Season 1 in Review

So here is the first official Season in Review for Zuricalaw.com.

Basically I'm just going to give a final grade for each team member and brief recap of all things good and bad throughout the season.

Team Members

Zuricalaw.com - B
I really thought I would have had a better year, but between my ankle being sprained, my 2 trips to the ER and just overall pushing my body to the limit for no reason like an idiot, I never really put it all together on the court. The funny thing is that whenever I played ball outside the league I would play with so much more confidence and overall better play. I need to find a way next season to bring that to the team. There was a point during the season that I was ready to hang it up (due to injury and horrible horrible play) but my heart is back in it 100% and I'm ready to vastly improve on my season 1 performance.

Anicito - B+
Mike played his steady usual game throughout the whole season. I was very impressed by his ability this season to step out and hit his 15 footers with a lot of consistency. At most times throughout this year Mike was the first or second best player on the court at all times and that's a testament to his will to win. Considering I taught him everything he knows about the game it made me proud that he has stepped up the way he did. However, like the rest of the team he needs to enter a Free Throw intensive training program in the off season.

Ahmad - B+
The true testament to Ahmad was in the games he was absent or sitting on the sidelines. Our team lacked that extra step, that extra drive or that extra hustle that is always present when he is in the game. Yes, he may love his patented spin move a little too much, but the energy he brings is infectious and he was an awesome Gm acquisition by myself with a little help by Anicito. On the downside I'd like to see more consistency in his three point shooting. It seems some games that he can never miss and then others where the basket seems like a pinhole on his threes. All in all great first season for Ahmad and I look forward to playing a lot more with him.

Betancourt - B+
I've been playing ball with Mike since I was about 12 years old and I probably could count on maybe 4 hands how many shots I've ever seen the kid miss. He always came up with the big three when we needed it most. The thing that most impressed me though this season was his commitment to winning. Mike and I have been playing ball forever but never in an official league. Tells a lot about an individual when he cares about winning even in a league that has no reward at the end besides the self satisfaction we can personally attain. I'll take guys like that on my team every day. My critique of Mike is that sometimes he even needs to be more selfish with his shot. If he's open he needs to take the shot, period.

Zosh - B
Big Zosh, our anchor in the middle. I call him the Big fundamental. Obviously Mcneese did a good job teaching basketball to at least one person as Zosh always knows what to do and where to be on the court at all times. Especially against a zone we need Zosh in there as he is prolific at passing out of the high post and finding an open man. Ive also never seen someone hit that foul line turnaround with such ease. As for the critique, Zosh needs to join his fellow staten island basketball coaches and start a free throw clinic for themselves. ( i mean, between zosh and joe and mike, they've taught over 300 kids give or take and yet they only shoot 50% from the line. From now on, when you do free throw drills with your kids, you take the same amount of free throws.)

Joe H - B
The third big free agent acquisition of the anti_isiah Gm (with an assist from Zosh). Big Joe stepped it up huge in 3 or 4 games this season and practically carried our team to victory in them. Sometimes he'd hit a turnaround or a driving layup and I'd just shake my head not knowing how the hell he just hit that shot. Not at all implying it was luck, but just saying that when he wants to turn it on he can be the best player on the court. He also added a real nice down low presence to the squad that we sometimes lacked in our previous incarnations. My critique of Joe is that sometimes he tends to get lost in the shuffle. While the times he plays big, he plays monster big, but then the times he loses focus its almost like he just goes through the motions. We need to find a way to keep that fire for a full 48 minutes. Without it needing to be said, this was another great signing and I look forward to playing with Joe for years to come.

Doster -B-
Listen, Jeremy knew his role on this squad and he never tried to do more then he could handle. He went in there and valiantly played his part in helping us to an overall 7-2 record. This was Jeremys first exposure to league play (ever!) and after his first 2 games getting three second calls, he slowed the game down for himself and really did not make too many errors or hurt the team when he was in the game. I know he is leaving us this season, but I want to thank him for his contributions and wish him luck in his future basketball career. To J, drop a line with the team on the blog whenever you want. Thanks again.


Well that's it. All in all an almost great year. I wont call it great until we win something but 7-2 is nothing to sneeze at. This was a transitional year for Zuricalaw.com as we had to incorporate 4 new players and next season we only have to bring on one, but at least hes an old face that most of us have played with before. Noel will get his own introduction post before the first game, so Ill fill you guys in on him later.

Special thanks to Pina and Mary Beth who attended almost every game and gave us some great moral support.

Thanks for a good season everybody and lets go out and do the same (well slightly better) starting next week!