Monday, January 31st
McKinley @ I-Prep - 6 pm
Canisius @ St. Mary's - 6:30 pm
Nichols @ St. Francis - 7 pm
Tuesday, February 1st
Ken West @ CSAT - 6:30 pm
Iroquois @ Williamsville East - 6:30 pm
Salamanca @ Fredonia - 7:30 pm
Allegany-Limestone @ Olean - 7:30 pm
Sherman @ Panama - 7:30 pm
Clymer @ Westfield - 7:30 pm
Wednesday, February 2nd
St. Joe's @ Aquinas - 6:30 pm
Jamestown @ Orchard Park - 7:30 pm
Thursday, February 3rd
Burgard @ Olmsted - 6 pm
CSAT @ Lockport - 6:30 pm
Lew-Port @ Niagara Falls - 6:30 pm
Nichols @ Timon - 6:30 pm
Cheektowaga @ Depew - 7 pm
Canisius @ Health Sciences - 7 pm
Friday, February 4th
Centercourt Classic at Hamburg HS
Iroquois vs. Niagara Wheatfield - 6 pm
Cardinal O'Hara vs. Hamburg - 7:45 pm
Saturday, February 5th
Centercourt Classic at Hamburg HS
Nichols vs. Niagara Falls - 12 pm
Williamsville East vs. Olean - 1:45 pm
St. Joe's vs. Amherst - 3:30 pm
Canisius vs. Jamestown - 5:15 pm
Health Sciences vs. East High (Rochester) - 7 pm
-centercourt
It's a shame that Centercourt doesn't cover all of its Buffalo teams. Park has been left out of all local reporting this year even though they have beating most local schools. Is this bias or just lack of reporting skills??
Posted by: Dion Lewis | Monday, January 31, 2022 at 08:33 AM
Dion -
I don't know what reporting skills I ever had exactly, but whatever they were or are, The Park School got as much attention from me as any school did from 2014 to 2021. And there's no bias...I live in Newfane & went to Wilson. Haven't seen either team play this season and unfortunately, I haven't even been to a game in the N-O League this season. There's never any bias, I pick the game I want to be at each night and I attend. It's most often whatever I deem is the best/most interesting game of the evening. Occasionally, I pass on the place I'd truly like to be at to create an opportunity to watch a team or player I haven't seen yet that is a big part of the WNY Hoops narrative for that season.
The bio on my Twitter account hasn't changed since Park entered the MMA in 2014 - Creator of The View From Centercourt, a website devoted to boys varsity high school basketball, covering Section VI and the Monsignor Martin Association of WNY.
The Park School was never a team I covered prior to 2014. Coverage began that season because they joined a league I covered. The frequency of coverage for any team within the parameters of Section VI & the MMA is always based on relevance of three factors: Being a Top 10 large or small school, being legitimately in the chase for a league title, and being a legitimate contender for a sectional championship.
I also covered CCA when they joined the association and stopped when they left to return to the IAC, which is where Park has also returned to. In my opinion, it's very unfortunate they left the MMA. For the first two seasons after Park's exit, they were in the NYSAIS. That at least came with a path to the state playoffs, something both Section VI & the MMA provide. I'm not even sure what the IAC does for a postseason, but it doesn't result in teams landing in the NYSPHAA or Federation championship chase, like all the teams I cover have the opportunity to do.
What is Park this year? Are they still a Class A large school? Are they now a small school? I really don't know. As far as the comment you made "even though they are beating most local schools"...here's a list of the one's they've beat: West Seneca West, Middle College, City Honors, & Tapestry. They've lost to Williamsville South, Health, and Jamestown. So "most" might be better stated as "beat more than we lost to in seven games", although still not a stellar resume that begs coverage based on the parameters above.
Shame is a strong word. Something you feel when you've done something awful. Doesn't really apply here. I did nothing awful, just provided a ton of coverage for a team over the course of 7 seasons. They chose to leave and they chose to return to the IAC. I don't cover JV, girls, or other sports. Just boys varsity basketball in Section VI & the MMA. It's just what I started doing years ago and what I've stayed consistent with.
I really hope Park rejoins the MMA. I very much enjoyed my time covering the Pioneers. If that happens, the coverage would resume. Chase Welch is having a fine season there and would likely land somewhere on The All-Centercourt Team if they were in the MMA. It sounds like the program is in good hands with head coach Manny Welch. Lots of great memories from Harlem Road and many great people there. Maybe we can all get together again next season.
Posted by: centercourt | Tuesday, February 01, 2022 at 04:40 PM
CC you do a great job.
Posted by: BD1 | Tuesday, February 01, 2022 at 06:14 PM
Thanks Chad and Dion ! we miss you at Park and hope things change next year also for the kids sake ! We have a lot of good young players that have been waiting patiently! Chase, Trey and Cam ! Go Park
Posted by: 🏀 | Wednesday, February 02, 2022 at 02:41 AM