Wildcats Back On Top

METROWEST REC: Week 5 Power Rankings

By Taylor Pettiford | Metrowest League Coordinator

After the halfway mark through our regular season, no undefeated teams remain. We have three regular season games left until playoffs and our postseason matchups are beginning to come into view. Let’s break down our rankings prior to our Week 5 matchups.

1. WILDCATS | 3-1 (2)

Stephen Dion (30 points, 18 rebounds) and crew made a statement in Week 4 with a 20-point win over the previously top-ranked Ankle Bullies. While not unbeatable, it’s clear that the backcourt combo of Dion, Quentin Nowland (17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) and Jon Waters is going to be tough to overcome for anyone come playoff time.

2. OLD GAME CHANGERS | 3-1 (3)

OGC was ready to avenge their Week 3 loss and did so with a convincing 26-point victory over Hustle. With well-defined roles, OGC may be the most balanced team in the league. Brendan Connolly (9 assists) is the unselfish facilitator, Riley Traveller (23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) is the sharpshooting, go-to scorer, Tommy Rogers (13 points, 10 rebounds) mans the paint and Andrew Christopherson the Swiss army knife that does it all. To top it off, they got Adam Rosario (27 points, 5 rebounds) back in Week 4 making them even more formidable offensively. It looks like a crash course to seeing Wildcats and OGC in the finals, but we have a few dark horses ready to disrupt those plans.

3. ANKLE BULLIES | 3-1 (1)

Ankle Bullies were riding high heading into Week 4, but laid an egg in their 20-point loss to the Wildcats. Michael Biddlecom (20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks) was the one bright spot for the team whereas the rest of the roster shot a combined 26 percent from the field. We know they can wreak havoc defensively and score in bunches on the fast break, but Week 4 showed they may not be disciplined enough to hang with the likes of the teams ranked ahead of them.

4. UNCLE DREW ALL STARS | 1-3 (6)

Grant Hornung told us to keep the faith in UDAS and if Week 4 was any indication, we were right to listen to him. UDAS jumped all over Tapped Out en route to a 29-point win. Warren Lane (31 points, 5 rebounds, 7 steals) started off slow, but has been a monster of late and is clearly the best athlete in the league. With Tedi George (6 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) controlling the tempo, Ben Lee (9 rebounds, 8 assists) distributing and locking down on defense and Michael Morris (13 points) adding some scoring punch, UDAS has the makeup to compete for a championship. Once Hornung starts to heat up, this team gets that much more dangerous. #darkhorse

5. HUSTLE | 1-3 (4)

Hustle was dealt a devastating blow in Brendan Andersen potentially being done for the season. Though they’ve a great compliment of talent around Jeff Raymond (31 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks), there’s no chemistry. Elzey James, Felipe Billa and AJ Narayanan should be able to fill it up, but with stagnant ball movement, they’re each out of rhythm. Expect this team to struggle until/unless Andersen’s schedule clears up.

6. TAPPED OUT | 1-3 (5)

Let’s start with the positives: Steven Gum (10 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks) had a fantastic rebounding performance in Week 4. That’s about it. Tapped Out lost by 29 and committed 20 TOs. As Brian Fay plays into shape, they should get better. But we’re not banking on this team competing for anything other than staying out of last place unfortunately.