Blendos Summer Basketball League Blog (Edition 2: Game & Player Props Recaps)

By Cam Hayes

With all leagues up and running, here is the current league schedule for upcoming games.

Before we jump into what to expect for this week. Lets go back and see what happened in week 2.

Week 2 B League Recap

Game Results

Orange (DL Baker Contracting) 79 Twin Mountain Top Construction (Blue) 76

TMTC came into this game listed as a -25 point under dog. The line maker surely got this wrong but the pre game report envisioned an entirely different roster for Blue.

New additions Jon Codrington (12 points) & Jared Conklin (17 points) provided 29 points for TMTC.

This game was close for a majority of the game, DL Baker Contracting pulled ahead late in the second half but TMTC was able to illustrate a remarkable comeback attempt.

The game would have went to overtime if it wasnt for a game winning 3 point dagger off the glass at the buzzer by Danny Njoku.

Key Stats

Orange

Danny Njoku 33 points 2 steals, 3 assists, 8 rebounds
Aaron Smith 19 points 4 steals, 4 assists, 2 rebounds

Blue

Graham Wooden 26 points 4 assists 7 rebounds
Jon Codrington 12 points, steal, 4 assists 12 rebounds
Jared Conklin 17 points 3 assists, 8 rebounds
Team Shot 81% from 3

Player of the game:

Danny Njoku 33 points, 2 steals, 3 assists, 8 rebounds (GAME WINNER)

Game Line Result

Line: DL Baker -25

Public Opinion: DL Baker -25 54% of votes 13 votes.

Result: DL Baker -3 Pub

Player Prop Results

Line: Danny Njoku o/u 31.5 pts

Public Opinion: Over 72% of 18 votes

Result: Over (33)

Line: Danny Njoku o/u 10 assists

Public Opinion: Under 59 % of 17 votes

Result: Under (3)

Line: Zyeir Lawrence o/u 22 points

Public Opinion: Over 74 % of 19 votes

Result: Under (14 points)

Line: Zyeir Lawrence o/u 18 rebounds

Public Opinion: Under 77 % of 13 votes

Result: Under (6)

Line: Aaron Smith o/u 21 points

Public Opinion: Over 62 % of 13 votes

Result: Under (19 points)

Line: Aaron Smith o/u 5.5 3's made

Public Opinion: Under 58 % of 12 votes

Result: Under (2)

Line: Graham Wooden o/u 28 points

Public Opinion: Over 59 % of 17 votes

Result: Under (26 points)

Line: Dylan Jaklitsch o/u 16.5 points

Public Opinion: Under 75 % of 16 votes

Result: Under (4 points)

Line: Dylan Jaklitsch o/u 9.5 assists

Public Opinion: Over 56 % of 16 votes

Result: Under (4)

Catskill Region Surveying Services (Forest Green) 72 Lockwood Painting/ Husteds Trucking (Red) 65

This game was orginally forecast to be very difficult for the Red team.

Team captain Devon Hartwell became aware of the spread and deemed it "disrespectful" in his humble opinion. He was also sruggling for numbers on Fathers Day so he added Jordy Dilberto (7 points) & James Hank (17 points). This was also the first summer appearance of Ethan Butts.

Although the red team lost, they are improving as a team each game. Im excited to see how the next couple of games unfold for Lockwood Painting/ Husteds Trucking.

Key Stats

Red

James Hank 17 points 2 Blocks, 3 assists, 11 rebounds
Ethan Butts 15 points steal, 4 blocks, 5 rebounds
Devon Hartwell 15 points steal , 5 assists

Forest Green

Josh Gregory 18 points 2 assists 7 rebounds
Josh Anderson 17 points, steal, 3 assists 11 rebounds
Colby Fancher 17 points 7 assists, 7 rebounds

Player of the game:

Josh Anderson 17 points, steal, 3 assists 11 rebounds

Line: Catskill Region Surveying Services -22

Public Opinion: Catskill Region Surveying Services -22 63% of 8 votes

Result: Catskill Region Surveying Services -7

Line: Braden Murphy o/u 13.5 points

Public Opinion:over 67% 6 votes

Result: Under (11 points)

Line: Devon Hartwell o/u 3.5 3's made

Public Opinion: 50/50 8 votes

Result: Under (3)

Line: Josh Gregory o/u 27.5 points

Public Opinion:Under 57% of 7 votes

Result: Under (18)

Cheshcuts (Grey) 50 Dante's Pizzeria (Blue) 0

This game opened up as a -20 favorite for Dante's Pizzeria. Due to a hectic Father's day schedule, the Blue team was unable to field a roster for thier 3 pm game and had to forfeit.

This would have been a consecutive game for Cheshcuts but they were ready coming off an impressive 5 point team with vs Five Star Subaru (Lime).

It has to get mentioned, I know I would be real upset if I had to forfeit a game that I'm favorited to win.

If you are new to this league, forfeits result in a 50-0 L for standing purposes.

We have 12 teams in the B league seperated into two divisions. At the end of the regular season only the top 8 teams make the playoffs. Sometimes the point differential is what makes or breaks teams in playoff seeding.

Cheshcuts (Grey) 85 Five Star Subaru (Lime) FA 2 80

In the second game of the day we also saw a very entertaining and competitve match between Cheshcuts & Five Star Subaru.

This was the first game of the season for the Five Star Subaru team and they only ended up with five players. Luckily for them they grabbed a startng Suny Oneonta player in Xavier Hill. (If i knew X was playing, that would have significantly impacted the spread)

Although Cheshcuts was unable to cover the perceived spread, they looked like a cohesive team unit engaged in an undersized battle. Grey's defensive intensity prevailed as they were able to escape a hard fought with by 5.

Key Stats

Lime

Xavier Hill 55 points block 2 assists, 14 rebounds
Shemar Duncan 16 points 2 steals, 2 assists, 7 rebounds

Grey

Travis Moyer 30 points 4 assists 7 rebounds
Bizzy Robinson 22 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 assists 7 rebounds

Player of the game:

Xavier Hill 55 points block 2 assists, 14 rebounds

Line: Cheshcuts -8

Public Opinion:Cheshcuts -8 63% of 8 votes

Result: Chescuts -5

Line: Travis Moyer o/u 30.5 points

Public Opinion: under 82% of 11 votes

Result: Under (30)

Line: Brock Weidman o/u 18.5 points

Public Opinion:Under 89% of 9 votes

Result: Under (15 points)

Line: Brock Weidman o/u 3.5 made 3's

Public Opinion:Under 78% of 9 votes

Result: Under (3)

M McCoy Construction LLC (Black) 77 Dante's Pizzeria (Blue) 75

The Dante's Pizzeria team was unable to get enough players at 3pm but they were determined to have enough for thier game at 5 pm.

Although this game was a grudge match from week 1, both teams consisted of a few different players from thier previous matchup.

The Blue team was able to recruit former summer league MVP Shaquan Jordan, this was his first time back participating in a Blendos league in a couple years and were glad to see that he hasnt lost that much with age.

Absent Highlighted Players: Connor Van der Sommen (Black), Makya Morrison (Black) & Deen Salaam (Blue)

Key Stats

Black

Danny Njoku 33 points 2 steals, 3 assists, 8 rebounds
Aaron Smith 19 points 4 steals, 4 assists, 2 rebounds

Blue

Shaquan Jordan 27 points 4 assists 10 rebounds
Solomon Somerville 26 points, 2 steals, block, 4 assists 5 rebounds
Abdul Giles 18 points 4 assists 8 rebounds

Player of the game:

Kevin Kurkowski 37 points, steal, block, 4 assists, 13 rebounds

Line: M McCoy Construction -3

Public Opinion: Dante's Pizzeria +3 67% of 6 votes

Result: Dantes Pizzeria -2

Line: Kevin Kurkowski o/u 25.5 pts

Public Opinion:Over 55% of 11 votes

Result:Over (37 points)

M McCoy Construction LLC (Black) 115 Table Rock Fitness / Team Blendos (Green) 96

This game was extremely close to being a forfiet for Table Rock Fitness/ Team Blendos, alot of the team members had Father's Day commitments but luckily I was able to recruit two free agents who put forth an amazing effort in what eventually became our first loss of the 2024 season.

I must admit, Im truly thankful for my subs, my team is full so I need to release Mike Stevens to free agency, I would highly recommend picking him up. He has a high motor and is a good team player.

My favorite thing about this game was that my partner, my son and several of my teammates dad's were in attendance. At one point it could have gotten really ugly for us but our team remained focus and resilent on attempting to win the game until it just became to far out of reach.

The Black team exhibited high energy team chemistry fresh off the gate due to coming off a controversial 2 point victory vs Dante's Pizzeria. The linemaker did not forsee Team Blendos having 4 players, this would have significantly impacted the spread.

Two highlighted players could not be present for the game - Mike Baffour (Green) & Connor Van der Sommen (Black)

Key Stats

Black

Shea Barber 33 points 3 steal, block, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Kevin Kurkowski 29 points steal, block, 11 assists, 19 rebounds
Rob Scianimanico 28 points assist 12 rebounds

Green

Cam Hayes 51 pts block 5 assists 16 rebounds
Devon Chabot 31 points 16 rebounds

Player of the game: it takes a special effort to get a player of the game in a losing effort. This game was played 4 v 5. I scored 51 points in a game where I started out 0-7 from 3. My team eventually regained the lead in the middle of the second half but ran out of steam quickly eventially losing by 19 points.

Line: Team Blendos/ Table Rock Fitness (Green) -8

Public Opinion: no poll was set for this game

Result: M McCoy Construction (Black) W by 19

Line: Cam Hayes o/u 19.5 pts

Public Opinion: Over 91% of 11 votes

Result: Over (51)

Line: Kevin Kurkowski o/u 25.5 points

Public Opinion: Under 63 % of 8 votes

Result: Over (29 points)

Lets have the people vote for this player of the game, because I do believe KK's stats are very impressive as well ( Basically 30 pt Triple Double in a win)