Season Preview 2001

The eighth SABL season is underway and here's another horribly inaccurate estimation of our teams' talent:

ROYAL CONFERENCE

EAST

1. Richmond - Coach Frank Rowley didn't improve himself this year in the draft, but he doesn't have to. Still picking the Raiders as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Dirk Nowitzki has become the best shooting 7-footer in the league and Baron Davis is about to become a star point guard. Jamal Mashburn had career highs in PPG, RPG and APG. Add Stojakovic, fantastic Finley, and perennial assist guru Mark Jackson and who is gonna beat Frank in the East?

2. East Asia - Defense and rebounding will carry East Asia into the playoffs again, but can the two-time defending Eastern Conference champs get past Richmond? Coach Paul Bennett usually finds a way.

3. Akron - Due to some bad card breaks on the Bulldogs, Coach Dave Scott's team has a real chance to make the playoffs. Allen and Garnett will lead the Blimps there.

4. Miles - Antoine Walker's offensive card is not very good. Mike Bibby is good, but that might not be enough to get Coach Tom Jargo's team into the playoffs. This team looked better before the cards came out.

5. Brooklyn - Kenyon Martin and Quentin Richardson are great future picks, but it's not enough to lift Steve Feldheim's team out of the East Division cellar.

NORTH

1. Iowa - No draft help this year, but Iowa did it's good trading and drafting years ago. Coach Dennis Derby is a lock to win the North Division title.

2. Tri-City - Let's see, the rest of this division is made up of Amazing Feeneys and related parties. Hmmm . . . OK, the only player on any of these four teams to average more than 20 points in the NBA last season was Stephon Marbury and he's on the Blackhawks, so let's go with Coach Chris Feeney in second place. That doesn't mean any of the Feeneys' will be making the playoffs, however.

3. River City - Trade Reggie ASAP.

4. Davenport - Not much Dazzling about Kevin's squad/

5. Bettendorf - Drafting an entirely new team is a first in league history and it probably assures that the Druids will be the worst team in the SABL this year. Will Michael Jordan be joining Mark Feeney's squad next year?

CLASSIC CONFERENCE

SOUTH

1. St. Lucie - Kobe and Iverson ended up being about the same, with Iverson perhaps getting the edge due to his great stealing ability. Chris Webber got a Karl Malone card. Derek Anderson and Cassell got better cards than they should have. And I actually got rebounding help in the draft via old friend Popeye Jones. The only difference between this year's Aces and last year's Aces is that I don't have the bench depth of my 2001 championship team. Of course I couldn't play all those guys anyway, so it probably doesn't matter. Until someone does a denial of service attack on my computer, St. Lucie is a favorite to repeat as champs.

2. Galactic - The cards were nice to Coach Steve Walters - he's better than I thought he would be and his trade for Ruben Patterson helped. He will be my nemesis again, fouling and pressing me and everyone else in the SABL hard.

3. McLean - Coach Rob Storey has Stackhouse, Rose, Van Excel and Anthony Miller. Could make the playoffs.

4. Chapel Hill - Intriguing players, but Coach Tommy Field will likely not have the horses to make the playoffs in this division.

5. Tulsa - Tough to pick the Twisters for last place again, seeing as I was wrong about it last year and I might be wrong about it again. Shawn Marion will keep getting better, though and the Darius Miles pick is good for the future.

WEST

1. Bakersfield - Glenn Robinson, Brand, Houston, Kidd and co. will lead new Coach David Squires to the divisional crown in the West.

2. Finney - Even though Coach Doug Dillingham traded Kobe, he improved himself by picking up real-life MVP Allen Iverson. Close pick, but the Longhorns should have enough to make the playoffs.

3. Good News Roosters - Abdur-Rahim and Pierce will lead Coach Chris Gertridge to the playoffs.

4. Holcomb - The Duncan deal possibly puts the Heat into playoffs.

5. Garden City - Coach Josh Marquardt bit the bullet, traded Duncan for a future gold mine, but will not escape the West's cellar this season.

Predicted SABL Champs - St. Lucie Aces