New Pieces for the RudeDogs Shine Bright
GREEN VALLEY OPEN: Week 3 Power Rankings
By Michael Palmer | Green Valley Media Associate
1. UnderDogs (2-0)
The UnderDogs are UnderDogs, that's for sure. They brought in Dylan Hansel and man did he have a fine performance. The guard scored 26 points, making six shots from downtown and played lockdown defense, collecting three steals. John Loyd truly sparks this unit as he scored a game and week-high 45 points as well as collecting 14 rebounds.
Duelle Thomas Gore earned his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Loyd and Adam Rellah (18 points) both made four threes and I have to so, I don't know if they will lose a game this season with the stats, talent and drive this team has.
2. Flight Vegas (1-0)
Flight Vegas normally has the same group of guys playing every single game for them, but things looked a little different. They were without Vernon Clemens for the first time in I can't remember when, but they brought in some new pieces and they certainly made a name for themselves. Ali Sabra (24 points) and Ken Peters (23 points) had quite the game against Ball 4 Life as Peters played for Ball 4 Life last week. Sabra made three shots from downtown, while Peters made four treys. Robert Sandoval scored a team-high 25 points on 11 boards and only committed one foul, which was huge.
How about David Murtha's performance going up against a bigger RudeDogs team? He earned himself 20 points on 18 rebounds and was a beast all game long. Flight Vegas looks sharp already and in contention to remain in the top of the rankings most of the season if they keep this up.
3. RudeDogs (1-1)
Great bounce-back game for the RudeDogs as GM Dan Orozco brought in some big-time weapons in Khalid Cannon, Travis Sobers and Lamond Murray as they beat JYD 78-67. Cannon scored 17 points on 10 boards, while Sobers got himself 14 points on 10 rebounds. Murray, however, had quite the debut as the big-man scored a game-high 23 points.
Matthew Darcel (18 points) made three 3s and overall, it was a solid performance for the RudeDogs. Hopefully this group stays together for the majority of the season and competes very well against top-tier squads.
4. Villains (1-1)
The Villains were without one of their main weapons in Josh McCarver and even though Andreu Johnson scored a team-high 35 points, it wasn't enough against the UnderDogs. Johnson was feeling it from downtown, as he made nine treys, while Chase Skinkis turned into a scorer in this one getting himself 25 points.
The Villains did everything in their power to secure the comeback, eve going 16-18 from the charity stripe. It's going to be another competitive game for the Villains as they'll face the RudeDogs next week.
5. Ball 4 Life (0-2)
I'm putting Ball 4 Life at the No. 5 spot based on the fact that both of their games they lost have been by five and six points. They fell to Flight Vegas, but still managed to score 103 points. Angel Castro brought along Mark Trevino to join the Ball 4 Life party as he scored 21 points making four 3s, while Taurean Green scored an impressive 35 points making nine 3s. Milos Knezevic had one heck of a game getting 16 boards while also scoring 21 points.
It wasn't enough though as Ken Peters, who according to the box scores was on Ball 4 Life last week moved on over to Flight Vegas and had a great performance. Ball 4 Life only shot 40 percent from the field so hopefully they'll bounce back next week against JYD.
6. JYD (0-1)
The duo of Jerome JYD Williams and Anthony Livingston are the only two members of JYD that are back from their original team as they fell to the RudeDogs by 11 points. Williams brought along Adam Rellah (6 points), Eric Redeaux (21 points) and Victor Senn (11 points). Senn made his Ultimate Hoops debut and will be a key factor in their success this season.
Williams got himself 16 points and turned into a facilitator as he got nine assists. Livingston scored 13 points and shot 55 percent from the field. Hopefully JYD can get more pieces and become a top-tier team like they're used to.