Listen to WGR 550 this Saturday at 10:00 am

Be sure to tune in to WGR Sports Radio 550 this Saturday morning at 10:00 am for Inside High School Sports. The topic of this weeks show will be boys high school basketball in WNY.

Tony Caligiuri will host a round table discussion with featured guests. In studio will be Grand Island head coach Nate Beutel, Tapestry Charter head coach Earl Schunk, St. Joe's head coach Mark Simon, and myself.

If there is a topic you would like to hear about during the discussion, leave it in the comments section below.

-centercourt

40 responses to “Listen to WGR 550 this Saturday at 10:00 am”

Tripp

January 6, 2011

Topic: Who is the best Point Guard in Western New York?
These days you can rarely find a player that will sacrifice his scoring, and enjoy doing itfor the better of the team.

hoopster

January 7, 2011

Good question and not who is the best, but what type of point guard/player is best, one who has to have the ball ripped from his hands or be guarded by 5 people before he’ll give up the rock, yetis capable of putting up a lot of points or the player who always hits the open man, doesn’t force or take bad shots and makes his teammates better while still scoring effectively although maybe not in bunches like the first player.
However the one I think Tony and the rest of the Gr55 team need to ponder is why such an excellent show is seemingly 80% commercials and 20% content. I stopped listening long ago because of all the ridiculous commercials and that’s while recognizing the priceless nature of listening to, reading comments from or just talking hoops with Nate Beutel, Mark Simon, the Duke of Earl and of course our maestro here on the board CC. Don’t believe Schintz’s shoes can be filled by anyone person though. It will take a team effort.

Sec6Fan

January 7, 2011

Hoopster,
I couldnt agree more. It is very frustrating during the football season and the basketball season to tune in and hear 80% commercials. If only we could get the prep talk comment section booming once again.. along side with Centercourt blog booming and 80% basketball talk on GR55, that would be some progress.

Earl Schunk

January 7, 2011

Guys…
That is a great question, and I have been fortunate to have coached a number of great point guards. The past 2 years, I have had 2 very different yet very effective point guards, the multi faceted Chris Holland and now the lightning quick Daz Knight. Chris sees the floor better than anybody I have had and is like a coach on the floor. Daz is ideal for our present style of play at Tapestry. He is simply the fastest guard with the ball right now in WNY. The thing that they do have in common is their unselfishness and willingness to make the RIGHT play. The best point guard I ever had wad Jairo Hernandez, he was as fast as Daz with the ball, and while he wasn’t a big scorer, he could score when necessary. What set him apart was his defensive play. He realized that at 5’6″, he had to guard people full court and use his quickness. He had other point guards so afraid of losing the ball that often other people would bring the ball up court.
I have seen many excellent point guards over the years. I think unselfishness, basketball IQ, and the ability to play tough defense are the most important qualities.

BullsFan

January 7, 2011

Jairo and Copolla were two of the best that I can recall in recent history. They were both very undersized, but used their speed and outstanding effort to be very, very effective.
You definitely have to consider some of the outstanding point guard play of Tim Winn, Jason Rowe and Maceo Wofford, all from the mid-90s.
As for this year, while I haven’t seen Daz play (this year), he is certainly putting up some impressive numbers, and piling on the wins for Coach Schunk. Nevins is a great talent at Canisius. He is a good leader, and is surrounded by some very good complimentary players. Chris Holland is the biggest of the point guards, and is bigger than many of the players on his team, but is a great floor general. He can pass well, but his best attribute is scoring at will whenever it is needed. I hoped that he would have improved a little more over the past couple of years, but he is still an outstanding player today.

jackherlan

January 7, 2011

I believe point guard at the high school level may be the MOST important position to have. A good point guard can make up for a lot of weakness in other areas.
We were fortunate to have two outstanding PGs in’04 and ’06 in Tim Spitler and Dominic Cook that I would put up with anyone in that decade.
Holland and Nevins are probably at the top of the list this year.

Sec6Fan

January 7, 2011

Centercourt,
If the Yale cup was not split into two divisions I would like to know how you would rank them; as say if you had to come up with the top 10?

centercourt

January 7, 2011

Here’s my short list of the top point guards in WNY:
Aaron Nevins
Tremmell Fisher
Chris Holland
Kevin O’Connell
Daz Knight
Sterling Taplin
Joey Campion
Dondre Alexander
Brennan Moxham
JJ Wilkes
Erik Simmons
Aaron Frazier

centercourt

January 7, 2011

Sec6Fan –
1. Riverside
2. East
3. McKinley
4. Grover
5. Middle College
6. Hutch Tech
7. Bennett
8. Lafayette
9. City Honors
10. Seneca

hoopster

January 7, 2011

Great to see. A lot of fantastic discussion.
Sec6Fan, I’d settle for 70-30. Perhaps then it would be something other than the commercial hour. John Murphy remains my favorite radio personality. He was so much better than anyone we have currently and I believe he was far better then than he is now.
As far as point guards go, Jonny Flynn has to be head and shoulders the best in the last decade. One of my favorites was Dominic Cook. Other than Flynn I think I’d take him over any other pg.

BullsFan

January 7, 2011

CC – you have to add Arts to the list of your top 10 Yale Cup teams. I know that their record is strong (while against weaker competition so far), but after seeing them the other day, they look pretty decent. I would definitely put them ahead of at least a few of the teams that you have in there. They are pretty big, up and down their lineup. We’ll see what they do tonight vs Seneca.

centercourt

January 7, 2011

I considered Arts, but its opponents to this point have been Roy-Hart, CCA twice, Gowanda, Springville, and Olmstead. What do I take from that? Most glaring was the Cavaliers only edging Roy-Hart by two.
I’m pretty confident that City Honors and Seneca would fare better against Roy-Hart and also be unbeaten having played Arts schedule to this point. So with only having that to go on, I couldn’t see putting Arts ahead of any of the ten I listed. Maybe they will prove me wrong and beat Seneca tonight.

The Phoenix

January 7, 2011

here’s a few questions for you:
What will the impact be of so many schools not having modified basketball programs?
Maybe it’s just me, but are the refs getting worse? Seems every game is just a mess (very inconsistent)
How does Dunkirk and Tonawanda stack up against Wilson and Newfane? Seems like Wilson Newfane will be the favorites to meet in the section 6 B finals…
Will the Buffalo News ever give any press to the small schools? Tired of hearing about Williamsville. Will the Union Sun ever give any press to anyone other than Niagara Falls and Lockport?

Mr Greco

January 7, 2011

Question to think about……….
Is this a down year in HS basketball or were we spoiled by so many good teams (players) in past years? I don’t recall so many games with teams only scoring 20,30 or 40 points. When Sweethome and lackawana are only putting up 30+ points in games, something is strange.

BBall fan

January 7, 2011

Mr Greco,
All High Schools will have down years. Lets be positive and find some good things about the teams that are playing well. Sweet Home and Lackawanna have been blessed with players over the years. Now the coaches have to step up and have their teams ready by sectionals with limited talent. It will be interesting to watch how it turns out. Private schools can always reload by recruiting. Public schools play whoever attends their school. Congrats to Tonawnada and Will East on having great seasons so far !! They may be the new kid on the block in High School basketball which is ok with me.

Tripp

January 7, 2011

Who are the best “wing” players in WNY?

Bball Fan

January 7, 2011

CC,
How do you think North matches up with Hill and Funk tonight?

centercourt

January 7, 2011

The Phoenix, a few answers for you –
The impact of not having modified sports will obviously be felt. How much is really hard to answer and will depend how each individual school district handles the promotion of sports to the levels below JV.
Until the refs are sitting in the bleachers, they will always be called inconsistent.
Wilson won’t have to worry about Dunkirk or Tonawanda because they are both Class B1. The Lakemen’s biggest obstacles to their first ever sectional title appears to be Cleveland Hill, Southwestern, City Honors, and Cassadaga Valley. They blew a big opportunity to win B2 last year and while they are once again the favorites, they need more offensive options to emerge before March.
I have yet to see Dunkirk, but they beat Olean by 16 and Olean beat Middle College (ranked #2 in last poll from December) by 10. Tonawanda would definitely give Newfane a game, and so would JFK. Then there’s Lackawanna who you have to be worried about somewhere in the back of your mind…and Alden who just beat them. So, like Wilson, I think Newfane should be favored to win B1, but there are plenty of schools capable of knocking them off.
The Union Sun & Journal is a one man sports department and all John D’Onofrio cares about is Lockport. That message was clearly sent when he chose to cover the Lockport girls playing NT rather than the Newfane and Wilson game. Instead of covering a pair of top five small schools in WNY (the top two small schools in Niagara County) playing a rivalry game in a packed gym, he went to a gym that was over half empty to cover a team that lead by 54 after three quarters.
The Newfane/Wilson game got a three sentence blurb that incorrectly stated that the game was for a share of first place in the N-O. The winner, Newfane, is the only remaining unbeaten in league, and in first place.

centercourt

January 7, 2011

BBallfan –
I think Clarence matches up real well with Williamsville North, but I like the Spartans to win at home. That was on my radar for tonight, along with Lackawanna @ Tonawanda and Riverside @ Hutch Tech. But I just found out that I won’t be able to get out in time for any of those games, so my only hope tonight is catching some of Barker @ Newfane.
I’d love to read some recaps of the games on here tonight, especially the ECIC I game at North.

Jelly Donut

January 7, 2011

Love Kevin O’Connell this year…matchup nightmare with huge upside

Jelly Donut

January 7, 2011

Mind boggling about the US&J coverage. I love Johnny D, but what a silly choice the other night. We all know the Lockport girls are good and NT is bad. I wish CC could be back out on the N-O beat like a couple years ago. Him and Wertman side by side…like a bunch of tractor-riding farmers.

Bball Fan

January 7, 2011

How will North matchup with Funk and Hill? Who do you think will cover them?

Tripp

January 7, 2011

Scores do seem low this year and losing modified sports isn’t going to help that.
I would like to see some past stats and even some comparison between private and public schools, game averages.
I have always enjoyed defending my public and state college education. But with no modifieds and 6 more games a season at private schools, this dad will be forced to pay the tuition.

centercourt

January 7, 2011

My guess is Brandon Maranto guards David Hill and Farhan Hussain guards Tyler Funk.

WNYHOOPS

January 7, 2011

What’s this about no modifieds? Are NYS budget cuts forcing some or all schools to cut modified sports?

BullsFan

January 7, 2011

I guess I was wrong CC, but I thought Arts looked pretty good. They lost by 2 tonight to Seneca, so I guess they have a little less than I thought.

hoopster

January 7, 2011

Saw the North/Clarence game. It went to OT. neither team played particularly well. It was a low scoring affair. Think North won by 4 or so. Taplin warmed up in OT and hit a couple threes. Funk had a good game. He needs to be more aggressive though and his mates need to do a better job getting him the rock. Thought Jon Safir was and is the emotional leader of the North squad. David Hill was a non-factor. Maranto is like the pest on the opposing hockey team. You despise him unless he’s on your team. Thought he should have been called for an intentional if not a flagrant foul at one point. Unfortunately for Clarence Hill was a non factor.
As far as the game, Clarence seemingly had the game in control in the fourth then let North grab the lead only to have Funk hit two free throws with about 20 seconds left to send it into OT. Clarence did a good job keeping Taplin from getting the ball and their last second shot by Safir and attempted put backs by Hussain were off the mark.
Apparently North was missing one of their players who plays a significant role. I’m told he was in the hospital for tests. Let’s keep him in our prayers and wish him well.
Sorry for the disjointed report, but I wasn’t keeping notes nor do I have anywhere near the talent CC and McShea have. Fortunately Keith was there for the second half and I’m sure he will have a nice report.
Coaches Witherspoon and Kwitchoff were there to see Taplin.

hoopster

January 7, 2011

Here’s a link to the News web site and scoreboard. North won 60-55 with Taplin going for 30, didn’t seem like it, and Funk for 27. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/high-schools/#4

Hoops are #1

January 7, 2011

I think UB coaches were there to see Funk from Clarence, they were all over him and his parents after the game Besides why would they watch a freshman when they have three years to see him, they want to see seniors I would hope.

Was There

January 7, 2011

Hoopster,
I think Hill being a non factor was a credit to Safir shutting him down. Give the kid some credit for that.

JellyDonut

January 8, 2011

This is not a knock at all, but Funk is a D-III player. Maybe a partial D-II/NAIA if he finds the right fit. Tap will develop into a D-1 player in time.
Both good players and good kids.

centercourt

January 8, 2011

Thanks for the report hoopster! You call it disjointed, but Im thought it was the best game analysis I’ve seen on this blog since I launched it, so thanks a bunch for that. I agree about Maranto and I’d take him on my team any day – though I’d hate to have him guarding me. Who was he assigned to in this game, and how did the matchups that Bball fan was so curious about?

bul

January 8, 2011

Maranto and Taplin alternated on Hughes and Florio while Safir covered Hill, then Young and Hussian alternated covering Funk and their other big guy depending on fouls. Clarence tried to go man in the first half but could not handle the penetration of Taplin and Safir, thus forcing them to go zone where North had even more success before Clarence opted to go back to man for the 4th quarter and overtime.

McShea is God

January 8, 2011

Yo Center Court good job this blog seems to be rolling along nicely. Will b listening 2day 2 your show. Haven’t made it out 2 as many games as I would have liked this year. Taking 2 many trips. I hope 2 c u an Keith and Hoopster at the East-McKinley game Tuesday at 5:30. Should b 1 of the better Yale Cups games of the season.
CC any 7:30 game after that 1 we could all hit worth checking out?

The Phoenix

January 8, 2011

Good call on the US&J coverage….that was pathetic. Let’s see if they snap out of it and manage to cover the rematch…or, maybe they’ll cover the Lockport girls bowling team instead..

Guest

January 8, 2011

Clarence played zone the entire 2nd half and overtime, little man to man late. They actually took the lead by 6 or 7 when they stayed in the zone through out the third. Definate troubles with Taplin but neither Young nor Hussein could guard Funk. Hussein non factor, no offense. Ok on defense. Miranto – nonfactor, Young – big factor on offense – big late three pointer. Hughes was excellent for Clarence at point – no troubles handling ball at all. Great game to watch. Should be exciting to see these two again. Not much seperating them at all. Clarence should be top ten this week, even with those early season losses. North should stay at number five.

salpal

January 8, 2011

Did big kid play for st joes today the box doesn’t have him scoring against lockport. they got a tough one thur vs timon

centercourt

January 8, 2011

I don’t think he did. He didn’t play last night either.

jackherlan

January 8, 2011

Rolled his ankle Thursday at practice and didn’t play either game. We were just fine. Thanks for caring. 🙂

Rare Air

January 10, 2011

Surely the UB coaches were not all over Tyler Funk and his parents after the game. It would be breaking NCAA rules for them to so much as speak to him, why would you make this stuff up. It gives unreal expectations and is just a lie. They would be there to see a freshmen, many schools have kids verbally committing in 8th/9th grade. Recruiting is a serious game and if there is a GREAT young kid in your area you have to be involved with him from the beginning.