McGinn and Gould’s Rec Ball Power Rankings

By Jack McGinn and Eric Gould

Team Rankings:

1.)Houle- Team Houle has three top 20 players in the league. The Amadors are great all around players, and Houle is one of the better big men in the league. The struggle for this team will be getting scoring from anyone other than those three. A big year from Will Burger would greatly help Team Houle’s chances of capturing a title come playoff time. If Team Houle has a tough year, it’ll be because of their lack of depth and scoring aside from their core.

2.)Fitzgerald- With two top five players in the league and not a whole lot else, this team is going to need dominant performances from Sam Lis and Joe Fitzgerald to remain at number one in the power rankings. Chris Martin brings a lot of hustle and heart defensively, but he isn’t very skilled offensively. Team Fitz will hope for some of their freshman to step up throughout the season to form a solid core five to surround Lis and Fitz in crunch time.

3.)Moran- Team Moran has some high hopes with Eugene running their point. Mespelli will lend a hand in the scoring category by grabbing offensive boards and finishing layups. These 2 will likely produce most of the team’s points. They won’t have much trouble on the defensive end of the court with Martin Moran bringing his intense personality. Look for this team to dominate in transition because of Eugene’s speed. In order for this team to keep their high ranking, Logan Zais will have to provide some outside scoring when Eugene is on the bench.

4.)Van Heest- Team Van Heest has easily the most depth in the league to go with some top end talent including Jack Van Heest and Tommy Moschella. Michael Keough, the Sullivan twins, JonTom, and Aidan Meehan is great depth by recball standards. The Sullivans are a bit of a wildcard; as arguably the best freshmen recballers, they’ll have to prove that freshmen are capable of having a big impact in this league. Jack Van Heest proved last year that his shooting can lead to a lot of wins, and that should be no different for Team Van Heest this year.

5.)Guilbeau- With arguably the best player in the league, Vondie, this team will be able to rely on him for their main output of scoring. With some other impressive talent–Deco and Zach Levine– Team Guilbeau shouldn’t struggle offensively. Levine and Vondie’s strong driving style of play combined with Deco’s shooting will make this team scary on the offensive end of the floor. Some bench players will need to step up in order to create a starting five with no weak links that could ultimately make this team a serious contender.

6.)Morin- Team Morin has the most intense, mastermind of a coach in the league, Mr. Morin. They wouldn’t be this high in the rankings without him. This team may struggle scoring the ball against elite teams. Ben Riela will have the challenge of leading this offense with no clear secondary scoring option. Matty Morin brings great defense, but he isn’t a great go-to scoring option. This team has a lot of guys who can score the ball, but nobody other than Ben who can take over. The Richmans, Sternburgs, and Will Yoo(especially on the defensive end) will need to be solid contributors for this team to prosper.

7.)McGinn- Team McGinn is a new name in the league. This team is in the middle of the pack starting the season. I’m unsure if McGinn will be able to carry this team on the offensive end. Matt McCarthy and Matt Crowley will need to help McGinn with the output of scoring. Depending on the play of those three, this team has the potential to be effective on the offensive end. Liam Dolan and Brendan McGrath will have to provide stellar defense against the league’s elite big men for this team to have a chance come playoff time.

8.)Barry- Team Barry has a lot of athletes, but they lack height. Jon Rodenbush and Jackson Barry will lead this team on the offensive end. Lucas Condon and Tyler Nagi will help those two get more open looks as solid supportive scoring options. This team will struggle to find an answer for elite big men like Joe Fitzgerald and Vondie on the defensive end if Andy Rivas and Patrick O’Neil can’t step up. Because of this, I don’t know if they can be considered real contenders, but they should have a solid regular season.

9.)Macelhaney- At first glance, this team looks pretty average. In reality, this team could move up in the power rankings as the season progresses. Guards Ryan French and Rian Barrett will look to score most of the points along with Jake Clancy. This team won’t need to worry too much about rebounding; Mike Huie should be a force that could do most of the work down low along with Clancy. The real hit or miss with Team Macelhaney, like many reball teams, will be the performance of the bench while the starters are on the bench.

10.)Capello- It might be surprise to some that Team Capello is ranked this low to begin the season. This team will see most of its scoring from Aidan Burke, Devin Parent, and Jerry Teng. They also have other decent players, Derek Pittorino and Peter Howarth, who will provide some intensity on the defensive end. However, one big problem I see with this team is the three point shooting. We know some of them can hit occasionally, but not consistently enough to beat some of the better teams in the league. If this team can make shots along with keeping their strong defensive mindset, they could move up in the power rankings.

11.)Last- We think this team could have a frustrating season given their high expectations. They have Rafaay who has a chance to be the best scorer in the league. At times he has no conscience offensively, but that could turn out to be a positive for this team. This team lacks a second scoring option, but they have some good athletes. Kevin Flahive, Anirban, and Peter LaMountain will need to score the ball when Rafaay isn’t on the floor, or this team could struggle.

12.)Meyer- Being one of the familiar names in the league, Team Meyer is filled with sneaky talent. A somewhat obvious strength for this team will be their elite shooting. Players such as Ryan Nichols, Moiz, and Vikram Abbaraju will be the main scorers of this offense. The one problem that could hurt this team as the season goes on is height; this team doesn’t have a whole lot of it. Against big teams in the league, Team Meyer may have a tendency to be dominated on the glass. Moiz will need to step up when guarding the likes of Fitzgerald and Vondie for Team Meyer to be successful.

13.)Kelley- Team Kelley looks like an interesting team on paper. Their core is well rounded with Stott grabbing boards, Kevin Ji providing wing scoring and strong drives, and Patrick Kelley and Owen Gately driving to the hoop and playing pesky defense. If Ji isn’t producing offensively, this team will have a tough time. Team Kelley will be a pretty good defensive team; with Stott defending the rim they won’t need to worry too much about other bigs scoring on them at will. The supporting players will need to be able to produce some points when Ji and Stott are being defended by good defenders. The performance of their core players on the offensive end will likely by the factor to determine if this team moves up or down in the rankings as the season moves on.

14.)Townsend- Aaron Wong is going to have to carry Team Townsend if they want to have a winning record. Pranava Kumar can score the ball in isolation, and he’s quite honestly being slept on by most in this league. Ryan Primeau is big, but he spends too much time roaming the perimeter. Ed Lee was a recent addition, and he could have a huge impact. A lack of ball handlers will hurt this team if they’re pressured full court. I could see this team beating some smaller teams because of their height, or if the other team is missing a key player, but I anticipate a long season for Team Townsend.

15.)Khoury- Team chemistry is going to be a key component to this team’s ranking as the season goes on. I expect them to play pretty well together, considering this is the same core as last year. They have some size, in Gonzo and Jalen, that will be able to slow other teams defensively and compete on the boards. Will Schiffman will need to have a great season in order for this team to get some wins.

16.)Philbrook- A big year from Joe Thompson could move this team up a couple spots in the standings. Jack Phelps will need to be aggressive and attempt at least 10 shots in order to win a couple games. Eric Gould and Steven Chelak will need to shoot the ball very well for Team Philbrook. There definitely isn’t a clear cut last place team in the league this year, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they move up three or four spots in the ranking in time. That being said, I expect them to be handled fairly easily by Team Fitzgerald in week 1.

Predictions:

MVP: Thomas VonderVellen

Runner-ups: Rafaay, Joe Fitzgerald, and Eugene

Freshman of the year: Tyler Nagi

Runner-ups: The Sullivan Twins

Coach of the Year: Scott Morin(duh)

Defensive Player of the Year: Devin Parent

Runner-ups: Ed Lee, Chris Martin

Sixth-man: Josh Sternberg

 

Most Slept on Player: Pranava Kumar

Runner-ups: Brendan McGrath, Jack Phelps