Team Denbo Season Preview

If there is anything that Captain Todd Denbo has proven over the years of his B League captaincy, is that he wants to play ball with his friends. His 2007-08 squad is no different as Denbo regulars Dan Giraudo, Brian Proses, Alec Krumins and brother Drew "enegizer bunny" Denbo are back for another campaign. They are surrounded by a former NCAA scoring champion, Morgan Doyle, two time NCAA all-star Ryan Tiret and the second overall pick from last week's draft Cameron Hyland. Hyland is a clear B League commodity. His average of 22 points per game last year make him on of the B League's most lethal scorers. Hyland can score from anywhere. He can shoot the three with consistency, but at almost 6'4, he can take you down to the low block and use an array of "vintage" Olympic Club moves to score the basketball. He constantly frustrates those who try to guard him because he is neither the strongest nor the fastest player in the league, but he uses his considerable basketball IQ to outsmart his opponents and then scores while they are out of position. His 41 points against Team Marcon last year were a league high and at 9 rebounds a game last year, he is also no slouch on the boards.


The elder statesmen of the team is Smooth John Doherty. At 6'3, his shooting stroke is as smooth as his golf swing.... probably because that piece of Bubalicious bubble gum he pops in his mouth before every game relaxs him to a tranquil state of zen. Like Hyland, Doherty can stroke it from anywhere on the floor. Leave him too much space, and a high arching 3ball with perfect rotation will swish through the net. Guard him too close and he'll swoop into the lane ala James Worthy and finish with the nifty finger roll, or soft layup high off the glass.

Dan Giraudo will need to get his stroke going from downtown this year if Team Denbo is going to succeed without a true center and without a true point guard. DG is easy to locate on the floor with his trademark Oakley specs look, however he is much harder to contain when running around the various Denbo screens that his friends like to set.

Team Denbo is loaded with scoring guards, including captain Todd, Morgan Doyle, Brian Proses and Chris Brennan (one of the youngest players in the league at 20 years old). However all of these guards are better known for their scoring than they are for distributing the basketball. It remains to been seen if they will be able to find Hyland, Doherty and Giraudo consistently enough to put points on the board. Their lack of true size might also hurt them on the boards.


OUTLOOK:
The wild card of Team Denbo will be Ryan Tiret and James Lathrop. Both are longer wing players, and Tiret is capable of scoring in bunches. But scoring at NCAA level is a bit different than in the B League. Can he continue to contribute solid numbers? If so, Denbo will have guys who can score all over the floor? How will their relative lack of bulk hurt them at key moments of games. Will they be able to secure the important misses that lead to winning ball games? Only time will tell. Also, with so many guards with the scoring mentality will their be enough of the basketball to go around?