Muslim Basketball's 21st regular season is in the books. It's hard to believe we got through ten weeks so quickly but here we are. Ten weeks later and there is still not one team that we can say is a shoe in to make it to the championship game. Winterball '17 has been very competitive and I really am looking forward to week 1 of the playoffs with a ton of exciting matchups set in stone. Don't be surprised if some of the bottom 8 seeds sneak their way into the elite 8; anything can happen! Istanbul shocked the league finishing with the best record and taking the 1 seed, will this be the year they finally break through the hump or will the competition prove too much for them? I'm sure the power rankings will go more in depth into that. There were some impressive individual accolades to end the season in terms of individual stats. Shoutouts go to: Anas Zubi- points leader (20.9) & free throws made leader (5.4), Omar Mana-rebound leader (16.0), Edriss Froogh-assist leader (5.3), Ahmad Saleh-steals leader (3.13), Gurjinder Singh-blocks leader (1.83), Mohamed Amin-double double leader (7), and Anand Parikh- 3 points made leader (3.0). Finally, a special shoutout to the following players, the leaders of the MVP race and the final MVP winner for this Winterball '17 regular season!
We'll work backwards this time and start off with the players who finished 6-10 in the race in alphabetical order:
Anwar Ahmad-Lahore: It wasn't his finest season in the league but impressive nonetheless. He led his team to a 6-4 regular season record finishing the season averaging 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. He was the leading scorer on a team that has relied on offense in the past as their strong suit but have made more of a defensive push this season finishing 5th in the league in points allowed per game. Anwar has got to be one of the hardest players to defend in the league because of his 6"2 height frame combined with the speed of a true point guard running the floor like he owns it. A dynamic scorer who might not have had his best season statistically but can surely go off at any point and will be a dangerous player to defend come playoff time next week.
Shadi Dahduli-Granada: He never cracked the top 5 of the race like he is certainly capable of but man what a season he had leading this Granada team week in and week out. If you talk about hustle, you talk about Shadi Dahduli, a center who plays like there's no man who can stop him anytime or anywhere. He led his team in both points and rebounds on the season finishing with an average of 11.9 points and 12.2 rebounds shooting over 50% from the field. He stretches the floor with his outside range and is dangerous to guard because he can explode to the rim if given an inch to work with. His profile says small forward but it might as well say pick your poison because he really can play any position in this division.
Dhaka's Fab 4- Dhaka: Throughout the course of the season Dhaka's young core of shooters took turns making their way into some position on the MVP Ladder but none ever making it to the top. It's unfair to single out one of these shooters as better than the other because they have all contributed so much to the team all averaging above 11 points this season. So a special recognition goes out to Ali Chaudhry (12.2&3.2), Ameer Koyas (11.2&7.2), Farzad M. (12.2&3.1), and Fahad Siddiqui (11.0&2.1). This is a scary quartet that can have any one of these guys go off at any point in time. If you're lucky you can have them all go off in the same week, part of the reason they were very successful in their championship campaign last season.
Raied Saleh-Sana'a: Sana'a was a team that struggled to get themselves over the hump the past couple of seasons. Things were very different this season with two key offseason additions of Mo Amin and the one and only Raied Saleh. His stats might not have shown it every week but Raied really changed the dynamic of the way teams played defense against Sana'a. A big body that not only gets boards and plays great defense but is a force on offense and is extremely difficult to defend once he gets running down the lane with his head down. He finished the season averaging 12.8 points and 7.1 boards (career high in boards). He meshed very well into this Sana'a offense and shaped himself into the go to number two guy on the team that Sana'a can rely on for a late bucket or key defensive stop. Truly an impressive player who has made a great impact on an intimidating playoff team.
Jason Weiss-Fez: I couldn't leave Jason off of this list, it would just be unfair. At 39 years old this guy has balled all season long like he's the youngest player in the league. He averaged 15.7 points (career& team high) 8.9 boards, and 1.4 assists (career high). This dude is a simply a beast, enough said. Had his team won a few more games (besides the forfeits) there is no doubt in my mind he would be in the top 5 of this list. His basketball IQ is one of the best you'll ever see in this division and he is a guy who you can rely on to get the job done late in games. If Fez is going to surprise the league and make some sort of a playoff run it starts and ends with Jason.
Now for the top 5 ranked 5-1 and your 2017 Winterball MVP:
5. Salman Ilyaas-Dhaka: Dhaka might have a Fab 4 but there are five players on the court for a team at the same time and Salman is the missing piece that glues them all together. I've said it time and time again throughout the season, Salman has played like the best true big man for a winning squad this season. He finished the season averaging 7.9 points and 10.9 rebounds shooting over 70% from the field. He knows what plays are the correct plays to make and helps his team execute efficiently on offense and defense. You might look at the stat sheet and just bypass his name because he isn't the one putting up the numbers but sit down for one Dhaka game and tell me Dhaka is still the same team without him. He cleans up the glass and takes only the smart shots he knows he can make. He's a hard working defender and his presence blocks defenders from getting the shots they want going to the lane. So here it is, Dhaka is the defending champion team heading into the dance. If they want any chance at repeating this season with all the talent from the other powerhouses in the league they will need Salman to be Salman and keep this squad pieced together.
4. Anas Zubi-Mecca: Anas wins his 3rd scoring title in 4 seasons and is still one of the deadliest scorers this division has to offer. He's not just a scorer but a smart scorer, he knows how to get what he wants from opposing defenses which is why he led the league in free throws made this season at 5.4 per game. He gets to the line so often they ought to rename the free throw line after him... Anyway, he finished the season off averaging 20.9 points (funny enough his 2nd worst points average), 2.7 boards, and 1.7 assists. Anas is a dangerous player to defend and Mecca will need to rely on him if they have any hope of finally breaking the barrier and making it deep into the playoffs and straight to the championship game.
3. Mark A. Oliver-Kazan: The runner up for the scoring title this season finishing with a career high 17.4 points and tacked on 7.2 boards and 2.7 assists a game. Mark had an unbelievable regular season for this Kazan squad. He's the heart and soul of the team and can help spark a run at any point in the game. When he makes more than one in a row you better get a second man helping or else you'll pay for it. His impact on this team cannot go unnoticed as he led the team in points, rebounds, and assists. Kazan is another one of these sleeper teams that can go far into the playoff race if they use their star player wisely. Mark will make or break this team moving forward into the playoffs. So far all he's done is make this team into the solid squad they are.
Final Debate: Mohamed Amin-Sana'a & Raza Nassim-Mombasa: Deciding between 1&2 has been by far the most difficult decision I've had to make all season and when it comes down to it you really can't go wrong either way. There's an argument that can be made for both sides and both of these guys are absolutely the centerpieces of their teams and their absence will surely make their teams sink. Neither Raza nor Mo Amin missed one game this season, they were both there from the very beginning and stayed fighting until the very end. They both averaged career highs in points finishing with 16.3 points (Mo Amin) and 16.6 points (Raza). They both shot close to 50% from the field 48.4% (Mo Amin) and 44.1% (Raza). They both had exactly 2.4 turnovers a game, so their error in judgment was equal there. Mo Amin shot 50% from the charity stripe while Raza shot 54%. Sana's finished with an overall record of 6-4 Mombasa finished with an overall record of 7-3. I can see either one of these teams making it to the championship game with the talent they each have respectively. When it comes down to picking between these two the only other thing to look at is overall effectiveness late in games and or when the team needed them the most. Mombasa's final six games of the season have been decided by 4 points or less and if you actually watched the games you would see the late game plays Raza has made to lead his team in the end to victory directly and indirectly. Mo Amin went through a little of a slump (and I call it slump because an amazing player of his caliber always has so much expected from him) early in the season towards the middle of the season. He wasn't able to lead his team to victories against Amman and Tehran two teams that finished in the bottom 5 of the league and well below .500 with the team's second leading scorer absent from those games. Again, like I said in the beginning this was a tough call to make and you really can't go wrong either way but when the numbers are so close you have to look at impact of the team overall and Raza gets a slight advantage in that category.
Winterball '17 MVP: Raza Nassim
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