Post Season Awards

Here are the much anticipated postseason awards. The 4 All-Night League Teams will be playing an All-Star Tournament next Sunday, March 14th. If you can't make it, let me know, and I'll get a reserve into the game. Feel Free to Click on the Ads.

1st Team

Charlie Gilvarg
John Haller
James Knight
Ryan Murnighan
Matt Traub

2nd Team

Brandon Batt
Jeff Dsida
Conor Healy
Walt Lyon
Chris Sweitzer

3rd Team

Matt Haller
Mike Hermanson
TJ Keene
Willy Moore
Stuart Voit

4th Team

Gordie Campbell
Kerby Hilarides
Spencer Levin
Danny Malkin
Ben Morton


Now on to the awards:

Most Valuable Player: Charlie Gilvarg. It seemed like there were 10 players who could make a case for MVP this year, but by the end of the season, it was a pretty consistent opinion throughout the league that Charlie Gilvarg, Ryan Murnighan, and Matt Traub were the leading candidates. What separates Gilvarg from the other two is his ability to take over a game, and his consistency all year long. While Matt Traub had 25-30 point games 3 or 4 times during the year, he was hot and cold a lot. Gilvarg also has the ability, due to his immense size, to dominate a game at any time. He is one of the tallest players in the league, and one of the strongest, and it is almost impossible to defend him. Although defending champion Ryan Murnighan and Bomb Squad star Matt Traub can both make a case for MVP, Gilvarg's case is the best.

Best Point Guard: Ryan Murnighan. Murnighan was deadly all year off the dribble, shooting, and passing. The defending MVP is as good as point guards get at New Trier.

Best Rebounder: Charlie Gilvarg, he's a monster.

Best Shooter: John Haller. Andrew Ferguson was a candidate until Haller beat him in back to back three point shooting contests.

Rookie of the Year: James Knight. The preseason MVP faded towards the end of the season, but he was undoubtedly the best new player this year bringing the dunks that Night League needed.

6th Man of the Year: Mike Maley. Other candidates were Chris Paik, Bobby Mayfield, and Ben Levine, but Maley provided that spark off the bench that nobody in the league can duplicate.

Most Improved Player: Walt Lyon. Lyon was traded midseason last year to team Theo where he played second fiddle to Harry Furse all year long. He came back this year, and immediately starting drawing attention with trying out for varsity, and then big time games in Night League.

Defensive Player of the Year: Charlie Polan. Plus if you score on him, he'll kill you.

Phil Zmijewski Craziest Kid Award: Matt Traub. They don't come any more intense than Traub who hit an all time high as an MVP candidate this year, and an all time low accusing Lou Hankin of bribing the refs last year. He will do anything it takes to win, and sometimes that means running his defender over.

Luckiest Player of the Year: Gordie Campbell. Follow him around for a day and you are guaranteed to see 2 things that wouldn't happen to anyone else.

Best Dressed: Andrew Heisler. Cory Berceau was a leading candidate for this award, but Heisler, in addition to his throwbacks (including a Barack Obama jersey), wore a tuxedo to NWA's playoff game, and played in it for the first 5 minutes.

Best Shot Blocker: Gilvarg, he is a monster.

Best Hustle Player: Peter Lind. He gives it his all more than anybody else in the league.

Laziest Player: Robert Gorodetsky. He gives it his all less than anybody else in the league.

Most Liked Player: Jeremy Rosenfeld. Does anybody not like him?

Runner-Up: Mike Maley

Least Liked Player: Eric West

Runner-Up: Andrew Ferguson

Don't Want to Get in a Fight With Winner: Charlie Polan

Best Nickname: Reid "Berrychill" Berry

Runners-up:
Conor "The Irish Swingman" Healy
Stuart "Emeka Okafor" Voit
Dillon "Bigman" Oberlin
Cory "Bearcat" Berceau

Best Trash Talker: Mike Maley

Most Overrated Player: Brian Frett

Most Underrated Player: Brandon Batt. Last year he was a surprise to many in a semifinal win against Men, and this year he was surprising again leading AD to their second straight championship loss.

Worst Ref: George Lopez

Runner-Up: The IHSA approved ref that was calling the Ortega-Mallard Magic game.

Most Annoying Coach: Andrew Ferguson

Best Team Chant While Their Opponent is Shooting Free Throws: Coot's Coot

Sweetest Stroke: James Knight

Ugliest Stroke: Dylan Sklare

Runner-up: Tim Denenberg

Best Free Throw Shooter: Mike Hermanson, shot 100% during the season.

Worst Free Throw Shooter: Zack Pinaire

Clutchest Player: Ryan Murnighan. When his team needed him, he lead a comeback against AD, including a near flawless second half.

Least Clutch Player: Matt Haller; Haller missed a big 1 and 1 leaving the Express to wonder, "What if?"

Most Overlooked Player: Matt Coan. He bruised the Express for almost 20 points.

Most Confident Team: Phase 4. They always thought they were getting better, and believed in themselves.

Best Game: Ortega vs. Mallard Magic. An overtime thriller that had all the elements: crucial free throws, compelling characters including the most hated team in Night League and the craziest ref in Night League, and a crowd of about 50 people. It will go down in Night League history.

Biggest Surprise: AD

Biggest Disappointment: Tallula. The team that climbed as high as #2 in the ONL were obliterated in the first round of the playoffs by #11 Mallard Magic.

Best Team Name: Off in The Woods

Worst Team: Hank Mardukas

Runner-up: Off In The Woods

Least Liked Team: Ortega

Most Improved Team: The Bomb Squad (formerly OKC Thunder) started Mengistab Wolf last year, and this year almost dethroned Barifinkle.

Best Acquisition: Matt Traub by the Bomb Squad. Traub nearly won the MVP and made The Bomb Squad a lot better.

Most Overrated Team: The Bullets. Robert Gorodetsky was 2nd team Preseason All Night League, and the Bullets were #6 in the polls, but then they went so far downhill they ended up losing to Phase 4 the last week of the year.

Most Underrated Team: AD

Semifinal and Championship Recap

Semifinals

#1 Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face 33 - #4 The Bomb Squad 30

Jeff Dsida quipped afterwards, "Matt Traub, Ryan Murnighan, and Charlie Gilvarg are the best players in the league". Traub had his best game of the year, dropping 20 points on 95% shooting. Charlie Gilvarg and Ryan Murnighan were too much; however, for The Bomb Squad, who end the year 8-2.

#3 AD 33 - #2 The Express 29

Matt Coan picked apart his 36 oz. steak dinner, then picked apart the Express defense. The big man for AD was unstoppable, scoring at will in the second half, and more importantly, knocking down all his free throws. Brandon Batt lowered his shot total from previous games, dishing to Coan instead. After a 15-10 Express lead at halftime, AD came out on a 9-0 run. The Express pulled to a 28-28 tie on a Mike Hermanson 3 with 2 minutes left. After a few back and forth possessions and missed free throws from AD, Brandon Batt made the game 30-28 with 45 seconds left. John Haller was fouled for The Express with 20 seconds left, and was just able to convert 1 of 2 free throws, narrowing the margin to 1. Miles Lashley came down and missed a free throw for AD, and Matt Haller was fouled with 10 seconds left to go. He missed the front end of the 1 and 1 down 30-29, and AD got the ball. Matt Coan came down and made both free throws on the 1 and 1, and Mike Hermanson's 25 footer couldn't fall with 1 second left.

Championship

#1 Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face 37 - #3 AD 29

AD scared the defending champs, jumping out to a 15-5 lead. Barifinkle then rallied to make a 19-19 tie at halftime. It was back and forth in the second half, and with about 4 minutes left it was 30-27, but Barifinkle was able to put away AD with fast breaks at the end as their endurance prevailed. Charlie Gilvarg gets my championship game MVP with a lot of offensive rebounds and points. We saw AD put up a great fight, and make Ryan Murnighan, Chris Sweitzer, and Conor Healy look as bad as they've ever looked. Give credit to AD, but Barifinkle makes it 2 in a row with another undefeated season.


Watch for All Night League teams, and Postseason Awards coming soon. Also, a potential All-Star Game Sunday March 14th. Good season everybody, except Off In The Woods and Hank Mardukas, both going winless. Feel free to click on the ads.

Semifinal Preview

#1 Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face (-6) vs. #4 The Bomb Squad

7:00 PM - Main Gym

Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face

PG- Ryan Murnighan

SG- Conor Healy

SG- Chris Sweitzer

F- Charlie Gilvarg

F- Stuart Voit

The Bomb Squad

PG- Peter Lind

G- Willy Moore

F- Matt Traub

F- Jeff Dsida

F- Michael Schroeder

Defending Champs Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face will have their work cut out for them to beat the 8-1 Bomb Squad. Matt Traub poses the biggest matchup problem for Barifinkle who will probably need to use multiple defenders to slow down Traub. Jeff Dsida and Willy Moore complement Traub to make 3 fast players over 6 foot for The Bomb Squad. For The Bomb Squad, the hardest matchup will be containing MVP candidate Charlie Gilvarg. Gilvarg has been getting it done in the points and assists column all season, and at 6'5", he is always hard to stop. Both teams are good on the run and especially on the larger main gym, this should be a fast game. It would be a surprise if Barifinkle lost, but if anybody can do it, The Bomb Squad can.

#2 The Express (-7) vs. #3 AD

7:00 PM - Stage Gym

The Express

PG- John Haller

SG- Matt Haller

F- Mike Hermanson

F- Kerby Hilarides

F- Brantner Jones

AD

PG- Brandon Batt

SG- Monte Spiers

F- Miles Lashley

F- Alex Wislow

F- Matt Coan

AD has yet to lose to a team not named Barifinkle. They won 10 straight last year before dropping to Barifinkle in the final, and after losing that game and the first of this year to Barifinkle again, AD is 7-0. Brandon Batt leads a stronger attack than last year's finalists with Monte Spiers and Alex Wislow helping him out. At 6'2", 200 pounds, Wislow is one of the bigger players in the league, and contending with his size will be a big problem for The Express. AD's toughest challenge will be controlling The Express 3 point shooting. The Express has 4 legitimate threats from the outside, and on the stage gym, AD could give up a lot of points on triples. The big court should favor The Express, who like to run and spread the floor, and while The Express is a favorite in this one, AD still has yet to lose to a team besides Barifinkle.

B Bracket

#1 McGarry Dangles Inc. (-8) vs. #5 Off In The Woods

Last week was the first week all year nobody in Night League beat Off In The Woods. Danny Malkin will be far and away the best player on the court, and for that reason, I give the edge to McGarry Dangles.

#6 Supreme Court (-4) vs. #7 NWA

NWA went winless in the regular season, while Supreme Court won once. Supreme Court won the Freshmen B Bracket, so they definitely have what it takes to win this one. I give them a slight edge, but watch out for NWA's Andrew Heisler.

Quarterfinal Recaps

A Bracket Play-ins

#11 Mallard Magic 45 - #6 Tallula 25

#7 Ortega 29 - #10 Medieval Times 25

#8 Boo Radley and Friends 25 - #9 Re-Elect Judge Jim Wascher 19

A Bracket Quarterfinals

#1 Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face 47 - #8 Boo Radley and Friends 26

#2 The Express 40 - #7 Ortega 23

#3 AD 36 - #11 Mallard Magic 33

#4 The Bomb Squad 33 - #5 Theo 23

Barifinkle
	Barifinkle
Boo Radley
Bomb Squad
	Bomb Squad
Theo
AD
	AD
Mallard Magic
Ortega
	The Express
The Express

B Bracket Quarterfinals

#1 McGarry Dangles Inc. 40 - #8 Hank Mardukas 32

#7 NWA 36 - #2 Coot's Coot 35

#6 Supreme Court 31 - #3 Phase 4 26

#4 The Bullets 30 - #5 Off In The Woods 26 (OT)

McGarry Dangles Inc.
	McGarry Dangles Inc.
Hank Mardukas
The Bullets
	The Bullets
Off In The Woods
Phase 4
	Supreme Court
Supreme Court
NWA
	NWA
Coot's Coot

Quarterfinal Preview

A Bracket Play-in Games (games start at 8:25 PM)

#6 Tallula (-9) vs. #11 Mallard Magic [Court 2]

Tallula made a playoff acquisition and picked up McGarry Dangles Inc. star Danny Malkin. The addition means one less bad player on the court for Tallula. Tallula is undefeated with James Knight and Jeremy Rosenfeld both playing, granted those wins come against teams with a combined record of 7-23. Mallard Magic has been much worse than Tallula; however, with their 4 wins against teams a whopping 3-27. Mallard Magic will not have an answer for James Knight, and Tallula should win this game. The only chance Mallard Magic has is to completely take Knight out of the game, even if it means double teaming him the whole game.

#7 Ortega (-3) vs. #10 Medieval Times [Court 1]

In what is sure to be a physical game, last year's "most hated" team, plays last year's "most overrated team". Medieval Times' lost last year's star Willy Moore, and hasn't shown signs they are weaker than last year. Although they lost just once last year, their 3 losses this year came to The Express (in OT), The Bomb Squad (by 3), and Judge Jim Wascher (by 7), showing they've been close in defeat. I don't know if Ortega will have an answer for the size of TJ Keene and his jumping ability. Ortega likes to run while Medieval Times is much slower with possessions. This should be a very interesting game, and neither team will go down without a fight.

#8 Boo Radley and Friends vs. #9 Re-Elect Judge Jim Wascher (-3) [Stage Gym]

In the regular season, Judge Jim Wascher missed 5 free throws in regulation that could've put the game away, and they ended up dropping it in overtime in 2 OT. Judge Jim Wascher has a distinct height advantage with starters John Cook (6'4"), Jack Wascher (6'2"), Scott Gantner (6'1") and Doug Lavey (6'2"), who was picked up off waivers last week. I give Re-Elect Judge Jim the edge here due to their height advantage, and the addition of Lavey, who is not only tall, but plays volleyball and can get up.

Quarterfinal Matchups (games start at 9:05)

#1 Barifinkle/Team Sit on My Face vs. #8 Boo Radley/#9 Judge Jim [Stage Gym]

Whichever team wins between Boo Radley and Judge Jim Wascher, it would be a shock if either even made this a game. I don't think Judge Jim would be able to keep up with Barifinkle's speed on the Stage Gym, as their game favors a slow, inside game while Barifinkle is going to run and knock down 3's. I think Boo Radley stands a much better shot against the defending champs, but it would be a real surprise if this game was close down the stretch.

#2 The Express vs. #7 Ortega/#10 Medieval Times [Court 1]

2 years ago, The Express (minus Tim Denenberg and Mike Hermanson) went undefeated in the regular season, and lost to Ortega in the second round after a bye. The exact same scenario presents itself for Wednesday night should Ortega advance. The two teams play a similar style and an Express/Ortega matchup would be a great game. Medieval Times gave The Express an overtime scare in the regular season, as The Express had no answer for TJ Keene. The Express would be a small favorite against both of these teams, but each situation should provide an exciting game.

#3 AD vs. #6 Tallula/#11 Mallard Magic [Court 2]

AD went to the finals last year in a very similar fashion to the way this year's been going: under the radar. Should Tallula win, it would be a great game, as the regular season battle ended with an AD victory by just 4. AD has gotten stronger since last year with the addition of Alex Wislow and Monte Spiers, but still scares nobody. Teams are looking forward to playing AD thinking they're going to beat them, but so far in the last two years, Barifinkle has been the only team to do so. Both Tallula and Mallard Magic should provide some good competition for AD in the quarterfinals.

#4 The Bomb Squad (-7) vs. #5 Theo [Court 3]

Theo has shown us what they are without Walt Lyon, and that is a team just barely better than 0-8 Off In The Woods. The Bomb Squad will be able to contain Walt with Jeff Dsida, Willy Moore, and Matt Traub all great defenders. I think the only way Theo can keep this close is to punch, shove, kick, and slow down the game as much as possible. The only way Theo can win this game is to keep it in the high teens to low twenty's.

B Bracket (games start at 9:05)

#1 McGarry Dangles Inc. (-4) vs. #8 Hank Mardukas

McGarry Dangles loses best player Danny Malkin.

#2 Coot's Coot (-5) vs. #7 NWA

NWA is 0-7.

#3 Phase 4 (-3) vs. #6 Supreme Court

Phase 4 is getting better.

#4 The Bullets (-6) vs. #5 Off In The Woods

The Bullets are awful, Off In The Woods is worse.

A Bracket

1. Barifinkle
2. The Express
3. AD
4. The Bomb Squad
5. Theo
6. Tallula
7. Ortega
8. Boo Radley
9. Re-Elect Judge Jim Wascher
10. Medieval Times
11. Mallard Magic

Barifinkle
Boo Radley/Judge Jim Wascher
Bomb Squad
Theo
AD
Tallula/Mallard Magic
Ortega/Medieval Times
The Express