THE DREAM LEAGUE
Asian American / Open Basketball Leagues
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2007~08 Fall/Winter AL~Elite (SF/Redwood City/Oakland) |
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Swishes & Bricks from 10/7 | |
| 10/16/2007 9:00PM | |
Going over the numbers from 9/30, I felt like I was in stathead heaven. Ballers dropping 30+ with ease, shooting ungodly percentages, ripping down boards like madmen and dropping dimes left and right. I couldn't have had a better week of material to pen my first article with. I mean, you had 'The Enigma' himself, Darryl Rusgal* of ZerOne (AAA-P) going all NBA LIVE on us with 40 on 81% FG, 7/8 3PT (yes, that line bears repeating!). *Note: Darryl was ID'ed thanks to the efforts of our diligent Dream League Detective and resident Horace Grant clone, Yih-Wei Chien. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Mr. Rusgal is still on the hook for (1) online waiver submission (the link is on the lefthand side) and (2) putting in his full name on the roster sheet. Failure to do so WILL result in no stats when the stats finally do go up, as well as no more mentions in this here weekly stat wrap-up.] Talk about a fall from grace. Call me spoiled by the statistical bonanza I feasted on 2 weeks ago, but last Sunday's stack of statsheets look like a sobering reminder of how human we Dream Leaguers are. We will miss wide-open looks now and then. Throw no look passes to nobody in particular. Commit mind-numbing turnovers at inopportune times. Airball two free throws in succession. Just to illustrate how ugly this week was, reread that last line. Yeah guys, that actually happened last Sunday (REC-O Bay Function's Low Saechin pulling his best Andris Biedrins impression). I guess you can say that this was a down week for the league. But that's not to say there weren't any bursts of brilliant play. Remember to hit me up at vince@dreamleague.org for any corrections, comments, suggestions, and shady Nigerian Dictator triangle schemes (yo, I'm kidding about the last bit!). THE A.I.'S 'Cause some people had to do the scoring 1. Sunny Margate (Moneytree, NL) -- It was just a matter of time till the All-League swingman (and ex-Philippine pro baller) made his mark on this list. Check his surreal numbers: 12 points alone in the 1st Q (20 point first half), 19 points in the 2nd half en route to 39 points on 15/25 (60% FG) shooting, 8 boards, 5 dimes, a steal and a block. Keep in mind, he did this against top-flight NL talent. Unreal. [EDITOR'S NOTE: I saw this game and, no knock on the Hotshots and not to take away from Margate, but the Hotshots do not have a bonafide defender for good 4's. I think the Hotshots may be giving up a lot of points to talented NL 4's this season, not just Margate.] 2. Kevin Ruan (Mad Cow, AAA-P) -- 15 in the first half, 20 after three, 35 points on 14/26 (54% FG) shooting. Wow. 3. Shin Iwata (Genins, REC) -- Iwata was simply brilliant notching 15 points in the first half and 18 in the second. His final line: 33 points (59% FG on 13/22 shooting, 5/9 from deep), 3 boards, and 4 assists. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Yeah, but it's REC league.] 4. Nic Vu (Genins, REC) -- The heavily 'tatted' shooting guard lit it up with 28 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Get this: Genins teammates Iwata and Vu combined for an astonishing 61 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. I have a hunch that Full Tilt (their opponents) are still shellshocked. [EDITOR'S NOTE: So why are Vu and Iwata playing in the REC again? You're supposed to be moving up with success, not down! Btw, please no defensive emails about this. I'm sure there's a good reason. Call it a friendly roast. Shin and Nic are very cool guys and, quite frankly, awesome ballers -- maybe someone will pick them up for the AL+. I'm just poking fun. I don't really care where people play. As commish, if you're having fun, that's all that matters.] 5. Mark Fang (Aball, AAA-P) -- 28 points, 11 boards, and 2 dimes for the Aball captain. 6. Nick Wong (Hotshots, NL) -- I'm guessing the Moneytree v. Hotshots matchup was a fun game to watch with Wong attempting to outshoot Margate. Like Margate, Wong also had a 20 point first half. He eventually fell short, but he can still boast of his inclusion into this column with his 27 points, 5 boards, 4 dimes, and 3 steals. Oh and did I mention he channeled Chauncey Billups at the line, going 11/12 (92% FT). 7. Jolinko Lassiter (PDST, AAA-6) -- I have got to compile a list of the most unique names in the League. And Jolinko's heading it. In the meantime, enjoy his sweet line of 26 points (8/16, 50% FG'5/8 3PT), 4 boards, 2 dimes and a steal. RODMANESQUE'S With so many people throwing up bricks (see below'parental discretion is advised), we had an unusually high number of entries in this category. 1. Tim Tully (SJ Kidz, NL) -- 17 points and 16 caroms for the Kidz's rebound inhaler. 2. Sohrab Alem (Rising Stars, AAA-P) -- The Good: 9 points, 15 boards, 2 dimes, a steal, and a block. The Bad and Ugly: 3/16 (19% FG). 3. Mason Chin (Beast, AAA-6) -- Chin just keeps sucking them caroms in: 14 points, 15 boards, 2 dimes, and 2 blocks. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Chin had a 20-and-20 on either 9/16 or 9/23 (I can't remember), prior to Vinsanity's 9/30 start of stat write-ups.] 4. Dante Riley (Grey Goose, AAA-P) -- 9 and 14 for the 'Baby Bull' Riley. 5. Low Saechin (Bay Function, REC) -- Saechin, who as I mentioned earlier notoriously airballed 2 consecutive FT's, redeemed himself on the glass with his 13 pulls. Still though'isn't that something you have to try to do? 6. Derek Finney (Kurruption, AAA-E) -- It's just not fair fighting for a rebound with the space-eater Finney. Need proof? How's about his 6 points and 13 boards? 7. Nidal Hassen (Underdogs, AL-P) -- Not only grabbed 12 boards, but had 21 points, 3 dimes, 2 steals and a block. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Two words: pogo stick.] 8. Omar Brodrick (SF Lions, AAA-E) -- Brodrick's relentless hustle and energy is quickly making him a mainstay in these articles. 4 points and 12 boards for the Lions' board fiend. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Does the fact that he's Vinsanity's teammate give him more of a mainstay? Well, he and all SF Lions and Quakes deserve it. Vinsanity's doing a great job.] 9. James Qiu (Mad Cow, AAA-P) -- Hey look, another 4 and 12! (Note to self: 4 and 12 is the new 10 and 10). 10. Taraz Lee (2449 Squad, AL-P) -- 'Terrible' Taraz terrorized on the boards: 16 points, 11 boards, 2 dimes, 4 steals, and a block. [EDITOR'S NOTE: When is the NL all-star going to just take over a game and say, to hell with being selfish?!! Seriously, esp. at the AL level, Lee can score 15 and dish out at least 5 dimes in his sleep. He needs to double that for 2449 to have a chance.] 11. Deep Basra (Kurruption, AAA-E) -- 4 points, 11 boards, and 3 assists for Finney's teammate. Btw, guys'entering your first names on the roster sheet is really not that hard. You won't develop carpal tunnel, trust me (is that covered on the Online Waiver?). [EDITOR'S NOTE: I just fixed "D.Basra" to include his first name. The good news is, he signed an online waiver, so we can track his name down when punching in stats. Hint, hint, to those others of you.] 12. Andy Kim (Boondocks, AAA-P) -- Solid 21 points, 10 boards, and 2 swats for Kim. 13. Francis Rex (Trybe, AAA-E) -- Notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. Random Vinsanity side-note: For reasons unknown to man, the statkeeper recorded a 'W' on his tally. Yes, this mind-boggler is keeping me awake at night. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Maybe he got so high on an "R" (rebound), that he waxed the glass, so the scorekeeper gave him an extra "W".] THE CHEFS Again, I blame the lack of assist men to the general shooting woes. Either that, or people were pulling Kobe's and not sharing the rock. 1. Jon Guerra (MaSarap, AAA-P) -- 6, 3 and 9 dimes for the feisty MaSarap guard. 2. Brad Lim (Perpetrators, AAA-E) -- With his gaudy statline, Lim could have very well ended up listed with the JKidd-sters. But to be honest, his 7 dimes more than qualify (plus, I needed to beef up this section!): 22 points (5/9 from three), 7 boards, 7 dimes, and 3 steals. 3. Jeremy Brady (Wildcatz, NL) -- Brady was servin' em up to the tune of 11 points, 2 boards, 7 dimes, and a steal. 4. Chris Tsutsui (SJ Kidz, NL) -- Only 3 points, but grabbed 4 boards, assisted on 6 buckets and had a block. 5. Anthony Hernandez (Bomb Squad, NL) -- A well-rounded line of 9 points, 6 boards, 5 dimes, 3 steals and a block for the tablesetter. JKIDD-STERS Ahhh'finally, we come to my favorite column. 1. Eric Lee (Warriors, REC-O) -- You've gotta admit'Lee's line is pretty: 18 points, 15 boards, a dime, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. 2. Jon McClain (SF Lions, AAA-E) -- With his 22 points, 9 boards and 5 steals, McClain just makes it all look so easy. Only downside? His 39% FG on 23 attempts. [EDITOR'S NOTE: He single-handedly stole last week's game. Well, combine that with The City's penchant for imploding at the end. Anyways, if I vaguely remember, McClain had an and-one with under 24 seconds to go (could've been 0:10, even), stole the inbounds and made another bucket and probably had a trey I'm forgetting about. I think the Lions came back from being down at least 5 points in the last 24 seconds. Then this past week, he did the same in the first half, stealing an inbounds with the clock winding down. He's easily got the most points in the final seconds of quarters, if that stat could be kept.] 3. Kris Neri (Wolverines, REC) -- Neri was just scary: 20 points, 6 boards, 3 dimes, 4 steals, and 2 blocks to boot. The fact that he went 6/19 (32% FG) from the field takes some of the luster off however. 4. Sunny Margate (The Yay, AL-E) -- Wow, I guess this was a 'warm-up' game for the man. 19 points, 4 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. What's more amazing was his sublime 4th Q: perfect 4/4 from the field and the line. Plus, he stepped it up on the defensive end: all 3 of his blocks came here. 5. Jeremy -- (The Yay, AL-E) -- Mr. ?, please email me and ID yourself. Very nice all-around line, sir: 12 points, 10 boards, 3 dimes, 3 steals, and 3 blocks'phew! [EDITOR'S NOTE: Again, let's hope Jeremy submitted an online waiver and his full name appears on all subsequent scoresheets, otherwise this may be the last time you see his name.] 6. Quentin Wu (Syuhn Fung, AL-P) -- Wu kept the Dream League statcrew busy with his 18 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 4 steals. 7. Karl Gusner (Just Say Yes To Life, AL-E) -- Random Vinsanity Note #232: Hearing Team J.S.Y.T.L. shout their slogan right before taking the floor is funny as hell. But I digress: their star SG was fillin' it up with his 14 points on 7/13 shooting (54% FG), 5 boards, 4 dimes, 2 steals, and a block. BOMBERS These guys dig the long ball. 1. Dante Henderson (MaSarap, AAA-P) -- Henderson makes the list yet again. With his line of 25 points on an unbelievable 7/9 (78% 3PT) from downtown, something tells me he'll be a fixture here. He also added 6 boards and 3 steals. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Makes up for last season, I think. Here's the one guy who hopes we never catch up and post our stats from last season. Last season, it seemed like every game was the opposite, i.e., 2-for-9 or 3-for 14 from downtown. Way to do a 180, Dante. No one likes to see a guy in a slump.] 2. Rob Shintaku (Frisco Super Chronic, AL-P) -- Shintaku seems to love the three ball, sinking 7 of 15 (47% 3PT) to net 21 points while taking only one 2-point attempt. Hey, with those kind of numbers, I'd keep launching if I were him. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Ditto what I said about Henderson with Shintaku.] 3. John Ma (Grey Goose, AAA-P) -- Superb all-around numbers for Ma: 21 points (6/8, 75% 3PT), 10 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals. 4. Daryl Rusgal (ZerOne, AAA-P) -- Thank God dude came down to earth from his eye-popping performance last week. If he woulda kept it up, I would have to ask The Commish to make sure an NBA player didn't find his way to a Dream League roster. Rusgal still put up a nice 17 points (5/10, 50% 3PT) and added 2 boards, 4 dimes, and 5 thefts. 5. Tony Sue (Big Gamerz, AL-P) -- Sue was straight strokin': 22 points on sizzling 5/9 (56%) from three. 6. Brandon Chu (123 Not It, REC) -- Random Vinsanity Pondering #498: How much weirder can team names get? (I'm thinking a whole 'nother article can be devoted to this. Stay tuned, loyal readers!). Anyways, Chu had a nice day on the hardwood: 20 points, making 4/9 (44% 3PT) bombs from 3. Also added 4 boards, 2 assists, 4 steals and a block. 7. Mike Reding (Rayguns, NL) -- A big that can stroke is any team's nightmare. Case in point, Mr. Reding here: 16 points (4/9, 44% 3PT), 5 boards, and 3 steals. 8. Jessie Gonzalez (The Yay, AL-E) -- Sunk 4 of 9 (44% 3PT) from deep. BRICKLAYERS Let's pray this was a fluke as this was pretty painful to type. 1. Adrian Garcia (Spartans, REC-0) -- 0/12. 'Nuff said. 2. Branden Harrell (Golden Ballers, AAA-E) -- 0/9. See above. 3. Ou Saechao (Sq, REC-O) -- Shot 1/12 (.08% FG). Insert blood alcohol content joke here. 4. Alan Chen (Ballaticians, AAA-P) -- 5 points, 6 boards, 2 dimes, and 2 steals'on 1/10 (10% FG) shooting. *shudder* 5. Jerry Yip (Golden Ballers, AAA-E) -- 2/12 (17%). Yip and teammate Harrell had enough bricks to build a house, going a combined 2/20 (10% FG). 6. Ryan Yasutake (SureShots, AAA-P) -- 4 points, 2/13 shooting (15% FG). I guess some people never see a shot they feel they can't make. 7. Doni Guitarte (SF Lions, AAA-E) -- In all fairness, Guitarte was playing his first game with a new crew. However, 5 points on 2/11 (18% FG) shooting is pretty ugly. 8. Leroy Saelee (Sq, REC-O) -- Like his teammate, Ou, Saelee was straight jackin': 3/15 (20% FG). I can't bear to try calculating their team FG%. 9. Johnny Harrington (Done Deal, AAA-E) -- Harrington put up a respectable 4 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists. Not so respectable: 2/10 (20% FG) shooting from the field (please note those quotations). |