Plenty of surprises in Grebb league
With six sophomores on his 10-player roster, there’s no doubt that Naz Victoria’s Farmers Insurance team is one of the youngest in the J. Budd Grebb Memorial Summer Basketball League.
But after a 73-58 win Thursday over reigning champion BeeGraphix, snapping a 17-game winning streak, Farmers Insurance issued a reminder that it’s also one of the league’s best.
“I have a good team,” Victoria said. “They’re young, but they’re good. I have some good players. They know how to pass the ball, play together and play team defense. When you get those factors together and it all meshes, you have a good team. I’ve been lucky like that. They want to learn.”
Farmers Insurance and BeeGraphix are tied for first place at 5-1 with four more regular-season games to go.
Campy’s Pizza (4-2), which plays Farmers Insurance and BeeGraphix Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, could make a run. Northwood Realty and Dairy Queen are both 2-4. Union Cleaners is in last place at 0-6.
Noah Brown, a Brownsville native who attends Kiski Prep, is averaging 18.7 points per game for Farmers Insurance, good enough for fourth in the league, while Monessen’s Lavelle Rush is eighth at 15.6.
“We went to the championship with those boys last year,” Victoria said. “Maybe, if we get lucky, and we can get through some major hurdles coming up, like Campy’s Pizza, we can get into the playoffs and see what we can do.”
The season so far has been full of surprises, Victoria said.
The league’s leading scorer, Jalen French of Union Cleaners, was the first pick of the second round in the league’s annual draft. Now, he’s the only player averaging more than 20 points per game – 20.8, to be exact.
Another surprise was a bit more local.
After toiling on Charleroi’s freshman team this past winter, John Arnold was selected No. 1 overall and has quickly grown into his 6-6, 230-pound frame.
“He has so much potential,” Victoria said. “He’s going to be really good. He’s a big dude, and he’s just coming into his own. You can see him almost growing into his body.
“He couldn’t dunk a basketball last year. (Thursday) he got a rebound, went straight up and threw it down. It’s neat to see these kids grow in the summertime. They get to get out there and play with a bunch of other kids, then through the games just grow.”
One thing that wasn’t much of a surprise was the fact that BeeGraphix is in contention.
Bolstered by three Monessen kids in Elijah Minnie, Luke Doptis and Noah Rullo, as well as Ringgold’s Dayshore Majors, BeeGraphix is averaging a league-best 74 points per game.
Minnie, who left Monessen to attend Lincoln Park amid plenty of controversy, is averaging 19.0 points through five games, tying him with Charlie Scharbo of Campy’s Pizza for second in the league.
Doptis is 10th at 14.3 points per game, and Rullo is 21st at 10.5. Majors is averaging 15.8 points per game, good enough for seventh in the league.
“I never run an offense,” said BeeGraphix coach Bob Kennedy, who coaches Bentworth’s high school team and runs an offense that’s anything but conservative. “We just have to go out and pass and cut. If you’re standing, you’re wrong. I think that helps teach them basic basketball because kids don’t go to the playground and play anymore.”