8% (Week Two: 21/104 = 20.2%) (Week One: 39/110 = 35.5%)
FG: 109/354 = 30.8% (Week Two: 125/406 = 30.8%) (Week One: 121/384 = 31.5%)
FT: 51/89 = 57.3% (Week Two: 46/84 = 54.8%) (Week One: 34/72 = 47.2%)
NTL Shooting Clinic, Mondays, 7-8:30pm, PFL Garden beginning April 7. Practice form, repeat form, practice, practice, practice. Shoot a lot better. Play Better. Be happier.
Week Three, March 22, 2014
G1: When your # of blocked shots equals the combined total of your assists and made three-pointers, you are not going to win many games. And so it was for the Spring Hill Shoots. Jim Vlahakis had 7 offensive rebounds. What does that say about his team and his team’s shooting? The Winter Hill Runners, winners of the game, can get out on the break. They’ve got willing push ball handlers in Wang, Galloway and Po. Finishers in Knauer and Railey. And follow-up and finishers in Skogsberg and Wall. Spot up, knock ’em down shooter in K Rene. Reminiscent of that other gang from Winter Hill. Which one’s Howie Winter?
Game One /Winter Hill Runners (2-1) 44 – Spring Hill Shoots (1-2) 32
(Players missing: WHR: Dave “Ribs” Stewart; all Shoots shooting)
G2: The Pickles beat the Pickers. The Pickers have 3 of the fastest players in the league, yet they don’t run. If they don’t run, they’ll never win. One thing for sure, they will not win going 4/31 on 3 pointers. The Pickles have two of the biggest players in the league, and they do rebound: 22 between David Duane and Evan “The Pope” Pepe. Ask David Duane what has made him a better FT shooter. I bet he references the NTL Shooting Clinic he once took. Who does Tom Hamel’s game remind you of? A little bit of Chandler Parsons? What do you think?
Game Two /Powderhouse Pickles (1-2) 39 – Cherry Street Pickers (1-2) 34
(Players not there to help their team this week: PK: Ben Floman, Chris Perrotti; CP: Scott Lieber, Lida Mullendore, Ranjith Zachariah)
G3: The Brickbottom Bouncers are toying with the rest of the league. 3rd game of the season and they sit Big Mike “Mikan” Earley like the Spurs do when they are on the road. Just to rest them. David Stern fined San Antonio; stay tuned. Kratka and Mildwoff don’t miss; the Godfather doesn’t turn it over. Mitch and Mike, Mike and Mitch: offensive rebound, defensive rebound; defensive rebound, offensive rebound. Carruthers, Carruthers, Carruthers. A House of Horrors for the other teams. And Greg Herr wears #33. Sheesh. What’s the prize for 2nd place? The Rollers meanwhile have promise. Has anyone watched Stephen Marks? Smooove. Gus Williams smoove. Larry Bavis’s completion rate is still a little suspect but we are looking forward to when all their pieces are in place. Chip’s a piece. Charlie and Matt Siebler and Mariah and where’s Friedman and Keith Moore can play and Cameron is here to help put this squad together.
Game Three /Brickbottom Bouncers (3-0) 45 – Ten Hills Rollers (0-3) 35
(Absent but not forgotten: BB: Mike “Mikan” Earley; THR: Steven Friedman, Cameron LaHart, Keith Moore)
G4: Jim Peerless, Mike Peerless; it don’t matter, they both make shots. Andy Lee’s pretty good, right? Where’s the weakness? Barry Lai signed up for the NTL Shooting Clinic; his shooting has improved (3/5 on 3s this week) and the clinic hasn’t even started yet! Bradley “Dollar Bill” Schutzer and JR and Edison are the kinds of players every team needs to win and have fun doing it. Chief is ripping rebounds. Riders blew a tire in the first half (10 points). Threw in one of those donuts and limped home with 27 points. Who on that team thinks he is a better shooter than his/her stats? Raise your hand. Hmmm. Everyone. Can they all be right?
See you Saturday!
Game Four / Mystic River Shaman (3-0) 35 – Eastie Riders (1-2) 27
(Where for MRS was: Mike “Fearless” Peerless, Peter Wright; What about Riders Derek “Pearl” Bogarty, Roxy Pirnia, Richie Snell?)
Random thoughts: Elite Eight is the best weekend of the year and what better way to start it than at the cathedral of recreational basketball (The Palestra is the real cathedral of basketball http://www.amazon.com/The-Palestra-Cathedral-Basketball/dp/B000TV4QT6/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1396034376&sr=8-7&keywords=Palestra but I digress). Liking the mix of teams this year, wondering if the Peerless brothers have some kind of Venus/Serena arrangement to pass the MIP award back and forth. Hoping to meet those Shamen in the playoffs again this year, but later in the morning with more on the line. Evan Pepe is a force to be reckoned with.
Last time I was in The Palestra, I was still an assistant at Harvard. We walked out of there with a 108-96 win over Greg Herr’s Quakers (02/10/90). Ralph James dropped 41 points, still the most ever versus a Penn team.
Christian Webster, ’13 Harvard grad, 1000+ scorer, and now Harvard assistant coach. will be Barry Lai’s coach at the Coached Scrimmage Clinic. What will be teach him that will stick in Barry’s game forever?