Previewing the 2nd Annual Centercourt Classic

Villa Maria College is the place to be this coming weekend.  The 2nd Annual Centercourt Classic will be the marquee event of the regular season, featuring a blockbuster lineup of playoff-type matchups served up just one week before the regular season ends.  What makes this unique is that all the games are played between teams who won't cross paths in the postseason, but that the matchups themselves are playoff-caliber and take place so late in the season.  

 

A total of 12 teams are participating in this event, with two games on Friday night and four more in an action-packed Saturday.  And these aren't just any teams, they are among the top programs in WNY, along with one of the very best from Section V.  Included are all five of the MMA large schools, the two highest-ranked public large schools, the top-ranked team in NYS Class B, the defending NYS Class A Federation Champion, and five defending sectional champs.  Six of the top 10 large schools from our area will be on hand, along with two top 10 small schools.  Nine out of the 12 teams participating will appear in this week's NYSSWA State Rankings.  

 

Friday, February 8th

Health Sciences vs. Randolph - 6 pm

- Health reached the NYSPHAA Class B Final Four in each of the last two seasons.  They are currently the #10 large school in WNY and Honorable Mention in NYS Class A.  The Falcons are led by Kam Briggs, who earned Fifth Team All-Centercourt and Fourth Team Class B All-State in 2018

 

- Randolph was the Class C Section VI Champion in 2017 and the runner-up in 2018.  They are currently the #9 small school in WNY  and #18 in NYS Class C.  The Cardinals are led by Tyler Hind who earned Fifth Team All-Centercourt and Second Team Class C All-State in 2018

 

Timon vs. West Seneca West - 7:45 pm

- West is the defending Section VI Class A Champion, led by Adrian Baugh who earned All-Centercourt Honorable Mention and Honorable Mention in NYS Class A.  

 

- Timon is led by Tahron Goudelock, who has stepped into a prominent role for the Tigers in his senior season.  What makes this matchup so intriguing is the backstory.  Des Randall, the current head coach at West, was the head man at Timon for two seasons before resigning in the spring of 2017.  Some of the players on the talented roster he had assembled there left the school to play elsewhere the following season, including Baugh, who followed Randall to West Seneca West.  Former two-time Player of the Year, Jason Rowe, took over the program at Timon and put his own stamp on the team.  Friday night is the first meeting between West and Timon since all of this went down and is certain to have both teams motivated for a win.

 

******

 

Saturday, February 9th

St. Joe's vs. Lew-Port - 1:30 pm

- St. Joe's is led by freshman standout Justin Glover, one of the top players in the Class of 2022.  The Marauders also gained a pair of transfers who have helped keep them very competitive in 6-8 Greg Poland and Daesaen Ashley, who earned All-Centercourt Honorable Mention as a sophomore at Amherst

 

- Lew-Port is currently the #6 large school in WNY and  Honorable Mention in NYS Class A.  The Lancers are led by freshman phenom Roddy Gayle and senior Trent Scott, who both earned All-Centercourt Honorable Mention in 2018, with Gayle also earning Tenth Team Class AA All-State.  The team also boasts Jalen Duff, who looks like the top 8th grader in WNY with his consistent high impact at the varsity level this season

 

St. Francis vs. Olean - 3:30 pm

- St. Francis was the Manhattan Cup runner-up in 2017 and the only local team to push Park to overtime this year.  They are currently the #3 large school in WNY and Honorable Mention in NYS Class A.  The Red Raiders are led by the senior trio of Dorion Ivey, Justin Poumpey, and Lucas Theisen.  

 

- Olean is the defending Section VI Class B1 Champion.  They are one of just two undefeated teams left in WNY, ranked #2 in WNY small schools and the #1 ranked team in NYS Class B.  The Huskies are led by NYS Hall of Fame coach Jeff Anastasia and Mike Schmidt, a Third Team All-Centercourt selection and Second Team Class B All-State in 2018.  Schmidt was also the sixth man on the State Championship team in 2016.  

 

Park vs. Irondequoit - 5:30 pm

- Park is the reigning NYS Class A Federation Champion, after winning the CHSAA State Title and the Manhattan Cup in 2018.  They are the #1 large school in WNY and ranked #2 in NYS Class A.  The Pioneers are led by Noah Hutchins who earned First Team All-Centercourt and First Team Class A All-State in 2018, along with Quentin Nnagbo, who was All-Centercourt Honorable Mention in 2018.  

 

- Irondequoit was the NYSPHAA Class A State Champion in 2017 and returned to the State Final Four in 2018 after defeating West Seneca West in the Regional, ending their unbeaten campaign.  They are currently a Top 10 large school in Section V and Honorable Mention in NYS Class A.  The Eagles are led by Freddy June and Josh Stenglein, with both earning Honorable Mention Class A All-State in 2018.  

 

Canisius vs. Niagara Falls - 7:30 pm

- Canisius has been WNY's most dominant program in the last decade, winning 7 of the last 10 Manhattan Cup Championships.  The Crusaders are currently the #3 large school in WNY and Honorable Mention in NYS Class A.  The Crusaders are led by Dwayne Vass, averaging 15.5 PPG for the Crusaders. 

 

- Falls has won three consecutive titles in Section VI Class AA.  They are currently the #2 large school in WNY and #8 in NYS Class AA.  The Wolverines are led by Jalen Bradberry, who earned Third Team All-Centercourt and Fifth Team Class B All-State in 2018, along with freshman Willie Lightfoot, who was Honorable Mention Class AA All-State last season. 

 

******

 

Admission for this event on either day is just $5 at the door and as always, parking is free.  The gym will not be cleared, meaning the ambitious fan could catch all four games on Saturday for an average of $1.25 a game!  The headliner between Falls & Canisius on Saturday will feature the NFHS Pep Band. 

 

After three straight days of cancellations last week, fans should be chomping at the bit to spend a couple days watching some of the best teams & talents on the hardwood this weekend.  Last season's CC Classic was awesome and we expect the Second Annual to be even better.  I look forward to having you all there!!

 

-centercourt

Comments

[hoopster]

Keep up the good work CC! Very impressive!

[hoopster]

Nice to see CC taking front and “center” in the TBN.

“Park, Niagara Falls win Centercourt games” nice header in TBN’s online article tonight.

[pjb]

Classic was great again this year!

Matchups you don't get anywhere else.

[WNY Ball Fan]

Awesome games CC. Love the mix of private and public. Most of all got to see Olean up close and boy are they good. Early season POY prediction is Gayle, Bradberry, Hutchins or Hemphill.

[Hoops fanatic]

Thank you CC for all you do!!Time to start thinking about post season!! All Wny ..All center court... Hutchins, Hemphill Gayle locks!! Lightfoot.. Schmidt... Bradberry?? ... let he fun begin!! Remember this is suppose to be fun!! It’s all about the kids!!

[IMO]

Why is Gayle or Hemphill a lock over Schmidt, Bradberry,or lightfoot? One lock should be Hutchins. Hemphill impressive career yes and team success great. Schmidt, Lightfoot and Bradberry , hemphill , Gayle should be on level ground. Dont let inflated stats sway what those three guys do in a team framework. Hemphill with team success if they beat park maybe gains edge over others.Mason Goodridge leading scorer in WNY and great career should be on the bubble also.

[Buffalobill]

take any one of those kids off their team... which team suffers the most? A few of those kids have missed games, Teams still win.

[IMO]

I think every team is still good .Olean suffers the most losing Shmidt, Ohara has 4 studs, Lew Port has Scott and the young kid, Falls has Bradberry without lightfoot and vice versa. Park proved to be good without Hutchins beating Francis. All top ten teams still . Olean is one team that would fall out top 10 without Shmidht.

[snyb]

okay, but put Scott on Olean and they would be even better, no disrespect at all to Schmidt. Tough kid. Gayle and Hemphill are "bigs" (for high school.) Goodridge, Hutchins and Scott as perimeter. Bradberry is amazing, but I prefer Lightfoot's game. Gayle, Lighfoot or Bradberry probable POY next season but when it's iffy look to honor the seniors

[wnyhoopsguy]

What about Gayle, Lightfoot and Bradberry all reconnect at NFHS as they are all Falls kids next season? That would be scary and entertaining for the area.

[snyb]

wnyhoopsguy, interesting thought but not sure who would get what touches. Gayle still has Duff with him next year and it's a good match with Bradberry and Lightfoot. I think Montgomery from NF is senior as is Harris but they keep Turner next year

[snyb]

Maybe CC could ask the top 25 players who they would like to play with or not play against. Hemphill is a pretty strong defender but had a hard time trying to cover Scott. Park plays everybody, would love to hear Hutchins rate various opponents. in the end its a team game and that cant be overstated

[PJB]

How can there be no mention of Quentin Nnagbo of Park in a discussion of the best players in WNY. Is the best big in the area by far. Hemphill and Gayle are perimeter players who happen to be tall, they are not bigs. No way they could guard him in the post, much to physical for either of them. He dominated the NF game and was a monster in the Centercourt Classic arguably against the best competition Park has played this year.

Will be interesting to see if he can complete the trifecta against Ohara tomorrow.

[Real talk]

Scary thing the pound for pound most talented kids are all from the same area.....
Top 8th-Duff
Top 9th-Gayle/Lightfoot
Top 10th -Bradberry

[IMO]

PJB 100 percent correct on Park Big , he is most dominate big in area and a key for Parks success.

[Mad Mike]

PJB Park played Albany academy that's the best team in the state. Also Poumpey should be in first or 2nd team for Frannies. They beat us fairly with a little ref help last week. I'd take Hutchins POY in a landslide. Schmidt is a good kid but not first team worthy. Don't overlook Nnagbo and Hutchins both on first team.

[Wny]

Poumpey avg 8pts a game and his team has 9 losses...No way first or second team....
Your teams record should matter when it comes to voting....

[snyb]

All good points. No disrespect to Nngagbo. Had a longer-post I cut down where I mentioned him. Player! Most serious post player but still may not have next level size. GREAT player, well coached. GREAT kid. More impressed with Canisius guard play than Frannies. Paumpey, Schmidt etc worth the price of admit for sure. Whole area under-rated but need more true bigs. Stick with Hutchins, Goodridge and Scott on perimeter. Future classes may be better on the whole. Lightfoot and Bradberry pure assassins when on a roll, both ends of court. Goodridge and Gayle could score 50. Hutchins and Scott can be both end dominant. Gayle, on the floor for loose balls and above the rim for rebounds. Again, it is a team game

[Yalecup]

Gayle a big?? Have you watched him play?? He clearly is the most diverse player in the area. He plays pt... wing and can post when needed. “Baby Magic” ( magic Johnson for you youngsters). Hutchins will hands down win POY!! I have rarely seen 2 players from the same team earn 1st team all WNY! Lightfoot and Bradberry could very well be the next time!! You have Briggs from health science no one is mentioning. Schmidt is a steady consistent player, a coaches dream as a pt guard. Yes the big from
Park is tough and has worked hard to make a name for himself, but will be a second team pick.
Hutchins (POY)
Hemphill
Gayle
Lightfoot
Schmidt
Bradberry

[Yalecup]

Gayle is “baby magic” plays everywhere!!

1sr team
Hutchins (POY)
Hemphill
Gayle
Lightfoot
Bradberry
Schmidt

2nd
Nangbo
Briggs
Goodridge
Stewart
Brooks

[IMO]

Jamond Jones? Dorian Plummer? Stineman? Hind? Baugh? Harris(Ohara), Jones(health Science)

[PJB]

Harris is the kid who makes Ohara go. Most important player on the team. Plays good defense, distributes and makes big plays at key moments without forcing things.
He keeps Hemphill and Siner engaged, when they start to get off point after calls don't go their way or they turn the ball over.

[PJB]

Another kid that needs to be considered is Mitchell from WSE. I have been very impressed by him.

[IMO]

I have followed Ohara seen 10 plus games this year I agree Hemphill gets the press but Harris is most valuable. Hopefully he gets rewarded, after hemphill he should be next in line for ohara as far as any honors go.

[Schmidt 1st team]

Just read through a bunch of comments that are all decent banter but 2 things jumped out as crazy talk. If you replaced Schmidt with Scott from LewPort they would take a huge step back. Schmidt is the ultimate team player and Scott quite frankly is not though a good scorer. And Poumpey 1st or 2nd team? Schmidt proved head to head that he is a much better PG and if you couldn't see that watching them play then there is no helping you.

[Ll]

Briggs is not even the best player on his team,the pg Jones is there best player.....

[Sectionals]

What about predictions for sectionals and MMA ?

MMA A Park
B Ohara

AA Falls
A Health Science
B Olean
C Middle Early
D Panama

[Steve Wozniak]

Schmidt is an ultimate team player. Not first team level player but all the intangibles I can see him making it. Sure he is not on same level as others but brings stuff that does not come in stat sheets. Also agree with the WSE kid getting first or 2nd team. Also do not sleep on Stewards and Mullen from Amherst. Hutchins POY and Harris DPOY from Ohara.

[David Williams]

Maybe not the right forum for this, but does anyone know why the Buffalo News hired Josh Barnett over Keith McShea as the sports editor? Lisa Wilson had things running smoothly and McShea would have made it a seamless transition. Instead they choose a guy with zero passion and zero pulse for our area. Every week the polls come out and use a new picture from the Niagara Falls game against Lewiston Porter because apparently they don't have any other material. I'm guessing he sends someone to Cardinal O'Hara tonight...pretend to be a news outlet. It's really sad because it's not money that made the Buffalo News great it was passion. Again he has none. Thank goodness for CC, WNY Athletics, and Corey Desiderio taking a job with the Sun. They all have passion.

[Section6obs]

What makes WSE kid a first or second teamer? Asking a question because I have not seen him.His team is just average not a top 10 team? I would think more 4th to honorable mention. Is he putting up Devin Pope numbers ?

[snyb]

Schmidt is best passing PG I've seen this season and all hustle team. Droney is legit in post and Anastasia COY. Don't sleep on Amherst in sectionals. We will see O'Hara Harris tonight in biggest Private School Game of Year and Bradberry et al tomorrow in Niagara County Public Schools rematch. If O'Hara meets Olean at Fed it will be battle

[hoopster]

They brought in Barnett to get Bills’ Blitz off the ground. From what I hear that was a total and complete disaster. McShea moves on to deputy sports editor and again from what I hear he and Barnett didn’t exactly hit it off so McShea got transferred to news reporting. McShea was the best high school writer in my lifetime for TBN. CC does only boys’ hoops here and before starting this venture he wrote occasional articles for the Niagara Gazette. His writing and game reporting is outstanding. It’s a tremendous shame we can’t get Keith back on the “prep talk” beat. We were blessed for several years to have the best of both worlds with Keith and CC covering hoops at the same time.

[hoopster]

Hutchins is a lock for POTY.

[Parkrules]

So can we finally move on from the Ohara crazy hype after tonight . They are good but there best win is Canisius by a few points at home. Canisius has 9 losses. Game was never in question after first qtr .Best thing was I didnt have to leave my living room .Great stream ohara.Park head and shoulders above rest of comp in WNY.

[BPS]

Not a single mention of a kid from the BPS. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Maybe one of their coaches for COTY?

[David Williams]

@hoopster
Thank you for the insight. I remember the golden era you speak of and fear that's gone forever

[Vic Vinegar]

I'm still not sure on Hutchins for POY. Why not Gayle or Bradberry? Falls lost to Park early with ref help. Hutchins is great but his team beat St Francis without him.

[LB]

Hutchins is the player of the year...... sorry its really not a debate, and I seen falls/park and Park/LP, Park/Ohara ...Falls game had nothing to do with refs...yes they beat frannies without him , but noah was huge in wins over Falls, Ohara and Lew Port. I think Falls/Park now would be a toss up but playing first game of season Park was the better team.

[CM]

Vic...you ask why not Roddy or Bradberry? My question to you is why either of them over Hutchins? Would love to hear that case. So far your lone argument is Park beat St. Francis without Hutchins. I guess when I read a comment like that, it sounds like you want it not to be Hutchins, more than believing there's a more deserving candidate. Personally, I think it's the easiest choice in years so I'm curious to hear an actual case made against it.

[Vic Vinegar]

Bradberry and Gayle are leading teams in AA. Monsignor league teams are not really better than the rest compared to others. Hutchins is great but the turnaround for Lew Port cannot be underestimated. I believe Gayle and Bradberry averages more statistically too.

[WNYFan]

Vic, I agree with CM. You just don’t want Noah to win POY. You must have some ties to the other boys you mention or something. Hutchins in a landslide for POY.

[StateChamps2003]

Gayle is not leading a team in AA. Lew-Port is in A-2. Lew-Port's best win is a 4 point home win over NFHS after losing to them by 18 points earlier in the year. Hutchins and Park beat NFHS on their home court by 14. Not to mention that Park also beat Lew-Port by double digits this year. Park also owns wins over Cardinal O'Hara (a team that beat Lew-Port this year), McQuaid (a top 'AA' team in Rochester), Irondequoit (a top 'A' team in Rochester). Not to mention that Hutchins is one of 7 finalists for the NYS Mr. Basketball award.

The MMA is also far superior than Section 6 teams this year. Here are the records for some of the MMA schools against non-MMA schools from Section 6:

Park: 4-0
Canisius: 3-1
St. Francis: 5-1
O'Hara: 8-0
Nichols: 4-3

[PJB]

MMA is by far the best league in the area and Hutchins is the best player on the best team and has shown in competition vs the best teams to be the best player. It has not been this clear cut in a long time.

[Vic Vinegar]

StateChamps you are wrong sir. They did not beat NFHS at home it was in Lockport. I was also wrong with the AA talk so thanks for that. Gayle is still leading that team. Scott should likely make 2nd or 3rd team too! Sure the records show great but outside of Park and Ohara I am not sold.

[StateChamps2003]

"Gayle is leading that team"...a strong argument.

Outside of Park and O'Hara, the other three teams are a combined 12-5. Those wins include teams over West Seneca West, South Park, Health Sciences, East, Tapestry, Lackawanna. Lew-Port has wins over two quality opponents. They'll be lucky to make it to Buff State if Health Sciences is indeed their quarterfinal opponent.

[Mad Mike]

Can't believe what Vinegar is saying. Hutchins is clearly best now and POY that Johnson is gone and Park beat my Frannies twice. Although I still think we can win in playoffs baby! I agree with someone that said look out for Amherst. I think that guard duo will be something special come buff state.

[Red]

Agree with some of the takes on Park. Good team with arguably the best player. I think O'Hara should have won that game. No help from refs and we missed way 2 many shots we normaly would make. Can't wait for playoffs. Amherst, MEC, Francis amd City honors will surprise alot

[WNYfan]

Red, come on. Give some props to Park. They forced O’Hara into taking bad shots by playing good defense. Also, Park was very poised and disciplined and O’Hara wasn’t. One more thing they had no answer for Noah Hutchins. O’Hara just not on Parks level. Go Park. Very happy for Coach Tony and O’Hara on a good season.

[Flava Flave]

Red say City Honors and Francis will surprise a lot. But since you trying to make excuses for Park thumpin OHara I guess one dumb statement deserves another. Take this to the bank and deposit it homes...Honors and Francis don't win another game this season. YEAH BOY!

[Mad Mike]

Frannies got robbed. Park got lucky. Lew Port showing their amongst best. Love this time of year.

[WNYfan]

Mad Mike, it’s a tough break what happened to Frannies but you need to overcome bad calls as a team.( that being said, it’s a conflict of interest with a certain person being on the MMA board).Park did enough to win down the stretch and in OT. I don’t think it was luck I just think Park started playing their game. As far as Lew Port goes they’re a good team but not a Park or O’Hara.

[Tony]

Lew-Port is closer to OHara than OHara is to Park. Those 3 along with Olean and Niagara Falls are the top 5. St. Francis is a .500 or below team almost annually and this year was barely a sliver above that. The semifinal between St. Francis and Canisius might be the most talked about battle for second place ever, because that's all it was.

[WNYHoopsssss]

Park is #1 proven , everyone has a bad game they did vs Joes and sill won.Unless they slip big time vs Canisius. Ohara, LP, Falls and Olean are all lumped in together. After LP what is Oharas best win ? A 3 point win over Canisius? A team Falls beat by around 20 and Park by 30. Olean has to play more quality opponents before they are considered in the same tier as these other teams. There best win is????? Tapestry who Health beat by 40 and Frannies who is the most overrated team in WNY this year.
After Park its a toss up between LP, Falls, Ohara.
I do think that Amherst and Will North might enter equation with possible upsets on Saturday nigh. Both teams are flying under the radar.