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Just want to shout out a congrats to The Ashkicker's Lorenzo Rojas on thoroughly winning the MVP award. I think he really deserved it, especially after the last three seasons since Tylormade acquired him, putting up 16, 17.1, 17.4 PPG, 5.2, 6.0, 5.6 APG and playing in all but 3 league matchups in those seasons (his first season).

While I didn't get to my MVP predictions in time, I had pulled the numbers, and Rojas winning really throws a kink into my calculations which is a weighted ranking system based on Average Efficiency, Efficiency/48 Minutes, and finally Average Rating where in Rojas finished 14th, 14th, & 11th respectively among all players. But as Buck Showalter would say, "sometimes your gut just tells ya who the best man is."

Not that it's worth anything, but here's how I had the top 10 in MVPs ranking:
1. Sławek Klin (Hustlas)
2. Dewayne Allen (Carolina)
3. Clark Riggins (Żubr Białystok)
4. Terry Armstead (Lion Rebels)
5. Hugo Espinosa (Carolina)
6. Jérome Bégin (San Dominica)
7. Juljonas Glicas (Philly Dribble)
8. Lorenzo Rojas (THE ACTUAL MVP, OK)
9. Patrick Cheatle (Miami Cleo)
10. Yüce Semiramis (The Beer Bellys)

Obviously that ranking system seems to favor the big man...guess I'll have to go back to the drawing board for trying to predict this award in the future. Good luck this weekend!

Round 2 Recap
Welp, things turned out as I expected, with The Ashkickers and San Dominica advancing to the finals.

Miami Cleo @ The Ashkickers
With Miami exerting extra effort last Tuesday against Hustlas, they were facing what already seemed like an unsurmountable mountain, but then Tylormade's crew came out punching, starting out with a 28-14 1st quarter thumping. League MVP Lorenzo Rojas went 4-4 from the field, including 1 3-pointer for 9 points in 9 minutes while Miami shot 7-20 from the field. They kept pace in the 2nd, closing the deficit by two points to be down 12 at the half before Ashkickers handled the second half with relative ease, keeping Cleo to just 16 and 12 points in the last two quarters. With that, Miami drifts back into the shadows until Season 60, while The Ashkickers advance.

San Dominica Warriors @ Philly Dribble
As expected, Philly's injuries played into this game with Philly keeping pace alright until the 3rd quarter where they were exposed. Only down 4 after the first quarter, they fought back with 24 points in the 2nd to take a one point lead at the half. But a brutal third quarter sealed their fate where they sent 4-21 from the field to score just 11 points. While they had four steals in the first half, they would go on to only get one more steal on the night finishing out their season with a 12-point loss after beating the Warriors at home AND on the road this season. Tough luck for Phils_wings.

Championship Finals Preview
Starting tomorrow night, San Dominica travels to The Basketball Center to take on The Ashkickers. In their lone matchup this season, they lost at home to Ashkickers, 89-85 in a game that featured 50 3-point shots (and, to be honest, subpar shooting). The other highlight from that game was Ashkickers 15 blocks, including 6 by PF Toni Colomina. SF Luís Alberto Baião held up his side of the deal in that game, scoring 6 points above his average for the season with 23 points, but 2nd highest scorer on the season, SG M. Granja struggled, only netting 11 points on 4-12 shooting.

San Dominica's outside defense matches up well with The Ashkickers three-headed outside attack, but there are concerns that if just one player gets hot, as Rojas did against them in December going 6-10 from three, that they won't be able to keep pace with them offensively. Both defenses are stout, but The Ashkickers may just have more stoutness in them. Passed that, it may just come down to stamina, game shape, and enthusiasm to finish out the season. I think this matchup goes three games, regardless of who wins, but I'm predicting The Ashkickers in 3.

Hunt Mosley:
He’s the legend Bret Rodriguez, I’m Hunt Mosley and you’re watching/listening to the Warriors’ Post Game Show. And we’re just gonna start with what has been probably the most listened to end of game broadcast in recent Warrior history. Here we are taking you back to Jim and Doug in the booth back at the Dribble Bucket

Jim Arnett:
Final 30 seconds The Warriors wanting to end so as to celebrate the reality of their Great 8 conference championship. The Philly Dribble wanting the end so as they begin the process of putting this all behind. Regardless Doug, no one is going to say this game went the way anyone expected it to

27 seconds left. Gilcas will put it up! No good! Bermundez with the board! 12 seconds. East will just put it up And its done! Jerome Begin, bee-lining for his coach. The Warriors have done it. For the first time they are the Great 8 conference champions! And folks if you’re not seeing this on television. There are not words to describe the face of Coach Stephenson at this moment.

Douglas Diamond:
Great joy and probably greater relief.

Jim Arnett:
Doug, you’ve been with him during those IV:6 days. The period that he has always treasured as the best times of his coaching career. Where do you believe this ranks with him?

Douglas Diamond:
This is probably one of the sweetest even despite knowing that there is a series left. This is going to be up there for him. Right now he’s not gonna relish on that. He’s going to point out that they had no Velasco, no Huddleston. Two players that could have made a huge impact in this game had they been there but when its said and done he and Gordo Long and the rest of the staff are going to savor this one.

Jim Arnett:
And now he’s had his words with Coach Wings of the Dribble and now we see the fist pump and the yell! Baiao now hugging his coach. Coach summoning over AP …

Hunt:
That was the end of the conference finals @ Philly. On that question Bret. You also was on those IV:6 teams. What’s your two cents on Coach and his feelings on this win.

Bret:
I’m with everything Doug said. He’s gonna savor this one. One they weren’t expected to even make it this far. We all had them making the playoffs again but to come out of it Great 8 champs! Nah this was Philly’s year. And then Carolina the way they came on this year, the things Coach Daisy did with that team, for them to be the ones being the hope of the Great 8 in the finals just … This is sweet one. Come what may against the Kickers, this is one when its all done Coach should look upon with sweetness

Hunt:
Speaking on that note that this was Philly’s year. They’ve got to be answering the question, I know I’m asking that question and that is how did Philly lose this? Granted they didn’t have Velasco and Huddleston but as Coach said in the Press Box after the game even with those two not in the line up it still didn’t make much difference in the defensive game plan because despite losing those two Philly still had a lot of firepower regardless. So the question is was that 3rd quarter just Philly not hitting shots or did Coach figure out something?

Bret:
That’s something people are going to be talking about for a good bit. This matchup was basically great offensive firepower against great defense. Normally in basketball it can go either way but most of us were giving the edge to Philly since the two questions were one could Begin, Granja and that defense shut down those guns enough to keep it manageable and two, would LAB and Granja get enough help to survive those Philly Dribble runs. Today the answer was yes. But the last two games vs the Dribble the answer had been no.

Hunt:
When we come back we’ll discuss what the Warriors will need to do to beat their next opponent the Ashkickers of the Big 8

Season 59 Wrap Up Post
Well, I didn't have a great preseason prediction pick based on the outcome (surprise, surprise). Although, I do have to say, Philly's injuries in round one of the play offs really threw a kink into them as I had Philly over The Ashkicker's in three games. Instead, a team I marked as battling for relegation (albeit, with relative ease) in San Dominica ended up facing off against Tylormade's crew who finally promote out of Div III.11 after first joining it in Season 42. But they did make the playoffs 17 of 19 seasons played in this league in their fifth attempt at promoting through Div III leagues. Congrats Tylormade - glad you proved me wrong! Good luck at the next level.

End of Season Stats Recap
And now for a quick recap of the year! First up, what everyone loves, SCORING.

Scoring Leaders
Scoring was down considerably this season, compared to last where the top 4 from last season all had a higher points per game average than the #1 leading scorer this season.
1. Kurt Brown (Lion Rebels) - 21.5 PPG
2. Kyle Knowles (Linndale) - 19.3 PPG
3. Juljonas Glicas (Philly Dribble) - 19.2
3. Hugo Esponisoa (Carolina Rebels) - 19.2

Miami's Marko Maurin basely missed this list with 19.1 PPG.

FG Shooting Leaders
1. Clark Riggins (Żubr Białystok) - 56%
2. Dewayne Allen (Carolina Rebels) - 55.3%
3. Bud Pimentel (Philly Dribble) - 54.6%

Bunch of Centers at the top of this list, predictably, with only five non-big man position players in the top twenty.

3 PT Shooting Leaders
1. Juljonas Glicas (Philly Dribble) - 46.5% (71 attempts)
2. Aleksa Kričković (Żubr Białystok) - 45.9% (61 attempts)
3. Lorenzo Rojas (The Ashkickers) - 45.5% (99 attempts)

Kyle Knowles with an incredible 138 3PT attempts (35.5%) averaging just over 6 three's a game.

Perfect From the Charity Stripe
Making 29 of 29 free-throws on the year, San Dominica's Miguel Tercero kept his streak alive for the whole season, and, while it's not that amazing to make 30 over the course of 22 games, he did do it, so we have to mention it. Hustlas' Jonata Esposito attempted the most with 76 FTs for an 85.5% make rate.

Rebounds Leaders
1. Patrick Cheatle (Miami Cleo) 14.6 RPG
2. Jérome Bégin (San Dominica Warriors) 14.3 RPG
3. Sławek Klin (Hustlas) 13.8 RPG

Bégin actually is the total's leader with 315, including an impressive 89 Offensive Rebounds, but because Cheatle played in one less game, he edged him out in the averages.

Assists Leaders
1. Lorenzo Rojas (The Ashkickers) 5.6 APG
2. Bobbie Coenen (Linndale) 5.4 APG
2. Goran Denković (Hustlas) 5.2 APG

Miguel Velasco with an impressive 7.2 assist-to-turnover ratio to lead the league for the year.

Blocks Leaders
1. Toni Colomina (The Ashkickers) - 2.1 BPG
2. Gilberto Romão (The Philadelphia Spartans) - 2.0 BPG
3. Clark Riggins (Żubr Białystok) - 1.8 BPG
3. Isidre Homs (The Beer Bellys) - 1.8 BPG

Not much else to report on blocks this season.

Season 58 Stats Wrap Up Part 2
Steals Leaders
1. Damon Santana (Miami Cleo) - 1.9 SPG
2. Graziano Gattoni (The Ashkickers) - 1.8 SPG
2. Miguel Velasco (Philly Dribble) - 1.8 SPG

Velasco led the way with 2.6 steals-to-turnover ratio, while Santana averaged 2.4 steals-to-fouls ratio.

Best Players
By Rating:
1. Terry Armstead (Lion Rebels) - 15.7 Average Rating
2. Paride Fasselli (Philly Dribble) - 15.5 AR
3. Clark Riggins (Żubr Białystok) 15.3 AR

By Efficiency:
1. Hugo Espinosa (Carolina Rebels- 26.6 Average Efficiency
2. Dewayne Allen - 23.9 AE
3. Sławek Klin (Hustlas) - 23.3 AE

Clark Riggins led the way with a 38.2 efficiency per 48 minutes.

Worst Players
By Rating (Bot players not included):
1. José Luis Fábila (The Philadelphia Spartans) - 4.9 AR
2. Ignacio Gamón (Motor City Waddupdoe) - 6.3 AR
3. Dominykas Švarplys (BKDogs) - 7.0 AR

By Efficiency:
1. José Luis Fábila (The Philadelphia Spartans): 2.0 AE
2. Elliot Hess (Miami Cleo): 2.7 AE
3. Gus Ricker (Motor City Waddupdoe: 3.0 AE

The highest efficient worst rated player on the season was The Spartan's Gilberto Romão who was rated 9.7 with a 19.8 efficiency, while the highest rated worst efficiency player was Philly Dribble's Paride Fasselli with a 15.5 rating but 8.8 efficiency rating.

Last edited by Baine at 2/6/2023 12:35:33 PM

Season 59 Stats Wrap Up - Teams Stats
Points Per Game
1. 105.0 - Hustlas
2. 103.7 - Philly Dribble
3. 101.1 - 209's MostWanted

12. 90.1 - The Philadelphia Spartans
13. 87.2 - BKDogs
14. 69.7 - Motor City Waddupdoe

Points Allowed Per Game
1. 69.9 - The Ashkickers
2. 71.3 - Miami Cleo
3. 73.5 - San Dominica Warriors

12. 93 - Lion Rebels
13. 95.8 - Motor City Waddupdoe
14. 107.9 - BKDogs

Point Differential Per Game
1. 28.1 - The Ashkickers
2. 27.1 - San Dominica Warriors
3. 24.7 - Miami Cleo

12. -1.3 - The Philadelphia Spartans
13. -20.7 - BKDogs
14. -26.1 - Motor City Waddupdoe

Team FG%
1. 46.4% - The Beer Bellys
2. 45.9% - Philly Dribble
3. 45.6% - Hustlas

Team 3PT FG%
1. 38.3% - The Ashkickers
2. 36.9% - San Dominica Warriors
3. 36.7% - Żubr Białystok

Team Assists
1. 23.9 - San Dominica Warriors
1. 23.9 - Philly Dribble
3. 23.4 - The Beer Bellys

Team Rebounds
1. 57.3 - San Dominica Warriors
2. 55.4 - Miami Cleo
3. 54.8 - Hustlas

Team Blocks
1. 7.9 - The Ashkickers
2. 7.1 - San Dominica Warriors
2. 7.1 - The Philadelphia Spartans

Team Steals
1. 8.2 - Miami Cleo
2. 8.1 - Carolina Rebels
3. 7.9 - The Ashkickers
3. 7.9 - Żubr Białystok

Season 59 Ramblings and Notables
Watching another two teams bot after relatively new appearances always sucks, but admittedly, it is nice to have a couple of games that you know you'll win without effort. Loved seeing the tight competition, especially in the Big 8 with five teams finishing within three games of each other - makes for an exciting finish to the regular season.

While I'm left to claim the trophy for best of the worst, I'm glad to stick around for at least another season. Fair thee well to the Spartans, BKDogs, and Motor City and best of luck to you on your journey back up.
Thanks to Linndale and Hustlas for the added team commentary - glad to have the added content! With that, Season 59 is officially wrapped and we're on to #60. Good luck - I'll have a Season 60 primer probably on Thursday. Best of luck to everyone except for Philly Dribble (really bummed you're most likely sticking around!). ;)

Last edited by Baine at 2/6/2023 6:14:48 PM

Season 59 Draft Recap
I've long wanted to do draft recaps, but by the time I'd get around to trying to get the information, half the boys would be fired or sold, but this year, I got to it with only three players fired, so it wasn't too difficult to pull together. Here's some interesting information from the draft class this season.

Out of 48 players drafted, the following is true:
-> 25 18-year olds
-> 23 19-year olds
-> 12 PGs
-> 10 SGs
-> 10 SFs
-> 11 PFs
-> only 5 Cs

The average salary of all 48 players is $3,124.08 and they have an average height of 197.3 cm (or nearly 6'6" for us 'Mericans).

The lowest salaried player is a 19-year old PG named Kenny Navorro drafted by Hustlas with the 13th pick in the first round. Kenny's potential is as a 6th man and makes $1,316/week.
The highest salared player is a 19-year old PF named Damian Olivares drafted by The Beer Bellys with the 9th pick in the first round. Damian's potential is as a Starter and makes $8,042/week, or just over 6 times as much as Navorro. Close second to that came in at $7,268 in the form of a SF named Johnny Bourgeois with Star potential, drafted 14th in the first round by Philly Dribble.
Winner for worst player drafted is The Philadelphia Spartans 18-year old PG Benjamin Angel who is one of three players with Role Player potential and makes $1,822.
Best player in the draft is probably SG Cory Collins, an 18-year old MVP potential SG drafted by Żubr Białystok 24th overall with the 8th pick in the 2nd round.

Out of all 48 players drafted, here's the breakdown by potential:
Announcer = 0%
Bench Warmer = 0%
Role Player = 6.25% (all 18-year olds)
6th Man = 10.4% (3 18-year olds, 2 19-year olds)
Starter = 20.8% (four 18s, six 19s)
Star = 12.5% (four 18s, two 19s)
All Star = 29.2% (five 18s, nine 19s)
Perennial Allstar = 12.5% (five 18s, one 19)
Superstar = 4.2% (two 19s)
MVP = 2.1% (one 18)
Hall of Famer = 2.1% (one 19)
All-Time Great = 0%

The draft is generally a crapshoot, especially if you don't invest in it, and even if you do, it doesn't always work out, depending on your placement. But, all things considered, you know how much I like some numbers about some guys - I threw together a draft ranking by taking the total salaries involved in each team's draft picks (this ranged from $5.8K to $15.8K), divided that by 3, multiplied the result by the total of their potential and then divided by the total of the age of the players*. I'll list their "score" behind the team name.

16. San Dominica Warriors - 390.5
Total Salary: $5,857
Total Potential: 11
None drafted higher than Starter and only one with more than $2k salary (just $75 more).
Grade: F--

15. The Philadelphia Spartans - 575.7
Total Salary: $6,785
Total Potential: 14
Two Allstar potentials in the mix, including an 18-year old PF Sammy Putnam (salary only $2.2k), but a role player really brought down the potential here.
Grade: D+ - possibly a C+ if the potential gets fulfilled with solid Div IV training.

14. Carolina Rebels - 641.1
Total Salary: $8,976
Total Potential: 12
Potentials of 6th Man, Role Player, and Starter with ok, but not really good starting skills. SF Perry Downs might be worth training at 18-years old, but probably not in Div III.
Grade: D

13. Sweaty Socks - 670.9
Total Salary: $6,512
Total Potential: 17
Not a lot here skill-wise, but a 19-year old Superstar destined to retire too soon builds this draft class up a tad.
Grade: Bots get F for effing up people's draft efforts.

12. Linndale - 672.1
Total Salary: $8,531
Total Potential: 13
The second of only two Superstars in this draft class, Rolland Reynolds is also 19, but sports a decent starting skillset for him to be worthwhile in training or selling for a modest profit. Unfortunately for Speedtraps, both 18-year olds are garbage.
Grade: C-

Season 59 Draft Recap - Part Two
11. Miami Cleo - 790.4
Total Salary: $8,151
Total Potential: 16
Standing in my typical spot in rankings over the last two seasons, Miami is sporting a couple of Allstars with alright starting skills, one 18 (Ross Newell) and the other 19 (Priest Meier). Unfortunately, they play on opposite sides of the court, so probably not a good training duo.
Grade: C+

10. BKDogs - 879.5
Total Salary: $9,235
Total Potential: 16
One Allstar potential player (PG Antone Norton) who is 19 with ok starting skills - also an 18-year old with Allstar potential, but worse skills and probably for the wrong side of the court as he's listed as a PG but stands 6'11" - he might be worthwhile investing some training in at Div IV.
Grade: C+

9. Motor City Waddupdoe - 908.9
Total Salary: $7,362
Total Potential: 20
This is the group with the highest total potential and all three at 18-years old. I'll write a bit more about this group below in my explanation of the calculation, but if we're going solely based on overall potential, this would be my number one draft class.
Grade: B+

8. Żubr Białystok - 940.9
Total Salary: $8,022
Total Potential: 19
Not only do they have (potentially) the top pick in the draft in 18-year old SG Cory Collins (MVP potential), but they also pulled in an 18-year old Perennial Allstar in SF Dane Estrada. If their starting skills were higher, they would have shot up this list, probably right to the top, but 18-year olds typically don't come with the same salary range we're seeing in 19-year olds these days.
Grade: B+

7. Hustlas - 942
Total Salary: $11,506
Total Potential: 14
Hustlas have the 3rd highest total salary, but lack in the potential department with this class. All three are 19 years old, with one of them being one of the worst picks, while the other two are rated at Star and Allstar with good starting skills for rookies.
Grade: B-

6. BOBBBSBURGS - 963.2
Total Salary: $9,519
Total Potential: 17
Nothing below a Star potential rating, with decent starting skills - his Perennial Allstar, 19-year old PG William Jenkins is the worst of the group, however.
Grade: F for Bots

5. The Ashkickers - 976
Total Salary: $9,301
Total Potential: 17
A decent crew of 18-year olds for Tylormade's aging crew, and while I've never reached DIV II, I have to wonder if it's worthwhile toting two 18-year olds with Allstar and Perennial Allstar potential with just OK starting skills. Still, a decent draft overall.
Grade: B

4. The Beer Bellys - 977
Total Salary: $13,678
Total Potential: 12
Here you can see how starting skills beats out potential in my rankings, with The Bellys just edging out Ashkickers. The previously mentioned Damian Olivares is doing a lot of heavy lifting for the kegerators here, with his $8k/week salary, but 19-year old PG Timothy Blanchard has a Allstar rating.
Grade: B+

Season 59 Draft Recap - Part Three
3. 209's MostWanted - 1050.5
Total Salary: $9,289
Total Potential: 19
And here we see where just a touch more potential lifts a team up in this calculation - 209's reeled in two Allstar and an 18-year old Perennial Allstar, but only one of them has OK starting skills. But, properly trained, there's some good ground to be made here.
Grade: B+

2. Lion Rebels - 1283.1
Total Salary: $11,345
Total Potential: 19
My 19-year old Hall of Fame draftee is doing a lot of the work here to push my team up to second. Decent starting skills make the case combined with his HoF potential.
Grade: A-

1. Philly Dribble - 1486.5
Total Salary: $15,887
Total Potential: 16
Blowing the rest of us out of the water with three 19-year olds averaging just over $5k in salary ends up leading the draft class for highest rated group of guys. I know potential under Perennial Allstar is typically looked down upon, but in the right situation, they could be some decent trainees. They'll probably be fired by the time this is posted.
Grade: A

*Each level of potential is assigned a number by Buzzerbeater - Announcer = 0, Bench Warmer = 1, All-Time Great = 11, etc. So, each team had three of those numbers that combined to make their potential number. This ranged from 11 to a high of 20. The age combination is simply, 19+19+18, whatever each draftee's age is. Only two teams drafted three 18 year olds, two teams drafted three 19-year olds, and everyone else was a mix of the two ages. Like most of my calculations, this isn't a picture perfect system, but here's what I'm trying to do: Value potential combined with salary (current skill level) with some measure of weight given to youth. Admittedly, this seems to favor higher salaries/skill level, but tries to factor in potential. The problem with weighting too much on potential is what if it is never realized? For example, Motor City drafted three 18-year olds - an Allstar and two Perennial Allstars, each with a salary in the lower-mid $2000 range. They all have pretty good potential, but even if it is realized, it will take them several years to come to fruition. I've played this game enough to know that while you might start with good intentions with a group, another player always comes along that looks a little prettier and training projects get abandoned. Having said that, particularly for Motor City, this is probably a great crop of guys to invest 5-6 seasons in to build a solid core.

Last edited by Baine at 2/6/2023 6:16:40 PM