- The basketball regular season is 12 weeks long, 14 weeks until Championship Saturday, and 16 weeks long for the teams and myself that reach the state final four!
- Westfield's Carson Swanson is off to a grand start to the 2025 season. The senior guard has posted three consecutive high scoring outings of 35, 31 and most recently 41 points. That puts his season average at 35.7. Based on my preseason projection of Westfield facing Randolph in a rematch of last season's Class C Championship game, if Swanson were to continue scoring at this clip, he would claim the all-time scoring record from Jaiden Harrison one year after he broke it. Stay tuned.
- Despite an 0-2 start to the season for Clarence, I think the Red Devils will be just fine. They play hard, play together, and have a nice blend of guard play and size. Losses to Lockport and Nichols are not bad losses, and it should be noted that the team was missing it’s two returning starters from last season, Greg Erbacher and Bryce Tubin. Clarence at full strength should be able to compete for that Class AA1 title come March.
- Wilson has a dynamic duo that’s worth checking out. Aidan Neumann is a smooth do-it-all guard with good instincts and vision. Ryan Hough offers the team pure athleticism, a little bit of length, and absolutely plays his tail off. He also gets up and bends the rim effortlessly, like 7 #BOOMs in his first two games effortlessly. Both are juniors.
- Niagara Falls plays every good large school in Western New York this year, literally. That’s what the independent schedule has afforded them, and they are taking full advantage of. In addition, they are playing even better teams out of the area. They also have the ability to beat any of the other teams in our area. I'm not necessarily predicting that will happen, but they are certainly capable. Falls has St. Joes visiting on December 23rd and they head to Delaware Avenue two weeks after that, if anyone is interested.
- You never quite know what you’re going to get when walking into a Yale cup gym for a game. What I mean by this, is there is always a JV game that proceeds it. It seems like the vast majority of times I go to a Yale Cup game, the JV game prior is a wild affair that ends with at least one overtime session, and some of the purest amateur entertainment. Sometimes it’s good basketball, sometimes it’s pure madness, but always an unforgettable part of my winter travels.
- There have been 10 scoring performances of 30 points or more so far this season. Three of them belong to Carson Swanson of Westfield and two of them came from Eden. The second highest output of the season was Chris Krencik of the Raiders scoring 36 points in their season opening win over Gowanda. One week later, Eden beat them again and this time Tyler Wakelam dropped 34 points.
- Grand Island looks like a team that got a taste of real success last season and now they want more. They reached #BuffState and look like a lock to do it again. They are balanced, play fast and have chemistry that feeds off each other. It doesn’t hurt that Jayce Wylke is a stand out.
- When I walked into Medina for their game against Lancaster, I was greeted by the two officials assigned to the game. This is the best game of the night they asked? "I think so," I said. Three overtimes later...nailed that one. What a thriller I got to enjoy! There was so much to keep track of. I will try to summarize it like this: the heart and fight that two teams show as they go back-and-forth and look on the verge of winning a game like that is just awesome. Justin and Ryan Hartwig combined for 61 points and their teammate, Ashton Sikora, played so well once he got into game that head coach Craig Krempa couldn’t take him out. That game had no losers, both teams were awesome.
Medina had a couple talented players check in after needing to sit the first quarter, and contribute regularly after that. I’m not suggesting that the game turns out differently if they played the first eight minutes because I don’t think it would’ve. But what I will say is there’s a lot to be excited about with that basketball team at Medina and there’s a reason they were able to compete with a larger school like they did last night. I hope the young talent there all completely buys in and fully commits to the program, because they have the potential to win a sectional title while they’re there. Cole Callard was very good for them, but he’s only one of two seniors on that team. Jerrell Nealy, Preston Woodworth, Jayzon Wills, Christian Moss, Azion Johnson, Kolton Fletcher, Briley Allen & Jimmy Dieter all played minutes in that game as underclassmen.
- I want to commend Bennett for last Thursday. The BPS canceled school that day, but that didn’t stop the Tigers from securing a bus and taking the hour-long ride north that night, when the kids didn’t even have to be in school that day. Bennett still showed up at the Newfane Tip-Off Tournament, brought some fans and some energy, and went out there & competed hard. Their JV team did the same and then cheered loudly in full support for 32 minutes as the varsity team played.
- Last year, I watched Isaiah Hill run the football at Maryvale and couldn’t wait to see it again this year. Unfortunately, when I went to watch it this year, he only played on the defensive side of the ball, as he was recovering from an injury. But I did get to watch him play basketball last week, and I’ll say that it’s always fun to watch a future Division I football player grind away under the basket. Hill will be making plays for the basketball team all season.
- Olmsted's Tacari McCray can straight shoot it. From outside, getting to the basket, and so smooth with those mid range pull-ups. He is so good at altering his shot against the momentum of his body. Pure score.
- Timon had a player check into the game at Niagara Falls on Saturday that immediately jumped off the page at me and had an impact in the game. He’s a freshman. Get a load of Malak Bontzolakas when you get a chance to watch Timon this year. The Tigers got a good one for the present and the future.
- I will leave you on this note… Of all the games I’ve seen so far (20 different teams already), the team I can’t wait to see again is Lew-Port. They were so entertaining to watch because of the way they play. It’s as if all moving parts are connected. Constant ball movement and subtle manipulation of the defense creates open looks and they have some kids (Greydan Barnwell, Michael Wylke, & Devan Barnwell) that can really knock down shots. All three are underclassman and the latter two are freshmen. This isn’t a team with size or depth, but the skill, chemistry, and heart of this team is undeniable. They look like a small school and the teams in Class B should be delighted that they are not, because I think they’d win the section if they were. Expect to see that group at #BuffState in Class A2 this season.
-🏀centercourt🏀
Always enjoy your Random Smatterings.
Posted by: Nelson Adams | Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at 04:11 PM