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

Random Smatterings – Round 2

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While reading the banners on the gymnasium walls during a timeout of the Silver Creek/Salamanca game, I learned that between 1984 and 1986, Silver Creek had a stranglehold on the CCAA Bowling scene.

 

Depew went seven for seven from 3-point land in the first quarter of its win against Lancaster.

 

Orchard Park trailed Clarence 39-16 at halftime, but scored 48 in the second half of a 70-64 loss to the Red Devils.

 

St. Joe's junior Daniel Maher picked up two fouls in the last two seconds of the first half of the Marauders win against St. Mary's.

 

Westfield's Austin Alonge scored a career-high 36 points in a win against Oracle Charter.

 

Leading Williamsville North 62-58 with just three seconds left, Williamsville South coach Al Monaco called a timeout to emphasize not fouling, saying "If your guy goes right by you, I won't even yell at you".

 

Aaron Frasier of MST Seneca scored 25 points and dished 10 assists as he eclipsed 1,000 career points during the Indians 78-45 win over Buffalo Science. 

 

St. Francis guard Cory Cullen is the celebrity look-alike of Sean Bruso.

 

Stan Wier tied the East Aurora school record for most points in one game when he finished with 40 points and 12 rebounds in the 73-32 Blue Devils win against West Seneca East.

 

Sean Seefeldt of Newfane was called for a technical foul and then later ordered to the bench for a few by referee Steve Allen in the Panthers 66-60 championship game win against St. Francis at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament.  As he passed by me on his way to the locker room following the all-tournament team presentation, he asked "Yo, how did I not get the sportsmanship award".

 

With just 15 seconds left in the game of Newfane's above mentioned win, a referee stopped the game because the shot clock was never started.

 

Archbishop Walsh senior Ryan Whelpley scored 27 points in a 58-40 win against Nichols to surpass 2,000 points for his career.

 

Trailing 41-34 in the third quarter, St. Joe's went on a 25-4 run and handed previously unbeaten Bishop Grimes its first loss.

 

This season holds the least suspenseful race for POY since Jonny Flynn was at Niagara Falls.

 

Only three teams from WNY still have undefeated records: Tonawanda, Silver Creek, and MST Seneca.

 

 

-centercourt

 

 

 

37 responses to “Random Smatterings – Round 2”

  1. GA Avatar
    GA

    Suspense? Is it Weir or Agbeko?
    Many thought Taplin would be up there too but he hasn’t had the season to date that many were expecting. He really relied on last years seniors more than anyone gave credit for.

    Reply
  2. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    There is no suspense on this issue. Agbeko leads in this category hands down. Most people expected that Joes would be the butt of the MMA by now but they have proven to be more resilient than anticipated thanks to Agbeko.
    Joes is right now the most feared team in MMA even though there is not much discussion on this issue. The higher ranks will have their hands full when they finally meet in the coming weeks. What will be of interest will be Joes vs Bishop Kearney/Aquinas.
    Weir still has not shown that he can carry EA nor has he separated himself from the competition. His recent 40 points outing is no evidence that he has made EA better, only that he was trigger happy against a weak opponent. That game is more a problem for him than it is praiseworthy. Weak competition continues to plague them. EA needs to play gamely opponents like Canisius, Timon, NF, Joes, St. Mary’s, in order for us guage what kind of b-ball player Weir is. Until that happens he will continue to have a so so season and move on the UB next year. Past history is no longer a valid barometer here.

    Reply
  3. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    This will likely be an item for round 3, nevertheless congratulations go out to first-year head coach Rich Skrabucha on Olmsted’s historic first Yale Cup win last night. For those that don’t know him, he is one of the nicest and most respectful people on the local hoop scene. This win also demonstrates that success isn’t always measured by who has the most wins, scores the most points or even who is named Buffalo News player of the year. Congratulations Rich! Hopefully this is the start of many more Yale Cup victories.

    Reply
  4. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    I think there are many more players on n.falls and canisius to consider for poy they are the two best teams in wny and have 8 excellent players 4each to look at

    Reply
  5. coach Avatar
    coach

    Sure panther we’ll just give POY to RA on January 7. If he deserves it he will earn it with great play in Feb and early March. Ridiculous post especially after Kearney result today. RA weak game today against similar size competition down low, no 6-2 guys to dominate at Kearney. From what I have seen CHS starters 1-4 are better than SJ 1-4 player by player. In upcoming games CHS
    1-4 are likely to outshoot, outpass, outhandle and out defend the SJ 1-4. RA will be muted when his teammates get significantly outplayed. CHS is the defending MMA champ and are top dog until some team proves other wise on the court. I doubt they are in fear of SJ.

    Reply
  6. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    Coach, your opinion is noted. Still stand by my post until proven otherwise. You are right that there is more season to play. One thing I have learned is that you win some and lose some,the question is what you do after you lose a game. This is no different for RA. He will continue to get better.
    Did you forget that CBA in Syracuse big man he dominated just last week was 6ft 11in plus not to mention like and even taller top 100 players on the national level this summer. RA is a WNY product in the coming years regardless and we wish him success in life like all the kids here. Good this is just conjecture between fans like us who love the game and our interests. At the end of the day the kids will play and whatever the results or individual accomplishments, life as we know it will keep ticking away. Let the kids play!

    Reply
  7. Coach Avatar
    Coach

    Kearney bigs far more representative of competition at next level if D I is RA destiny. POY’s must rise above to meet those challenges and carry a team while doing it. Down 21 after 3rd is not a resume builder for him or team. Thus on January 8 he is a candidate, no more and no less. Certainly not a ” hands down” leader. Not seeing the Kearney game I would guess the Kearney perimeter players wreaked havoc on SJ at both ends of the court. This is a major weakness for SJ that will be exposed by good teams. As stated this is the strength of CHS.

    Reply
  8. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    Coach…Good assessment. I was at the game and from all our views the refs did not let SJ develop any continuity. It was one-sided. Once again it goes to building consistency. SJ is not consistent game after game which would explain why they could not put away this team. CHS definitely has the backcourt to beat any squad locally. Frontline…not so sure. When they meet it will be interesting what SJ team shows up. Either way it will be an interesting game to watch.
    Kearney definitely athletic but apart from refs dominated at all positions since they were not worried about the calls. Unfortunate but they will fight another day.

    Reply
  9. guest Avatar
    guest

    Actually BK backcourt did not wreak havoc on SJ backcourt. 6’7 Freshman Thomas Bryant had a great third quarter acoring 14 points and pushing BK to the lead for good. Joe’s was in this ballgame until midway through the quarter. Reggie had early foul trouble and Glover as well, they both sat the final 2minutes of the half and it was a 4 pt game and by the half it was an 11 pt game. Joe’s hit a three and a layup to cut the lead to six before Bryant went off, so without seeing the game don’t speculate they were in and and it got away from them. With regard to CHS, the wing players with maybe exception of Adam W. aren’t good creating off the dribble. Matt M,Adam H. are good shooters but if you run them off the line or stop them from catching and shooting they can be rendered ineffective. As quick and as good as A.White is, he is a marginal shooter at best, great defender but has a tendency to go out of control at times on offense, and needs to learn to play at different paces at different times. Both teams have a weak bench in which only 1 or 2 players will contribute. As usual Joe’s/Timon/CHS will battle it out.

    Reply
  10. Patrick Moran Avatar
    Patrick Moran

    In my opinion, Adam Weir is establishing himself as a legit POY candidate early in the season. CHS has a lot of talent, but to me he’s clearly their best all-around player.

    Reply
  11. Walter W. Avatar
    Walter W.

    MIG, as a pollster for the large school poll, you should be above getting involved in petty little fueds with other commenters on this blog.
    For all your self-proclaimed personal and professional successes, it is astounding how quickly you want to fight someone who challenges your comments and how openly bitter you are. Does it come from being vertically challenged?
    Where did Panthers say it was his blog?
    Let me answer that for you. He didn’t, and a person who can maintain a rational thought in his head would see that in his comment. He said OUR BLOG, and that includes anyone who wishes to comment.
    On a more positve note it was good to see some honesty from one of your earlier posts, “I think CC is wrong somebody will emerge during playoffs and we will give it 2 him.” when discussing POY and by extension, 1st team ALL WNY. Thanks for comfirming that those honors are reserved for players who are blessed by TEAM success in the playoffs and that you view the regular season as an inconvienence leading up to the playoffs.

    Reply
  12. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    I definitely agree that for CHS that the POY candidate is Adam Weir. Kid is getting it done. Was the only player other than RA that stood out in the Empire state games in Binghampton this summer.
    As previously said the POY will come out in the playoff. May not be anyone we are speaking of right now. Loving our Blog! Keep up the comments…loving this plus the games.

    Reply
  13. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    If MIG is a pollsters for the large schools? Hmmm…isn’t that interesting. Gone are the days of impartiality and fairness. Your comments deserve a second look when a pollster can claim that he made it his mission to keep Connor 2011 SJ from 1st Team and vows to make it his personal mission to do the same to RA.
    May be a problem with Joes then not the kids but somehow he has been given the power to influence the success or failure of our kids. CC should be careful who he associates with. Do not let this livewire drag you into his ditch. Comments like not being allowed to be POY or 1st Team due to being from another country sounds like you are a descendant of one the original Indian tribes of the US but chances are you are not. I won’t state the obvious conclusion from that comment about you. RA can be anything he wants to be except maybe VP or President of the US. He could just be president of Ghana in the future if he choses. That is where he is from. Chances are he will become a US citizen.
    In case you did not know this as was previously stated on this blog, RA is from a local family that has resided in WNY for over 30 years which includes a generation of naturalized American citizens and 1st generation Americans. Because your comments come in at so many angles one is stunned by your degree of ignorance. Maybe we should not let you play after all but wouldn’t that be unfair too!

    Reply
  14. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    I should be careful who I associate with? Thanks for that advice.
    Anyway, lots of recent discussion – some of it good and some not so good, but seeing the comments section boom is better than hundreds of people checking out the blog daily with the “I don’t ever comment on those blogs” mentality. A recurring theme when the conversation gets off track is “let’s keep it about basketball”. The problem is, some of the greatest basketball input never gets typed because coaches, parents, and even players don’t want to put themselves out there with a basketball opinion. Just a reminder, all you need is an email address (real or made up) and a name (real or made up) to leave a comment on this site. I would love more quality basketball discussion here, but that remains dependent on the people with the knowledge deciding to share it, or just give an opinion.
    One of the topics that has drawn some opinion is POY. First, let me say that I’m not trying to predict who the News will select. I will make my own selection and All-CC team again. Also, the criteria for POY needs to be established, or at least discussed. To me, the award goes to the player who had the best season in WNY, and helping a team achieve success factors in. However, it’s not a simple best player from the best team formula. At this early point in the season, Reggie Agbeko has separated himself from the competition for that award. That’s not to say things won’t change, because there is A LOT of ball left to go, including the most important games of the year.
    In fairness to Stan Wier being called out for being “trigger happy” against WSE, he was 16 of 20 in that game. If you’re shooting 80%, you are legally on fire and should keep shooting.
    Canisius and Falls do each have four very good players, but for both teams, it’s a different guy stepping up each night. I haven’t seen a St. Joe’s game yet this year where Agbeko wasn’t the best palyer on the floor. Well, except for yesterday, which leads me to my next topic.
    Bishop Kearney is good. I’ve read some different accounts of the Joe’s/Kearney game, and here’s mine. First off, Kearney’s best player, 6-10 Chinonso Obokoh, was in street clothes. Joe’s trailed by a point after the first quarter, but had fallen behind at the half, 27-18. It’s been pointed out that Agbeko was in foul trouble and sat the last two minutes of the half. What was not mentioned was that Kearney’s second best player, 6-7 freshman Thomas Bryant sat the entire second quarter.
    The third quarter was a highlight show for Bryant, including 14 points, a fading baseline jumper at the buzzer, and a midcourt steal that was converted into a dunk, only after going behind the back with the ball to avoid a defender…it was insane. BK led 47-26 after three quarters.
    I thought the officiating had nothing to do with Joe’s getting rolled. BK had too much talent everywhere and exploited it. They blew the game open in the third and rather than respond, Joe’s lacked energy. BK took Agbeko out of the game (four points through three quarters) and no one other than Briggs seemed to really want to step up.
    Bishop Kearney is at Aquinas on Wednesday. I’m going and I’m siked about it. The game is sold out and Chinonso Obokoh will not play. I still think it will be a great game.

    Reply
  15. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    Is Obokoh injured or something else? I would like BK in that game if CO was playing….still should be close, but AQ can get away with a lot more without his length.

    Reply
  16. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    He has a severely sprained ankle. He missed the game at St. Francis back on December 21st with the same injury.

    Reply
  17. jackherlan Avatar
    jackherlan

    Reggie was taken out in the first q.at about the 4 min. mark. Played a couple of minutes in the 2nd q.And that wonderful behind the back, to the rack slam was pretty to watch, even though he stepped out of bounds about midcourt which was conveniently missed. IMO Kearney is better than the Aquinas team I saw vs. Canisius.

    Reply
  18. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    That’s funny. I couldn’t see the line from my seat, but I did think he had to be very close. Either way, pretty it was.

    Reply
  19. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    Would have been a great idea to have scheduled a home and away game against BK like you have done Aquinas. Gives the kids a chance to make the adjustments and go fight another day. Great game though even though a group of us felt the refs controlled the game for first 3 quarters then politely let the kids play in the 4th when BK had a nice cushion.
    No excuses for Joes lack of energy but with no continuity the kids could never get started. Case in point the BK 2 guard Anderson losing the ball on a layup then grabbing the net to pull himself up for a missed dunk that rebounded high to a BK player who got the 3 point play. Was an obvious tech foul, should have been given to Joes for a foul shot and possession. Just some of the missed calls that impacted the game.

    Reply
  20. Lucky13 Avatar
    Lucky13

    The Feb. 1st game is at Blue Cross Arena. Hopefully Obokoh and all on both teams will play for that one.

    Reply
  21. jackherlan Avatar
    jackherlan

    We wanted to go h and a but Kearney could not. They will come to Buffalo next year. I believe that Bryant may be the best freshman I have ever seen. WOW!

    Reply
  22. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    CC!! You have nothing to worry about. You’ve been known to associate with me and somehow your reputation remains intact. So somehow someway you’re doing something right. Nice writeup on the Newfane/Wilson game. Keep up the excellent work!
    Now that I’ve complimented you, I have? for you! Do you have an extra ticket for Wednesday’s game? Also how about road tripping Friday to Erie?

    Reply
  23. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    Here’s my large school poll:
    1) Falls – A bit touchy at times against NT, but pulled away late. Will be interesting to see how they fare next weekend.
    2) Canisius – Still very little, if anything, to separate them and NF. Should have two decent tests before playing Cath. Prep on 1/21.
    3) Timon – NF only local loss…should roll until Mary’s on 1/24 and BK on 1/27.
    4) Jamestown – Have been lighting it up lately…could definitely run the table in ECIC I.
    5) Joe’s – Were impressive until being overmatched by BK. Should be a fun game Tuesday before another big test 1/21 against AQ.
    6) McKinley – Good start to Yale Cup season. Should pick up two more wins before facing Canisius in MLK showcase.
    7) Ken West – Have rebounded well from NF loss with four wins. Travel to NT on Friday…could be interesting.
    8) Hutch-Tech – Led Macks for three quarters then squeaked out win over East who had just beaten…
    9) Riverside – Frontiers clearly bothered by East’s length…all four should be in YC mix until the end. Host Tech on Thursday.
    10) Wil East – Just box out Clarence due to head to head victory. Early battle for first place in ECIC II with Hamburg on Thursday.
    HM) Clarence, Frontier, Hamburg, NT

    Reply
  24. jackherlan Avatar
    jackherlan

    Tuesday Night SJCI v. Nanyang Model School from Shanghai China. This is the first time a Chinese high school basketball team has toured the USA. Pretty cool stuff. WNY hoops representing the USA v.China game time 7:30pm preceded by SJCI v. Canisius wrestling match. Sorry the main event is NOT Hulk Hogan v. Ric Flair.:(

    Reply
  25. Lucky13 Avatar
    Lucky13

    Pollsters don’t have an official say or vote on the News’ All WNY Teams or POY. They are exclusively the News'(Keith’s) choices. Correct?
    Now, I’m sure he gets many opinions, whether he solicits them or not, but the choices are his(News’).
    MiG, why don’t you post your weekly ballots here?

    Reply
  26. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    WHO CARES about ANY of this! It’s all about Tebow! Has anyone out there considered he may really b the 2nd coming? Revelation states Jesus will return just b4 the end of time….Dec 21st, Tim Tebow.
    BTW I NEVER said I vote on any poll! I don’t! I just feel like if I was a man and not a woman I wouldn’t b getting all this hatred coming my way. God forbid a woman add anything 2 the blog. It’s male pigs like u Panther that make woman like us feel useless. If I was bare-foot and pregnant I’m sure that would make u happy.
    Go Canisius!!!

    Reply
  27. Panthers Avatar
    Panthers

    Cannot wait for that. Heard this is the high school Yao Ming came from so will be an interesting match. You might see a 7ft3in center and bigs all the way around in all positions. Good test for Joes and love the format. See ya Tuesday night.

    Reply
  28. Lucky13 Avatar
    Lucky13

    Maybe one of them will stay and be POY !

    Reply
  29. Lucky13 Avatar
    Lucky13

    U do vote. C’mon, let’s c ur ballots. Don’t b shy now. Man or woman, we want 2 c them 🙂

    Reply
  30. Clueless Avatar
    Clueless

    I will say one thing. If M.I.G.’s ‘job’ is to get the comments rolling he is very good at it!

    Reply
  31. Lucky13 Avatar
    Lucky13

    It was CC’s smattering that got all this going, so don’t take the credit from him.

    Reply
  32. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    First of all ANY of u posting while Tebow was playing u have SERIOUS issues and will 1 day have 2 answer 2 a higher power. And I hope Alabama wins tomorrow in OT just so we have mass confusion and maybe a split National Champion 4 the mess that is the BCS.
    Back 2 bball…Lucky 13 u seem like a good guy even though I am mad at most men right now so if I had a vote, which I clearly don’t…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. I was going 2 say K West 10 in Large 2 try and get a rise out of TML but he usually likes my posts so I won’t do that.
    I really can’t wait 4 those Hot Dogs at Buff State they r pretty good. If they start making the pizza now maybe it will b ready 4 the first game? Plus they have Mountain Dew which is cool.
    I really do think Tebow is the 2nd coming foretold 2 us in the Book of Revelation.
    Do u guys realize we took Spillar 3 picks ahead of Jason Pierre Paul? And Torrel Trooop 1 pick ahead of Rob Gronkowski? Buddy Nix…man what a genius.

    Reply
  33. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    I think the poy needs to show leadership against tough and as equally skilled appoenits. Need to make other team mates play better by rebounding passing creating turnovers shutting down best player on other team and giving team a chance to win. It’s easy for a skilled player to look good against a weak team but needs to look good against top players.

    Reply
  34. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    Bye the way anyone know of any colleges scouting anyone local

    Reply
  35. bullsfan Avatar
    bullsfan

    Thanks for the kind words Hoopster. I’m working very hard and trying to build confidence amongst the team. It’s going to take time, but we’ll get there. Go Owls!

    Reply
  36. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    You earned them! Good luck!

    Reply
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    Inidasaubsese

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