Lift Off: A look inside the numbers of Baybrook's upcoming Fall Season

League Coordinator Ray Ingram has help lift Baybrook, TX league back after a seven month layoff

It has been seven months since most of us have played competitively. We have managed to hold on and bounce back. Because of the strength of our basketball community, we are returning even larger and stronger group.

Here’s a predictable outcome for the Baybrook, TX league based on each team’s PPV payroll. It seems logical to think that the teams with the highest paid players and the highest payroll amounts should be the best teams in the league and that they therefore have the best chance of winning a championship.

Let’s take a look inside the numbers.

In the Open League, Baseline is on top in total salary and average player salary. Thanks to the keen eye and persuasive skills of “The Poacher” they have assembled an impressive crew of talented players.

With Aaron Miller ($18 Million), Ledon Green ($14 Million), Bobby Rouse ($11 Million) and McKenna Hunt ($8 Million), it is fair to say that they deserve the top spot coming out of the gate.

LakeShow gets the second spot with a total payroll of $40.4 Million and an average salary of $6.7 Million. Whether or not the numbers tell the truth is up for debate because they are skewed as a result of Zach Hamilton’s $23 Million price tag.

The next highest paid player is Zach Kim ($5.9 Million) That is quite a discrepancy, and if it is reflected in their on-the-court performance, it could make it more difficult to win a championship. Justin Putnal ($4.6 Million), Tareck Abdelhafiz ($3.6 Million) and Mehrdad Gorek ($2 Million) will have to play above their paygrade if the team wants to be in contention.

The Hustlers (for me they will always be “The Over-the-Hill-Gang”) lurk in the third spot, waiting to pounce on anyone who underestimates their ability to win games. Their Payroll seems to reflect their style of play. It looks like they have a roster full of quality players who can all impact a game and a “Go-To” player who can change a game.

Adam Toler is the top earner ($11 Million) and then there are seven (7) players, fairly evenly spread, ready to make their contributions. Matt Bergeson ($8 Million), Chance Cervantes ($6.5 Million), Clint Dollens ($6.2 Million), Shawn Magee ($6 Million), Cody Bergeson ($6 Million), Ryan Rhodes ($5.7 Million) and Dustin Hacker ($3.7 Million) are all capable of leaving their imprint on a game and that is what makes the team dangerous and definitely one to consider as a championship contender.

For the remaining five teams in the league it is very difficult to really say whether they should be ranked higher and how high the probability of their winning a championship is. The uncertainty exist because, as stated, our league has grown tremendously.

Each of the remaining teams has a few high-dollar players who are certainly capable of making big splashes on any given night. The problem is that the rest of the roster is filled with players who are unknown and have not yet had the opportunity to show what they are worth and what impact they will have on the outcome of the games they play in.

Judging by what we have seen during “League Pick-Up Play”, there could be some surprise contenders.

XXIV Legends could be one of those. They have a Total Payroll of $ 10.8 Million and an Avg. Player Salary of $ 5.4 Million. Their top earner is Ryan Baker ($9.8 Million) but then it drops way off to Kevin Ringuet ($1 Million). X-Factors .... Micah Turner and Raymond Kraemer are definitely impact players who simply don’t have the league experience and stats yet to earn their salaries.

In the fifth spot we find No-Name. They have a Total Payroll of $ 9.5 Million and an Avg. Player Salary of $ 3.2 Million. Their top earner is Noah (“I’m going to finish the Season”) Briand ($5.1 Million) He is followed by Darius (“What time is the Game”) Jones ($2.3 Million) and Maurice (I’ll show you”) Betton. The team also has a number of new and unproven players, however based on their current payroll figures, their position seems to be about right.

Sitting in sixth place as we start is Say What. They have a Total Payroll of $ 7.8 Million and an Avg. Player Salary of $ 2.6 Million. Their top earner is Glenn VanHouten ($3.4 Million) and then comes Christian (“where’s the Foul”) Mactavish ($3.2 Million) and Steven Winters ($1.1 Million). They probably could have had a higher pre-season starting position but they drafted “on a wing and a prayer” and the plane crashed. Two possible high-dollar players, who were not sure about playing, had to drop for various reasons and that hurt. By the Numbers, they are in the right place.

The Elites in the seventh spot could be the X-Factor for the League. While everyone else was running, hiding and looking for shelter during the last sorm, Sly “Hurricane” Daniels was taking advantage of their distraction. He was quietly assembling a group of players who were flying under the radar. They have no stats and therefore no impact on the payroll statistics, but they just might prove to be contenders.

They have a Total Payroll of “only” $ 4.8 Million and an Avg. Player Salary of $ 2.4 Million. Their top earner is Harris (“the National Face of Ultimate Hoops”) Mian ($5 Million) and Sly (“Hurricane”) Daniels ($500K). X-Factors ... Ken Fisher, Justyn Durand, Brandon Buggs, Matt Pettit, Omar Harris, Allan Darden and Marcus Simmons. Yeah, that’s an awful lot of X-Factors but these guys are all good players. It would really surprise me if this team was still in the seventh spot after two or three games.

At the rear of the column we find the HotShotz. They have a Total Payroll of $ 10.8 Million and an Avg. Player Salary of $ 2.5 Million. Their top earner is Keefe Frentz ($3 Million) followed by John Fitz Chatman ($400K) ... Just like the Elites, this group consists of many new faces.

What they lack in payroll because they have no league stats; along with what they lack in height will be compensated for with speed and outside shooting. They will push every team in the league to their limits. Casey Davis, Ernest Wells, Marcus Davis, Billy Owens and Josh Miller, together with Ben (“the new English guy”) Daniels are most definitely not going to be in the eighth spot when the dust settles.