Week Six Player Reports

Mark Koll: HatchetBall has a short memory. It's interesting to see how perception changes so rapidly from week to week. Just seven short days ago, Team Grey was given up for dead, even though they had been put in the impossible position of playing the top team in the league minus 3 starters. Looking back, what else would you expect besides a laugher? But based on that game, most watchers were convinced that Grey was saddled with all sorts of problems: no shooting, no ballhandling, bad rebounding, and no one to ride shotgun to Mark. And in Week Six, coming up against Team Orange, who was riding high on a three-game win streak, it seemed like all was lost for Team Grey. But then the game started and Orange looked like the deadbeats, losing handily. So what the hell happened? Three things are true about Team Grey that people tend to forget. 1: They're small. Grey got beat up by Dark Blue and Yellow because those are, top to bottom, the biggest rosters in the league. 2: They can play defense. The caveat to this is that they need the right unit on the floor and they need to have to be matched-up against the right type of team. 3: They don't live or die by the three-point shot. This is a good thing. Outside shooting is notoriously fickle in HatchetBall (even that old boner Matt V can get hot and throw in 5-6 three-pointers on any given night). Grey has some shooting, but when they've been successful, it hasn't been because of a flurry of threes. And when you examine how these three truths impacted their Week Six match-up with Team Orange, it's easier to understand why Grey looked dominant. Orange might be the smallest team in the league. They're feisty and aggressive, but small, with a line-up that was favorable to Team Grey. This favorability translated to some excellent defensive pressure. Orange was held to under 20 points in the first half and were frustrated on several possessions by Grey's relentless defense. On offense, Grey was able to get the ball in the open court and find gaps in the defense to score at the rim. They didn't just wait for threes to fall, like most other teams; they find other ways to score, which will be incredibly useful down the line. Mark led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Above all, after this convincing win, it's clear that Team Grey can't be discounted quite as easily as people would have liked.

What's Next: After a BYE in Week Seven, Mark and company are right back at it against the revamped Team Red. Should be a good one.

Mark Koll 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
25.60	9.80	2.20	1.20	94.44%

Matt Koll: Idle in Week Six.

What's Next: Dark Blue will try and stop their two-game skid against Team Brown in Week Seven, who just picked up their first win of the season.

Matt Koll 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
10.00	8.50	2.25	0.25	18.18%

Matt Vitaliano: Idle in Week Six.

What's Next: Team Yellow is back in action against Team Baby Blue in Week Seven.

Matt Vitaliano 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
9.25	3.25	1.25	0.25	0.00%

Rob Knapczyk: Idle in Week Six.

What's Next: Rob will look to keep up his hot shooting in Week Seven against Team Baby Blue.

Rob Knapczyk 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
27.50	11.00	2.00	0.25	37.50%

Luke A: Idle in Week Six.

What's Next: Luke will eat a meatball sub in Week Seven while his teammates refuse to pass him the ball.

Luke A. 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
5.75	8.00	4.25	2.00	25.00%

Jerry Hahn: On a similar note, things changed quickly for Team Orange in Week Six. With a three-game win streak in tow, they looked poised to pounce on the vulnerable Team Grey. But it didn't work out that way. Jerry did his part, with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists, but Orange never seemed on the verge of overtaking Grey, despite Jerry's efforts. I'm a believer that teams can have off weeks that aren't all that important in the grand scheme of things, but this game was a real puzzler as to why Orange lost the effectiveness they'd demonstrated over the last month. There are small things you can point to (Bo and George Georgio both played their worst games of the season), but the verdict is still out on this team. Are they a title contender? Or are they nothing more than a bunch of height-challenged hobbit children? Time will tell.

What's Next: We won't get any answers about Orange until they return in Week Eight against Team Brown.

Jerry Hahn 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
13.00	9.75	6.25	0.25	84.62%

Dave Troy: Take a look at Troy's stats over the first five games of the season.

One has to be impressed with this progress, especially as things fall apart all around him. In another very winnable game, Troy's team came out like the dogs they are and slowly faded into another loss. Troy continues to elevate his game, as evidenced by the graph, but the truth is, his contributions have been lost amidst the self-destructive shit-show that is Team Green.

What's Next: Team Green will be up against it in Week Seven, getting a firsthand look at the new and improved Team Red.

Dave Troy 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
7.20	5.60	1.00	0.60	50.00%

Mike Steigerwald: Well now! That's what I call making an entrance! After years of waiting on the waiver wire, looking to worm his way into HatchetBall, Mike finally got his chance in Week Six. Any boy, did he take advantage of the opportunity. Mike rained in 6 three-pointers on the way to a Week-high 30 points. It was a hell of a debut. Most importantly, he led his troops to an important win over Team Baby Blue, stopping their superstar Pat McElligot in the process, who put up a Durant-like effort in the loss. However, Mike will soon learn that the honeymoon period doesn't last long in HatchetBall. The word is certainly out that he can play, and those wide-open looks will dwindle as the weeks go on. But this addition certainly changes things for Team Red. Are they now the second-best team in HatchetBall?

What's Next: Mike will have an opportunity to put up big numbers again in Week Seven against Team Green.

Mike Steigerwald 2013-2014 Season Averages

PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	FT%
30.00	9.00	3.00	0.00	NA

2013-2014 Standings

Team	Captain	Record	Streak
Yellow	Matt V	4-0	W4
Grey	Beave	3-2	W1
Orange	Vito	3-2	L1
Red	Tierney	2-2	W1
DarkBlue	Brennan	2-2	L2
BabyBlue	McElligot	2-3	L1
Brown	Rech	1-3	W1
Green	Danaher	1-4	L2