The first uninterrupted week of the season is over, and with it, the last undefeated team fell. Red lost to Blue on Thursday, proving how even the teams are. Blue continues their winning streak, which is now at three, and is arguably the hottest team.

Yellow has also emerged as a force and has won two straight over White and Black. Green recorded its first win of the year on Thursday, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their success continued. They were on the wrong end of many close games to start the season, but it looks like they may have found their stride.

This week of game should separate the men from the boys. By the end of the week, each team will have played everyone once and will know where they stand in the league.

Player of the Week:

As I said before, Green was able to capture their first victory of the year, 61-53 over Grey. Green’s first win of the year is big, however Grey’s Joe Cooper stole the headline by scoring an IBL record high 43 points. Unfortunately for Cooper, the rest of his team could only muster 10 points. Cooper beat the previous record of 41, set last year by Mike Antonell when he sank a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Cooper showcased all his offensive skills, hitting jumpers, threes, and finishing close to the basket. To put this into perspective, Cooper’s 43 points alone would have beat four out of the eight teams that played Thursday. This was an easy decision for player of the week. It may be the performance of the year – we’ll wait and see. Props to Jeremy Brofsky for scoring 29 points, which would have been a season high if Cooper didn’t put on a record performance.

Lesson of the Week:

The bank is always open.

This is something that often goes forgotten in more, I don’t know how to put it, organized basketball. People take it seriously and practice for those perfect swishes, but not in IBL. The backboard is everyone’s friend. There are always a few shots a game when you think, “There is no way that’s going in,” and then it banks in. Thus my lesson: the bank is always open, so don’t be afraid to make a deposit.

Standings:

As I said before teams will have played everyone by the end of this week, so the standings are shaping up a little bit.

Red 4-1

Black 3-2

Blue 3-2

Yellow 3-2

White 3-2

Orange 2-3

Green 1-4

Grey 1-4

Waiver Wire:

Since IBL is so much fun, there were a lot of people who wanted to join late. Some huge acquisitions were made, such as prolific scorer Adam Nurse to Yellow or big man Mackland Steele to Blue. Here’s a look at the waiver wire, or who got who.

White – Carson Hart

Red – Rafael Santos

Yellow – Adam Nurse, Carter Paul

Orange – Ian Ball, EJ Nicholas

Green – Derek Kaufman, Mark Blahnik

Blue – Mackland Steele, Evan Barber

Grey – Mike Murphy

Black – Eddie Mccarthy

Scoring Leaders:

1. Joe Cooper (Grey) 43 points

2. Jeremy Brofsky (White) 29 points

3. Matt King (Orange) 24 points

4. Kevin Goodfellow (Orange) 22 points

5. Calvin Williams (Red) 19 points