With half of the games completed and playoffs only a few weeks away, the Intramural basketball league is surely heating up with some good competition. After having reading period off to rest for the remainder of the season, each team is looking to hit their stride and make a serious run in the playoffs. Let’s take a look at each team and their progress (record as of 5/8/12 in parentheses):
Riverside (3-0): As expected before the season, this team finds themselves at the top half of the standings with three wins over Hezz Ballas, St. Vincent’s Insanity, and Gordon Bombay and the Sapphires. Guards Jake Wiele and Romelle Loiseau have definitely led the way to their undefeated record thus far. The rest of the season is no cakewalk for Riverside as they have their two toughest games against the Alabama Hot Pockets and A Bunch of Goons to conclude the regular season. These will be great tests for Riverside as they definitely have the personnel to go all the way this year.
Alabama Hot Pockets (3-0): Jon Bruehl and Chris Sims have done just enough to keep their squad undefeated. The outside shooting of Brady Kain and Reijo Wahlin has been streaky and they are definitely looking for consistency. After a solid win over Hezz Ballas, the Hot Pockets won by the skin of their teeth defeating St. Vincent’s Insanity by one point. The following week, with the assistance of fill-in player Jon Mays, the Hot Pockets roared back to defeat The Goons, riding Mays’ absolute dominance of the second half. Without the help of Mays for the rest of the season, Bruehl and Sims will have to continue to lead this squad if they want to be successful.
A Bunch of Goons (2-1): Despite a tough third week loss to the Alabama Hot Pockets, the Goons feel pretty good about how they look so far. Sam Wagner has been a spark plug on offense with his speed and shooting. The Goons will definitely depend on Sam Ausloos as he will do his best Ricky Rubio impression to facilitate and create plays. Closing out games may be the ultimate downfall with this squad. When the second half comes around, big men Hootie Zablocki and Al Schmitt start to launch threes and that can lead to big runs from opponents.
Bombay and the Sapphires (1-2): Pulling out a tough win against Hezz Ballas and only losing to Riverside by four points has The Sapphires showing a lot of toughness and determination. Jake Zimmerman has done it all by creating shots and capitalizing on second chance opportunities. They are still looking for consistent outside shooting from role players to add to their offensive arsenal. If The Sapphires can build upon their already intense defensive pressure, they may find themselves on the winning end of some close games.
Hezz Ballas (0-3): They had a tough draw with their early part of the schedule (first two games against Riverside and The Hot Pockets). The one-point loss to Bombay and the Sapphires definitely hurt as well. Kofi Fosu is looking to rally his gang into pulling out some wins going into the playoffs. After being tested early, they should feel better knowing they’ve seen everything that can come at them. With games against The Goons and St. Vincent’s Insanity remaining, Hezz is looking to play tough and stay consistent for forty minutes and see where the chips fall.
St. Vincent’s Insanity (0-3): The record does not accurately represent this team in any way, shape, or form. Playing the Hot Pockets, Goons, and Riverside in their first three games (and losing by less than ten points in each game) is the only reason they are 0-3. This team can battle tough with the shooting of Brandon Taylor and the tough rebounding of Kevin Aslett and Larry Mikrut. They have proven they are tough to beat and will surely be a team no one looks forward to facing in the playoffs.