ZG Fall Tip-Off Preview
With many of the ZG Circuit's "High-Major" Teams starting at next week's Fall Brawl, we are excited to be covering many upstart programs who will be looking to make a name for themselves this weekend, along with a few traditional powers who are starting a week earlier than the others. With over 350 teams to choose from there is no doubt that many new players will be catching our eye this weekend.
Traditional Powers to watch
Mass Rivals Pastore 11th Grade
BABC 9th and 10th Grade
Upstart HS Contenders
Both of these teams are clubs no one wants to see in bracket play:
LOX
Beantown Bulls
Also keep a close eye on:
South Shore Wolfpack
Rhode Island Renegades
Boston Bobcats-Alves
NY Revolution Elite
"Diaper Dandies" Freshman Teams looking to make a big impact
Rise Above- Carter
Mass Rivals- Pastore – Perhaps the most talented group we see in the freshman division all fall, Coach Vin Pastore’s squad should be considered immediate favorites to come away with the sweep at Danvers HS on Saturday.
BBIQ NY
Mass Elite- Polli (After an epic run at last year's ZG Finals that lead them to the D2 Championship Game)
CMass Swarm-Byrnes
Boston Bobcats-Tyler – Coach Tyson Tyler has so much confidence in his National Level 8th Grade team he is taking on 9th grade high level opponents in week 1 to get prepared for the grueling upcoming stretch that is the ZG circuit.
5 Games to watch closely
Saturday 1 PM, Danvers HS Court 1: Mass Rivals 11th vs NH Flight- Rivals 11th Grade Pastore, who is lined with household names, takes on Coach Moreno's NH Flight squad who became effectively known as the “Giant Killer" after recording some major upsets on the circuit last year.
Saturday 4 PM, MPlex: Freshman Version of the Battle in Boston- BABC vs Boston Spartans- Coach Griffin's teams are always in contention on Sunday and this is a great opportunity to see them take on a program in the Boston Spartans that is more than ready to give them all they can handle.
Saturday 2 PM, The U Court 6: Boston Bobcats Tyler vs Mass Elite Polli- This game is the type of game that generates huge crowds around the court at the U. A game that will come down to the final minute very well could determine who comes out of the Silver pool to secure what is likely to be a date against BABC on Sunday.
Saturday 12 PM, Peabody Court 9: Bay State Flash 9th Lyth vs Mass Commanders- This Flash team has made noise on the circuit each and every year including some epic victories over programs such as CT Select and MIG's team in the past. The challenge only gets tougher this fall as they take on the Mass Commanders who have continually been a program that the Flash have struggled against.
Sunday 2 PM, The U Court 3- BABC 10th vs Boston Bobcats- Can Doug Alves Jr. replicate the magic from last year's NERR Super 16 and create a ZG Instant Classic on week 1? We will certainly be there to find out.
Full schedules and info for this weekend’s North Shore One Day Tip-off and Fall Championship Tip-off events can be found at ZeroGravityBasketball.com.
Stay tuned on our social media platforms all weekend long for circuit updates along with our Monday morning recaps each and every Monday as part of NERR's fall Zero Gravity circuit Coverage
Doug Alves