The first week of house ball was an eventful one.. For starters, Justin Canelli and Alex Dehmel are now teammates on the Michigan Wolverines… (uh-oh). I’ve heard rumors that Canelli is willing to quit this season as a whole if he has to play alongside Dehmel, but no such moves have yet been made(Dehmel was traded for freshman Glen Fay). The Wolverines lost another player this week in 2nd rounder Andrew Donovan, who decided to waste his time and play for the freshman team. To fill in Donovan’s role Michigan added Freshman Alex Von Jena, I think Von Jena hit a couple of home runs over the course of his Little League career, so he should be athletic enough to deliver for the Wolverines throughout the rest of the season. Anyway, here are the results and power rankings for week one of House Ball.
() means previous ranking, [] current record
1. Michigan (1) [1-0]
The Wolverines were nothing less than dominant in their win on Sunday morning. My estimated point average of 30 for Nick Green remains accurate, as I heard claims of how much he scored ranging from 28 to 38. Green was unstoppable throughout the game on both sides of the ball, knocking down shots and forcing turnovers constantly, the Providence defense seemed to have no answer for him throughout the game. Other than Green, there was not a whole lot of offensive production besides house ball rookie Blake Sommi, who put up a surprising 20 points. The tension between Alex Dehmel and Justin Canelli was evident and could be cut with a knife, but the Wolverines tried to not get affected by it. If they continue to worry about their play and not their off court issues, they will continue to dominate this season.
2. UConn (4) [1-0]
I think we all know who I’m going to write about for the Huskies. Jack Joyce went off offensively from the beginning, leading the Huskies in a big win over Syracuse. Offensively for the Huskies, Joyce is pretty much the only big storyline. But defensively, UConn was led by Sophomore Connor "Dumpling" Percarpio. Dumpling, had a tough task in behemoth Alex Phillips, but he held his own throughout the matchup, limiting Phillips to six points. Another key player was Sophomore Timmy Egan, for years Egan has been a well known consistent jump shooter, and he was nothing short of that on Sunday. Overall, the Huskies looked strong and proved that they will be a powerful offensive force this season.
3. Washington (10) [1-0]
The other Huskies were no question the biggest surprise in week 1, as they took care of business against a preseason favorite in Maryland. It was an all around effort that led to several points from almost every player on the team. Kevin Grune led this squad as it seemed like he could do everything on the offensive side of the ball. Max Gasvoda and Henry Adiletta helped Grune out at the top of the key knocking down timely shots, while Hank Rech battled the Terps big men. A sleeper for the Huskies was Freshman Sherlock Aristizabal (I know, quite a name), the kid hit some shots that were simply amazing, and was doing work against a tough Terps team.
4. Duke (5) [1-0]
The Blue Devils defeated Georgetown for their first win of the season. Things were not looking to good for the boys in blue after the first half, putting up an abysmal 7 points. But luckily for them, the offense came alive in the second half. The duo of Justin Van De Graff (sorry if I spelled it wrong, I don’t feel like checking the website) and Sean Collins did not disappoint. The two were constantly getting hacked in the paint, but had no trouble knocking down their free throws. Mike Neary and Jackson McNear were also key as they grabbed some timely rebounds for Duke. (Ryan Griffin asked me to mention him, so here it is…) Ryan Griffin was present at the game.
5. Providence (3) [0-1]
Some may disagree with this one as the Friars got destroyed by Michigan in their opener, but let’s keep in mind that both Brian Minicus and Connor Tienken were not at the game. Defensively the Friars missed Tienken quite a bit, allowing an astonishing 74 points to Michigan. On offense, Glen Fay and Charlie Baylis were left to fill the void of Brian Minicus. Fay and Baylis did okay, hitting some threes and getting to the line. Once Minicus and Tienken are back on the court, though, this team will be playing at a much higher level than they did on Sunday.
6. Kentucky (9) [1-0]
The Wildcats had a strong offensive showing against North Carolina. Fin Batson was no question leading the team, scoring their first 10 points. Once the rest of the squad hit their stride, the Wildcats were tough to stop. Alex Murray played well, driving into the paint and hitting some contested shots. Freshman Brian Wright (who is 6 feet 3 inches) and Tommy Reilly were beasts in the paint, pulling in any rebound that came their way and putting them back up for points. Tyler Russo and Sam Scribano came up big on defense, forcing turnovers and causing fast breaks for the Wildcats. I also appreciated the Wildcats fun and innovative celebrations after knocking down threes.
7. Maryland (2) [0-1]
The Terps lost a tough one to Washington on Sunday. After all of the preseason hype, the loss was disappointing to say the least. Against a strong Washington offense, the Terps hardly ever got a stop on defense. Will Rehm tried to get things going on the offensive side of the ball, but the zone that Washington was running seemed to be too much to handle. On the boards, Teddy Brannigan and Willie Keating were dominating but struggled to finish as they were swarmed by defenders. One pleasant surprise was Freshman Bruce Ferguson, who had some solid ball handling skills and was able to knock down some shots. Hopefully the Terps will find a way to play at a higher level on Wednesday night.
8. Stanford (12) [1-0]
Another big surprise from this weekend’s set of games. The Cardinal defeated Michigan State by 11 in a shocking victory. Stanford’s first round pick Max Grant wasn’t even at the game due to mono (come on Max, man up, this is House Ball), so unknown rookie Harry Constantine had to step up. Constantine played well on offense, leading Stanford in points, and apparently was not afraid to chirp his opponent, Charlie Olson. Connor “Sully” Sullivan helped Constantine out on offense, finding his teammates with crisp passes that led to scores. In conclusion, Stanford shocked the House Ball world with their big win over the Spartans.
9. Georgetown (7) [0-1]
The Hoyas fell to Duke on Sunday morning in a hard-fought, defensive battle. Sophomore Craig Triano played okay on offense, but seemed a little rusty, missing some open shots that he usually knocks down with ease. The high powered Duke offense was too much for the Hoyas to handle, as Will “Big Mouth" Rooney, decided that that the best course of action to stop Duke was to relentlessly slap his opponents. In fact, the Sophomore big man fouled out with about five minutes remaining in the contest. Overall, the Hoyas looked overpowered by a strong Duke offense.
10. Syracuse (8) [0-1]
The Orangemen were defensively outmatched by a fierce UConn offensive unit. Big men Harry Rayhill and Alex Phillips were physically and emotionally beat after the contest, letting up 61 points. On offense, the two struggled to finish in the paint and around the perimeter, besides a couple of threes by Rayhill. Freshman mystery man Sam Smith impressed in his debut, with flashy moves and a good shot, he was a bright spot in Syracuse’s offense, but was not enough to deliver a win for his squad. Along with Smith, freshman Jack Bogden played very well in his debut, knocking down tough shots and showing off his ball handling abilities.
11. Michigan State (6) [0-1]
The Spartans lost an upset to Stanford, and have dropped far down in the rankings because of it. Offensively the Spartans never got anything going, looking for production from Sophomores Patrick Burke and Charlie Olson. My assumption is that the Spartans may have overlooked a surprisingly solid Stanford team, and did not come to the court with the right mindset. One positive for the Spartans was Freshman Quinn Galante, who grabbed plenty of boards, and was able to post up anyone that Stanford put on him. Sophomore Christian Marchesi also had a solid game for Michigan State.
12. North Carolina (11) [0-1]
The Tar Heels round out this week’s power rankings, as they were dominated by Kentucky in their game over the weekend. North Carolina didn’t really get anything going on either side of the ball. Offensively, the Tar Heels struggled mightily. Putting up a league low 20 points. First round pick David Volz didn’t do much in his house ball debut, as he was shut down by a stingy Kentucky defense. Tommy Murphy had a solid game, euro stepping his way through the paint and finding a way to get shots up. The guard was tough to hang with as he had sweated through his shirt 30 seconds into the game. Long time house baller and UNC guard Thomas Foresta summed the loss up perfectly, telling me just one word; “Rusty”.
Week 1 Awards:
MVP: Nick Green
Sleeper of the Week: Sherlock Aristizabal
Mr. Sweaty: Tommy Murphy
Freshman of the Week: Bruce Ferguson
Defensive Player of the Week: Tommy Reilly
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