2003-04 SABL Team Preview

By Steve Walters, Galactic Coach

Scott ask me to write a league 2003-2004 team preview. So without further ado:

ROYAL CONFERENCE

NORTH

1. Tri City: Marbury and R. Davis are equally adept in the FB or Half Court offense and will be taking most of the shots. Hughes and Swift are also capable scorers. Excellent young inside players in Maglorie, Swift and Kwame Brown. Fortson should bounce back with a nice year in Dallas.

2. Quad City: Tinsley is a major Dazzler with Eisley a dazzling backup. Boykins had a nice year and is playing well in Denver. R.Lewis is the big gun and only rated shooter on the team. Posey and D. Mason are quality at the 3 as well as George looking good this year in LA. Team is weak at the 4 and 5 spots other than Kurt Thomas and Foyle (1-20 Blk Rating). V. Baker looks good for next year.

3. River City: Stockton is still great, John we'll miss you! Houston is excellent scorer. Q. Richardson and Chandler are up and coming young studs. Rebraca excellent inside scorer at 4 or 5, but not many minutes.

4. Davenport: Ostertag and Cato are solid defense inside. M. Peterson only rated shooter (39.2 FG percentage). Hudson had a nice year. Looks to be competing with Bettendorf for top draft pick.

5. Betlendorf: Ward can Dazzle you. Lenard only rated shooter. Looks like some great draft picks ahead.

EAST

1A. Richmond: Excellent outside shooting team from the 1,2,3,4 positions. Baron Davis excellent at the point, backed up my the dazzling Mark Jackson. Finley and Redd are very good at the 2 or 3 spot. Dirk Nowitzki at the 4, can he be stopped?! Clark and Camby can rebound and play D as will as block shots.

1B. Saginaw: Excellent defense, rebounding and shot blocking. Super scoring from Pierce. Rose also very good scorer. Snow sold at the point. Last voyage for the Admiral.

1C. Iowa: Two superstars in Francis and McGrady. V. Carter not far behind. Van Horn and Howard excellent outside shooters. Sprewell on off year? He's looking good for the T-wolves. Team needs rebounding and defense at the 4 and 5 spots.

4. Akron: Kevin Garnett is the best! Where to play him? The 5, 4, 3, 2, 1? Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! Allen and Szczerbiak can light it up. Ilgauskas and P. J.Brown are nice inside. D. Stoudamire and E. Strickland are OK at the point but help is needed.

5. Mackinaw Island: Mashburn and Harpring tough dynamic duo. A. Walker will be shooting 3's. Is that Good or Bad? Should have better Strat card in Dallas. Team little weak at the point. Bibby is OK but not yet on a par with top strat PGs. Mutumbo excellent D inside.

CLASSIC CONFERENCE

WEST

1. Bakersfield: Shaq and Brand makeup awesome inside game. Billups great scorer. Very good all around scoring from starting five. Other than M. Miller, no scoring from bench. Rahim added to Shaw and Brand, a most excellent adventure.

2. Finney: Very Nice group at the 2 and 3 slots with a great pair in Iverson and Artest leading the way. Major need at the point, unless half court only team. Big time rebounding at the 4 and 5 plus inside Eraser in Ratliff. Very little inside scoring. Could be an excellent half court team. Outstanding D with Christie, Iverson, Artest, B.Jackson, McKie, Haywood and Ratliff.

3. Tulsa: Nice overall depth at the 1,2 and 3 spots with Parker and Marion leading the way. J. O'Neal is excellent and D. Davis is a good inside partner. LaFrentz should have a very good year with the C's.

4. Holcomb: Jason Williams dazzles the crowd. M.J.'s last hurrah. Penny not like his old self. Crawford and Richardson young guns on the rise. T. Thomas, we're still waiting. Nice depth and rebounding at the inside spots.

5. New Orleans: Nash and Terry are a real nice set of guards. Al Harrington getting better each year. Several good inside rebounders. Not much bench. No rated shooters.

SOUTH

1. St. Lucie: What can you say? Not 1, not 2, not 3, but count them, 6 All-Stars: Jason Kidd, Richard Hamilton, Kobe Bryant, Shareef Adbur-Rahm, Chris Webber and MVP Tim Duncan. Too bad they only allow one basketball per game. Defense, Rebounding, Passing, and Scoring. Aces can field a rated shooter at all positions. Only nitpick might be the bench strength but you don't need much bench with the "Super Six." All but Hamilton (32) played 37 or more minutes a game. This is probably the best defensive, rebounding and scoring in the league.

Flash!! This just in: Rahim traded for 1st round pick in draft! Can you say "made in China"?!

2. Chapel Hill: E. Jones, R.Wallace and Jamison can really light it up. The uniqueness of Kirilenko. Nice defensive players in Outlaw, Kittles and Newble. D. Anderson brings bench scoring. Weak position seems to be PG although Van Exel and Claxton are pretty good. Lack of inside defense and rebounding looks to be a problem.

3. McLean: Two very good point guards in Arenas and A. Miller. Maggette, Stackhouse and Jefferson are excellent at the 2 or 3 position. Good at the 4 and 5 with Divac leading the way, but lacking dominate shot blocker. No inside rated shooter.

4. Brooklyn: Four excellent young stars on the rise in Mobley, Odom, Martin and Gasol. Malik Rose leads a very nice bench. Major problem will probably be at the PG position.

5. Galactic: Last year's SABL League Champions, old pros then, are all a year older. The South is the most talented division from top to bottom. The Super six (China made) are the class of the league, but teams 2-5 could finish in any order. The Thunder are still a capable bunch. It'll be tough defending the title, but they will give all they've got. Last year's 3rd round draft pick, Zach Randolph, looks promising.

Royal Conference: Richmond over Tri-City in 7

Classic Conference: St. Lucie over Bakersfield in 6

League finals: St. Lucie over Richmond in 5

SABL Champion: St. Luice Aces