Syosset Draft League Debut
SYOSSET DRAFT: Preseason Power Rankings
By Anthony Leo | Syosset League Coordinator
1. Jeurys Familia
The first ever draft league in Syosset begins tonight and it’s only fitting that a Mike Mastro led team enters the season as the number-one ranked team. Mastro has dominated the Syosset Open League for years. Now in the draft league, Mastro and his co-captain Jordan Oringer will try and raise another Jeurys Familia banner in Syosset. Jeurys Familia has a solid roster that will contend with any team in the league. They selected Chase Jalolza in the first round, who has plenty of UH experience from playing in previous Syosset Open Leagues and Garden City Draft Leagues. Jaloza has career averages of 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Jeurys Familia will play through Mastro and get plenty of open shots for their 3-point shooters.
2. Thundercats
The Thundercats are back but with a twist! The Thundercats this season will be led by a different Frey brother. Mike Frey and Brett Lawler paired up to captain this season’s Thundercats team, and they selected a great team that is arguably the deepest team in the league. The Thundercats have a lot of talented guards who can all score the ball. Nick Albernas can get hot from deep and attack the basket to get his own shot. Alain Wehder is a similar player who can pass the ball very well and can also create his own shot off the dribble. The sleeper pick on this team is Brett Cohen. Cohen is an excellent ball handler and solid point guard who will surprise people.
3. Lottery Picks
Lottery Picks is another team with a deep roster but also has some new players who will be playing for the first time in an Ultimate Hoops game. Lottery Picks is led by RaShawn Church and Willis Cheatham. They selected Matt Capozzo in the first round, who makes his return to the league. Capozzo is an excellent player who can shoot the ball really well from anywhere on the floor. Lottery Picks will have one of the strongest starting lineups in the league with Church, Cheatham, Capozzo as their big three. Adding Spencer Weinstein and Justin David to the mix makes them a scary team to play if they can all get on the same page. Justin David will be a scrappy player who can rebound, run the floor and defend for this team.
4. RTG
RTG is back and once again led by scoring machine Ken Koerner. Koerner is still recovering from an ankle injury, but when he is 100 percent, he is a handful to stop. Koerner is in the top 50 all time in Ultimate Hoops for career points and averages 26 per game for his career. In this season’s draft league there are not many players who will be able to stop him one-on-one. RTG also has some new players to the league and one of them is William Clay. Clay will make his Ultimate Hoops debut tonight and we will find out quickly what his game is all about. The x-factor for this team is Christian Rodriguez, who last played at Utica college. If Christian lives up to his second-round pick value, RTG will have one of best trios in the league.
5. Pass First
Pass First could prove to be one of the better teams in the league, but they have a lot of new players and guys who we haven’t seen play before. One of those players is their first-round pick, Justin Lambert. Lambert is a mystery until he makes his debut tonight. If Lambert doesn’t live up to the hype, Pass First will need others to step it up. Pass First is going to be one of the smaller teams in the league, but they should be able to get out and run on teams. They have three guards with Alex Contino, Julian Delvastro and Eric Bolten who can all run the offense and lead the break. We’ll see what this team looks like tonight in their season debut.
6. 1-877-Lessons 4 Kids
Lessons 4 Kids is led by the Rosenbloom brothers in not one, but two leagues this winter season. They had the number-one overall pick in both leagues. They selected Ming Wang first overall in this league and Ming has been a staple of Ultimate Hoops in Syosset, winning multiple championships. Lessons 4 Kids also added Jake Lomonaco, who can be a big-time scorer in this league if given the opportunity. He is a crafty lefty who can shoot the ball or post up using his size. Lessons 4 Kids has the pieces to be one of the better teams in the league and we will find out quickly how good they will be.