(Jon Abaya led North past WSW with 18 points, 15 rebounds, & 5 blocks)
- Williamsville North has started the season 5-0 and in the process, already taken a one-game lead on last year's defending champ in ECIC I, West Seneca West. The Spartans have size, depth, and balance, and two players who have really stood out in the two games I've seen them play are guard Jacob Belote and forward Jon Abaya (pictured above).
- West Seneca East 7th grader Jaiden Lewis is averaging over 11 points per game in his first three varsity outings.
- Following the Wolverines rout over Timon, I was asked several times how a team that good was beaten so soundly by Park. The first three reasons that came to mind were Noah Hutchins' ability to handle the Niagara Falls pressure without incident, Quentin Nnagbo being a major difference maker in the paint, and Park's defense.
- Two sophomores who would've made my Season Preview Player Watch list if I did it again today would be Clarence's Zach Ianello and Canisius' Joe Ciocca, who earned the Tom Keenan Memorial Tournament MVP.
- Franklinville freshman JoshHaskell scored 24 points in an OT win over Salamanca.
- West Seneca West has started the season 0-4. The Indians were my preseason pick to win Class A1, and despite their current record, I will stand by my prediction. I had them ranked number eight in my preseason large school top 10, and three of the losses came against teams I had ranked ahead of them (Canisius, North, & St. Francis). The other loss was to Aquinas. Once the focus shifts solely to the team on the court at West, they will become a very dangerous group. The addition of Maurice Robertson from Sweet Home has been a welcomed one for the team, as he has produced at a high-level early.
- St. Francis looked great when getting to the rack and in transition in it's win at the ADPRO challenge.
- While the NYSSWA state rankings are far from an exact science and I definitely take my weekly shots at them, they should be viewed as far more credible then those you'll find on Max Preps. While Max Preps is an excellent resource for game results and other features, the rankings on that site are laughable.
- My preseason pick to win ECIC II was Amherst. My new pick today would be the five time defending champs from Williamsville South, who stayed unbeaten in the division with a key win over West Seneca East on Thursday night, after East had just defeated Amherst. In two looks at the Billies this year, I like what I've seen.
- Southwestern & Allegany-Limestone our two teams that fans north of Orchard Park may not be aware of, but should be. Southwestern went back-and-forth with Jamestown (who just won at Clarence) all game and lost a two-point decision on opening night, but followed it up with a 12-point win over Tapestry. Meanwhile, the Gators have started the season undefeated with all of their wins coming by double figures. There's a reason why both our top 10 small schools.
- After dropping their first two of the season, Tapestry responded with a three-game tear in which they averaged 87 points per game.
- Cal Shifflet of Williamsville East is averaging 18.5 points and 13 rebounds per game through his first six outings for the Flames. Freshman point guard Max Schneider has 7.5 points & 7 assists per outing during that same stretch.
- Monday night, Mason Goodrich became the first player in Springville history to score over 1,000 points in his career.
- The Schedule on my site should always be double checked before heading out to a game. After receiving everyone's schedule for the season, I rarely get an update when a game time, location, or date changes. Other outlets with bigger & better Season Previews and more consistent coverage might get those updates, but not this guy.
- Salamanca sophomore Issac Brown scored 21 points for the Warriors in a four-point win over Pioneer.
- Jordan Nwora, a two-time First Team All-Centercourt selection and NYS Federation champion from The Park School, is leading the Louisville Cardinals in scoring & rebounding in his second season there.
-centercourt
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