#dunksfordays

Here it is, the moment, for some reason, that you've all been asking about. Black Swamp Fantasy will kick off quidditch fantasy season tomorrow in Bowling Green. Score updates will (sporadically) be posted on my twitter (@quid_elitist).

First things first, here is a doc of the teams. Get familiar with it. This preview won't be a typical preview. Instead, I'll be giving projected starters for each team and analyzing the way I think they'll work together and how successful they'll be. I might do key non-starters if the mood strikes me.

First up, Blue Steel. This team is led by GM Trevor Campbell, widely considered a top MW beater, but not well-known in the coaching world. This will be his GM debut.

Starters:

K: Mac Randolph - Ball State C: Jeremy Boettner - Ohio State C: Devin Sandon - Rochester C: Sara Makey - Ball State B: Trevor Campbell - Ball State B: Melinda Staup - Ball State S: Jef Fisher - Central Michigan

I'm pretty much forced into doing key non-starters here, as this team also features Samm Elgin of BGSU, and Blake Fitgerald, Danielle Anderson, and Zach Rupp of BSU. All of whom would likely be starters on a different team at this tournament.

This team is scary. Randolph is great with the ball, and should be able to find Boettner easily for a lot of easy alley-oops. Sandon is well-known for his blazing speed, and I don't think there's a single person at this tournament who can keep up with him. Sara Makey has been a top female chaser in the Midwest virtually her entire career, and with plenty of teammates around to keep feeding her, expect lots of points from Makey as well. Really, the offense of this team, on paper, looks unstoppable.

Beating partners Campbell and Staup have years of experience together, and that chemistry will be certainly be utilized. Though this pairing struggled at their last fantasy event, MW Winter Fantasy, I expect them to recover from that quite well, as this tournament will (hopefully) not be held in the middle of a blizzard.

Next is the Anti-Flash White, led by Jospeph Hackney out of EMU. This will be Hackney's debut as a GM, and virtually his debut into the larger quidditch world, as I don't believe he has ever attended any events outside of EMU.

Starters:

K: Eric Wasser - Michigan C: Alex Scheer - Toledo/Mizzou C: Katie Miligan - BGSU C: Amber Eaton - GVSU B: Chad Brown - BGSU B: Michael Duquette - Texas S: Brandon Gillespie - Eastern Michigan

This might be one of the weakest starting lines, which is saying something, because it's still very strong.I think I'll be wrong, and this team likely won't play 2 male beaters, but they certainly have the firepower to do so. Chad Brown is incredibly talented, and may be the best in the Midwest. Duquette is a little-known beater for the world champion Longhorns who, in actuality, doesn't have many weaknesses. He has a strong arm, can catch, is very athletic, and can lay people out. This would be easily the most imposing beater line of the entire tournament, if it happens.

This team's offense is going to be the Scheer/Wasser show. Beyond those two, there aren't really any significant scoring threats. Milligan can score, and likely will get her fair share as defenses are drawn towards Scheer/Wasser, but she has never been best on offense. Defensively is another story. With these beaters, Scheer on point, Wasser on the hoops, and Milligan and Eaton (a slightly above average chaser for GVSU) in coverage, this has the potential to be a very dominant defense. Not many players can get by Scheer. The ones that do will be eaten alive by beaters, and the off ball players will have a very fiesty Milligan to contend with if they ever want to touch the quaffle.

However, beyond these starters, there really isn't much to talk about for this team, and I expect them to struggle as their key players become more tired.

In the middle of the pack we have Meredith Taylor's Orange Soda. This will also be Taylor's GM debut, but she is a very well-known figure in the Midwest; one of the top chasers in the region, and she will be a huge asset to this team moving forward.

Starters:

K: Brandon Booth - CMU C: Daniel Daugherty -BGSU C: David Wilber - CMU C: Meredith Taylor - BGSU B: John Stephens - Purdue B: Jenna Rindler - BGSU S: Sam Roitblat - BGSU

The obvious thing to talk about here is the chaser line. Daugherty and Taylor, in addition to being some of the best at their position, have crazy good chemistry. Booth and Wilber also have chemistry, both coming from CMU, and both are proven to perform well at fantasy tournaments, having won Winter Fantasy together. This is a line that has size (Wilber), speed (Booth), and finesse (Daugherty+Taylor), and will definitely be tough to stop.

Add to this equation, a hard-throwing, unpredictable point beater in Stephens, and a reliable ghost beater in Rindler, and this team has the makings of greatness. Roitblat is the best seeker in this draft, bar none, and has a VERY solid backup in Gabe Unick, who hardly ever gets the credit he deserves. Look for this one-two punch to make snitches look like jokes.

And we've finally arrived at my team, The Kobes. In Tyler Walker, this team has the most experienced GM of the tournament, as well as one of the best keepers. Look for Walker to put together a great gameplan and be able to execute it.

Starters:

K: Tyler Walker - Ball State C: Malek Atassi - Michigan C: Michael March - Miami C: Krystina Packard - MSU (two years removed) B: Luke Changet - OSU (one year removed) B: Juliet Slutzker - BGSU S: Ryan Sparks - Toledo

This starting lineup is a huge question mark. Will K-pack be able to refind her former form? Will I be able to play as I did in my prime? Can Sparks prove himself at a high level? Even Slutzker is a bit of a wild card, as beaters often rely heavily on their partners to make them effective, and Slutzker and I have never played together.

Really, the only things we know are that Atassi will be an absolute bulldozer and Tyler Walker will be fast as hell. Michael March should be able to mesh well with this team, as Ive yet to meet a Miami player who doesn't fit in well anywhere, and March is still a great player in his own right. If we can shake off our rust and play as a team, we'll go far. If not....

And the final team of this preview is Alexis Moody's #sassmasters, the green team. I do believe Moody has drafted as many teams as Walker, so she is a fairly experienced GM. She's been around longer than just about anybody, and as a result, has a great mind for the game. She should be able to put this to good use.

Starters:

K: David Hoops - OSU C: Devon McCoy - BSU C: Andrew Axtell - Michigan C: Pari Yost - BGSU B: Andy Hopkins - Utah B: Julie Fritz - OSU S: Alajuwan Brown - BGSU (Falcon Warriors)

This is easily the scariest, in terms of physicality, starting chaser line at this tournament. McCoy and Axtell are known monsters, stoppable only by beaters, for the most part. Hoops is a world class distributor, and knows when to get the ball to his scorers, but his speed on fast breaks will likely leave teams gassed. Pari Yost is one of the most physical girls at this tournament, and nothing gets by her easily. Needless to say, if you want to beat this line, you NEED to hit someone, and hit someone hard.

And that doesn't even mention the terrifying combination of Hopkins and Fritz. Fritz is an animal on the pitch, and Hopkins has a motor like none other. Look for these two to be as disruptive as they are aggressive, which is a lot. If these starters can get their chemistry down, which I think they very much will, this is easily a team that could shock Blue Steel and take home the title, though I do think Blue Steel are still the favorites.