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Subscribe to our NewsletterA season which began on November 11th, 2024 finally came to a close on March 19, 2025. After the top 2 seeds were both eliminated on Monday night, it all came down to 3rd seed Black vs 5th seed Green to determine who would be crowned JCC Champions for the Winter 2024-5 season. For Black, this was their third trip to the finals in the last 4 seasons, however their previous two championship appearances both resulted in heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Grey team. The one season that Black didn't make the finals (last season) they came in last place. Now David Steinbruck would have you believe that his presence on the team was the difference between a last place finish last season and a finals appearance this season. However, upon closer inspection it is clear that the real difference was the return of the JCC's hairiest player (sorry Erez), Gary Levine. It's hard to overstate the impact Gary has on this Black team on both ends of the floor. His defensive intensity transformed a team that gave up the most points in the league last season to a team that gave up a mere 47 points in each of their 2 previous playoff games. And on the offensive end, his constant movement and work on the offensive glass have helped to make life easier for their triumvirate of offensive stars. League MVP Siri Carpien was looking to become the first league MVP to also win a championship that season (granted this is only the second season we've given out awards). Mr. double-double, Dame Jackson, was looking to secure his first JCC title and he has looked as dominant as ever in his previous two playoff games. Finally, team captain TJ Farrell was looking to win his 4th JCC title, but the first since leaving Grey in 2019.
For Green, this was a very up and down season thanks in large part to many players missing significant time during the course of the season. However, Green has played their best ball over the past month and a half. Andrew Merel has re-emerged as a force in recent weeks offensively with his unique blend of drives and pullups. Josh Goodhart has been the most accurate three-point shooter in the league this season and has made teams pay for doubling down on Dan Amsellem. Speaking of Dan, the new svelte Dan Amsellem has been the most dominant rebounder in the league by a wide margin while also making life difficult on opponents that dare enter the paint. Jordan Perlmutter was coming off a game where he held Matt Ceccarelli scoreless though his offense would really be needed after Green lost their superstar, Adam Bendik, to injury in their prior game. I'm sad to report that the injury Adam suffered in the first half against Grey is a very serious one and he will need a complete reconstuction of his knee. I know I speak for everyone in wishing Adam a speedy recovery, and knowing the kind of competitor he is, I fully expect him to come back strong sometime in the future. In his absence last week, Seth Niessen stepped up big time offensively. Whatever Seth was doing down in Florida for the month of February, it has resulted in him looking fresh and energized on the court.
(3) Black 75 - (5) Green 47: The big question coming into this game was how would Green defend Black in the absence of Adam Bendik, who likely would've been tasked with trying to slow down Siri Carpien. Without Adam, Green decided to open the game in a zone defense fearing that having Jordan guard Siri and Dan battle Damian would leave them with nothing left in the tank on the offensive end. Green benefitted greatly in the semis from Grey's total inability to hit open shots and managed to hold them to a mere 39 points. Unfortunately for Green, Black was quite the opposite when it came to hitting open looks. Green's zone defense left TJ and Dame consistently wide open from three and they capitalized with 8 three-pointers combined in the first half (5 for TJ and 3 for Dame). Black scored 41 points in the first half, 2 more points than Grey scored in the semifinals. This game was never close. The rare times when Black wasn't hitting their shots, they were grabbing offensive rebounds. Further compounding the issue was Green turning the ball over and giving Black even more possessions. TJ finished the game with 7 threes (21 points) and he really didnt miss many. Damian added 17 points on a combo of inside and outside shots. Siri finished with 15 points but he was all over the floor both offensively and defensively. Dan Amsellem led Green with 13 points followed by 10 for Andrew Merel, 9 for Seth Niessen and 8 for Jordan Perlmutter. Amazingly, Black gave up exactly 47 points in all three playoff games. For Siri Carpien, this was his 8th JCC title, second amongst active players (I can't remember who the active leader is).
While this wasn't the most competitive championship game this was a very competitive season. And while I know there were a lot of complaints about teams this season, and this doesn't change things, these were very balanced playoffs and an overall great season. The summer season will start in late April/Early May so everyone should rest up and get healthy. I hope everyone has enjoyed the new additions to the league and we will continue to try and make this the best possible league. With that being said, I will be sending around a questionnaire that I ask everyone to please fill out as it will go a long way towards improving the league. I want to again thank Josh Tannenbaum and Osaze for handling the scorer's table, the refs for dealing with us (especially the hot-head team), Rick Auyeung (for helping with the ASG as well as upgrading the league generally) and Matt Ceccarelli for the countless hours he spends doing the stats. I'm hoping to send a blooper video in the weeks to come and also wanted to remind everyone that the All-Star Game and 3-point shooting contest are next Wednesday with the fesitivites beginning at 7:15. Hope you've enjoyed reading these recaps as much as I've enjoyed writing them. That officially brings a close to the 2024-5 JCC Winter league. Congrats to Team Black!!!
