Another Pastor-Cooper Showcase is in the books and the 2014-2015 season is officially underway.  After watching my first eight games of the season and a look at 16 different teams, here's a few thoughts from the action:

– Everyone keeps asking, "what happened"?  It's in reference to the Amherst/Kenmore West game being called early, with still over two minutes on the game clock, because of some commotion in the stands and then on the court.  Well, basically, that's really all it was – a bunch of commotion.  Or as someone put it shortly after the game, "bc it was too hype'.  It started with fans chirping back & forth, no big deal.   Then, apparently a water bottle was thrown, which escalated the chirping to barking, causing commotion.  Once things settled down in the stands, the players seemed a little extra chippy on the court and game officials had seen enough, game over.  Too hype!

– JFK took care of MST Seneca without too much trouble.  The Bears played under control & moved the ball well for a team playing its first game.  Joey Braniecki is a lean 6-6 machine for JFK and gives his team an interior presence that Seneca had trouble with.  MST Seneca played hard, but they are undersized and looked like they were suffering from the effects of limited practice time.  I would expect that team to have made considerable strides a month from now.

– Oracle has a little of everything, from depth & athleticism, to inexperience & youth.  The Phoenix opened against St. Francis, who not only had the advantage of experience, but also the best player on the court in Kordell Holness-Lightbody.  As the season moves forward, look for Oracle to improve as they play together more and continue to face stiff competition (they're at Amherst tonight).  Despite looking solid on opening day, the Red Raiders will have their hands full in a loaded MMA this season, and will need to build on every positive thing they do, like taking care of business at the Showcase.

– The Nichols/McKinley game was fun and a nice treat of top large school facing off.  But you couldn't ask for a bigger contrast in styles, and it made it difficult to get and  a real gauge on either team.  Nichols is massive and used that size & length in a zone that gave the Macks fits.  McKinley struggled to get shots off, both inside and from the perimeter, and the shots they got off were significantly altered all game.  Conversely, the Vikings had a tough time settling into an offense and swinging the ball around, as McKinley threw its trademark energy at them, replaced by more energy at every substitution.  The good news for the new Nichols guards – the pressure will actually get easier, as few programs are able to create that type of tenacity on defense for 32 minutes.  Both teams are very good and will be large school poll staples this season.

– For the first 16 minutes, Amherst & Kenmore West got after it.  both teams flew all over the court, feeding off the energy of the crowd and the anticipation of opening night and a new season.  They were locked at 26 apiece at halftime.  However, the second half was where the Tigers separated themselves in a couple ways.  First, as the team that was more cohesive and returned more from the year before.  Second, the Tigers have a go-to player in TC Brown, and he stepped up in the second half, hitting big shots & leading his team as it gained control of the game's tempo.  The Blue Devils are not far off of where the Tigers are at, and have seemingly great attitudes and a ton of athleticism on their side.   

– One of the best games of the Showcase was Tapestry's win over Holland.  The Thunderhawks led the entire contest and looked like the better team, but were never able to pull away from the fiesty Dutchmen.  Holland has a solid group led by senior Clay Lewis, who is a strong player with a high basketball IQ that can play inside and out.  They are well coached and just continue to grind, and because of that, they kept the game exciting and stayed within reach the entire way.  Tapestry has a pair of players in JaQuoine Fogan and DeJuan Owens, who can score in bunches, and a great cast around those two.  They were also missing some talent from their lineup, which they expect to have back soon.

– The highlight of Day 2 was the show put on by the Park Pioneers.  This is a fun team to watch and they play like they are on a mission to make the rest of the WNY hoops community take notice.  I sure did.  Even without starters Randy Golda & Hunter Anderson playing, the Pioneers seemed like a team that was in sync all game.  The addition of Jordan Nwora, who looks like he's grown about three inches, could be as significant as any transfer this offseason.  He is just a smooth player with a college basketball body and the skills to go with it, and still just a junior.  Health Sciences was a game opponent for much of the game, but as the second half wore on, Park started to pull away and the show began.  It started with a breakaway dunk from Derek Cheatom, and then he followed it up with a poster dunk shortly after.  Soon after that, it was Nwora's turn to drop the boom, dunking in traffic and stirring up the crowd at Daemen.  Despite how good Park looked, I saw something in Health Sciences, and as this season goes on, you'll all see it too – the Falcons are legit.

– St. Mary's was a pleasant surprise, considering how little its starters played during last season's run.  The Lancers have a solid starting five and a bench that looks like it could be coached up to equal the output of the starters.  They were sloppy at times, likely a product of lost practice time, but a much better team than I expected to see.  Takal Molson is a real talent for them and showed off his hops with a contested baseline dunk.  Depew is young, starting three underclassmen, including a sophomore & freshmen.  They played like they were young, not yet the well drilled group we've come to expect from Depew.  But they also have a trio of solid seniors, one who was in street clothes last night.  And instead of rolling over as the Lancers built up a 27-point lead, the Wildcats just kept working on every possession, and slowly climbed back into the game.

– Sean Wilson of St. Mary's was awarded the David Cooper Memorial Scholarship.

– Despite a big turnover from last year, East is still going to be a force in the city and come sectionals. Damone Brown has improved tremendously, Percy Bryant is one of the area'a best guards, and the addition of Jovell Littlejohn gives the Panthers 6-8 board collector & shot blocker.  They also have size coming off the bench, along with a shooter in Dion Morrison.  Cardinal O'Hara is going to be improved from last season, despite getting chewed up by the Panthers last night.  William Turner gives the Hawks an outside shooting threat, and Donel Cathcart is a player the Hawks can turn to in crunch time and trust with the ball.

-centercourt