Tyler Gibbs and Free Smoke pick up right where they left off

Tyler Gibbs

Before the Palm Valley Draft League started its fall season last night, the last time Tyler Gibbs played a UH game was the summer draft tournament championship, where he put up a triple-double of 38 points, 13 rebounds and 16 assists and led Free Smoke to the title.

Free Smoke started their title defense last night, and they picked up right where they left off. They defeated Alwayz Reppin 109-88, and Gibbs went off. He had a stat line of 45/5/11, shot 16-23 from the field and 7-12 from deep.

He had a lot of help from his first-round pick Sean Boston. He added 34/8/5 while shooting 14-22 from the field. Somehow Boston and his career averages of 24.6/11.4/5.3 on 53% shooting fell to Gibbs with the fifth pick. There’s still plenty of games left this season, but there are probably some GM’s that regret letting that happen.

Defending a draft title is extremely difficult, especially in Arizona when it has to come against 30-plus teams. The most difficult part is adjusting to a brand-new roster every season, which Gibbs didn’t seem to have a problem with in Week 1. There’s a lot to replace from last year’s championship team, most notably Derio Parker, who averaged 24 points on 65% shooting. That’s essentially irreplaceable, but Boston looks to be a perfect scoring complement for Gibbs.

The two players that Gibbs was able to get back from last season’s title run are Andrew Curiel and Benjamin Garman, his second and third-round picks. They combined to score 31.4 points on 52% shooting last season, and they were both reliable, as Curiel was the only player to play in all 13 games, while Garman played in 12. Garman scored 17 points and had six assists in last night’s win, and Curiel, ironically, did not play last night.

It’s far too early to make predictions as to who is going to be a contender for this season’s draft title, but considering the recent success Palm Valley teams have had in the tournament, it doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch to say Free Smoke has a chance to repeat.