Who has earned a spot on the 2017 All-Centercourt Team?

For the sake of argument, here is how the NFL (and Will South/Amherst/Lancaster) matched up vs MMA teams this year. It would be cool if there was some sorta challenge to figure this out….(roll’s eyes).
South:
Timon W by 6, Park L by 6, Frannies W by 13, Aquinas L by 4,
Amherst:
Timon L by 19
Lancaster:
St. Mary’s L by 1
NT:
St. Marys W by 13
Falls:
Park L by 5, Aquinas L by 5,
Ken West:
Frannies L by 17, O’Hara W by 5, St. Joes L by 7
Lockport:
Frannies L by 2,
So to say that the MMA would hand them 8 losses “easily” is a bit much, and CC can attest as he watched a good handful of NFL action this year and the league was very solid. Of the teams I mentioned the MMA holds a 9-4 advantage however Basketball is all match-ups and anyone can give anyone fits on a given night.
To say the coaching in that league is poor consider this, 7 of the 8 team’s (minus CSAT for records purposes) have been in their position since 2010-2011. Ron Krystof took over at GI in 2012. During this period, 5 of those 8 coaches have posted a winning record overall.
Sal Constantino from NF is 109-45 overall in 7 seasons, an average of 15.5 a year.
Mike Meetze from KW is 97-44 overall, an average of 13.8
Ryan Mountain from NT is 84-62 an average of 12 a year (his first year was 2-17 so consider 82-45 since a winning % of 64.5%)
Dave Gilson from Lockport is 84-55, an overall percentage of 60%
Matt Bradshaw from Lew-Port is 74-68 and competing against AA schools in a smaller setting.
Some other stats: Ken West and Niagara Falls have won over 14 games a season in 6 of the 7 years those men have been coaching.
NT is 45-22 the last three seasons including 4 losses with a varsity roster of 3 players and 4 JV players.
For the record I do not have complete stats on the MMA coaches, I am also not saying who is better, just giving some insight into your guys banter about the subject. There are some good men leading these programs up north. The MMA has some advantages over the NFL as does the NFL in some regards as well over the MMA.

StateChamps2003

JZ – I stand corrected.

BUFball

Open up section 6 play to all schools in WNY just like Rochester does and what would happen?

BUFball

Didn’t St. Joes beat Lockport by 2 as well?

Baller

MMA would win everything easily.

Ryan

Ecic 2 Had 3 very good players this year with Amherst getting moved into this division Greg Dolan did his usually leading the #3 Ranked Billies in almost every statistical Category and to a sectional championship Game And Marcellus Cooper From Amherst who is freakishly Athletic was also the leading scorer for the #5 Ranked Tigers that could captivate a crowd with his high flying play they also went all the way to the sectional championship. And Dom Farszmil another athletic player that is sometimes overlooked led the Trojans in scoring and was a leader on the court who could take over a game at anytime and led the trojans to their first 3 consecutive winning seasons in a row in school history.
Greg Dolan – 1st Team
Marcellus Cooper- 3rd team
Dominick Farszmil -5th Team

Sean Bruso

BUFball; My mistake, Lockport lost by 2 to Joes, not Frannies. Thanks for the clarification, my bad on that. To answer your question;
I think in basketball it would not change too much solely because it’s easier to be a 15 year old on a good AAU team and say hey, lets go and all play together here and just win and have a lot of fun doing it, which isn’t wrong at all, it’s just one of the advantages a private school offers, no geographical boundaries. It’s hard to compete with say a Nichols of a few years ago when Stan Weir went there to add to the fantastic lineup they already had, then leave then next season when those seniors graduated. (Which man they were fun to watch) Public schools obviously can’t match that. They groom what they have and the transfer rate is much lower there. Private school’s couldn’t replicate the hoosiers type of playing in a third grade youth league, through modified, through varsity together scenario, however I am not so sure how the nostalgic image of High School Sports has remained over the results oriented business of it with the constant AAU type of culture of sports today. I don’t know however how many kids this image of their high school experience matters to, some certainly but if that were the case then we wouldn’t be having this discussion. It seems the smaller tight knit the community the more likely it would exist, which is why we all love high school sports, the yearning for those stories and those grassroots neighborhood experiences. I think it would effect football more so because the state can only offer up one or two non league games by division, so the allure of, “oh wow Timon is playing in Permian or Canisius is playing in Steubenville”, and having that exposure and resources at your dispersal would disappear being apart of section 6, probably not for the better. This year in AA you have one non-league game so Canisius and Joes would have no other non-league game if they wanted to play hypothetically if they wouldn’t both be in AA. They would lose those fantastic non-league experiences out of scheduling necessities, where in Basketball you still have 6-8 games you can schedule to play different leagues. There also isn’t AAU Football (thank God for that, let your kids play other sports and have fun learning them).
So to answer your question in a much more long winded way then probably possible, I don’t think it would alter the landscape THAT much as far as supremacy in basketball. However talent always comes and goes in waves, team’s are hot and cold and have their nice and not so nice runs. Nichols went from winning a federation title going 23-7 to 2-21 the very next year. A few years ago, only the hard core basketball guru’s knew the Park school even existed, now it’s must see TV and gave us some of the best games/players/moments we saw all year. The balance of power shifts all the time from program to program and will from league to league as well. That’s why we keep coming back, to see another season of our favorite TV show’s next installment. (luckily for guys like me, we get some football in between).

wnybball

To me Shakur Harris is the 2nd best guard in WNY after Dolan. Carried his team, averaged 22 points per game, 54% FG, 48% 3s, 81% FT, 6 reb, 6 ast, 7 stls. And he did it on the big stage at Buff State as well. It’s not just about stats, but seeing him play. Talking about defense, Dom Welch had 41 points through 3 quarters – until Harris guarded him in the 4th. Welch, the best player in WNY, scored 4 points in the fourth quarter and had the ball taken from him by Harris multiple times. He was giving up 8 inches but had the athleticism and heart of a lion to stop him. That being said, my 1st team would be
Dom Welch, Cheektowaga
Greg Dolan, Will South
Shakur Harris, South Park
James Rojas, Jamestown
Davion Warren, Timon

wnybball

All #BOOM Squad
Marcellus Cooper, Amherst
Dom Welch, Cheektowaga
Jalin Cooper, Medina
Davonte “The Ticket” Gaines, Health Sciences
Noah Hutchins, Park

jeffsbills

The success of the top 3 MMA teams compared to public schools is not because of one individual, but rather a core group of 3-4 good players. For the most part, you could take a good player on a public school team or smaller MMA school and interchange them with almost any of the big 3 MMA players and the stats / results would be similar. Example: Bo Sierka / Will Johnson & Julian Cunningham / Dakota Wiley. My point is we’re ranking the big 3 MMA players to highly.

music

To all the folks in here who believe diminish scorers in here? Alot of these scorers are the engine of their teams. NO SCORE NO WIN GAME!!! Also alot of these scorers have assists and defense (Harris, Dolan,Kemp), rebounding, blocked shots, assists, defense (Welch, Rojas)and i’m sure I missed a few. Take away 27-30 points from a player and the question becomes…Whose going to make that up!! Those other players know the game and are integral part of teams for what they do. But when a coach knows he can get 30 from 1 player it makes coaching a little easier + opens up the floor for other players when exotic defenses are thrown their way!!

Panther Pride

A kid who chose to stay in Gowanda instead of playing for St.Francis who wanted him because of wanting to finish his career in his home school even knowing the coaching was worse and the players around him were not as good and dealing with teams going box and 1 on him all season he finished wth 20 points a game, 14 boards and 5 assists each game Nate Brawdy deserves to be on this team. League MVP as a sophomore and Co-MVP as a junior.

dose of reality

These comments are the best free entertainment going! Reading some of these makes me feel like I’m back in the bleachers listening to a dad yell at the refs for every call and complaining about the coach not playing his kid enough. So many crazy things said above I wish I had been reading them daily because I’m sure I’ll miss alot of them, but here goes:
1. Brawdy wanting to finish playing for his home school translates to Brawdy wanted to score alot of points instead of being a part of winning and getting better as a player. He’s an HM kid.
2. Same for Farsmil if even HM. The repeated comments about him can only mean the same person is campaigning for him. He was a good player on an average team. First team ECIC II would be the ceiling.
3. Repeated mention of the top three MMA teams needs to say top four. not sure who you wouldn’t include from the top four?? Canisius proved to be the best and the other three all were great all season.
4. Hilarious that someone is mentioning Nichols players. Will Johnson deserves HM and was easily the teams best player. Myles Hervey had some big moments. But one of the first comments I read was about Nichols tandem guard play. Horan is a nice freshmen and will be a player but he is not getting on this list. Johnson is the only one who deserves a sniff.
5. The comment that compares Sireika to Johnson and compares Cunningham to Wiley is serious LOL territory. St. Francis doesn’t beat Park once, much less three times if you swapped Cunningham and Sireika for the other two.
6. Coaching in the MMA probably is a little better and should be. Not the best year to compare MMA to Sec 6. Clearly Sec 6 was behind at the top.
7. Everyone keeps putting Will South among the top teams in the MMA. That’s fine, but must also include NT.
8. Most of the comments and teams listed are actually pretty darn good, but the ones I just mentioned needed a dose.

dose of reality

Most interesting will be how all the MMA talent gets sorted out. Oh yeah that and how CC picks just one from the vaunted backcourt tandem at Nichols LOL

Kevin M

D farz is goat you all are tripping on some acid if you think differently

BUFball

1st Team
Dom Welch (Cheektowaga) MVP, WNY scoring leader
Greg Dolan (Will South) Floor General, Continues to improve every year!
James Rojas (Jamestown) Strong beast! Beats you inside or out.
Davion Warren (Timon) Smooth, always moving
Tavien Kemp (Walsh) Super scorer, consistent, fast hands
2nd Team
Davonte Gaines (Health Science) Dominant big, State semi-finalist
Ryan Bradley (Canisius) Guard?, Forward?, Center? Does it all, State semi-finalist
Shakur Harris (South Park) He made it all go
Jayce Johnson (Canisius) 6’5” PG, best defender WNY, State semi-finalist
Dan Scott (Park) Slashing scorer, pure shooter
3rd Team
Bo Sireka (Franny) Scores and defends, always working
Joe Jones (Park) Best shotblocker WNY, still waiting on potential but his potential is huge!
Devin Pope (Chaut Lake) Team Leader, scorer
Joe Harrison (Timon) 2 seconds left who’s getting the ball?
Trevor Book (NT) SNIPER! Section champ
4th Team
Marcellus Cooper (Amherst) Super athlete
Willard Anderson (East) I’m open!
Jalin Cooper (Medina) Super athlete
Tyron Lott (Health Sciences) Great scorer. Can’t get to states with just one.
Noah Hutchins (Park) legitimately top of this list if he wasn’t unselfish
5th Team
Tyler Aquilina (Ken West) Tough, gritty scorer. If this was the 80’s he’d be fighting
Julian Cunningham (Franny) Quick guard with great court vision
Chris Robson (Chaut Lake) Team Leader
Tazuan Rose (NF) Fast!! Section Champ, Don’t let him get in a groove
Nick Montgomery (East Aurora) Great career, great team

Alumni

1st team
Welch (Cheektowaga)
Dolan (South)
Rojas (Jamestown)
Kemp (Walsh)
Shakur Harris (South Park)
2nd team
Sierka (Frannies)
Gaines (Health sciences)
Joe Harrison (Timon)
Scott (Park)
Jones (Park)
3rd team
Anderson (East)
Cooper (Amherst)
Pope (chaqtaqua)
Book (north tonawanda)
Cunningham (Frannies)
4th team
Cooper (median)
Johnson (canisius)
Bradley (canisius)
Hutchins (park)
Aquinila (Ken west)
5th team
Rose ( Niagara Falls)
Montgomery (east aurora)
Lott (health sciences)
Farszmil (west seneca east)
Fulcinitti (lancaster)

Winston Lloyd Jenkins III

How come Dakota Wiley didn’t make a spot on the 2017 All Center Court team?

StateChamps2003

Because the All Centercourt team hasn’t been announced yet…

Dianne

The Wiley kid is left all the list completely. I bet you he averaged more points per game , than many of those who made the list. He showed a lot of hustle grit and determination through out the year and his defense was outstanding.

StateChamps2003

1ST TEAM:
Greg Dolan – Williamsville South
Dom Welch – Cheektowaga
James Rojas – Jamestown
Davion Warren – Timon
Shakur Harris – South Park
2ND TEAM:
Tavien Kemp – Walsh
Davonte Gaines, 11 – Health Sciences
Bo Sireika, 11 – St. Francis
Joe Jones, 11 – Park
Devin Pope, 11 – Chautauqua Lake
3RD TEAM:
Marcellus Cooper – Amherst
Joe Harrison – Timon
Jalin Cooper, 11 – Medina
Willard Anderson, 11 – East
Julian Cunningham, 10 – St. Francis
4TH TEAM:
Jayce Johnson – Canisius
Nick Montgomery – East Aurora
Ryan Bradley, 11 – Canisius
Tyronn Lott, 11 – Health Sciences
Trevor Book, 11 – North Tonawanda
5TH TEAM:
Tyler Aquilina – Kenmore West
Elliot Bowen, 11 – Ellicottville
Ray Blackwell, 11 – Maryvale
Noah Hutchins, 10 – Park
Dan Scott, 10 – Park
Notable Honorable Mention:
Will Johnson – Nichols
Ray Mushat – South Park
Hakeem Dobbins – Middle College
Dan Reid – Olmsted
David Anderson – MST Seneca
Mason Goodridge – Springville
Vito Fulciniti – Lancaster
Dakota Wiley – Williamsville South
Tal James – Kenmore West
Monty Shoemaker – Olean
Chris Robson – Sherman
Cordell O’Brien – Frewsburg
Tyler Hind – Randolph
Nate Brawdy – Gowanda
Sam Erickson – Franklinville

Andy

Honorable mentions
Dakota Wiley
Ray Mushat
Ray Blackwell
Tal James
Vito Fulcinitti
Dominic Farszmil
Elliot Bowen
Sam Erickson
Dan Reid
Hakeem Dobbins
Just some of the names that should be on the honorable mentions list this year

BuffaloSportsFan

Saw a lot of good basketball this season. In my opinion here is the Top 5 teams:
First Team:
Don Welch (Cheektowaga) – Great scorer, Great career.
Greg Dolan (Will South) – Smooth, he does a lot of things on the court.
Davion Warren (Timon) – Play great in big games.
Davonte Gaines (Health Sciences) – Lead his team to states.
Shakur Harris (South Park) – Played some hard nose basketball down the stretch.
Second Team:
James Rojas (Jamestown) – Plays a physical game.
Marcellus Cooper (Amherst) – Great athlete
Julian Cunningham (St. Francis) – Very unselfish, smooth PG.
Noah Hutchins (Park) – He can take over games, I think most potential on this list.
Joe Jones (Park) – Big strong and athletic, should have gotten the ball more.
Third Team:
Tavien Kemp (Walsh) – One of the best offensive players on this list.
Nick Montgomery (East Aurora) – Fun to watch play the game.
Bo Sireika (St. Francis) – Dont let him get hot, one of the best jumpers on this list.
Joe Harrison (Timon) – Clutch, another one to not let get hot.
Dan Scott (Park) – Athletic, smart, great defense.
Fourth Team:
Jalin Cooper (Medina) – Quick fun to watch.
Ryan Bradley (Canisius) – Seems like he can play any where on the court
Willard Anderson (East) – Does a lot of good things on the court.
Tyron Lott (Health Sciences) – Not many can stop him when he takes the ball to the rim.
Jayce Johnson (Canisius) – Big reason they beat Timon and Saint Francis
Fifth Team:
Robert Welch (Saint Francis) – Hard worker, great season.
Tyreek Edwards (Emerson) – Big time scorer.
Devin Pope (Chautauqua Lake) – Heard this kid can flat out play.
Tyler Aquilina (Ken West) – Was impressed with the limited action I saw.
Tyler Hind (Randolph) – Fun to watch, sky is the limit for this kid

Really

Dose – its obvious you havnt seen Nichols play – if your going off basketball talent and IQ then the Nichols gaurds are right there. But if you never saw them play then your comments are correct…. or maybe just your Bball IQ is low…. your sniff is incorrect….

City Ballers

For those of you that have put Shakur Harris on 2nd team clearly havnt seen him play. He plays hard all the time, there has been no team that has denied him the ability to produce offense. Nobody played man against him because he was too dangerous. He was Yale Cup POY, that should earn you a 1st team nod due to all the talent in that league. Also, Raymond Mushat deserves to be on a team as well as Elijah Lewis.

dose of reality

Saw Nichols play enough to know they were not a team with 2 guards worthy of being mentioned among the top 60 players in all of WNY. Look….Horan projects to be a top player and a lock for All-WNY in the future, but it’s not happening this year. Serrotte and Banasack were role players. After Will Johnson, Hervey was the heart of that team. It was their coaching and defense that kept them competitive. I mean am I missing something here? Was there some big win I’m unaware of? Lets not forget that were talking about a team that lost more games than it won, didn’t win a championship and only beat Alleghany-Limestone by 6. Sorry sir but a sub 500 small school is not getting 2 players on any teams.

Really

Dose,
Nice – at least now I got you talking some passion about a small MMA team. You definately know it all – maybe you should start your own blog, or better yet get a coaching gig…. Banasack, Horan and Hervey start and make most teams in WNY better instantly. I agree its going to take a smart intelligent basketball mind to realize that making it to the championship means more than breaking scoring records. Being a team guy gets teams further than being someone who only looks for them self. These three were that guy. And deserve some recognition, even if it is because of where they finished.
Get the facts on the types of wins they had. Different reasons different teams win by certain amounts. A win is a win. Thats right Duke lost to South Carolina, guess they are no good either and Kentucky only won by 3, their bad too.
Not only are you off on Nichols but you are way off on St Mary’s. Teams who go deep into the playoffs should be represented. Its a fact. If they win the championship they deserve recognition more so.
Short minded average fans will agree with you I assume.

Coach

Before any one drags these kids through the mud I must say kudos to them all. They worked hard listened to their coach and had a nice finish to the Nichols season. For this dose guy to give us reasons why kids are not good enough should not be allowed on here. Only reasons why they should be on the list should be posted. CC please remove his comments!!
These kids will read this as well as people who know them and what they are really like.
Dose – gotta go!!!

What!

Dose is the same Dude who said Canisius would lose to Joes in the playoffs. Talks straight out his tail pipe.

Coach

HAHA – AGREED!

StateChamps2003

Will Johnson is probably the only player on Nichols who has a legit shot at making an All WNY team. Personally, I don’t think he gets it but he’ll definitely get an honorable mention nod.
Banasack, Horan and Hervey are all great role players but if they’re not getting recognition from their own league then I doubt they will get any recognition from Centercourt’s Team or the Buffalo News.
As for St. Mary’s, them going “deep into the playoffs” is a bit of an overstatement. They beat a two man Walsh team and barely beat an under .500 Nichols team to win the lower class MMA “title”. They get vaulted into the Class B Catholic State Championship game and get soundly beaten (80 – 52) by a much better LaSalle team from NYC. There are definitely 25 players in WNY who are more deserving of a spot on the All WNY teams than players from St. Mary’s or Nichols.
I also have no problem with what “dose of reality” has said. He’s not demeaning any of the players or being rude in his comments. Just giving his opinion which this platform has allowed us to do. Keep the comments coming.

walshalumni

Let it be known :
Walsh played the entire season with 3 starters, that had no prior basketball experience before this season. 2 of which were foreign exchange students, and all of the others were freshmen! Think about that….
Tavien Kemp faced literal double, triple, and sometimes (Nichols) quadruple teams! All game long. Someone mentioned Shakur Harris not being able to be overlooked for 1st team…..because of how hard he worked, and the defensive attention he had to face. I’m not sure that his argument can be regarded in the same light as Kemp’s. Kemp scored 40 points or more 6 times this season, against the likes of St Mary’s, Fredonia, and Class AA Corning-Painted Post (47points). He finished the season averaging 33ppg, 10+rpg, and at least 5 steals per game. All while facing ALL of the attention of every single opponent on the floor, at all times. Walsh had kids that couldn’t make wide open layups (literally) – and other team’s coaches obviously knew that. So they left kids wide open and double/triple teamed Kemp. All game long. He still put up the WNY season high average (?) and a single season MMA record! He deserves to be on 1st team, no question. Along with all defensive team. Nobody faced the kind of scenario that he had to face, night in and night out. Nobody

CloseOut

I agree with you Coach, comments should be appropriate but if you want to start removing comments a good place to start would be Really’s. Really states that 3 players from his team would “start and improve most teams”, he is entitled to his opinion. If he is going to throw out that kind of statement then people are going to respond. I can think of at least 15-20 teams where that would not be the case including the majority of the schools in their own association. Remember this is a “blog” not the New York Times. I do agree that Fenn did an excellent job with Nichols this year and will continue to improve as few school in Western New York casts a wider net than Nichols. I am sure he will upgrade the talent level and they will be very strong within a few years.

StateChamps2003

walshalumni – There is actually a YouTube video of the Walsh vs. Corning game and I didn’t see any double or triple teams on Tavien Kemp unless he’s dribbling into the lane (where, typically speaking there are many defenders) or designed zone traps. Corning just played straight ball denial defense on him…with one guy.
Yes, he scored a ton of points this year but he had to score a lot of points. Who else is going to score them? I’m not trying to take anything away from the kid, he’s a helluva player. Which is why I placed him on the 2nd team. But I’d take Shakur Harris’ 26 points against Amherst in a championship game or 28 points against Cheektowaga in the semi-final over any of Tavien Kemp’s 40 point games.
To play the hypothetical game (which, admittedly, I hate), could other top WNY basketball players drop 40 points in a game 6 times in a season if they played on Walsh? More than likely, yes. I’d be willing to bet that Dolan, Welch (he might’ve even accomplished this), Rojas, Warren and Harris could all do it.

dose of reality

To “Really” and all the other names you use to promote your kid’s team,
In response to you asking me to “get the facts on the types of wins they had” at Nichols, I say you should be careful what you ask for. Here are those facts.
1. St. Michael- a weak Canadian team that Niagara Catholic also beat the following night
2. Wilson- middle of the pack NO team
3. Bradford- finished 4/4 in IAABO Tournament
4. Niagara Catholic- beat them 3 times, congrats
5. CCA- beat them twice, again congrats
6. Joes- Walsh & Mary’s also beat them
7. Alleghany-Limestone- 5 seed in class C1
8. Walsh- Also lost to them
8. Cardinal OHara- Also lost to them, but beat them twice after they imploded at the end of the year
By the way, I’ve never written a word about St. Mary’s so don’t make stuff up. And when your argument starts losing steam you go to the “making it to a championship should be recognized” card. Well out of the 20 teams from WNY that made a championship game, only Nichols finished below .500. And if every team that reached a championship had a kid make the top 25, that would water down the entire process. It would be in line with the every kid gets a trophy theory, which I’m sure you subscribe to.

walshalumni

@statechamps2003 – you make very solid points, no question. The game against Corning-PP would be the one game you would mention though. They didn’t double or triple because it was still pretty early in the season, and it was a non league game – quite far from Olean. Not sure they were game planning for that. However, ask the St Mary’s coach – or the Nichols coach how they feel about it? 43 against St Mary’s – when they were clearly double and tripling all game. Big games against Nichols, in both games – while facing blatant triple teams. Even in a blowout to Timon, ask their coach if they didn’t double him all game long? He still had like 38 that game too, and they weren’t garbage points. He also did most of Walsh’s rebounding. To do what Kemp did, you have to be in pretty great shape! You also have to be a very composed player. You don’t think 99% of kids would get extremely frustrated playing with other 15-17 year old kids/teammates that have a hard time catching a pass, or making a wide open layup? Kids that were hearing the term “triple threat position” for the first time in their life. He never shows any signs of frustration, or fatigue, or attitude. He isn’t selfish, by any means. I think alot of kids would force much worse shots than anything that you saw on Youtube. I think most all MMA coaches would agree, Class A or Class B. I also think that 99% of kids would outwardly show frustration on a regular basis – had they had to face the same situation as Tavien. If you think that he couldn’t score 28 on Amherst, you would be dead wrong. Coach Kensy would concur, I’m sure. Walsh finished the season 13-11. Not bad for a team with 2 kids that had prior basketball experience. Pretty remarkable actually.

dose of reality

Walsh finishing 13-11 with a team that had 2 kids with prior basketball experience is downright amazing…..especially when you consider that Nichols apparently had 4 kids that would start for and make most teams in WNY better and finished below .500
Truthfully I think both Harris and Kemp would be fine additions to 1st team, but think only one gets there. Both were warriors for their teams

music

walshalumni I’m guessing you didn’t see teams defense Dom Welch. Every game he had a shadow with a smaller quicker player and once he put it on the floor doubled and tripled teamed. Lew-Port triple teamed him while he had the wny scoring record in site so he passed it to guys wide open under the basket until they built a 25 point lead!! So slow down with your “nobody” quote.

Newfane Fan

Nice to see some smaller school kids get some shout outs!! Kyle DeVoogel plays in smaller league, but he shot 49% from 3s and 55% from field in non-league games that included 26 vs. N.T., 20 vs. Ohara, 28 vs. Sweet Home, 25 vs Clarence, 18 vs. Seneca. For the year averaged over 18 a game with 6 steals a game. I know small league. Stats don’t lie.

walshalumni

@music – go back and read what I actually wrote. I said that nobody faced the same type of scenario as Kemp. Meaning that nobody else in WNY had 3 starters with 0 prior basketball experience. Dom could rely on other guys to catch a pass, and make a wide open layup when he is getting doubled and tripled. Kemp couldn’t. You obviously didn’t catch a Walsh game this season. The 12th man on Cheektowaga would have been the 3rd best player on that Walsh team! That is the scenario that I was referencing.

StateChamps2003

What “walshalumni” is trying to say is that he believes Tavien Kemp should receive special treatment when deciding where he goes on the All WNY teams given the unfortunate circumstances he had to endure as a basketball player for Walsh.

Truth

Tavien Kemp deserves to be on the 1st team because he carried a team who has very little experience to the Manhattan Cup playoffs. Although he had help from his brother Latrell Butler-Kemp as a big scorer, he still managed to average 33 ppg. Tavien constantly put in the work that he needed to be one of the best players in the Monsignor Martin League. Tavien managed to find ways to break the double/triple teams that was thrown at him. Tavien deserves to be on the 1st team because of the success he has had in his 3 seasons that he played at Archbishop Walsh Academy. Latrell Butler-Kemp deserves more credit than he got this season because he stepped up and helped his brother carry the team.

walshalumni

@statechamps2003 – I honestly thought you were more intelligent than that. If that is truly your conclusion, then I was wrong.

StateChamps2003

I’m intelligent enough to place Tavien Kemp on the 2nd Team. It’s my personal opinion that Dolan, Welch, Warren, Rojas and Harris are more deserving of the 1st Team. You believe that Kemp could score 26 points against Amherst and I believe that the 5 above mentioned players could easily have averaged 33 points per game while taking 25-30 shots per game under the same circumstances as Kemp at Walsh against the same class of opponents. They are both “what if” scenarios.
Given what I’ve scene from the above 6 players, I like Kemp with the 2nd team which is by no means a knock against him.

There is no way to explain and put into reference what Tavien Kemp accomplished. He scored many points from steals and fast breaks his defense is highly underrated. Also at 6 feet tall he was the second tallest person on the team for most of the season and was far and away the leading rebounder. You may find one game vs Corning which he wasn’t triple teamed but that is far and away an exception. The usual was triple teams and junk defenses used to stop him. And those not involved with the man to man were in zone waiting for him to come down the lane. They left everyone but his brother wide open. It was literally him going through 4 guys to get to the rim on each basket. Check the box scores most games the other players could only muster about 6 points total because they were young and inexperienced.

Truth

Tavien Kemp did not shoot 25-30 shots a game the most he shot was 28 and that was the Corning game on average he shot about 15-20 shots a game. He got to the free throw line atleast 10 a game that’s where most of his points came from. So I don’t believe those players would average 33 on Walsh @statechamps2003

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