Elite Division Draft Grades: From Best to Worst
Our Summer 2021 Elite Division draft is in the books and it’s time to look forward to our season. Below is a look at how each team performed in the draft with a preview of how these teams project to fare during the course of the season.
TEAM KOBA | Draft Grade: A
Captain Octavio Cruz didn’t get what most would perceive as a particularly advantageous position in the draft (9th place); but nonetheless he turned his first two picks into a pair of British Basketball League Pros in Taylor Johnson (9th overall, G/F, 6’4) and Rene Castro (12th overall, G, 6’2). What might be even more impressive is that Cruz nabbed a pair of 6’5 studs when the draft swung back his way - sharpshooting Mikey Spencer and high-flying Dante Ramos. The knock on this team could be lack of a secondary ballhandler. But when you have Duquesne alum Rene Castro in you backcourt, there isn’t much need for a secondary ballhandler. With Cruz being no slouch himself, Team Koba projects to be one of the most high-powered and well-rounded offenses in the league with only their bench and rumors of a Rene Castro August departure as potential weaknesses.
PROJECTION: Championship Contender
DBBC | Draft Grade: A-
Landing Nisré Zouzoua in this year’s draft in and of itself gets you at least a B+ grade. But it’s how captain George Guyton rounded out his roster that has DBBC as the frontrunner to take home the inaugural BYL Elite championship. Guyton, a lockdown defender at the PG position landed potentially the best on-ball defender at the PG position in this draft: Carlos Andrade. That duo, combined with Zouzoua, spells a headache for opposing backcourts all season. What’s more, DBBC has two of the best wing defenders in the league rounding out their starting five: Nate Duda and Dimitri St. Louis. DBBC projects to score in bunches off of forced turnovers and hold opponents to some of the lowest PPG averages in the league. The one knock would be whether they have enough shooting around Zouzoua to prevent defenses from running zone/double-teams his way. But aside from the fact that Zouzoua probably decimates those ploys, they’ll force more than enough turnovers to make up for it.
PROJECTION: Championship Contender
BUCKETS GALORE | Draft Grade: A-
Yemi Ajao has a strong track record of drafting championship teams. For those unfamiliar with the 6’4, Nigerian, he drafted two championship teams that completed consecutive perfect seasons (including a State Championship) out of the MetroWest Ultimate Hoops League. But the BYL Elite Division is an altogether separate challenge with the best talent in the state. Following last week’s draft, however, Ajao put himself in position to take home another championship. With a starting lineup that will feature local legend, Tony Gallo, at point guard along with stud wing Shane Coleman, high-flyer Aaron Whitman and versatile big Shawn Wedderburn, Buckets Galore is loaded. It’s their depth, however, that could truly set them apart from the pack as BG has a pair of pro guards (Guy Pistone and Nelson Gonzalez) along with high-IQ Rodney Lemite all coming off the bench. The biggest question this squad will have to answer is can they shoot well enough to offset a crunch-time hot streak from an opponent. But with the firepower they have on their roster, we won’t bet against them.
PROJECTION: Championship Contender
KILLMONGERS | Draft Grade: B
Roland Millien, a former 1,000-point scorer at Stoughton High, is coming home in search of a championship. And he’s bringing the biggest lineup in the league to help him get it. Millien, a 6’5 Power Forward, will be flanked by Kwame Lee (6’9) and Ty McCray (6’4). Add sharpshooting, first-round selection Ulyen Coleman (6’4) to the starting lineup and this team almost surely will lead the league in rebounding. But can their guard play keep pace with a guard-heavy and star-studded league like BYL Elite? We’ll have to see as the season unfolds. Ceasar Veal, Shawn Yard Jr. and John Murphy are no slouches. But are they ready to match up for 40min with the likes of Nisré Zouzoua, Mikey Rodriguez, Rene Castro, etc.?
PROJECTION: Final Four Contender
GOONIES | Draft Grade: B
Chemistry matters. And Tommy Hubbard used chemistry as the guiding strategy behind his draft. With the exception of Aaron Flaven, every member of the Goonies has played against each other or together in a local men’s league over the past three years. Hubbard left bigger names on the board in favor of players he is comfortable he can coexist with. First-rounder Arinze Obiora is a DPOY candidate and will anchor the frontcourt as one of the league’s more versatile forwards. Joining him in the frontcourt is Tyler Little, a plus-shotblocker and streaky shooter. In the backcourt, Hector Heredia will run point alongside combo guard Keyon Armstrong and Hubbard himself. Expect this team to gel quickly. Their jumpstart on chemistry could lead to some major wins early in the season to catapult them to an advantageous seed for their championship push. But the major hurdle they’ll need to overcome is a lack of depth. There’s not a minute of collegiate or professional experience on the Goonies’ bench and in a league with premier talent/competition, that could come back to haunt Hubbard and co.
PROJECTION: Final Four Contender
EIGHTEEN XCV | Draft Grade: B
This could be a team we look back on come August and realize we drastically underestimated. It’s not so much the talent we’re not sold on. EighteenXCV has plenty of it starting with Mikey Rodriguez who the Boston faction of our followers are hailing as the best PG in this draft. Captain Coco Fernandez lines up alongside him in the backcourt along with 6’5 Scott Dulaire. Dell Best and Matthew Ochiang - a pair of 6’6 forwards - go on to round out the starting lineup. Purely based on talent, this team is probably top three especially once we factor in their trio of talented wings off the bench - Rashard Jenkins-Maxwell, Mike Downing and Osazuwa Iriowen. But they’re extremely reliant on Mikey Rodriguez and will struggle should the point guard fail to show up.
PROJECTION: Final Four Contender
BALLISTIC | Draft Grade: B-
Ballistic is a sleeper squad if we’ve ever seen one. Aaron Calixte, the #1 overall pick and Trae Young’s successor at Oklahoma University, is a name that speaks for itself. But the squad around him is a lot better than a lot of fans might realize. Kachi Nzerem, a versatile forward with pro credentials, is a name not many are familiar with, but the best big man in the league according to some. Bryce Boggs, his South Shore Monarchs teammate, is one of the better guards in the league and was a steal in the fifth round. Shyheim Hicks is a top-five combo guard in the league and KC Igbobi was the highlight of our preseason runs. Put that starting five together and Ballistic projects to be one of the fastest attacking squads in the league. The glaring roster hole for them is that they essentially role out four guards with Nzerem and don’t have much in the way of size off the bench. What they do have are three solid guards - captain Jude Valmeus, Brockton’s Kyle Gerry and Curry’s Antonio Jones - who can defend and rebound. Outside of our top three teams, there’s not a lot of separation with teams 4-8 and we wouldn’t be surprised to see any of them land a top seed heading into the playoffs - Ballistic included.
PROJECTION: First-Round Exit
Classic Basketball | Draft Grade: B-
It doesn’t even feel right to rank a team featuring Tariq Tate and Deven Palmer in the frontcourt as the part of the 8th best draft haul in the league. But the BYL Elite Division is that deep and pairing two perimeter-oriented forwards on a team of guards is risky. Could it work? Absolutely. But could this team end up just not gelling and part of a play-in game come August 4th? Serious possibility. Jay Resto, the winningest manager of one of MA’s top men’s leagues, crafted together this roster with shooters all around and a trio of tough perimeter defenders in young bull Edo Ehikhamhen, DI point guard Rayshawn Miller and underrated Chris Torres. Expect that to be the backcourt this team roles with in crunch time as Resto defers to his more physical guards to defend the onslaught of talented guards they’ll face. As additional backup against the flood of guards, Resto took Nigerian Odi Ikeasoguh, a standout from our preseason runs. If Miller pans out to be the floor general he should and the team runs its offense through Palmer, this team could have the biggest jump from preseason ranking to end of season finish.
PROJECTION: First-Round Exit
CCB | Draft Grade: C
Coach Cooper got off to a hot start in the draft by selecting potentially the best backcourt duo in the league: Marcus Azor and Brandon Twitty. But on the comeback, Coop made what appears to be a grave mistake. The players he selected in the 3rd and 4th round - JP Marcellus and Jacob Hamermesh - are great players. In fact, Marcellus could be one of the best wings in the league. But with Dante Ramos, Ty McCray, Dimitri St. Louis, etc. left on the board, Coop missed a real opportunity to balance out a guard-heavy roster. What’s more head-scratching is that for the rest of the draft he took no player over 6’2. CCB can go and perhaps the duo of Azor and Twitty will be enough to lead this team out of the play-in games. But we foresee a number of weeks where CCB struggles in the 508 Division going up against the likes of Buckets Galore, Killmongers and DBBC.
PROJECTION: Play-In Game
TEAM FOCUS | Draft Grade: C-
Captain Pierre Sully missed Wednesday’s draft. When you look at Team Focus’ roster, it shows. Take this same roster to any other league and we’re looking at a loaded team. But in the BYL Elite, we’re not sure it’s going to cut it. Sully teams up with perennial teammate and business partner, Terrance Favors. In the second round, however, Sully took Rob Williams - a 5’11 shooting guard - over the likes of Nate Duda, Kachi Nzerem, Shyheim Hicks and Shawn Wedderburn. We don’t know much about Williams’ game. But by the look of glee on the faces of the other captains in the room, we’re gonna guess that pick was a reach. The starting lineup projects to be Sully, Williams, guard Donovin Ford-Hayes, Favors and hard-working Jeremi Taitt with workhorse forward Jordan Obozele, Ryan Green and guard Joe Johnson off the bench. We’re hoping TF proves us wrong; but first take is they’ll be bringing it up the rear all season long.
PROJECTION: Play-In Game
Action for the Summer 2021 season tips off on Wednesday 6/23 and Week 1’s games will be streamed live on Playsight.com. Tune in at 7:00pm or if you’re local, pull up to the Dana Barros Basketball Club to watch the games live.
