As we rap up the Rec basketball season, we now have a chance to look back on the season and reflect.

As many expected, the Lakers won this year’s championship game by a score of 51-33 over the surprise Nets.  The Lakers were clearly the most dominant team this season, due in large part to the late acquisition of star player and All Star Andrew Vandini.  Many believe that the manner in which Vandini was acquired was slightly unfair to the rest of the league, since the Lakers were already a strong team with players like Mike Rando and Mike Baryski.  Vandini was one of several late signups, and since they were the team with the least amount of players, Vandini was placed on the Lakers.

However, on a more positive note, one of this year’s pleasant surprises was the Nets.  Led by coaches Brendan Croak and Luke Dent, the Nets played poorly for most of the season, due in large part to Nolan Murray’s injury early in the season, until they made their run at the end.  Key players Dave Driscoll, Colin Murray, and Matt Brownsword helped turn this team around.  And when Nolan returned in the final weeks of the season, the Nets went off, winning 5 of their last 7 games, moving them into the 9-seed and a game against Kyle Donnelly and the Wizards for the first round of the playoffs. The  Nets surprised a lot of people, upsetting the Wizards, due in large part to the 3-point shooting of Brownsword.  And then they were off to the races, beating the Rockets and the Spurs, two highly touted teams to reach the finals.  Unfortunately, it was not to be, and the Nets lost in the finals.  Despite losing, Nets should be proud of their performance, regardless of the end result.

Now, players planning on returning next year begin to look ahead to next year, and many will prepare and improve their skills to better themselves for next year.  Although the Walpole High School Intramural Basketball League is neither a varsity level high school sport nor a club league, the Rec League is clearly one of the most competitive leagues around.