Muslim Basketball

The sole undefeated team in the league and consensus number 1. Week 1 was a nail-biting win, so it only makes sense, that week 7 is as well. We usually highlight Pat’s dominance, but this season was a collective effort. Chris Diaz returned to MB and balled out, and Scary Gary averaged 17 points per game and got a nickname in the process. I see them having no problems week 1 against Lahore. Recap + X-Factor: If Craig can return to form during this playoff stretch, it’s a rap. Even if he averages 10-12 points per game while the rest of the squad continues to play at their high level, you could write it in pen, Cordoba 2022 Winter Champs!

Winners of six in a row, they finished atop the league in fewest points allowed per game. And there is like 734937109 of them all on the same team. The Abbassi family are hungry for a title, and they could get there. Mustafa led the team in scoring at 15 per, with Lil O right behind him at 14.9. I expect Billal to be the big-time playoff performer that we are accustomed to seeing and that starts Week 1 against Granada. Recap: Lil O Abbassi may have taken the reigns from his brothers as the best basketball player. If not the best overall player, I consider him the best scorer out of the bunch. He is also the recipient of the Most Improved Player award for the Winter 2022 season. Enjoy this imaginary trophy and 5 seconds of internet clout.

MVP of the season, Joseph Capone. Sounds like a dude from the Sopranos, right? Back to basketball, dude averaged 21.5 ppg, on close to 51% shooting, and hit a few timely buckets down the stretch. Oh, and he took a mediocre Sana’a team and made them legit contenders. Clayton got his Duncan Robinson on and led the league with 4.7 3 point makes per game. This team lives and dies by the 3-point line but hey it hasn’t failed them yet. Recap: MVP and ROTY aint a bad way to introduce yourself to the league.

S/o to Tex for always giving us something to read on our Monday lunch breaks. We appreciate your weekly predictions and outlandish scores. They’ve lost two games all season, by a combined 5 points. 2^nd in the league in scoring, 1^st in assist per game and when I tell you they do not care who shines, they really don’t. These guys are just focused on winning and man, after the Week 7 L, I really do feel bad for Amman. Recap: Joe Radi put the league on notice. Just shy of 17 points per game and 12 rebounds not to mention they have Hart at practically 15, Danny at 14 and Will at 13. SHEEEEESH! Man, Amman is in TROUBLE.

The reigning Champs. Moe Rayyan and Raj Patel, absolute marksmen from 3. Deep is a great faciliatory, and Timmy Brown is the Draymond Green. So, what is the x-factor for these guys to repeat? Amir. If Amir can return to 16 point per game, its over like Vince Carter in the dunk contest. Recap: Baghdad is 2-0 when Raj scores 20 or more, I’d feed him early in this one and hope that carries on into the 2^nd round.

New additions Zain and Idris didn’t waste any time when it came to making their imprint on this squad. Zain led the team in points, rebounds, and assists. Idris did his usual work from the great beyond and Ameer averages 15 points in his sleep. It’s been a while since Dhaka was hold that MB trophy, is this the year? I guess we will find out soon enough. Recap: The most underappreciated Big is Salman. I think he could easily average 12 and 10 if he really wanted to, but he does all the little things that don’t necessarily show up on the box score.

6 points. 6 points away from being a top 3-5 team but instead they are number 11 in the standings (can’t forget the forfeit). Himey needs a promotion for bringing Brandon Steward back to MB, as he led this squad in points, assists, and steals. Malik had a career season after a few down years and Sal finished second in the league in 3PM per game. They have 4 guys averaging at least 12 points per game. The detriment to this team may be their awful foul shooting, as they are dead last. Recap: Sal is the x-factor for this team to have a deep playoff run and that starts with Dhaka in the 1st round. If he gets it going from 3 early, that will only open things for the other two guards.

Winners have 4 in a row prior to Week 7 but they balled out this season. Ali led the way with 17ppg on 49% shooting and the dude is 19 years old! Yaqob had another solid season and newcomer Connor showed flashes of excellence as well. This team’s success will be contingent on the play of their big men. If Jean and Chris can up their production down the stretch, to match that of the guard, nightmare for opposing defenses. Recap: Tripoli is 4-0 when Ali scores 20 + and just 1-2 when he does not.

Last year’s Cinderella. They put the league on notice, and almost ran away with a chip. Lost some key pieces yet they still managed to finish 9^th in the standings and get a crack at a familiar foe. We know who option 1 and 2 are on this team, but who’s the third guy? Is it Suqi who can shoot from anywhere on the basketball court? Is it Jason who is crafty, or maybe it’s Kevin George? Regardless, someone needs to step up to be a reliable third option for this team to bounce Alexandria. Recap & X- factor: Ahmed Suqi had a phenomenal debut, with 18 points on 5-10 shooting from 3. I want to see him regain that confidence and continue to shoot. With ball handlers like Towfeek, Shafic and Jason, all you gotta do it spot up. I see him having a big time performance against Alexandria, I see another 5 three point performance.

Easily the most confusing and may I say disappointing team from this season? Yes, I know, I get it, Luis couldn’t make it every week, but y’all have Kenny, Mingo and Nick! Kenny J started the season off hot and we saw Mingo return to form. The two vets averaged 18 and 17, respectively, and add in Nick’s 11 and that’s 46 points from them alone. If Luis does show up for the playoffs, they are contenders, but minus the point forward, dare I say, pretenders? Recap: At 17ppg, Mingo had his best scoring season since 2015 and was efficient in doing so. Look for him to take control of the game against Tripoli in Round 1.

Winners of three in a row and four of their last 5, they get a date with some familiar friends. Musa assembled a nice collections of role players and family members to accompany him on his revenge tour. Jay was second on the team with 13 points per game and is 1^st team all twitter fingers for his back and forth with Tex. All jokes aside, this team will only go as far as Moose can take them. Recap: Big Moose had a career season, across the board with 18ppg, 9rpg, 4apg on 49% shooting overall.

This season is all too similar with first round upsets, after knocking off the number 1 seed last season. They won the games, they were favored to win and lost to the upper echelon of teams in the league, minus Suba. Nick was the only player to appear in all 7 games this season, so perhaps having a full roster in attendance would help. They have 5 guys averaging at least 11 points per game and we know Ed doesn’t need many shot attempts to get cookin’. Not sure they will strike lightning in a bottle again and upset B. Recap: Nick and Zeeshan have been their best players all season and I expect them to play meaningful roles in the 1^st round of the playoffs.

According to some, I have been harsh on this team but let me plead my case. The core group of this team has been together for several seasons now. And yet every year we get excited by how they start and the growth of Moayad and Mana. Did they have an extremely difficult schedule? Absolutely. But a good would have won at least one of those matchups. To each his own, but if they want to shut me up, now is the time of year to do so. Recap: Career year for Moayad, with 22ppg, 52% from the field with 6 boards and 3 assists. If he can be fully invested for 40 minutes come playoff time, they will be a tough out. It has never been the talent with him but more so the cerebral aspect.

Corner Hot is taking his team to the playoffs in only his second season as captain. The forfeit most certainly played in their favor but nonetheless, they made it into the dance. Recap: They relied heavenly on Omar Hussein as he finished second in the league in scoring with 25 points per game and knocking down 3.7 three pointers per contest. By the looks of it, they have a date with Kazan in the 1^st round and after their tough loss last week to Bukhara, they won’t settle for anything other than winning by 30+.

Lost by two without Shah Khan, but man did everyone else play a big role. 27 points from backpack kid Aadil, 24 for Amir and 20 points from Ahmad. This team is no pushover and could make a nice Cinderella story if they get by the #2 seed. Recap: Shah Khan wins the scoring title, and he was efficient. 25.5 ppg, on close to 49% shooting while adding close to 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game. BALLER!

Perhaps the most talented 15^th seed ever? Anas Najib, Singer, Qasem and Moiz, have played 1 game together all season. Let that sink in. Call me crazy, but I could see an upset in the making. We’ve seen it before, haven’t we???? Recap: Omar Singer had the best season of what was an already stellar MB career. 20 points per game on 40% shooting while teams knew he was the sole offensive weapon at times for this squad.

Unfortunately, some people thought it was okay to choose a win over integrity and honesty. Recap: none.

Very, very, very close to their first win. I know I gave these guys a tough time all season, but they played tough all year and I respect them for that. Perhaps a few additions next season can allow us to see players like Muhanad and Splash in the playoffs. But if they do decide to blow it up, Muhanad would be highly sought out free agent, who could play a key role for contending teams. Recap: Be nicer to this team in future forums.