THE VIEW FROM CENTERCOURT | Western New York Boys High School Basketball

Poll Ballots – Week Three

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centercourt42

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As a pollster for the Buffalo News, I'm asked to send in my weekly ballots ranking the top ten large and small schools.  The polls are based on games played through Sunday of each week.  Here's a look at how I see them and some of the rationale used to get there.

 

Large Schools

1. Niagara Falls (AA) – After seeing how good Bishop Kearney played without Chinonso Obokoh against Joe's, I place even more value on how well Falls played that BK team at full strength.  On Friday they get the herculean task of facing Milton (GA) in the Burger King Classic.  Check out these  highlights of Auburn bound Shaquille Johnson, just one of four Division 1 starters for Milton.

2. Canisius (MMA) – The Crusaders are ready for a test after throttling O'Hara and St. Francis by a combined 87 points.  We'll see if St. Mary's or McKinley is able to give them one this week.

3. Jamestown (AA) – One of the better stories of this season is the Red Raiders success despite losing two first-teamers from last season. 

4. Bishop Timon-St. Jude (MMA) – One of the best surprises this season has been the inside play the Tigers have gotten from DeMilo Gibbs.  He led Timon to a win as he scored 25 points against Walsh, who put its focus on limiting Kobis and Williams (a combined 16 points).

5. St. Joe's (MMA) – The Marauders own 20-point wins against Williamsville East and Buffalo East.  This week they go global, welcoming China's Shanghai Nanyang high school to Kenmore Avenue on Tuesday.

6. McKinley (A1) – The Macks passed the first of several tests in the Yale Cup with a win at Hutch-Tech.  They'll  have their hands full on Saturday.

7. Kenmore West (AA) – Only losses to the top two schools in WNY.  No other team has gotten to within 12 points of the Blue Devils.

8. Williamsville East (A1) – Hamburg totally stole the Flames' thunder by ending Williamsville South's ECIC II win streak.  Will East will now have to focus on ending the Billies league championship streak instead.

9. Clarence (AA) – After a big win over Frontier, the Red Devils are tucked in right behind Will East with a one-point head-to-head loss. 

10. Hutch Tech (A1) – Followed up a tough loss to McKinley by going into East and winning a tightly contested battle.

 

Small Schools

1. Olean (B1) – Is it outrageous to suggest that the Huskies should consider petitioning to play an independent schedule in the two seasons following this one?

2. Depew (B1) – After stunning the Lancers with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, the Wildcats dominated league rival Maryvale on the road. 

3. St. Mary's (MMA) – If there's a universal formula to apply when a team only losses by one on the road that would keep the Lancers in the second spot, I'm unaware of it.  For now, the Depew loss costs them one spot.

4. OTC/MEC (C1) – The Kats will have a chance to show everyone what they are made of when they face Stan Wier and the Blue Devils at the MLK Classic on Saturday.

5. East (B1) – How many small schools could beat Riverside?  Probably the four above the Panthers.  Like I said during the December beat downs, East will be just fine in the race for the Yale Cup.

6. Tonawanda (B1) – The first of three unbeatens in WNY.  I got my first look at the Warriors on Friday and came away quite impressed.  The best player in WNY that isn't being mentioned is Jesse Lalka.  More to come on him in the comments section.

7. Silver Creek (C2) – The second of WNY's unbeatens.  The unselfish style of the Black Knights is fun to watch.

8. MST Seneca (C2) – And the third.  Aaron Frasier is on a mission this year, and it continues Thursday when the Indians host I-Prep.

9. Newfane (B1) – They could have debuted much higher on this ballot if not for the loss to Albion.  They will fall off this ballot if they fail to end their five-year losing streak at Wilson.

10. Archbishop Walsh (MMA) – Wins over Portville, CSAT, Lackawanna, and Nichols was enough of a resume for me to give them the final spot.  Congratulations to Whelpley on his 2,000 career points.  The last guy to do that was Will Regan.

 

** With so many quality small schools vying for a place in the top ten, Panama and Dunkirk are left on the outside looking in.  For Panama, I had to consider whether the ten teams that got in would also have registered a pair of wins against Cassadaga Valley.  I believe they would have.

With Dunkirk, I wasn't ready to celebrate a loss.  Heck, in theory, a three-point loss to Olean makes them number two right?  Not really, or then we'd have to find a spot for Portville who only fell to the Huskies by nine (St. Mary's lost to Olean by eight).  East lost by 29, and I doubt anyone ranked Dunkirk ahead of them. 

A three-point loss to Olean would mean a lot more if there were any good wins to coincide with it.  Here's the list of schools Dunkirk has beat: Falconer, Eden, Brocton, Gowanda, Lake Shore, Frewsburg, and Southwestern.  Those seven schools have a combined 12 wins. 

 

-centercourt

79 responses to “Poll Ballots – Week Three”

  1. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    MIG showed us how he voted this week under the Random Smatterings Round 2 post, so I copied & pasted it here:

    Canisius, Falls, Jamestown, Timon, Joe’s, McKinley, H Tech, Riverside, K West, Clarence.
    Small I would go Olean, Mary’s, East, OTC Middle, Tonawanda, Depew, MST Seneca, Silver Creek, Panama, Dunkirk…..I don’t think a 1 point road loss drops Mary’s behind Depew, plus they played Joe’s so tough at Joe’s and Dwight Howard – I mean RA – on their team. And I mean, then there is that chicken parm Dan had in the media room so I would never put them 2 low. I mean that was SO good.
    East may have the best 5 losses EVER and will still lose 2 Olean in B1 I think. Dunkirk edges out Newfane and Walsh cause of how close they played Olean.
    -MIG

    Reply
  2. ? for MIG Avatar
    ? for MIG

    MIG, you give St. Mary’s and Easst credit for losing to St. Joe’s and you give RA such a hard time. But without a roster in front of you you probably couldn’t name two other players at Joe’s. So what is it about Joe’s that makes them good in your mind?

    Reply
  3. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    Joe’s won 2 big games in Syracuse. Beat McKinley by 1 I think so that is why I have them 1 spot ahead of them. Beat East soundly who I think will b in the B1 final in March. Joe’s and Timon u could almost say r tied.
    2 other players on Joe’s….hmmm I will go with Eric Eberz (I actually interviewed him when they lost in Albany in 1995 with Nova vs Old Dominion in 3 OT’s – great game!) and I figure there r like 20 Spitler’s out there so I’m guessing 2 or 3 of them r on Joe’s. How is that?
    I still think it was brilliant how Sal used his AAU connections 2 get Paige out of town despite the fact the rest of us wanted 2 c him play. I mean serioulsy great move by Sal. I will say this Jamestown CAN SHOOT! Not 1 player – ALL OF THEM! I could c them pulling off the upset March 3rd at 8:15 while I am eating Hot Dogs and drining Mountain Dew.
    Isn’t it a joke that alot of place don’t serve Mountain Dew…it’s like ‘we have Sprite’ well that’s nice but Sprite SUCKS! S Mist is even worse.
    PS – Nice that Andrew Webster called me ugly. 1 woman with a strong opinion and I get called ugly and short, yet Roger can continue 2 potentially eat himself 2 death but he gets a free pass.

    Reply
  4. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    Our polls are quite similar…I had Timon/J-town flipped, but not much between them. I still kept Riverside in there, but Clarence certainly deserving. Really only 11 teams that can make a rational case in the large poll.
    I do agree with Depew ahead of Mary’s, for now. I did not have Creek as high, but of course I have not seen them and you have. Again, with so many capable small school teams(I count about 18 or so), there can’t be many gripes with most configurations. I assume the Newfane/Wilson game will be for a spot, probably 6/7 if the winner follows up with a win later in the week.

    Reply
  5. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    Waiting to read the comments on Lalka. Watched him play against EA in the West Seneca tourney and was very impressed. He will put it up from anywhere.

    Reply
  6. Reggie W Avatar
    Reggie W

    Stan Weir is currently #1 in WNY in average points per game 4 the 2011-2012 season. If that remains the case at the end of March he must be given the player of the year award. That to go along with the fact that a well-respected Division 1 coach has already given him a free ride next year. Regardless of how his team does in the playoffs end of story. And I agree Reggie should not even be allowed to win the award due to how he was recruited from overseas.
    Let me guess…after Tuesday a couple ‘Asian’ big men will suddenly appear in Joe’s uniforms next year? Give me a break. At least Kyle Husband doesn’t go outside the USA for his players.

    Reply
  7. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    So since you lead WNY in ppg that automatically means you are POY in WNY? Weir will not win POY, and you can mark that down.

    Reply
  8. Mike Tomlin Avatar
    Mike Tomlin

    Hey CC you say winning by one at home puts Depew at #2? Are you insane? OTC, East, Mary’s on a neutral court, Olean would all crush Depew. Ask the 4 teams that lost NFL games this weekend if home court is not an ‘advantage’…you just throw out getting beat by Amherst? Beating Maryvale means something? Springville would beat Maryvale this year and they havne’t won a league game in like ten years. Homefield matters, HS or NFL.

    Reply
  9. CP30 Avatar
    CP30

    WT716 why did you change your name from ‘Panthers’
    Look in the movie Teen Wolf Scott’s Dad punked the principal when they were kids and he tried to take it out on Scott. You must have been punked by Stan’s Dad at some point in grade school and never got over it and now you are taking it out on Stan.
    Stan has a State Fed A title to his name. Something St Joe’s has never had and will never have. He is going division 1. That kid from Africa is getting ‘interest’ there is a difference. I agree with Reggie W, right now with the way he is scoring Stan is my player of the year.

    Reply
  10. centercourt (aka John Fox) Avatar
    centercourt (aka John Fox)

    Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
    If Tomlin was at home, he still would have left 10 in the box all game and got shredded.
    Should Timon be ranked ahead of Falls then? They only lost by three at Falls.
    Homecourt does matter, but actual results from games played trump hypothetical neutral court crushings.
    Are you insane? You have Clarence ranked and not Will East, who beat Clarence.

    Reply
  11. Mike Tomlin Avatar
    Mike Tomlin

    No because Falls is clearly better than Timon. There is a difference. Oh so Will East hasn’t lost any games after they beat Clarence at home? Maybe check who they lost to.
    I guess when we open the paper tomorrow and see Clarence is ranked and Will East isn’t we will see if you are correct or not.

    Reply
  12. Ball Avatar
    Ball

    Wait? Are you talking about this poll? Because Will East is ranked 8 above clarence at 9. I do not understand what your talking about?

    Reply
  13. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    Ea should win games they have a div. 1 player and are playing in a weak div. The bottom line if Stan scores 60 pts and they lose he did not help his team to win. It’s all about the win

    Reply
  14. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    I ranked Will East ahead of Clarence.
    The first comment shows how MIG voted. He has Clarence at #10 and Will East unranked.
    This despite Will East winning AT Clarence, and having not lost since.
    The confusing part may be where he suggests that I should check who Will East has lost to since beating Clarence and also that Will East won that game at home.
    To be clear: Will East beat Clarence at Clarence and has not lost since. I voted Will East ahead of Clarence.
    Apparently opening the paper tomorrow will show me that I’m wrong?

    Reply
  15. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    So because your leading WNY in ppg, you won a state title your soph year (thanks to Regan and Canestro), and you’re going D1 means you win POY your senior year? Right. I am not hating on Stan, just stating the obvious.

    Reply
  16. Reggie W Avatar
    Reggie W

    Roundman, if its all about the wins then that is great news for Weir. He has helped EA beat Springville, WS East, and Maryvale. So what if they lost to Tonawanda.

    Reply
  17. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    I agree poy needs to allow his team the chance to win not just by scoring but by rebounding,assists, steals, great defense,if he does those things the wins will come

    Reply
  18. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    If Stan is reallys scoring at that pace he should b the favorite. He is the only returning 2nd team player so he by all rights leads the field. As long as we use the same logic 4 RA we r using 4 Stan. If he can’t lead his team 2 at LEAST the Manhattan Cup Final he should not b considered 4 Player of the year.
    CC I think what Tomlin means is if Clarence is ranked in the paper tomorrow and W East isn’t that it will look like u made the wrong call. I mean this blog is nice, but it’s not the Buffalo News.

    Reply
  19. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    You’re right, it not the BN, it’s had considerably MORE coverage than the News during the past week.

    Reply
  20. Southtowns Mom Avatar
    Southtowns Mom

    As a real woman with a fairly impressive back ground in basketball, I grow disgusted with MIG and anything he posts (under his name or made up names and the opposite sex). His sole focus is to get people worked up and i think all his post should be taken with a huge grain of salt. One can’t tell if he is being honest or just mean. His most recent posts picking on Hollywood and Roger are R-E-DIC-U-LIOUS . I think McShea should remove him from his group of pollsters as he is a loose cannon.

    Reply
  21. An Unbiased Opinion, For Once Avatar
    An Unbiased Opinion, For Once

    I don’t see much upside with Wier. Good size, strong, decent outside touch, but very limited athleticism and not great off the bounce. MAC guards are quick and talented, will be tough for him to compete. He’ll make first team All-Western, obviously, but POY will go to the best player on who’s ever team’s goes the furthest. Hopefully, anyway.

    Reply
  22. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    The “pace” Stan Wier is scoring at is 24 pts per game.
    Thanks for clearing up what you think Mike Tomlin meant. That was how I took it anyway, and it still lacks any rational thought.
    Even though Clarence lost at home to Will East twelve days ago, if the News poll has Clarence ahead (which they won’t), I made the wrong call. Genius.

    Reply
  23. An Unbiased Opinion, For Once Avatar
    An Unbiased Opinion, For Once

    24 ppg isn’t exactly burning the barn down.

    Reply
  24. Patrick Moran Avatar
    Patrick Moran

    Im reallyyyyy tempted to drive down to Kenmore this evening to see this Chinese team play St. Joe’s.

    Reply
  25. SJCI Avatar
    SJCI

    Reggie is averaging 22 per game with alot more rebounds, blocks, and wins.

    Reply
  26. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    I think ra and Stan will not get their teams to the playoffs. Maybe we should discuss nf and canisius players as they will be there

    Reply
  27. Patrick Moran Avatar
    Patrick Moran

    BTW,
    I get a strong sense people consider this a lackluster/unexciting season because there isn’t a clear cut top team or Player of the Year in early January.
    I think that’s crazy.
    I enjoy this much more frankly, especially covering hoops. I love the fact there isn’t a 2010 Nichols team that everyone knows is going to win, or a clear-cut Player of the Year already. TO me, that makes things much more interesting.
    I’m a much-admitted MMA guy, and I absolutely love the fact that I don’t know who’s going to win the Manhattan Cup. Canisius deserves the be the favorite based on last year’s championship and a talented returning roster. But to crown them now is insane.
    If anyone thinks Timon is not capable of handling Canisius, you haven’t watched a second of Timon hoops this season. They are 8 deep, have production from a big man (which they didnt have last year) and have 2-3 guys off the bench that score as well as most their starters. I watched the game tape vs Niagara Falls twice and Timon should’ve won that game. (Having said that I think the Falls has the better team )
    St. JOe’s is known for Reggie and yes, if you stop him you usually will stop that team, but that’s a lot easier said than done. They do have a few underrated weapons at their disposal as well.
    And I guarantee you St. Mary’s pulls off at least one, if not more upsets against the “Big Three” this year.
    As for POY–come on man, it’s January 9 right now–these guys haven’t even gotten to the meat of their schedules. There are at least 6-8 guys that can win that award.

    Reply
  28. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    First of all Roger – I mean ‘southtowns Mom’ I AM a woman. WHY is that so hard 2 believe? WHO do u all think I am? I DO NOT VOTE ON THE POLL. CC maybe u can clear that up. I have strong opinions, like 2 have a little fun. I have been called ugly and short but it doesn’t bother me. And Hollywood? What r u talking about? He is a good guy. I guess if u want 2 ‘assume’ all that is me that is fine. Yes it would b crazy 2 think any 1 but me would mess around here.
    CC don’t get so worked up. If Clarence isn’t 10 I really don’t care. Yes W East beat them by TWO – and yes at home – but they have 2 losses 1 of which came 2 W North who is horrible so far this year. Clarence only has 1 loss. Kinda of why nobody was discussing which ‘2 loss team’ should play LSU 4 the title. I have more of an issue w Depew who is not EVEN CLOSE 2 being the 2nd best small school being at #2.
    Stan right now would b my pick 4 Player of the year. Reggie is NOT a division 1 player, Stan is. He isn’t big enough or strong enough 2 play the 4 at the D1 level (except 4 Parotta who may sign a 6-4 power forward…obviously he is gone after this year) clearly not quick enough 2 b a 3. Stan u can say Will and Ron carried him – whatever. I think those Nichols teams lost in 2008 and 2009 until he arrived. Stan at 24 a game leads WNY. Sorry CC I guess if it was 25 u would b impressed?

    Reply
  29. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    I just realized u don’t even have Riverside RANKED AT ALL! Ok CC u may end up being right about W East but Riverside will b ranked 4 sure u can bank on that.
    C u Thursday….! If u r still ‘allowed’ 2 associate w me.
    Also Ben Drake 4 early coach of the year.

    Reply
  30. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    Wier’s 24 ppg does not lead WNY.
    Jesse Lalka, Aaron Frasier, & Ryan Whelpley are all scoring more. There are probably multiple others.
    Who said I wasn’t impressed with 24 ppg? I just wanted to put that number out there because you referred to him scoring at that pace, like it was some unheard of number.
    Riverside dropped because they lost to East and its only wins to this point are Wilson, St. Francis, OP, & Lafayette. They might play their way onto my ballot, but for now, they haven’t earned it. I don’t think East would be a top 10 large school right now, and they just beat Riverside.

    Reply
  31. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    It does lead WNY. Did u just say there r ‘probably multiple other’….ha! Stan is the man give him Player of the Year right now. Highest returning all WNY player. Just 4 his performance in the Fed in 2010 he should get it.

    Reply
  32. Coaching Avatar
    Coaching

    Keenan is averaging more than 24 ppg……..

    Reply
  33. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Hey Keenan….

    Reply
  34. Andrew Webster Avatar
    Andrew Webster

    There are a lot of others scoring at least that if not more. Dylan Meyer, Ryan Nord, Jake Reynolds, and Austin Alonge are four just from the Southern Tier.
    MIG, I mean Dave, you are one funny “guy.” Retirement must have you quite bored with all the stuff you try to stir up on this wonderful blog that CC does (which I don’t think he really needs you to stir up things, although I’m sure you get him more comments). But we do agree on one thing…. gotta love the old mountain dew!

    Reply
  35. Division 1 Avatar
    Division 1

    I won’t get caught up in the player of the year conversation so if it is given Stan Wier or anyone else today, tomorrow or whenever I dont really care. I just love watching and teacing ball since my own eligibility has long since been used up. The only thing I will say is that anyone who says Reggie Agbeko is not a division 1 player is entitled to there opinion. However at this very moment he holds D1 offers from St. Bonaventure, Oklahoma, Penn State, LaSalle, Towson, Hofstra, Gonzaga, Houston, Siena, Vermont, Iona, Northeastern, St. Peters, Robert Morris, New Hampshire, Missouri St, Longwood, Long Island U, Sacred Heart, Rice, IPFW, Oregon St, Tenn-Chattanooga, Texas Southern, Wichita State, Winthrop, NJIT, Cleveland State, Rider, Long Beach State and New Mexico State.
    Teams still interested but waiting on conclusion of season:
    Auburn, Florida State, Colorado, ODU, Delaware, Clemson, UMass, JMU, Rhode Island, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arizona St., USC, NC State, and Marquette.
    So whether anyone in western new york thinks he is a D1 player or not there are currently 31 schools that await his decision in April. Recruiting process has been difficult due to the amount of calls from coaches he has to field on a daily basis and everything else but all in all if i had to make same decision as he, i would wait just as he is doing to let season end and he gets a chance to visit all the schools involved and get to know teammates, coaches and campus before making that decision on where he will be a student-athlete for the next 4 years. So i will leave the debate on what he is or isnt to the coaches and scouts that get paid to make the call. I sincerely doubt Western New York POY will influence where he plays next season.

    Reply
  36. Um - Yeah right Avatar
    Um – Yeah right

    Hey Division 1 won’t he have trouble if he tries to ‘visit all the school’s involved’ since you are suggesting basically one fifth of the 350 division 1 schools want him?
    First of all Keith McShea I can’t believe you had the biggest recruit in WNY History as a junior last year with interest from half the nation and couldn’t even find a spot for him on 4th team. Shame on you.
    Paul Harris, Johnny Flynn, Will Reagan never had almost every school in the country after them like Reggie.
    Tajay Williams is currently being looked at by:
    Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan. Once he has had a chance to visit all those schools it will be a tough choice for him.
    Wait a minute – I typed it here so it must be true right?

    Reply
  37. Don't be a hater! Avatar
    Don’t be a hater!

    um yeah right,
    31/350 = less than 10 percent of all schools. which in turn means that Division 1 is implying 1 in 10 schools are interested. There are probably a bunch of schools that have made contact or sent a letter. Who knows what level of interest they have, but this is not unrealsitic.

    Reply
  38. Interesting... Avatar
    Interesting…

    Found a list of pollers for the Buff News for this year. All are coaches or officials except for the last 3 inboth polls. 2 of the 3 are Centercourt and Keith. Hmmmm!!!
    LARGE SCHOOL POLLSTERS: Mark Simon (St. Joe’s of the Monsignor Martin Association), Jim Palano (Bishop Timon-St. Jude/Monsignor Martin), Bob Rumschik (Orchard Park/ECIC I), Al Monaco (Williamsville South/ECIC II), Erik O’Bryan (Niagara-Wheatfield/Niagara Frontier League), Steve Allen (official), Benji Bluman (official), Chad Andrews (View From Centercourt blog), Dave Universal (New York State Sportswriters Association poll), Keith McShea (The Buffalo News).
    SMALL SCHOOL POLLSTERS: Randall Rich (OTC Middle College of the Yale Cup), Dan Gill (St. Mary’s/Monsignor Martin Association), Larry Jones (ECIC III/Depew), Tony Krupski (JFK/ECIC IV), Brett Sippel (Wilson/Niagara-Orleans), Derek Hill (official), Chad Andrews (View From Centercourt blog), Dave Universal (New York State Sportswriters Association poll), Keith McShea (The Buffalo News).

    Reply
  39. Division1 Avatar
    Division1

    Say anything you want. I don’t know what the recruiting picture is of Harris or Flynn was. Bottom line you build your following on AAU circuit, and elite camps, or prep circuit. Not to take anything away from high school season but coaches seldom pay attention to what happens during the high school season other than to see if numbers remain solid. There are other kids in wny that could get D1 schollies but have stayed in wny during the summer and don’t play high level AAU. Bottom line you produce outside of wny and you get what you earn, but its only January, as I said before Reggie has to commit to someone come April. He has used 1 official visit and has 4 more. He has unlimited unofficials, so when he officially cuts that list down he will take unofficials to closer ones. BTW, the average number of offers of kids that do well in the settings I mentioned get over 20 offers. Just saying get out of here alittle. Also letters go out to most players, an offer is when coaching staff says we have an LOI for you to sign during signing period so we would like you to commit to us right now.

    Reply
  40. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    I think the reason Stan Wier has already committed to UB is because he jumped on the offer when it came. Considering he left Buffalo to play in Indiana last year tells me he thought the ceiling was much much higher. Then when things didn’t go nearly as well as planned and the offer from UB was there, he took it and came home.

    Reply
  41. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    For what it’s worth I think Div 1’s post just above is very accurate.

    Reply
  42. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    My 2 cents again fwiw; All this talk about Reggie and Stan is ridiculous. They’re both talented and having very good years. Who knows who will be poty. There are a lot of important games ahead. They could battle it our or someone could make a more compelling case for the honor. My advice just try and enjoy it for it flies by all too quickly.
    Stan imo will do extremely well at UB. He has already demonstrated that he can compete with the best from dominating Archaf Yacoubou, 6’4″ 2 or 3, last year’s Mr. NY Basketball and now @ Villanova, @ the 2010 fed tourney, doing very well on the top-shelf AAU circuit and playing well last year in Indiana. So please stop being ignorant and give the kid his due.
    Same for Reggie. Although I haven’t seen him play much everything I read and hear is extremely positive. The kid is trying to do his best and is doing a darn good job. Wish him well and that he finds the right spot to pursue his education and basketball career. I’m not sure what UB’s interest is, but they certainly need some bigs so if the opportunity arises I hope he considers the Bulls.
    Go Bulls!

    Reply
  43. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    Good to see that RA has done it on the most important stage that counts and is the reason he has a bright future ahead of him. He is a work in progress. Will be interesting to see which school he ultimately decides on and where he will be as a player 4 years down the road. Excellent upside no matter what the “Haters” say.
    Only Stan knows why he made the decision so early and could be that things were not working on the bigger stage. Either way he will be with his friends there at UB where he may be happiest.

    Reply
  44. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    Panthers, Stan didn’t make his decision “so early.” He made it the normal time frame, going into his senior year when the vast majority of D1 prospects commit. Reggie’s situation is a whole lot different. He got a late start and didn’t get the necessary exposure before summer last. Some decide in the late signing period, but relatively few. Reggie will be one of them.

    Reply
  45. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Any idea what other offers came Wier’s way? Perhaps his agent MIG could help us out with that. I only ask because he seems to be more than delighted to mislead readers into thinking Agbeko is an inferior player because Wier commited and he has yet to.

    Reply
  46. Division1 Avatar
    Division1

    Imo, Wier’s signing with UB is noteworthy because he gets to compete at a program on the rise, as well as having the opportunity to contribute from the gate, and even more special to compete at D1 level with a high school teammate that you have been in the trenches with and won. As far as Reggie A and UB, he never eliminated them. Reggie has only included programs that have actively recruited him (calling him regularly, visiting practices, games, etc). Only place he knows as home in the US is Buffalo, but program that has shown him the most love locally is St. Bonnies.

    Reply
  47. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    Good luck to Reggie wherever he goes. He could do much worse than Mark Schmidt and the Bonnies. Schmidt has done a great job in Olean restoring the program. But before he goes anywhere he has some unfinished business on Kenmore Ave. that Simon/Herlan will make sure he completes before moving on.
    Did some research on Reggie and Stan. At least according to ESPN they are both 2*(out of 5) players with an 82 rating. Just another reason for the supporters of either player to get off the take him down so I can prop my guy up approach.

    Reply
  48. Division 1 Avatar
    Division 1

    Agreed 100% Hoopster; This is a good thing for Western New York to have guys ranked and rated by ESPN and other recruiting sites, and competing. People should be in support of all these kids, be it Stan, Reggie, Sterling Taplin, Jermaine Crumpton, Adam Weir (Whom i really like), Sam Eckstrom, Taijay Williams, Jordan Williams, Kyle Kobis, JJ Wilkes, Ryan Whelpley, etc. that can potentially bring recruiters back into the area to see what kind of game others in the area might have. Lastly, Crumpton can help many D1 programs, he is only a junior whose game is still evolving and has played the role Niagara Falls has required him to play in order to win. Only those that don’t know would say he can’t play at that level, one doesnt have to be a greyhound, throughbred, banging machine. Teams have different needs and will recruit accordingly. Kid has a very nice looking midrange jumper, which one doesnt see to often right now, especially at the high school level.

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  49. WNYHOOPS Avatar
    WNYHOOPS

    Word from Kentucky is that Jaysean Paige has committed to play at WVU for coach Huggins.

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  50. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    Well said D1! Sounds like the Maruders pretty much had their way with the Chinese and Reggie had another good game.
    Hoops, interesting report. Scoured the recruiting sites, rivals, scout and espn including a couple Mountaineer sites and saw no sign that JP is a commit. I suspect if JP is heading to Morgantown next year it will be as a walk on. I did, however, see a Kentucky based report that he’s committed there. I’m sure scoop Moran will be on it and we’ll get the low down before long.

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