What would your All-Centercourt teams look like?

“mitch rapp:” Relax, no chats are necessary. MIG picks a team, just like many people do. He — or she! –happens to be correct more often than not. I don’t talk to anyone about what our final teams look like until the edition comes out.
TML1000, wow right back at you. I’ll respond to THAT suggestion and any other questions about the All-WNY process in next week’s live chat or certainly in the one that follows the publication of the All-WNY team. See you all then.

mitch rapp

I AM RELAXED!!!!! Was just acknowledging the awesomeness of Ms. MIG.

chill

funny but bthe only person on here who sounds uptight is kieth mcshea. the whole 1st team will leak out b4 next week.

PatrickMoran

Why would anyone WANT to leak out that kind of information and ruin it for a kid who wants to perhaps surprise his family or high school buddies?
I knew Jordan Williams made first-team ALL WNY football two weeks before it came out, and he wanted to surprise his mom when she got that Saturday morning paper, which he did because she had no clue he made it.

I thought I would change the subject. For Lent I gave up something they did a famous Seinfeld episode about. I have now made it FIVE WEEKS! Granted it is easier 4 us woman then u male pigs but still 5 weeks wow! I thought CC, Hoopster, and Jack Herlan especially would b impressed. HA!!!
Patrick Moran – u could not last 1 day.

PatrickMoran

What did you give up??

TML1000

Seems like MIG gave up red meat.

jackherlan

Marble rye?????

Master of my Domain!! HA!
Off 2 New Orleans boys…1 last basketball weekend. My 10th and final title game. World ends soon boys December 21st coming fast. Stinks cause I was looking forward 2 that Falls Jamestown Class AA final again.
CC do u miss me?

WT716

March 31, 2012

Watching the Montverde Findlay Prep game on ESPN and one of the announcers brought up a good point: having a universal shot clock around the country for HS hoops. He then said the shot clock should be 45 seconds which I think is 10 seconds too much. Any opinions on that?

jackherlan

March 31, 2012

It is certainly the biggest reason that we will not go to Pa. as they have none at all.

Ricky

jackherlan,
Can you give us some insight on when Reggie will make his decision?
Also I’ve heard he made an unofficial visit to Fordham

jackherlan

Do not have any info. I also think it is his decision(and his family’s) and when they are ready they will make it known to everyone, I’m sure.

Ricky

Ok thanks. I’m was just trying to get some sort of an idea as to when

jackherlan

Sorry I don’t know.

archives

July 2011 archives sure are fun to read.
Congratulations to Reggie Agbeko for representing Western New York in making the Top 20 All-Star Team and being in starting lineup at the invite only 500 campers HoopGroup Elite Camp. Also for receiving offers this week from Lasalle, Temple, Iona, Texas Southern, St. Peters, Towson State, and IPFW, additionally with strong interest coming from Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, James Madison, Toledo, Delaware, Winthrop, West Virginia and so on. All of this done playing the 3 and 4 spots.
Posted by: Division1 | Saturday, July 09, 2011 at 12:23 AM
Great news for Reggie, It makes you wonder where St. Bonaventure, Buffalo, Canisius and Niagara are. Come on guy’s get in the hunt for our local talent.
From hoopgroup.com; Reggie Agbeko, 6’7”, St. Joseph Collegiate Institute, Buffalo, NY, 2012
Agbeko displayed great work ethic and hustle around the court. He established good position on the blocks and liked to face-up once he had possession. Agbeko used multiple moves out of the face-up, including a baseline spin move, cross-over, and jab-step. He finished through contact and, when he missed, he was active in getting the rebound and stick-back.
The question remaining for Reggie’s senior year is will the guard play get him the ball where he is most effective. We shall see.
Posted by: GusMackerFanatic | Saturday, July 09, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Agbeko’s success at this camp is no surprise to some of us who have been following his exploits on the AAU circuit this summer. By the way just as a correction, there were 757 campers at the HoopGroup Elite camp and the elite campers included some of the top high school basketball players in the country. So it was no mistake that he was successful. His level of play rises with the competition: ie.. the defeat of Niagara Falls this past season.
I can now say that St. Joes did not effectively use him last season since the position he is most effective in is the small forward-3 spot on offense and power forward on defense due to his knack for rebounding the ball.
As long as Coach Simon uses him as a center with his back to the basket he will not be effective.
The scouting reports on Agbeko from HoopGroup state that he can score at will when facing the basket and is virtually unstoppable when doing so, which explain why none of the players attending HoopGroup camp could stop him. All reliable source has told me that he averaged in the mid 20s each game.
What is noticeably different about his AAU play is his ability to shoot the ball effectively even up to the 3-pointer. It may be frightening to local players to face a 6ft 7in swingman who can put the ball on the floor against guards, lead the break, beat them on the dribble and shoot mid to long range jumpers effectively. When that shot goes in he turns into a pure shooter. Joe’s just has to he feed him the ball in the right spot, give him the green light to shoot and the whole offense will be come even more potent. He is also great at finding the open man and can prove to be a even better passer.
If all these D1s are after him like this it also means that the coaching at Joe’s must get better for next season. How are they to manage such a top D1 prospect like Agbeko if they are not exploiting his strengths? Why has the likes of Kentucky, West Virgina and other D1 programs seen this and Joe’s has not?
By the way did St. Joe’s put a hurting on Canisius today in the Niagara PAL or what? What was that final score? Last I saw it was like 47 for Joe’s and 14 for Canisius with Matt Hart and all their bigs in the lineup. Did Canisius even crack 20 points at all? Joe’s looked really good! Who is that new guard playing alongside Jordan on Joes? He is very good…looking forward to next season.
Posted by: Panthers | Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 02:30 AM
That was a nice win by SJCI in the July Manhattan Cup. Hart was playing on half an ankle and the other 4 CHS starters were at at AAU Tourney in Pitt. The game was a meaningless affair. CHS will be there waiting for SJCI in March.
Posted by: coach | Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 12:23 PM
The victory vs. the Falls was a team effort with great contribution from the bench in addition to Joe’s normal “go to guy’s”. There was not one player that carried the load in that game.
Another opportunity for a championship is certainly in reach, as long as the talent surrounding the big man can adjust to their roles as starters at presumably the 4 and 5 positions. An upgrade at the point guard position will be noticeable with Glover and Oliveri as they will bring a quickness and scoring ability that has been missing since the last Manhattan Cup championship.
If Reggie is still the most effective low block player on the team should the coaching staff really sacrifice what is best for the team to develop the swingmans skills for the next level?
The motion offense is what the coaches run. It will be interesting to see if that offensive set is scrapped to get Reggie the touches needed as the 3 to take a game over on his own.
Posted by: GusMackerFanatic | Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 12:24 PM
Reggie must have really improved since March. He looked like a D2 or 3 player last year and maybe with a year of improvement he might become a low D1 like an Iona.
Posted by: sam | Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Those of us that have been privy to Reggie’s workouts know that he can do almost anything you ask a player to do. He has exceptional skill set in that he can handle, pass,rebound, defend, shoot all the way out beyond 3 point range, has a midrange game off the faceup, and a high and low post game. He did what was asked of him by St. Joes last season, which was to rebound and play the low post. He gives you what you ask of him as a player. He averaged almost 26 ppg and 14 rpg at HoopGroup matched up against top 100 small forwards, power forwards and centers; He did it from the wing, at the high and low post. He hit a couple of 3s during the week; Most of 250+ coaches in attendance came away saying he was simply unstoppable against players mostly headed to the Big East, ACC and SEC.
Players on the top 20 all-star team included: Jordan Dickerson 7’1″
Isaiah Miles 6’7″
Myles Davis 6’3″
Tobe Okafor 7’0″
Terry Tarpey 6’5″
Quenton Decosey 6’5″
Malik Nichols 6’6″
Eric Fanning 6’4″
Davon Reed 6’4″
Reggie Agbeko 6’7″
Patrick Holloway 6’2″
Chris Ortiz 6’7″
Chris McCollough 6’9″
Melvin Johnson 6’3″
Terrence Bobb-Jones 6’4″
Marcus Gilbert 6’6″
Stanford Robinson 6’4″
Joe McDonald 6’1″
Jamal Richards 6’5″
Obviously he has improved considerably since October, but what he did at HoopGroup is what he has done throughout AAU, thus is the reason he is playing with elite AAU team Rhode Island Breakers in ESPN Rise Super 60 Showcase. Most D1s that are currently recruiting him are doing so with the belief that he will be there primary scorer at 3,4 positions.
Posted by: Division 1 | Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 07:45 PM
You shouldn’t be hyping him like you do since you’re in the “know”. Let him play and improve and like Marv Levy like to say let his actions speak so loudly that they can’t hear you speak.
Sounds like he’ll have some nice opportunities after his senior year. Good for him!
Posted by: sam | Sunday, July 10, 2011 at 09:23 PM
Division 1…Thanks for the info on Reggie. It is very positive to know one of our own kids from Buffalo is making such waves. I have been trying to follow him since I starting watching him in AAU this summer. It is clear he has improved quite a bit. Your information on him is needed to show us how easy it is for us to overlook the local kids like Canisius, UB, Niagara, and St. Bonnies have with Reggie. Now they must be prepared to see this talent play elsewhere.
St. Joes will have a very strong season and we are all looking forward to seeing the “Ashanti Assassin” at the highest level. This will encourage other kids here to work hard as he has been doing since the season ended. His family must be proud of his accomplishments this summer.
Can anyone confirm that Gonzaga is recruiting him? Just heard that from a reliable source. Thanks.
Posted by: Panthers | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 03:29 AM
Sam I am not hyping Reggie up because I am in the know; I said what I said because on this very forum many have said he is not very skilled, he is only a rebounder, he can’t play the wing, he is at most a low d1 player, he wasn’t the first option on Joes, he was a nonfactor in monsignor martin championship even though it was well known he had a severely sprained ankle, he has only had some success around here because he is taller than most he was matched up against, he was an honorable mention all wny, the list goes on; even you said he looked like a d2 or 3 player in march. Do you really believe a players game can progress that far in just a couple months???…… I have simply tried to set the record straight. BTW, it is true Gonzaga has jumped on the recruitment of Reggie and coaching staff have gone on record as saying most coaches either had him as best player in camp or best player at combo forward position…thus the reason he was able to come from nowhere to making top 20 all-star team
Posted by: Division1 | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 08:43 AM
While on the subject of camps, Olean High’s Sam Eckstrom (6-7, sophomore in 2011-12) was named a Top 40 camp all-star at Hoop Mountain New England/NY’s Super Week II in Massachusetts.
Eckstrom (honorable mention All-WNY as a freshman) was his camp team’s leading scorer and matched up well against an Iowa State recruit, other older big men.
At team camp at Robert Morris U. last month, he dominated 6-10 kid from Pittsburgh (senior this fall) who has offers from Temple, St. Joe’s, Dayton, others.
Posted by: Use Ya Left | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 10:50 AM
saw this kid at PAL/ACE game i really liked him he has alot of potential
Posted by: SAL | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 12:04 PM
You’ve gone overboard in trying to set the record straight and haven’t done Reggie any favors. Based on your reporting we should expect Duke, Carolina, Kentucky and Syracuse to battle it out for his services and for Reggie to score 25 and have 15 rebounds a game next year while leading St. Joe’s to a federation championship. At the same time we should believe that Mark Simon and Jack Herlan haven’t a clue and have retarded Reggie’s development. Those are all lofty expectations, which only a Jonny Flynn or Paul Harris could possibly meet, setting Reggie up for failure next year based on the hype. Reminds me of the Maple Grove fans who were saying that Chris Secky was being recruited heavily by Syracuse only later deciding to go to Lemoyne a middle tied D2 school. In my opinion Chris was one of the best WNY high school players in the last 10 years. Reggie isn’t even close based on what I saw last year. It remains to be seen if the upcoming season will justify the hype. Better to under promise and over perform than over promise and under perform.
Looking forward to seeing Eckstrom. Have heard people say he’ll be the next big thing in local high school hoops.
Posted by: sam | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 03:18 PM
That is interesting, because i have never stated in any posting here or anywhere else that Mark Simon and Jack Herlan did not know how to coach Reggie or retarded Reggie’s development. As a matter of fact they have done a very good job with Reggie. Last season’s St. Joes had alot of pieces and upperclassmen; They won as a team,and as a team you come in and do what is asked of you as an individual whether that means simply being asked to defend, or be a spot up shooter, come off bench or whatever. Reggie had a good year and helped in the manner he was asked to contribute. Sorry buddy, i am not a believer in breaking the system to make a player shine. “The cream rises to the top”, if you can play it will show on its own. If stating my opinion that Reggie is more skilled up than some on here have given him credit for is hyping him up and setting him up for failure, than you have missed the point of what this forum is all about. People come on here do the same everyday, so maybe forget who the player is pay attention to the content. I do also think Eckstrom from Olean is going to be the real deal or maybe i shouldn’t say that because I might be setting him up for failure as well.
Posted by: Division 1 | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 04:27 PM
Sorry you’re so upset. It’s a free world. Keep the hype machine going if you feel you must. Bad form imo. Just my $0.02!
Posted by: sam | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 04:39 PM
Just curious D1, if Reggie play’s the 5 for Joe’s this upcoming season won’t that enhance his game as he further develops post up moves to go along with the perimiter skills he has developed during AAU play?
Posted by: GusMackerFanatic | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 05:42 PM
I see nothing wrong with Reggie playing the 5 for Joes. As a former player myself that competed in the Big East. I think a player is a player regardless of size. A player regardless of size should learn to handle, shoot, rebound, postup and defend on perimeter as well in the post. If your best post player is 6’2″ and that is what the team needs than that is what the player should give. With the current team I would expect him to play the 5 as it may be best for the team. No player is bigger than team and that includes Reggie.
Posted by: Division1 | Monday, July 11, 2011 at 07:48 PM

Brian

What about Nate Wilkinson averaged 19 a game for Iroquois only a junior

WT716

Any idea when the PAL/ACE game is?

Bob Love

ok let’s be serious for a min, for those that think that kid Sterling Taplin is not worthy for first team. Those have not come out to a game and see that he draws Box and 1 triangle 2 and 3 what player demands that attention. UB, Teaxas, Michican State, Virginia Tech just to name a few and what other player on firts team got that look. I’ll wait and sorry I was told Syracuse as well, so again I’ll wait. Also just beacuse he is a a 10 grader you think he should wait……now I get it!!!!!

WT716

Gerry McNamara from Syracuse was at the Will North Niagara Falls game at Buff St to watch Taplin

Bob Love

Jaamal Carter, why is he not spoke of in the same breath as Hart, Frazier and the rest of that group. He will out play all those guys he is a very good high school player. look at his numbers and see if they look like the other guards in the leauge.

Gus Buster

Bob,
Taplin was mediocre for most of the season. He has very good potential. I can see where he would not be on first team because of his play this year but if it is based on potential he could be poy.

sal

PAL/ACE games will be apr. 26th and tryouts apr. 24th

guest

where can i get a look at past all wny teams

guest

Glenn (guest) they are on the buffalonews.com @ the bottom of the high school sports page.

Basketball is now REALLY over. Gotta say New Orleans was ‘awesome baby’…4 those of u who love 2 know my real name go 2 my facebook page I got some great photo’s up. San Antonio and New Orleans by FAR the 2 best Final 4 cities. Hung w some locals down here as well.
Still would have loved 2 c what Carolina would have done against Kentucky if Marshall didn’t break his wrist. O well. Talk 2 u all next year.

guest

hey MIG you are not 5 for 5 on all wny team, lol i guess your streak is broken

Truth Be Told

Excuse me for my ignorance but I see people talking about some basketball games. What are the PAL/ACE games? Are these local basketball teams/players in a tournament? Where is it located?

centercourt

PAL/ACE games are annual all-star games played at Niagara Falls High School. There are two games, one for juniors & seniors and the other for sophomores & under. Both games are exclusive to players from the varsity level and try-outs are held to determine the selected players and teams.
Also, the 2012 All-Centercourt Team and Final Poll Ballots will be published over the next couple of days.

Ricky

MIG you were also dead wrong on Reggie leaving the US after the season. He is still in this country, unlike you so boldly claimed