Winter 2011 - Week 3 Recap

Panda X def. Tigers (60-59)

Drew Paff with a MONSTER block!

This game turned out to be a thriller. The pace of the game was fast with many quick guards running the tempo on both rosters. The Tigers once again heavy favorites on paper and early favorite to win it all disappointed due to lack of team chemistry and several unforced turnovers. 16 turnovers to only 6 assists! The numbers do not lie. Panda on the other hand with an 0-2 records played with something to prove. Dustin Pervine and Anthony Marshal took over from start to finish and together combined for 44 of the 60 points for panda and along with Drew Puff with his defensive presence of 5 blocks and 13 rebounds they were able to hang with the Tigers and in the end pull off the overtime 3-2 shootout. For the Tigers once again Brandon Maddox carried the team with his inside presence and finished with another strong game of 26 points and 14 rebounds. In the end though it came down to free throws and for the second time in three games the Tigers were unable to close the game when they had a chance to do so.
The Tigers now fall to 1-2 and Captain Calvin Wilson may be wondering what is going wrong with his dream team. Panda improves to 1-2 and Captain Erik Su is hopeful that his gamble in the draft to pick two scoring guards demanding the ball can actually work.

Kamikazee Vs. Samurai (88-83)

Titus skys for the easy 2

Two of the top teams so far in the GTBA Winter season collided in week 3 and they did not disappoint. In a high scoring game with allot of physical play and two different strategies the Kamikazes where the ones who were able to pull away with the slim victory despite a GTBA all time league high in points scored by Titus Wright. Titus would finish the game with 56 points! on 22 of 45 shooting but fell short to the Kamikazee balanced attack. Kamikazees lead by their captain who started the game on 1 for 4 shooting but made his next 7 shots down the stretch along with four other players in double figures proved once again that the GTBA can have a "pass" first team.
Game Notes:
Kamikazees fell behind early trying to adjust to the quickness of Titus but eventually switched to a zone trying to control the other four Samurai players and took a commanding lead midway through the half and never looked back although Samurais stayed close in the end.
The Samurais who were also missing big man and league veteran Chris Wilson committed 20 team fouls. Kamikazee captain Basilis took an elbow in the mouth by fellow captain Xiaofan late in the first half but would return with all teeth in tact and later claim he was also bunched in the head while trying to grab a rebound. Of course it was a no-call since the punch came from noted boxer and referee intimidator Joe Hughes.
Kamikazee improved to 3-0 while Samurai drop to 1-2 but do not let this record full youthis team is for real.

Haduken def. Godzilla (76-63)

Zach Barras pushes it upcourt

The Zillas and Haduken match up in week 3 was a yet another game without Zillas 1st round draft pick Scott Sauer. Haduken broke out to an early 7-0 run as there much quicker lineup forced Zilla to rethink its game plan. It was also a bad sign that Zillas 2nd and 3rd picks showed up to the game 6 minutes into the first as Chris Scott and Zach Barras tried to help climb out of the hole that Zilla had dug at the start of the game. Chris Harden had his best game of the season as he put up 17pts and 9rbs, 2stls, and 2 blks.  But the late arrival and newly acquired Ty Rashad was not enough to pull out the victory as Robby Huang lead Haduken to its first win of the season. Also about half-way through the 2nd half Chris Scott dislocated a finger on his shooting hand is will be a game-time decision for the week 4 game.

Haduken was able to grab an early lead, and had 4 players in double digit scoring. This was a solid game also on the glass for Haduken as they held the league’s leading rebounder Zach Barras to only 8rbs as they out rebounded Zilla 50-28. Haduken recorded 2 players with double-doubles, Robby and Dean Mazdai. Braden Aletto was 1 rebound shy and Matt Frontera was 2 rebounds short of having double-double games too. “As the season goes on you can see this playing better together each game.” said T Hailey.  This game was won by Haduken and there tenacious attack on the boards as Robby Huang was rumored to be shopping for a big. Let’s see if this game changes his mind and Dean and Pat can hold it down in the paint.

Winter 2011 - Week 2 Recap

Juggernauts def. Godzilla (68-59)

The Juggernauts managed to handle Godzilla relatively easy this week, winning 68 to 59. Without Zilla’s first round pick, Scott Sauer, for the 2^nd week in a row Zilla could not overcome the lack of size in the paint. As the Juggernauts had 3 starters with double figure rebound games, led by Jason Stealy with 14 total rebounds. Zack Barras the leagues rebounding leader had other solid game on the glass with 14pts-14reb game, but expect his rebounding number to go down with the return of Sauer. Chris Scott had a game he will want to forget about as he went an ice cold 6 for 28 from the field.

Chris Kruithoff Turns his ankle put on IR

Before the game, and days leading up to it, Theo Simmons, wrote on Zilla’s captain’s Facebook wall about how he was going to have a monster game. He was able to back it up, recording a double-double. A very efficient 44 points, and 12 rebounds, helped his team to the win. Improved play from rookie Vincent Bradley, helped overcome the early loss of Juggernauts 1^st round pick Chris Kruithoff, who sprained his ankle and had to be wheel chaired out of the gym. Chris’s ankle may have him out the rest of the season. Rumor is Toni Tone will be his replacement.

*Trade Alert*

After week 2, Zilla’s captain, Thomas ‘T’ Hailey, and Dragon’s captain, Rob Taylor agreed to a straight up trade, sending Bryan Compton to the Dragons in exchange for Ty Rashad. This should improve the lack of outside scoring for Zilla and improve the locker room chemistry for the Dragons.

Samurai def.  Hadouken (82-73)

Samurais bounce back from a disappointing overtime loss to the Juggernauts. Once again Titus Wright led the way dropping 38 points and at times making his opponents look silly. Samurais have the size and speed to compete against any team in the GTBA. Joe Hughes the veteran and champion from last year with the Unusuals received a technical during the game after several complains about the officiating. The referees were just glad no bunches were thrown. The
officiating was outstanding in comparison to some of the earlier games.

Titus Wright with one of his 3 blocks

On the other side Hadouken struggled again even with the addition of Braden Alletto in the starting lineup. The team is lacking chemistry and size and turnovers were once again a problem. They have been unable to utilize their best weapon and league leading scorer from last year Robby Huang, who struggled with his shooting going 4 for 15 from long range. The game was tied after one half but eventually the samurais were able to pull away for the fairly easy victory.

Kamikazes def. Ninja Stars (97-75)

Basilios reverse layup

Kamikazes took control early and never looked back. Once again with balanced scoring and passing. Six out of seven Kamikaze players scored in double figures and they reached 20 or more assists for the second consecutive game and out-rebounded the Ninja Stars by 22. Chris Hawkins who may be the steal of this year’s draft came off the bench and hit 11 of 14 shots for 23 points to lead all scorers. For the Ninja Stars Nick Hailey who did not play in the first half came in firing in the second filling up the stat sheet and finishing with 23 points and 4 assists on 50% shooting.

Both teams had 12 three points FG made. Ninja Stars had a much better second half with the addition of Hailey as the Kamikazes took the foot off the gas and set their tempo to cruise control. Kamikazes are now ready for a real test next week versus the Samurais who have the size and arguably the best point guard in the league so far.

Nate Holmes raises his arm in victory

Birds vs BBB

I thought it was a joke," said Bumblebees Captain John von Arx.  "Either  i'm a lot stronger than I think, or the 6'5" guy flopped." 

Winter 2011 - Week 1 Recap

After nearly three months of rest, the GTBA is back in action at the Monon Center. This week was a clear indication of which players had polished their game during the off season and which ones had succumbed to the cold and food. While many rookies struggled, others blasted onto the scene and started dominating right away.

Hidden Dragons 60, Usual Suspects 68

The defending champs could not even find five players to start the game. Dragons captain Rob Taylor gracefully agreed to let Dustin Pervine and rookie Matt Frontera play as substitutes.

The Suspects rookie Bryan Walker did not hesitate to take over the scoring as he was making acrobatic layups, pull ups from 10 ft, frustrating the Dragons defense while laughing out loud after each made basket. Big man Alex Carter was the key to the championship last season, and he did not miss a beat as he dominated the paint.

A moment of confusion as the players try to locate the basketball

The Dragons were without their No.1 overall pick Josh Perkins. With three rookies in the starting line-up and Ty Rashad struggling, veteran Xiao Chen, not known for his offensive game, stepped up and scored 13 points in the first half, matching his counter part Bryan Walker. Chen would finish with 19 pts and 9 rebounds, earning the nickname "the best 5th rounder ever" from Robby Huang. Rookie Josh Hann dished out 5 assists but struggled from the field. Rookie center Matt "Tree" Lantry was solid in his first game as he battled Carter in the paint and finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.

The two teams exchanged buckets until the Suspects found a second wind late in the second half, and took advantage of the Dragons' consecutive turnovers and never looked back. The Dragons need more contribution from veteran Ty Rashad and by having Perkins back in the lineup will allow better match-up options for Lantry. The Suspects played without their top pick Stretch, and its true power is yet to be seen.

Kamikazees 78, Hadouken 58

This was supposed to be the Game of the Week. Kazees captain Basilis Dimitrelias edged out Robby Huang as regular season MVP in the Fall, and picked the commish and two time MVP Paul Tan as his first pick. Last season's leading scorer Robby Huang did not have a strong draft but as history had shown, he was expected to have a strong opening game.

It turned out that Huang was battling with the flu, and he had to be taken out after just 3 minutes of playing. He would later return in spurts, did not ever get it going, finishing with 16 points and 6 rebounds, almost half of his scoring average last season. Rooke Pat McDonald had a strong performance in his debut, finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds. The other rookie Matt Frontera, after a strong showing at the combine, perhaps fatigued by substituting in the earlier game, did not have a good start. He had committed 7 turnovers by half time and would finish with 13 pts, 9 reb, and 11 TOs. The rest of the Hadoukens looked flat and this can be a serious problem. Hopefully veteran playmaker Braden Aletto's return will provide some organization to the team.

The Kazees, on the other hand, displayed the definition of balanced attack. They were scoring from all angles with Brian Sullivan and Nate Holmes knocking down a total of seven treys. Draft steal Jason Marshall attacked the rim and defended the lane vehemently. Rookie Chris Hawkins had an impressive showing of 10 pts, 5 reb, and 5 ast. The Greek played to a quiet 16 pts and 16 rebounds, handed out 5 assists along the way. The Commish was not needed much, as he only had to grab 10 rebounds, and led the team in assists with six. This team is the preseason favorites to win it all and they had certainly showed the reasoning behind it.

Panda X 46, Bumblebees 53

Eric Su's Panda X returns with the reigning Finals MVP Anthony Marshall and key big man Drew Paff. The Bees make a return after being disbanded mid-season in the Fall, headed by veteran John von Arx. von Arx selected sensation Brandon West in the first round, and surrounded him with a group of able role players.

The Pandas might as well change their name to Panda Constructions, LLC as they started building bricks right away. They would finish with 20-76 (26.3%) from the field and a pathetic 3-26 from beyond the arc and 3-9 from the line. Anthony Marshall was not in his MVP form as he missed all ten of his 3pt attempts and shot 3-21 overall. Captain Eric Su knocked down two 3s from his newly added long distance arsenal. And played well enough to earn him player of the game honors. In order to succeed, this team will need to work on its chemistry and shot distribution and selection.

The Bees came out flat also, with the exception of Brandon West, who started his season with a made 3 pointer. Rookie Marlon Coutee and veteran Anthony Brock struggled from the field early, but made key baskets down the stretch. Captain John von Arx's saw his first shot being blocked by Masazumi Kondo. He did finish with 12 rebounds. Tim Hoover and Abdul Young stepped up with the defense as they prevail in the end by seven points. The Bees will need its big man and former captain Mahdi Thompson's return to play the five, so Anthony Brock and Brandon West can have more freedom on both ends.

Crouching Tigers 52, Rice Birds 53

The Tigers feature sharpshooter Drew Hester from two seasons ago, and versatile forward Brandon Maddox. Captain Calvin Wilson took a back seat for the most of the game as he observed how his new players meshed with each other. Rookie Adam Turner controlled the tempo well but committed a key late turnover. Rookie Q Williams played strong defense in the lane as he ended up with four blocks. Drew Hester hit 3 threes, all from NBA range. Brandon Maddox was his old self, led the team with 18 points. Rookie Chris Maynard debuted with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and added 5 assists.

Chris Maynard missing two technical free throws at the end of the game

The Birds, captained by rookie Tyler Rehrer, is mostly an unknown team as they featured six rookies. Trenton Kemp played a strong game with 21 points and 13 rebounds, and added 4 steals. Rehrer was solid with 10 pts, 7 reb, 4 asts, and 3 stls.

The two teams battled to the end, and in the last minute, with the Birds up by one, Birds center Stephen Farnsworth was fouled by Quentin Williams. Farnsworth reacted strongly to the foul and shoved the ball into Williams' chest. This resulted in a technical foul on Farnsworth. In what was seen as a reverse of fortune for the Tigers, Chris Maynard missed both of technical freethrows and therefore losing the chance to steal the game from the Tigers.

Godzilla 62, Ninja Stars 60

The Ninja Stars is led by Brandon Moore, a first year captain but a seasoned veteran. With the late addition of temporary player Nick Hailey added another chapter to the Hailey brothers feud.

Godzilla came off a disappointing upset loss from last year's championship game. Captain T Hailey remembering what got him there in the first place, selected big man Scott Sauer, who was unable to come to the season opener. Rookie Chris Scott, a former IUPUI Jaguar and the first person in GTBA history with NCAA tournament experience, started off with a beautiful up and under layup. He would finish with 24 pts, dissecting the defense along the way. Rookies Zach Barras and Chris Harden each finished with a double-double. Zach Barras had an impressive 17 pts and 20 rebounds, and had 4 stls and 2 blks to go along with that.

The Ninja Stars came out trailing, and they would trail by double digits at times. But the team ralliled behind Nick Hailey and Phil Johnson, and key buckets by Brandon Moore and Janaule Bennett had made it a one possession game in the last minute. Bennett was not fazed by T Hailey's defense and she had a key layup over the outstretched arm of Zach Barras to cut the score to within one. Nick Hailey would lead the team with 27 points and Moore finished with his career high of 17 rebounds. The Stars had a last shot to win at the buzzer but they did not get the shot off as time expired.

Godzilla looked strong even without their big man and as the team learns to play with each other, they are another favorites to win. The Stars will need more scoring and definitely need an able replacement when Nick Hailey leaves to start his pro career in the Philippines.

Samurais 65, Juggernauts 66

The Juggernauts looked to be a clear favorite to win this game on paper as they have mismatches at almost every position. Led by the former Birdman Gabe Smith, the lineup featured scorer Theo Simmons and scoring big man Chris Kruithoff, who is arguably the best all around big man in the league. Samurais captain Xiaofan Fu parted ways with Paul Tan at the draft and decided to pick his former Suspects teammate and MVP candidate Titus Wright instead.

Wright did not disappoint as he was destroying the defense from all angles. He would finish with 36 points while knocking down 4 three pointers. His defense was outstanding too as he had five steals and three blocks, despite his 5'7" frame, including one on the 6'6" Kruithoff late in the game. (pictured on the right). Last season's Most Improved Player Xiaofan Fu could not find his groove as he finished with zero points. Chris Wilson provided the help that Wright needed in the first half, scoring 14 points by the half against Kruithoff, to the surprise of many. He would get into foul trouble in the second half, and did not score again.

The Samurais led for the most of the game until Theo Simmons started scoring in the second half, including a fast break dunk in the second half. He would finish with 30 points and 9 rebounds, including a key free throw to tie the game at the end of regulation, and another to win in the shoot out. Kruithoff had an impressive performance of 15 pts and 11 rebounds. Other rookies Eddie Hamilton and Jason Stealy had efficient numbers, however Vincent Bradley will have to play with more confidence as the point guard leading this team.

In the first shoot-out of the season, both teams knocked down their first two free throws, and both team had missed their third and fourth. The deciding free throw was drained by Theo Simmons, and Samurais big man Jacob Wittman caved under the pressure, airballed his last shot, to the disappointment of Rob Taylor, who apparently had made a bet with someone about it being an "all-netter". Technically he did not lose the bet.

GTBA Winter 2011 - Let the Season Begin!

Winter 2011 Preseason News

The 5^th season of the GTBA began with its first ever combine that welcomed over 35 rookies. Rookies ran 10 minute pickup games run by Dragons coach Rob Taylor. The combine concluded with a Rookies vs. Veterans game that featured previous GTBA players Nick Hailey, alongside Josh Perkins, Titus Wright, Anthony Brock and Ty Rashad. The rookies learned how quickly they would need to adjust to the league as they lost by nearly 20 points in a 10 minute scrimmage.

Since this season had such a large number of new and previous players returning after a season off. The league commissioner Paul Tan, made it clear that the league would be having a total draft of all new and returning players. With over 100 players signing up the league was forced to only accept the first 84 players who paid to participate in the draft, which consisted of the 12 team captains. Of the captains we had 7 veteran captains, and 5 rookie captains.

Below is a draft recap

Team Analysis

Hidden Dragons

Captain: Robert Taylor (3rd season as captain)

#1 Pick Josh Perkins, Shoots over new teammate Xiao Chen

The Dragons selected Josh Perkins, a 6’5” center with the 1^st pick overall, and followed it with Matt Lantry, a 6’5” rookie center to make one intimidating front court. In the 3^rd round Ty Rashad a veteran and proven scorer could either be the team’s MVP or what eventually pulls the team apart. Xiao Chen founding GTBA member was selected in the 5^th and can provide some more valuable shot blocking to the already tall lineup. Rookies also include J. Hann, D. Cuvar, and N. Journel.

TJ Ciochetto - Usual Suspects

Usual Suspects

Team Captain: TJ Ciochetto (2^nd season as captain)

The Suspects look to win back to back championships with TJ as team captain. Rookie “Strech” Thalley 6’7” center had a great combine as TJ could not pass up the size with his second overall pick. In the second round TJ got his vet big man Alex Carter who should take a lot of the load Thalley with his soft hands and ability to finish inside. James Washington also returning to the team to win his second championship alongside 3 other Tech High School players, all rookies Brian Walker, Gary Pops, and Matt Compton. What would the GTBA be without Jack Chiang, who has provided all his teams with a great attitude.

Rice Birds

Team Captain: Tyler Rehrer (1^st season as captain)

Rookie player and captain, Tyler Rehrer hopes his lack of experience with the GTBA doesn’t lead to rough season. Tyler takes over the Rice Birds and brings in two player personally recruited by himself, S.Farnsworth and T. Kemp. Both of the two first 2 picks have never seen a minute on the court with the GTBA or combine and should be interesting how they compare to the level of competition. This team could be in for a shock of a season as they have 6 rookies, Mike Jones, Jay Nelson, and Ted O’Donnel. The only GTBA experienced players are J. Liwanag who returns to the league after over a year away and H. Houng who tries to show the league why he should not have dropped to the last round of the draft.

Calvin Wilson, Rob Taylor and TJ looking so damn offical

Crouching Tigers

Team Captain: Calvin Wilson (3^rd season as captain)

Calvin surprised everyone on draft day by selecting Brandon Maddox 6’5” center, with his first pick. Rookie Chris Maynard, who had a nice combine workout moved up into the early part of the 2^nd round with his great outside shooting and ability to get the ball moving up court. Also, rookie, Q. Williams looks to be the role player the Tigers need inside and out to get the dirty work done. D. Sims who was injured on draft night will be put on IR as Calvin looks to fill the spot with a waiting list player, pending league captain approval. Other notable players are rookie J. Mann, Rondo Zhu, and J. Hester. Never a good sign when your players are already going down in preseason.

Bumble Bees

Team Captain: John VonArx (1^st season as captain)
Although a rookie captain John has spent 2 seasons in the league. The Bees could have one of the most under rated teams going into this season. B. West 6’4” and A. Brock 6’5” both vets who provide lots of length at the forward spots should pose lots of matchup problems for the smaller teams at the forward spots. The Bees also have a very defensive minded guard lineup with A. Young, Tim Hoover and M. Coutee who all can handle the rock and lock down some of the elite scores in the league. Mahdi Thompson will need to step up as the team’s center for the season as John hopes that they will be able to outscore opponents from the outside. K. Wan selected in the 7^th round is a total unknown.

Eric Su - Panda X

Panda X

Team Captain: Eric Su (5^th season as captain)

Founding Captain Eric Su looks to build upon his on 2 GTBA championships this season. Anthony Marshall one of the best scorers in the league will also have Dustin Pervine to help share the load on the offensive end. Drew Paff will have his chance this season to show that he is an elite big man without being in the shadow of Brandon Maddox. Rookie Bobby Jones, will need to find his spot on this team if he wants to help this team to the championship. Masa Kondo who struggled with back injuries last season looks to return strong and show why he was a 2^nd round pick last season. Other late round selections were Anton Lee and Justin Kirby.

Gabe, John, Tyler and Robby focus on draft day moves

Juggernauts

Team Captain: Gabe Smith (3^rd season as captain)

Former captain of the Rice Birds, Gabe Smith hopes that the team name change can rid him of the “Birdman” nickname and erase all memories of the difficult past season as the Birds. Rookie Chris Kruithoff 6’6” hopes he can be Gabe’s second pick in a row to be rookie of the year. Theo Simmons should be a great second round pick and may need to average 40 points a game for the Juggernauts to have a winning season. Rookie V. Bradley, a very young point guard will need to show his team that he can be the point they need to run the offense before they lose confidence. J. Stealy a co-worker of Gabe’s should be a quality forward. G. Lynch and M. Lim, familiar with Gabe’s coaching style should be a good quality late picks for him. Edward Hamilton who went under the radar at the draft could be this season’s big steal, according to teammate Theo.

Samurais

Team Captain: XiaoFan Fu (4^th Season as captian)

Entering his 4^th season as captain Xiaofan looks to find the right combination of players to get to his first championship game. With a shocking 1^st round pick Xiaofan selected season 2 MVP, Titus Wright, and passing on previous teammate, Paul Tan, as he tries to shake up team for this season. Jacob Wittman and fellow big man Chris Wilson along with Xiaofan should be a quality lineup inside and provide Titus with lots of scoring opportunities. Joe Hughes the leagues enforcer will provide his usual in your face defense as he frustrates players. Chase Shao, will be a great asset to the team as he can set screens and open up Titus and Xiaofan. Trade talks involving Aaron Stanley have already started to circulate, as he wants to play with former Bees teammate Drew Hester. C. He was selected in the 7^th and will be a good spot minute player when Titus needs the occasional water break.

GTBA Winter 2011 Draft

Ninja Stars

Team Captain: Brandon Moore (1^st season as captain)

1st time as team captain, Brandon Moore, showed some inexperience in the draft, as he selected all rookies. Brandon’s first pick C. Hayes was projected to go in the 3^rd round and M. Keel was projected to go in the 5^th went in 3^rd. Guard Adam Turner and Forward Phil Johnson will also have to carry a lot of the load and hope that the gamble Brandon took with his earlier picks were worth it. M. Wu who was the 3rd Asian selected in the draft, is an unknown but Brandon had enough faith to take him with his 4^th round pick. J. Bennett, will be the only female playing this season, she played very well and might be the best player selected in the 6^th round. Finally Notable 7^th rounder Y. Wang looks to prove why he was worthy of a higher pick. Let just hope that this team is not split-up due to lack of level of play.

Scott Sauer - The red head big man

Godzilla

Team Captain: Thomas “T” Hailey (4^th season as captain)

Coming of a difficult loss in the championship last season. Zilla managed to snag big man Scott Sauer 6’6” red head center, who was not expected to drop past the 8^th pick. 2^nd rounder former IUPUI player and rookie guard, Chris Scott, was projected to go in the 1^st round, looks to provide a lot of the main scoring. Quality rookie forward Zach Barras should be able to provide a great outside threat and create matchup problems with his size and quickness. Rookie Chris Harden, had an above average combine and looked like he could finish nicely inside and could be spending a lot of time at the line. Role players B. Compton, M. Hughes and K. Cline will be great additions to Zilla as they look to return to the championship. “We will win it all”, quoted Chris Scott.

The Greek looking over his team

Kamikazee

Team Captain: Basilis “The Greek” Dimitrelias (1^st season as captain)

Going into the draft Bill had a strategy to not be the biggest man on his team. But that quickly changed when Commissioner Paul Tan dropped to him in the 1^st round. Although lacking a true center Paul Tan, Jason Marshall and “The Greek” should be able to control most of the boards. Brian Sullivan, who was one of the top 3-point shooters last season will get a lot of open second chance shots with Paul snagging offensive boards. Nate Holmes, excellent point guard skills from last season will also help spread the court with his vison and shooting ability. Other notables are Justin Lee, and rookies Chris Hawkins and K. Teng.

Hadouken

Team Captain: Robby Huang (1^st season as captain)

Always asked to be the main scorer on his team Robby looks to build a team full of nice role players to compliment his outstanding outside shooting. B. Alleto, has been one of the top passing guards in the league the past 2 season, and is ecstatic to finally be reunited with his season 3 championship teammates Robby and Dean Mazdai. Rookies, Pat McDonald and Matt Frontera, had some of the best showings in the combine impressing all the captains. In a draft day trade John “Hinrich” Saloman was traded from Zilla to reunite with former teammate and captain. J. Hudson is a rookie that is relatively unknown to the league. John Wilson, will not add much height to the already small lineup with Dean as center, but will provide the occasional 3-pointer to spark his team. If Robby’s plan for outside shooting with little to no inside presence doesn’t work, look for a trade involving his quality guards for a big guy that can stop some of the elite centers in the league.

Join the league at its next meeting at Sichuan Chinese Restaurant - Ask Xiao Chen for Details

Rob Taylor's Week 7 Picks

For your viewing pleasure. Robert Taylor makes his picks for last weeks games. Tim Hoover cameos. Props to Eric Su and Tim Hoover for a good game against Zilla. Frustrating Ty Rashad and T Hailey of Zilla, all game with outstanding in your face defense from half court. T Hailey, commented after the game, as team captains held a post game meal at Bellicinos, "This would have been a different game if we had all of our players there. Cant wait for a rematch."

 

Rob was spot on with his predictions for the early games, but failed to pick the two upsets of the day in the 6:00pm games. As the Rice Birds upset the Samurais, and Ninja Stars loosing a close game to the dark horse team of the GTBA, the Usual Suspects. Next week we will try to provide more pre, post and in-game videos.

GTBA Week 6 Season 4 recap

It has been over a season and a half since our last blog post and since the league is starting to get the new media bug. We have decided to slowly bring back the blogger and twitter sites along with the newly created www.generaltsosbasketball.com home page. If you do not have a twitter or facebook account there are many ways to fallow and contact the league. Big thanks to Basilios Dimitrelias, our leagues website designer and player for the Rice Birds.

Season 3 champions - Panda X won in a thrilling victory over the Crouching Tigers, which finished with the first ever video replay to determine if the final buzzer beater was good. In the end Paul Tan, and Eric Su were able to lead them to there 2nd title. Robby Huang and Brandon Maddox were the finals MVPs.

Season 4 Recap

Season 4 started off fresh with league wide draft that was meant to level the teams, and increase the competitiveness of the teams. Overall the draft was a success as the league continues to offer many close games each week.

Robby Haung, the season 3 finals MVP, who was selected with the first overall pick has been nothing but a contribute and MVP contender each week with his new team the Hidden Dragons. Who look very strong with the emergence of Brandon West who subbed for a few games in season 3 and established himself as a full-time player this year. Captain Robert Taylor, has been extremely outspoken and has a lot of confidence in his two star players. Things are looking bright if Robby and Brandon can continue to light up the 3 point line each week.

(Robby Haung going off for his 11 threes in week 6)

Currently their are 2 teams that are the clear front runners to win this seasons championship. Team Zilla with its not so athletic lineup of big read headed guys, has been nothing but a pleasant surprise for captain T Hailey.

(Zilla 55 - Stars 57, week 4)

The other team that looks to be picking up steam, and the only team to defeat Zilla is the Ninja Stars, led by captain Nick Hailey. The Ninja Stars have quite possibly the most athletic team ever assembled in the GTBA and with some crafty draft night tactics Nick was able to pick up his former Tech Titan HS teammate Stephan Mitchell, who has been featured on a few top 10 highlights with some spectacular dunks.

(No Names will be mentioned in this posterization)

Stay tuned to the GTBA as more blogs will be posted. Video Interviews with players and game day Twitter updates. http://twitter.com/tsosbasketball/

Generaltsosbasketball.com now in testing.

Checkin out the new site. Updates coming soon!

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Season Two Awards

The line ups are calculated using the NBA.com Efficiency Formula with added emphasis on attendance

All-GTBA First Team:

C- Feifei Jiang - Dummy Bears: 12 PPG, 15.6 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 1.6 SPG
F- Paul Tan - EricSu.com: 13.2 PPG, 18.9 RPG, 3.9 APG, 2.4 SPG
F- Robby Huang - EricSu.com: 26.0 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 1.7 SPG
G-Manley Wong - Indy Boys: 19.7 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.7 SPG
G-Titus Wright - Unusual Suspects: 22.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 0.8 BPG, 3.3 SPG, 2.3 APG

Second Team:

C - Bryan Cheng - BumbleBees: 7.3 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 2.1 BPG
PF - Chang Lee - Indy Boys: 10.0 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 0.6 BPG, 1.1 SPG
F - Joe Hughes - BumbleBees: 11.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 3.0 SPG
G - Thomas Hailey - Godzilla: 11.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.7 SPG,
G - Nick Hailey - Unusual Suspects: 18.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2.2 SPG

Third Team:

F - Ty Rashad - BumbleBees: 23.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG
F - Mark Yoon - Indy Boys: 8.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.1 SPG
F - Brian Adams - EricSu.com: 9.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.3 SPG
G - Paul Kim - Indy Boys: 10.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.9 SPG
G - Gino Calderon - BumbleBees: 22.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.0 APG

Honorable Mentions: Darrel Sims (UNU), Gabe Smith (ZILLA), Alan Wang (BEARS), Tim Hoover (ZILLA), Xiao Chen (UNU), Mahdi Thompson (BBB), Justin Zhu (UNU), Xiaofan Fu (UNU), Eric Su (ESU)

All-Defensive Team:

C- Bryan Cheng BumbleBees
C - Feifei Jiang Dummy Bears
F - Paul Tan EricSu.com
F- Chang Lee Indy Boys
G - Titus Wright Unusual Suspects
Honorable Mentions: Robby Huang (ESU), Thomas Hailey (ZILLA), Joe Hughes (BBB), Alan Wang (Bears), Mahdi Thompson (BBB), Brian Adams (ESU), Gabe Smith (ZILLA), Anton Lee (Bears)

Finals MVP: Gino Calderon (BBB)
League MVP: Paul Tan (ESU)
Most Improved Player: Eric Su (ESU)
Defensive Player of the Season: Paul Tan (ESU)
Rookies of the Season: Titus Wright (UNU), Robby Huang (ESU)

Rookies 1st Team:

C - Feifei Jiang (BEARS)
F - Joe Hughes (BBB)
F - Ty Rashad (BBB)
G - Robby Huang (ESU)
G - Titus Wright (UNU)

Summer Season Preview II - The Newcomers

The league has expanded to nine teams. And this is its largest season ever.

With the Gummy Bears losing lots of their players to the Taiwan Super League, Alan Wang, Melvin Chung, and Jack Chiang have joined in hand with last year's "Super Sub" Robert Taylor to form the Hidden Dragons. Coach Taylor, a new John Wall groupie, will be overseeing the day to day tasks of the team. Not wasting any time, he had already drafted perhaps the biggest star in league history in Kortea Johnson. The former Usual Suspect and the current Concord University Mountain Lion star player is expected to immediately take this team to the championship game. Expect some posters to be made when the Dragons play. The Dragons had also signed Ty Rashad, and yet released him to Rush Hour for unknown reasons. Again, the mystery surrounding that man is just that, a mystery. New additions Brian and Jalen will also make an immediate impact, where Jalen is considered a poor man's Kortea Johnson.

Meanwhile, Tim Hoover, Calvin Wilson, and TJ Ciochetto moved onto Crouching Tigers, taking half of Godzilla's core with them. With TJ Ciochetto at the helm, each member of the team is guaranteed a bottle of gatorade per game day. Joining them is another sensation and former Usual Suspect Scott Kebo. Kebo is a high flyer who is also dangerous from the outside. Expect great battles when he is matched up with the likes of Robby Huang and Kortea Johnson. The biggest question for this team is, how well will the players mesh? If they can come together, then sky's the limit.

Then there are the other two new teams, the Healthy Veggies, and Rush Hour. The Healthy Veggies will be under the leadership of Shen Liang, who has been training with CCC on a weekly basis, so he's no stranger to the physicality and the hacking. The Veggies will also have a former CCC member, Zhu Xiangfu, who will undoubtedly be the oldest member in the league. A former member of the People's Liberation Army basketball team, Zhu played in the first season for CCC, and pulled down 22 rebounds in a single game, setting the league record. (The record was since broken by Paul Tan) The resumes of other members of the Veggies are still unknown.

Rush Hour will have two familiar faces in former EricSu.com point guard Fan Xu and former Indy Boys center Matt Trettel. Trettel was arguably the best player at his position, averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds per game while leading the Indy Boys to the championship in the first season. Matt Trettel still has not lost a game in this league, who will be the first team to change that? Also joining is the lefty forward Brandon Jones, who stands at 6'2" with a much longer wingspan. The opponents will think twice about taking the ball into that front line. Ty Rashad is on the roster of Rush Hour, yet again, we will never know for sure until the ball is tipped.

There it is, hopefully there will be more records broken in the new season. Only Unusual Suspects Xiao Chen and Darrel Sims have made the only two dunks in league history, with the addition of plenty of high flyers, that will change for sure.

Summer Season Preview I - The Veterans

General Tso's Basketball Association's Summer 2010 season is set to begin after 33 days of off season. This time, it will be officially handled by the Monon Center as part of their summer program.

After a controversial win (the game was wrongfully called with 0.9 seconds left on the clock) against the Unusual Suspects at Conseco Fieldhouse in last season's championship game, the BumbleBees (not Bubble Bees, as one of their teammates still fervently maintained) will begin the defense of the their trophy without their captain Bryan Cheng and their leading scorer Ty Rashad. Cheng is nursing a mysterious and yet perhaps non-existent injury, while conflicting stories have surfaced concerning the reason behind Ty Rashad's departure from the team. Rumors have it that he will join the new team Rush Hour, but in this league, nothing is confirmed until the whistle blows on Saturday. MVP Gino Calderon and new captain Mahdi Thompson will look to carry the team with several new additions, along with their reliable veterans.

The Unusual Suspects will return all of its players with the exception of Nick Hailey and Justin Zhu, both are in Asia suffering the blazing heat at this moment. Captain Xiao Chen is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered before the championship game last season. Dynamic guards Titus Wright and Darrel Sims will both return. Big man Xiaofan Fu will unveil his new post moves that he had been working on against CCC in the off season. Xiao Chen went out of his way to acquire two new additions: Tony Boyd, a versatile defender and a floor leader, and Qing Ni aka QQ, the best female Chinese hooper in the Midwest. That's why Chen was so adamant in making a new rule where any point a female player scores would be doubled. The commissioner and other captains quickly objected to that idea. Despite that, the former Lady Hornet of Beech Grove is still expected to shine in the back court.

EricSu.com is coming back with a new name and a set of new uniforms. Panda Xpress will retain all of its core players plus a new addition in Brandon. Robby Huang, fresh off the North American Chinese Basketbal Invitational in Toronto, is looking to make a few highlights above the rim in addition to his dominance beyond the arc. Last season's regular season MVP Paul Tan is expected to resume his monopoly on the boards. Eric Su and Jun He have improved and will demonstrate that on the court. With the new face lift, will this team have better luck in the playoffs?

Godzilla had an overhaul of its roster that saw its leading scorer Tim Hoover and the energetic Calvin Wilson, along with tough defender TJ Ciochetto joining the new team Crouching Tigers. However, with captain Thomas Hailey finding several able replacements, most notably the former Usual Suspect gunslinger John von Arx, this team will certainly surpass the expectations of most. The only question is that will Gabe Smith be focused on playing basketball before the end of the World Cup on July 11th? And will he be sober?

After a heartbreaking yet also controversial loss to the Bees in the semis last season, the Indy Boys are coming back as Krazy Koreans, or Goons? Losing their star Paul Kim to expansion, they have signed versatile forward Justin Barnett to take some pressure off Chang Lee. With key players Mark Yoon and Manley Wong returning, the inaugural champs are right back in the game, at least on paper. Only question would be, will Manley Wong still have his touch after spending the last month living lavishly in Hong Kong?

In the next post, we will discuss the new teams, some of which are immediately viewed as contenders.