BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Players, teams and games to watch for in 2008-09
Must-see players
• Kelvin Agee, Niagara Falls: It was Paul Harris’ team, then Jonny Flynn’s, then Rahshon Tabb’s. Now it’s Agee’s.
• Will Regan, Nichols: The junior big man and major Division I recruit is even more polished and aggressive, thanks to a hard-working summer ballin’ at major AAU events.
• Chris Holland, Grover Cleveland: Excellent running the team, setting up teammates and he can score. Look at your program and do a double take. Yup, he’s a sophomore.
• Chris Secky, Maple Grove: No road trip needed to see the junior All-Western New Yorker play this year — see below.
• J. C. Tretter, Akron: Tigers big man could end up with around 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds, one of many reasons to check out what should be a great Niagara-Orleans race.
Look out ahead
• Brennan Moxham and Ethan Baker, Wilson: Sophomore point guard Moxham runs show, junior Baker can score. Didn’t we just say something about checking out the N-O?
• C. J. Cox, Niagara Falls: Junior reserve wowed ’em in win over Rush-Henrietta. Could lead Western New York in excitement per square inch.
• Blair Helton, Canisius: Smooth junior guard impressed in a sneak preview during last year’s postseason.
• Darin Butts, Jamestown: Sophomore who saw action at Buffalo State last year has expanded his game and his frame (up from 6-foot to 6-3).
• Blair Estarfaa, Maryvale: Younger brother of the standout guard (and running back), he’s a 6-3 smooth sophomore swingman.
Teams to watch
• Alden: Bulldogs are deep, including 6-7 Christian Barczykowski. A breakthrough football season could be followed by a breakthrough basketball season.
• Middle Early College: Features Timon transfer Darale Young, former Riverside standout Justin Stokes, both juniors, while sophomore Davon Alexander had 50 points and 33 rebounds his first two games.
• East Aurora: Up to ECIC III, down to Class B, and athletes up and down the lineup.
• Hutch-Tech: Everybody back from a team that went 5-15 but finished with a flourish by winning at Lake Shore and Williamsville South to reach Buff State.
• Maritime Charter: Militarytype school comes with players already disciplined, including a frontline of 6-5, 6-4 and 6-2. Already shown well despite tough schedule.
Games to watch
• Ad Pro Monsignor Martin- ECIC Challenge at St. Mary’s, Tonight: Akron (N-O toughie filled in after Hamburg withdrew) vs. St. Francis, 6 p. m.; Lackawanna vs. Canisius, 7:30. Thursday: Cheektowaga vs. Niagara Catholic, 5 p. m.; Lake Shore vs. Timon-St. Jude, 6: 30; Williamsville South vs. Nichols, 8. Friday: Williamsville East vs. Cardinal O’Hara, 5 p. m.; Depew at St. Mary’s, 6:30; Sweet Home vs. St. Joe’s, 8.
• Maple Grove at St. Joe’s, Dec. 15: Chris Secky and the state champs (that’s football and basketball) visit Kenmore Avenue at 7 p.m.
• Tom Keenan Memorial at Canisius, Dec. 19: New York City’s Fordham Prep vs. V-Bishop Kearney (Rochester), 6 p. m.; Grover Cleveland at Canisius, 7:45. Dec. 20: St. Francis vs. East Aurora, 11 a. m.; Grover vs. Kearney, 12:45 p. m.; Fordham Prep vs. Sweet Home, 2: 30; III-Utica Notre Dame at Canisius, 4:15.
• Niagara Falls at Jamestown, Dec. 23: Wolverines make quite the road trip to face the team they always seem to end up facing at Buffalo State.
• Niagara Falls vs. II-Bishop Maginn, Dec. 27 at Albany’s College of St. Rose: An even tougher trip — to Albany at the defending AA champions in a rematch of last year’s state final.
• IAABO Tournament, Dec. 26-27: Grover meets Section V’s Hornell and Olean takes on rival Bradford (Pa.) in the large school division at St. Bonaventure. In the small school division, old Class C rivals Maple Grove and Randolph clash while Allegany-Limestone plays Section V’s Wellsville.
• Williamsville Jolly Boys Tournament, Dec. 29-30: Very nice mix with St. Joe’s vs. Will North and Newfane at Will South.
• MLK Classic at ECC’s Flickinger Center, Jan. 17: The match-ups say it all: McKinley vs. Sweet Home, 10:30 a. m.; St. Joe’s vs. Lackawanna, noon; Canisius vs. Riverside, 2:30 p. m.; East vs. Nichols, 4.
• N-O/GR Showdown at Genesee Community College, Feb. 13-14: The Niagara-Orleans matches up with their neighbors in Section V’s Genesee Region league in a nice tuneup for the postseason.
Changes to adjust to
• Nichols is a large school: The Vikings have been placed in Class A by the Monsignor Martin Association, which was done last at midseason. It makes sense, since the Catholics statewide classify by strength. Timon-St. Jude, which was moved down to Class B last year, is also in Class A.
• Old school, new school: Seneca is now the Math, Science and Technology Prep School at Seneca, or MST Seneca for short, and is in Class D. . . . Middle Early College, a high school in which students are dual-enrolled in Erie Community College, is a new team in the Yale Cup this season, and plays its home games at ECC and is in Class A-1. . . . Maritime Charter (C) and Oracle Charter (D) have joined Section VI this year.
• Getting to the right class: Some classification ups and downs within Section VI:
— Hamburg, Sweet Home and Riverside moved down from AA to make A-1 that much tougher.
— Grover Cleveland, Bennett, South Park, Amherst and Starpoint all shifted from A-1 to A-2.
— The B-1 field is thicker with the return of Lackawanna and East Aurora from A-2 and Burgard’s rise from B-2. Springville, Tonawanda and Dunkirk also moved down from A-2.
— Buffalo Arts, Southwestern and Akron slid from B-1 to B-2, which also welcomed Allegany-Limestone from C-1.
— Class C is back to one class this year after being split into C-1 and C-2.
— The move with probably the biggest statewide repercussions is reigning Class C state champion Maple Grove moving down to Class D.
• ECIC ups and downs: Hamburg moved up to ECIC I from ECIC II; Starpoint moved up to II from III, East Aurora moved up to III from IV, Tonawanda moved down from III to IV. Buffalo Academy of Science left ECIC IV and is an independent.
• Hello, CCAA: The Southern Tier has merged into the Chautauqua- Cattaraugus Athletic Association. While Division I from the former CCIAC is unchanged, Divisions II and III now include East and West Divisions. Franklinville and Portville — formerly considered independents since they played in the intersectional Expressway League — both are in CCAA II East.
Preseason top 10
Just one voter’s tough look at the basket based on the early action:
• Large schools: 1. Niagara Falls; 2. Nichols; 3. Grover Cleveland; 4. East; 5. McKinley; 6. Frontier; 7. Canisius; 8. Jamestown; 9. Depew; 10. Williamsville South.
• Small schools: 1. Lackawanna; 2. St. Mary’s; 3. Maple Grove; 4. Alden; 5. Akron; 6. Wilson; 7. Olean; 8. East Aurora; 9. City Honors; 10. Randolph.
— Keith McShea
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