Diplomats Make a Statement

GREEN VALLEY REC: Week 3 Power Rankings

By Michael Palmer | Green Valley Media Associate

1. Dyme Pieces (2-0)

Another game, another win for the Dyme Pieces as they beat the Lifetime Lakers 85-80. Tom Gibson was lights out all game long as the sharp-shooter scored a game-high 33 points, making eight shots from downtown.

Dylan Hansel, to me, had the best week as he scored 21 points, but got himself an insane 16 assists. His guys delivered in the clutch and made the shots when it counted most. Jim Reilly earned is 2,000th career point as the center scored 14 points and grabbed 13 boards. RJ Wojtowicz (13 points) and GM Nick Lombardo (10 rebounds) also contributed in many ways too. They did all of this without a trio of their players and even without them, they should be totally fine at being a top-tier team this season.

2. The Industry (2-0)

The Industry was without their captain Derek Adkins (congrats to Derek on his engagement) and his team got the job done by beating the Wynners 69-63. Marciano Brunette was everywhere on the floor, scoring 22 points and went to the free throw line a lot, making eight of them.

Joseph Soto had a huge game making 50 percent of his shots as well as 2-3 from downtown, scoring 14 points. Riccon Buckles and Terrance Cress both scored 12 points apiece. Julian Cohen had an impressive display too scoring 11 blocks and getting two key blocks. Onto the next one for The Industry. 

3. Diplomats (2-0)

The Diplomats were down by five points at the half against the SUNZ, but man did they have a stellar second half, outscoring the SUNZ 51-34 en route to an 87-75 win. Patrick Guerrero may have something cooking as his Diplomats have are the second highest scoring team in the league averaging 80.5 PPG in their first two games.

Guerrero scored a game-high 26 points, shooting 75% from the field. His big-man Andrew Power was a beast this week scoring 24 points on 17 boards and expect Power to get many more double-doubles this season. Aldo Sibal had a bounce-back game after scoring two points last week and got himself 17 points and made a pair of threes. Jo Ash Atienza shot 54 percent from the field, scoring 16 points and watch out for him to surprise some teams late in games with his great defense.   

4. RudeDogs (2-0)

Great comeback from the RudeDogs as they were down by eight at halftime and managed to pull it off with a 67-59 victory. D'Andre Henderson made 59 percent of his shots and scored a game-high 23 points while grabbing 12 boards, good enough for a double-double. What can you say about Khalid Cannon? The man is a beast down low and grabbed 5 rebounds scoring 12 points.

Nick "Beam" Rainey had a heck of a defensive performance grabbing 14 rebounds and collecting three crucial steals. Adam Rellah was clutch from downtown making four treys, scoring 18 points. This is a solid, fundamental basketball team that takes it one possession at a time and doesn't worry about what happened in the past. Great work RudeDogs. 

5. Houdini (1-1)

Houdini got a quality win against the TD Rayguns, winning by a 70-59 final. Cory Argubright was the difference maker in this one, scoring a game-high 21 points, off the bench. Danny Lee and Charlie Farber scored 11 points apiece and Houdini as a whole was sort of lucky to pull this one off as they shot 39 percent from downtown, pulling up from downtown 31 times.

They know when to rest guys and mix and match their players all the time. Michael Carboni and Josh Rollans both scored 10 points and Brandon Farber made two clutch threes for six points. This Houdini squad sure knows how to play. 

6. TD Rayguns (1-1)

By looking at the of the stats from the TD Rayguns' game against Houdini, you would've thought that they would've won this game, but Houdini was victorious in this one. Oliver Erickson scored a team-high 18 points, making four treys and GM Dominic Pedetto scored 14 points.

The TD Rayguns only went to the free throw line twice and that needs to change next week. They must find ways to draw fouls and attack inside more. Joe Paulk was somewhat quite as the three-point shooter made three from downtown, scoring 11 points and also got six assists. Perhaps they'll bounce back next week and learn from their mistakes. 

7. Lifetime Lakers (1-1)

The Lakers out-rebounded the bigger Dyme Pieces team, but still couldn't find a way to get the win, losing by five points. They were without Chris Mellor and Alex Epstein and I know that if those two guys suited up, it ma have been a different outcome.

Austin Welch took a ton of shots, scoring a team-high 27 points, making six treys. Daruis Meyers got himself 18 points while Camden Sanders (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Craig Sutter (14 points, 11 rebounds) earned themselves double-doubles. The Lakers played a heck of a game, but they just need to make their shots.

8. Sweet "D" (1-1)

Sweet "D" was without their top rebounder in Cody Howard, but still got the job done, defeating the Free Agents, 80-65. Dylan Ellis was a beast in this one scoring a game-high 27 points and grabbed an impressive 12 rebounds. He's one of the better transition players in the league and has a ton of energy all the time.

Kenny Oakley scored 19 points on eight boards, while David Farris had an impressive game with 17 points on a team-high five assists. Sweet "D" never panics and will be back in the winning column once again very soon.

9. Wynners (0-2)

This is not where the Wynners anticipated being after week two as they've lost back-to-back games, probably the first time they've done so. They almost got the win as they were up by two at the half. GM Nick Guidice did score 17 points, but so far, we haven't seen him be that 'it' factor like he was last season whee he scored 25-plus points every game.

Matthew Darcel may be the guy for the Wynners to rely on as he scored a team-high 20 points as he made 50 percent of shots. I know Dallas Halasz has somewhat struggled to find his rhythm this season, but he'll be just fine. Good think Guidice picked up Brenton Van, who grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds while scoring 12 points. When will the Wynners get out of this funk they're in?

10. SUNZ (0-2)

The SUNZ took on a great Diplomats team as they were up by five points to end the first half, however, the Diplomats surged back and won 87-75. They SUNZ were missing some keys players from week one, but had some other guys that made their Ultimate Hoops debut suit up. One of them was Blake White, who scored a team-high 19 points, making shots from distance.

Cris Cockrell earned a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Morvell Singh, who also made his Ultimate Hoops debut, scored 13 points. The SUNZ lost their first two games to very talented teams and perhaps they'll pull one off next week.

11. Artsakh (0-2)

Artsakh had an eight-point advantage in the first half, but the RudeDogs fought back and won by a 67-59 final. Breden Graves scored a team-high 17 points on 11 rebounds and made five impressive threes.

They turned the ball over a lot and were in foul trouble in the second half, which the RudeDogs saw and took advantage of it. Artsakh chucked up three after three and only shot 28 percent from downtown. If Artsakh takes more timely shots, they may have a chance to remain in the lead in games they play.

12. Free Agents (0-2)

The Free Agents gave it a good effort against Sweet "D", but ultimately fell short, losing by 15. Joseph Roselle scored a team-high 19 points, while Joseph Perez scored 16 points in a team that still grabbed more rebounds than their opposition (32-30). I know Keng Weng (10 points) can score a lot more points and it will take time for the Free Agents to find that rhythm they desperately need.