PROJECTED 8TH SEED:

ONE UMMAH - NORTH

This happens to be my kid brothers, and cousins team. They are a really young group of guys, some of which are still in high school. But don’t let their age fool you, these kids can play. I couldn’t help but list them as the 8th seed because I wanted to light a fire under their butts. They will be wearing the Golden State Yellow jerseys, and I can’t help but compare them to that team 3-4 years ago, because if they keep developing and stick together, watch out for them in a few years because they’ll be dangerous!

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Naim Dukaj

G/F. Ajdin Toskic

G/F. Bekim Djokaj

G/F Nabeel Salameh

PG. Kirkland Hyunh

RESERVES:

C/F: Besim Djokaj

C/F: Momo Jemzo

G. Dino Pepic

Ajdin Toskic has already proven himself as a legit scorer in D1 and D2, and looks to be a force for this squad. But keep your eyes peeled for new player Bekim Djokaj who is my early candidate for ROY. This kid is NICE. I can’t help but compare him to a young Hadi Fattal because of his length and shooting ability. Kirkland Huynh is the veteran leader for this group, and a GREAT passing PG who will help provide fun uptempo brand of ball for this young team. And lastly, my kid brother Dino is a pretty good shooter, who will look to fire away every chance he gets since he's intent on proving he's a better shooter than I am.

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Nabeel Salameh. Nabeel is the youngest player on the team, but has the capabilities of becoming a GREAT defensive player. If he accepts his role as a defensive stopper, and doesn’t get too frustrated going up against older guys who will look to punish him, he will learn a lot this season and become a monster on the defensive end in the future.  

PROJECTED 7TH SEED:

FREE PALESTINE

Aside from Dawuud, this is a relatively new team to the league. I got to see some of the players during the masjid tournament, but they added a few new bodies that I am not familiar with. Dawuud is an MBL Legend and one of the best big men to ever play in this league, but with the growing competition the league is seeing, he will have a lot on his shoulders as the go to leader for this group. That being said, Afif Alahmad is listed as a 6’6 C/F, giving the team legitimate size. If they can get any decent guard play to pair with their size, they may become a surprise team.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Dawuud Williams

PF. Marquise Henderson

SF. Steven Fletcher II

SG. Nizar Milbes

PG. Amir Rasheed

RESERVES:

C. Afif Alahmad

G/F. Baker Milbes

G. Ahmad Ali Alkdairi

TEAMS X-FACTOR: With so many new faces on this team, picking a definitive X-Factor is impossible until I see them play.

 

PROJECTED 6TH SEED:

ONE UMMAH - WEST

That’s right, as overly confident as I am, I ranked my own team in the bottom half of this projection. It’s not that I don’t think my team is good, because I think my team is great, but being that it’s a relatively new mix of guys, I know it might take time for them to gel. The biggest issue on this roster is that it lacks a super star, go to player, or even a massive 1-2 punch. Instead, this team is made up for 8 players who all just so happened to be really great number 3 options. It is possible that we gel right away, and play a fun team style of basketball like the Atlanta Hawks did last season, and come away as a surprise to everyone during the season and move up the rankings. So even though I’m not projecting us higher, I would not bet against us either, because we have pieces that fit very well in terms of players providing a role. Now we just need to implement the system.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Muhammad Madkour

PF. Zachary Matar

SF. Kimarley Williams

SG. Abdul Yousef

PG. Ziko Z. Pepic

RESERVES:

C. Zayd Yunus

G/F. Omar Nabi

G. Samir Shahryr

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Omar Nabi. If there is one thing I’ve learned in MBL D1, it’s that having a knock down set shooter to spread the floor for slashers and big men is absolutely vital. In comes Nabi, who is lights out when given space, and has guys creating for him. A role like this is crucial for a team where depth of roster is their biggest strength.

PROJECTED 5TH SEED:

DOBA SPORTS

This is where the projections start to get really tough. It’s REALLY hard ranking a powerhouse like DOBA 5th, but there was three reasons I chose to do it. 1. I didn’t want to list a tie for a seed for the sake of it being a Power Ranking. 2. The team lost a lot on the perimeter in terms of ball handlers with Kimarley Williams joining my team (new 2 non muslims per team rule), and Ahmed Ali and Zade Muhtaseb choosing to stay in D2 (players can only play in 1 division). 3. I think it may affect their transition and perimeter defense.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Michael Van Wyk

PF. Ashraf Dabbas

SF. Tariq Abdul-Rahman

SG. Anthony Van Wyk

PG. Omar Alameddine

RESERVES:

C. Saad Amer

F. Abdus Salam Khan

G. Haitham Ali

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Michael Van Wyk. It’s amazing how having 1 defensive cog in the middle can completely change how a team does. If the team can find a way to push their length further out onto the perimeter, and funnel players towards Mike, he can re-crown himself DPOY in quite a hurry.

PROJECTED 4TH SEED:

FLYBALLERS

We were made aware that Justin Johnson wouldn’t be playing this season as he continues his professional career. But I think the losses of Humza Mela and Yousef Aboubakr are also really going to hurt this team from the standpoint of loss of chemistry. Having said that, they did manage to add a deeper bench, and decent role players to help support the roles of Dominic and Curtis. 

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Dominic Cruz

PF. Jonathan Yayhaa Walker

SF. Curtis Jones

SG. Wais Sallhei

PG. Ahmad Azzawi

RESERVES:

C. Yamen Nanne

F. Naeem Khan

G. Nihad Shariff

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Ahmad Azzawi. He’s always been a great defender on the perimeter and compliments Dominic and Curtis very well. If he can expand his role as a shooter and distributor, it will be a very nice pick up for this team.

 

PROJECTED 3RD SEED:

ONE UMMAH - EAST

This is a really good team, a deadly one too. They could easily be moved up to 2nd seed, but kept them down at third simply because they don’t have the chemistry as the team I picked above them. But if they are able to gel the way I think they will, expect them to compete seriously for the top spot in this league. Brandon, Ismail, and Muhammad Ali make for a dynamic trio on the perimeter that will provide a very fast paced offense. Add the fact that they are surrounded by big men who can shoot the ball, and set massive screens on pick and rolls, and pick and pops, and you have the recipe for a game you go home aching from when playing against them.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Ramzi Itani

PF. Hammad Shahid

G/F. Brandon Barnes

G/F. Ismail Marusca

PG. Muhammad Ali

RESERVES:

F/C Raja Itani

F/C Ahmed Mustafa

F. Jon Shaw

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Hammad Shahid. With the unrelenting slashing of perimeter players like Brandon, Ismail, and Muhammad, Hammad can become a DEADLY pick and pop player. With his length and ability to shoot over the defense, he becomes a vital 4th option for this team, and will draw big men away from the paint and allow the guard to do more damage in the paint. If Hammad can provide this team with 10 pts, 10 boards, and 2 blocks each game, which he is capable of, they are a legit title contender.

 

PROJECTED 2ND SEED:

DYNASTY

It’s not quite the powerhouse that Samer Rizk’s Overseas team used to be, but Dynasty is absolutely loaded. Mike Steed returns to MBL ready to bring his name back into the discussion as “one of the best MBL has ever had”, and he does so at a intriguing time, as big time names like Danny Cavic, Brandon Barnes, and Curtis Jones are currently stating their own cases. This team is stacked from top to bottom. But it’s not just their fire power that makes them deadly. It’s their chemistry. They’ve all played together in the past, and will come out clicking from day one. Kudo’s to my boy Samer for doing such a great job with the roster.

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Faruk Gjokaj

PF. Ish Alaama

SF. Mike Steed

SG. Chris Hart

PG. Samer Rizk

RESERVES:

C. Harris Ahmed

F. Ahmad Khalaf

G. Billal Quraishi

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Chris Hart. He’s never played an MBL season, but has taken part in tournaments. He will provide a dynamic 1-2 punch next to Mike Steed, and will punish other perimeter players on both ends of the court throughout the season. If the team wasn’t so stacked, I’d pick him as my favorite for ROY this season, but chose Bekim Djokaj of One Ummah North because he will be a bigger focal point in his teams offense.

PROJECTED 1ST SEED:

ONE UMMAH - SOUTH

It wasn’t easy splitting up my title team from last season. But I wanted to take on the challenge of bringing more teams to D1, and it just happened to be the way things worked out. The core of my close friends Danny, Kevin, Yaser, and Hadi stayed intact, and next to them are some very solid additions. Ryan Snook is monster of a new addition, and is similar of player as Curtis Jones. He is a former UCI player, and can shoot the heck out of the ball. Monir Tokhi is another great addition to the squad as he helps Yaser and Hadi press-up on the perimeter, and can also do damage as a spot up shooter. The group won’t lose a beat with those 6 guys ready to score in double digits every single game.    

PROJECTED STARTERS:

C. Danny Cavic

PF. Ryan Snook

SF. Kevin Amir

SG. Yaser Yousef

PG. Hadi Fattal

RESERVES:

C. Adel Syed

F. Monir Tokhi

G. Rizwan Shah

TEAMS X-FACTOR: Monir Tokhi. He essentially replaces my role on the team as a stopper and shooter off the bench, and to take some of the load off Yaser and Hadi, and I think he will do an even better job than I did once he builds some chemistry with the group