A warrior is someone who has to fight, be brave and show aggression. A warrior does not expect immediate success, they learn from their failures and remain resilient.
Never facing any obstacles would not define someone as a warrior, but instead as a conqueror. That’s why the RI Warriors have lived up to their name in the opening weeks of the Legacy Leagues Summer 22 season.
A Week 1 matchup against the defending champs in Lob City, and a Week 2 matchup against another team who has won it all in the Duje’s Boys left the RI Warriors winless and number eight in the power rankings. With a Week 3 matchup against the Ozone Boys, the Warriors prepared for another battle.
Both teams looking for their first win, this matchup was anticipated to be a good one and it surely was. The RI Warriors, lead by Gian Avedisian, bested Paul Magurie and the Hogan brothers, defeating the Ozone Boys, 81-75.
What the RI Warriors needed on the court to get their first win was a leader, and Gian Avedisian was able to step up and fill that role for his team. Avedisian was able to take some valuable lessons from his team’s early losses and translate it into a Week 3 win.
“We’ve been having chemistry issues,” Avedisian said. “We had a team discussion, talked out our differences and applied that to our game. As you can see from the outcome, it benefited us.”
Avedisian’s first season in the league has been one to keep an eye on, averaging 31.0 points per game which is good for second in the league. He also averages 4.7 rebounds per game as well as 1.7 blocks and 2.3 steals per game over his first three games. He has also been a recurring sight on Legacy Leagues various social media pages through some of his highlight plays.
This week he led his team in scoring, rebounding, and blocks with 33 points, six rebounds and two blocks against the Ozone Boys. Avedisian did not fight this battle alone however because the rest of the RI Warriors showed up to fight alongside him.
Hadaitullah Amini added 29 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers along with collecting four steals. Avedisian and Amini’s scoring wouldn’t be possible without the rest of the team’s ability to help get them in positions to be successful.
Being completely outmatched against the Ozone Boys when it came to height, the RI Warriors were able to find a way to compensate for what they lacked. The RI Warriors were able to get steal after steal, racking up a total of 13 for the game.
As a team they got better statistically in every single category from the previous week, a perfect showing of much needed momentum to launch them into the rest of the season where they will be looking to climb the standings and compete for a title.
Gian Avedisian is exactly the type of player the team needed to add to gain success this season. Early into his Legacy Leagues career, Avedisian has shown talent, heart and strong leadership goals, all characteristics of a teammate any player would like to have.
When asked about his explosive start to his rookie season in the Legacy Leagues, Avedisian remained humble and made his intentions for the rest of the season clear.
“I appreciate the love I’m getting,” Aveidisian said. “To be honest I’m just trying to play and win a championship. My game will speak for itself, if people want to vote for me for awards I’ll be appreciative, but my personal success will be winning a title.”
The RI Warriors find themselves seventh in the standings through three games, and use any doubt from the analysts as fuel for the rest of the season as they get ready to take on the Halfway Crooks in Week 4.
“I love the underdog role,” Avedisian said. “People can say what they want, but on the court all the talking is over, it’s time to see what you’re about. There can only be one at the finish line and the RI Warriors intend to be that one!”
