Can’t Knock the Hustle

METROWEST DRAFT: Week 7 Predictions

By Taylor Pettiford | MetroWest League Coordinator

SEASON PREDICTIONS: 18-6 (.750)

Week 7 is here and with it come four action-packed matchups. While there are storylines and seeding implications league-wide, our headliner is a matchup between the newly improved Hustle and undefeated Buckets Galore. We’ve been a steady .750 with our predictions so far this season, but need a perfect week to improve upon that number. Let’s break it down and see if we can make that happen.

7 p.m. – BALLAHOLICS (1-5) vs. REBELS (2-4)

The 7:00 hour kicks off with a Struggle City Showdown as Ballaholics and Rebels face off. Ballaholics have lost four straight and the Rebels have lost three straight. So who gets off the snide tonight? Our money is on the Ballaholics. Both teams have been dreadful of late, but we’ve seen more fight out of Ballaholics. In a game where neither team has great chemistry, compete level will mean everything.

Expect Nick Kineip, Mike Perreault and Kevin Johnson to have a field day from beyond the arc just as we saw the Warriors do last week against. For the Rebels, Shane Coleman will have a huge night scoring, but we’re not confident that any of his teammates will provide enough scoring to out-duel Ballaholics.

PREDICTION: BALLAHOLICS

7 p.m. – CLASSIC BARBERSHOP (5-1) vs. STAMPEDE (4-2)

With a win tonight over Classic Barbershop, Stampede locks in a first-round bye and will move into second place in the standings. So, you can expect tonight to be a high intensity matchup. Tommy Hubbard took out his revenge on the league last season by dropping buckets on everyone en route to a championship. And though he plays it cool, let’s not pretend for a moment that Hubbard has forgotten who tarnished his reputation as one of the best ballers in UH Boston. It was none other than his opponent tonight: Jay Resto.

Following their dreadful season together, Resto’s narrative on Hubbard dropped the former DI standout to the fifth round of the summer draft; a mistake that cost Resto and the rest of the league’s captains (and Westwood). Watch for Hubbard to be in all-out attack mode. But his teammates, namely Wally Callam, Jasper Landrum and Niko Whitehead will be vital in Stampede’s chances to take out Classic. But will they? We’re not banking on it. It will be a close game, but we don’t think Stampede has enough backcourt firepower to hang with Resto, Pat Luckett and Keyon Armstrong. Expect Classic to force a dozen-plus turnovers and rebound from their Week 6 loss.

PREDICTION: CLASSIC BARBERSHOP

8 p.m. – BLACK MAMBAS (2-4) vs. WARRIORS (1-5)

Sam Longwell is one of the most efficient scorers in UH Boston and would be an Ultimate Player candidate were it not for the Warriors’ poor record. Arch Mitchell had a chance to draft Longwell, but passed on him in favor of rookie Kenny Seitz. Will Mitchell’s choice come back to haunt him tonight? Yes…and no. Longwell will most likely go for 30-plus and serve as a stark reminder of what could have been for Black Mambas. But Mitchell and crew will win this game. Kenny Dennis is quietly having an all-league season while Kenny Seitz is fresh off his first double-double of the season. Jose Roman has too much pride than to let Guy Pistone go for 30 like the Rebels did last week. Devon Frye is a mismatch on the offensive end. And Arch Mitchell will be in rare form tonight, upset at his team’s 2-4 mark. The Warriors will keep it interesting, but we’d be surprised if the Mambas squander this game.

PREDICTION: BLACK MAMBAS

8 p.m. – HUSTLE (3-3) vs. BUCKETS GALORE (6-0)

What’s the level of difficulty to score 30-plus points in 14 consecutive games? We’ll answer that…hard. It’s VERY hard to do. Hence, why no player in UH Boston has done so…except for Joel Katana. With a career average of 34.6 ppg and a season average of 37 ppg, Katana is the best scorer around and should have a field day tonight against a Roland Millien-less Buckets Galore. Yemi Ajao will have to be more aggressive offensively in Millien’s absence and Jude Valmeus and Josh Gates will each get 15-plus attempts. But without Millien in the paint to disrupt Tomas Morales and no one to slow down Katana, expect the last of the undefeateds to fall and Hustle to keep on rolling.

PREDICTION: HUSTLE