Winter Has Arrived
SYOSSET VET: Preseason Power Rankings
By Anthony Leo | Syosset League Coordinator
1. Ballerz
The winter season is here and the Ballerz are back to defend their fall championship. Team captain Mike Seff loved his team so much from last season that he tried to replicate all over again as much as possible. Seff selected three members of the fall championship team in the draft, including Cedric Wallace with the number two pick in the draft. Pairing Seff and Cedric back together gives the Ballerz a solid duo to build around. The Ballerz will be one of the best defensive teams if not the best one yet again this season. With Zeb Pirzada, Brad Kleinberg, Cedric and Dave Drogin the Ballerz have some of the best defensive players in the league. We’ll see if the Ballerz can repeat as champions with their all-defensive team.
2. Hooligans
The Hooligans are a staple of the vets league, and Jay Harris is back to lead the squad once again. Harris and the Hooligans this season will have one of the strongest starting lineups that can be very versatile. In the draft, Harris selected a trio of Dave’s that all will help this team and be in the starting lineup. Dave Kugel, Dave Konecky and Dave Romilus all will be huge parts to this season’s Hooligans team. Kugel and Konecky both can shoot the 3-ball giving the Hooligans much needed outside shooting. Romilus will run the offense as one of the league’s best ball-handlers and pure point guards. All together the Hooligans have one of the strongest teams in the league on paper.
3. Walking Dead
The Walking Dead led by scoring machine Tom Dimicelli are back once again. Dimicelli and his Walking Dead team last season reached the finals but weren’t able to pull it out over the Ballerz. This season, the Walking Dead will have a new trio that should be one of the strongest in the league. Richie Yorke and Stephen Sombrotto will join Dimicelli to make a tough and versatile trio. Somrbotto and Yorke are two of the best forwards in the league who can rebound, defend and score the ball if needed. Sombrotto can help this team in so many ways, but the most important way will be guarding the opposing team’s best player every week. To fill out the roster, the Walking Dead added 3-point shooter Yasha Tehrani and some toughness with Larry Johnson.
4. Let’s Do This
Let’s Do This, led by Adam Sutton, is taking a similar approach to last season’s team. In the first round, Sutton selected point guard Alain Wehder. Pairing Sutton and Wehder together gives Let’s Do This two of the best scorers in the league. Both can go out every week and score 20-plus points. This team will have no issues scoring the ball with Sutton and Wehder leading the way. Let’s Do This added Steve Dukoff and Antonio Quirindongo to bring size to the team to rebound and get this team out and running. This team will be at their best when they are in transition with Wehder and Sutton pushing the ball.
5. Hoops Dreams
Hoops Dreams this season is led by first-time team captain Justin Dattolo. Dattolo, in his fourth season now in the vets league, has made an impact since his first season in the league as one of the best guards in the league. Dattolo won the lottery with the first pick in the draft and selected Chris Albano. Albano has dominated the vets league since his debut in the league. Every week you can pencil Albano in for 20-10-4. He is one of the league’s most dominant players because of his ability to rebound the ball and get to the basket. Pairing Dattolo and Albano together gives Hoop Dreams a really solid duo to build around. Dattolo filled out his roster with shooters Peter Deplas and Mitch Ross. Deplas will help stretch the floor and open things up. Defensively this team will rely on Dattolo and Rob Altman to carry them. Altman will do the dirty work rebounding and defending.
6. And 1
Mark Pnini makes his return to the league this season as a team captain. Pnini has been one of the top players in the vets league for a long time. He is an elite rebounder and passer for an under sized big man. In the draft, Pnini selected Dave Sandler, who also makes his return to the league since tearing his ACL over a year ago. Sandler was one of the leagues toughest players to stop before the injury. Sandler can be an elite defender on the perimeter and bring some offense to the table. This team’s offense will come from Mike Venuti. Venuti is one of the toughest players in the league to guard. He is constantly moving and running off of screens. Once he gets hot he is hard to slow down and this team will need all of his offense this season.