On Saturday, February 3, 2018, the first ever Centercourt Classic will take place at Williamsville South High School. Below are the top 10 reasons you need to be there:
Reason #10 - Free Parking
– Okay, so maybe every game offers free parking, but my point here is this is some of the best-bang-for-your-buck there is. I promise a little #BOOM for your buck as well. Williamsville South is pretty centrally located, so you won't empty an entire tank of gas getting there. The parking really is free. And you can make a day out of it for a buck & a quarter per game. That's small potatoes for a heaping serving of hoops with some big names, great teams, and awesome pairings. You'll spend more on a bagel sandwich at Timmy Ho's or one of those energy drinks. Have you seen what's on the dollar menu lately? I think just the napkins.
Reason #9 – 280 Twitter characters can't do it justice
– Twitter is a great way to stay informed, but nothing beats the real thing. You won't have to rely on my tweets for updates. Instead of scrolling through my timeline for scores or pulling out your phone after every notification, watch it all unfold live. Don't be surprised by the halftime point totals. See that #BOOM for yourself.
Reason #8 – We're already past Groundhog's Day
– Look at the calendar…it's all coming to an end soon. Two weeks after the Centercourt Classic is over, so is the regular season. The next thing you know, we're making predictions on who can win in the Far West Regionals. It all happens in a flash. The high school basketball season is a blur. A wrinkle in time. Get your schedule ironed out on Saturday, February 3rd and be there
Reason #7 – Ball is Life and this event fits perfectly into yours
– It's on a Saturday in February. How many times have you thought 'I'd love to see that game, but we play at 6:30 or we have practice until 7? That excuse won't wash on Saturday, February 3rd. I've checked the schedule and there's not much going on. Maybe you're one of the few teams that has a game that afternoon – but it won't last from 12 pm until 7:30 pm. I saved you time to sleep in on Saturday morning and still egt out to keep your plans on Saturday night. In between, you get four awesome high school basketball games. It's like I'm describing a perfect world.
Reason #6 – Coaching
– Sometimes the coaches make the game as much fun as the players do. When I was putting these matchups together, I got really excited at the thought of pairing up two fiery coaches against each other, who I consider to be two of the best motivators that roam the sidelines of WNY high school baskeball. East coach Starling Bryant and St. Mary's coach Paul Rath are two extremely passionate individuals. I actually have some of my favorite lines uttered by Bryant in a notebook at home because of some of the stuff that comes out when he's in the heat of the game – some hilarious, some serious, and all original. Rath is equally spirited in his own right between the opening tip and the final horn. He looks like one bad mamba-jamba with his chest sticking out and his chin up and he's watching the game unfold, and won't hesitate to light one of his guys up for a lack of effort or a missed assignment. I love it!
Reason #5 – Seeing is Believing
– Unlike Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster, these guys really exist. So you've heard a lot about Elliot Bowen from Ellicottville over the past couple of seasons. Sam Erickson's name & mug have been all over my site & Twitter account. I know you've heard of Jalin Cooper. And what about this tandem from Newfane – Max Weber & Kyle DeVoogel? Well, I'm willing to bet that all of you have heard about these guys, but unfortunately, most of you haven't seen them play. Well now is your chance. All five of those names will be laced up on Saturday, and that's just in the first two games. You're welcome!
Reason #4 – Cattaraugus County meets Niagara & Orleans Counties
If you're anything like me, you've always wondered who would win between the small schools from the Southern Tier and the ones at the opposite end of Section VI in Niagara & Orleans Counties. You only ever see them paired up in a random sectional pre-quarterfinal or quarterfinal, where one team has to drive two hours to get rolled by a much higher seed. So I took the best in CCAA II East and matched them up against the best from the N-O and we got them to meet in the middle. So now instead of wondering or asking if those small schools tucked away at either end of the section are any good (they are), you can come and see for yourself.
Reason #3 – Great Teams & Outstanding Talents
– Every team in the Centercourt Classic reached either Buff State or JCC in 2017, except St. Mary's who won the Manhattan Cup in Class B.
– Every team in the Centercourt Classic returned its top player from 2017.
– Three of the top 8 teams in NYS Class D are playing in the Centercourt Classic.
– Six of the eight teams in the Centercourt Classic are ranked in NYS and the local polls.
– Nine players in the Centercourt Classic were on the 2017 All-Centercourt Team. Six of those players landed in the Top 25!
Reason #2 – Because you love this stuff just like I do
– It's a great way to support all the running around I do all winter in an attempt to make the high school basketball season fun on a grand scale. This event is my latest attempt at just that. I've always wanted to see some great nonleague games late in the season when I'm already familiar with all the moving parts. Think about it, this is the only event of its kind. The month of December is loaded with tournaments, classics, challenges, and showcases, and that's great. But how many times have I heard "yeah, but that game was in December…you can't go by that." Well, these games are in February, the same month that teams see their seasons come to a crashing halt, often unexpectedly. These are playoff-type matchups, all four of them, and they're being played at a time when teams are hitting their playoff strides.
Reason #1 – Captain Obvious
– Greg Dolan's Billies of Williamsville South are taking on Davonte Gaines and Health Sciences. If you have two bigger names to offer the high school basketball scene, you're referring to the wrong year.
Dolan has put together a four-career at Williamsville South will have him mentioned among the very best to ever take the court in WNY. As a freshman he led the Billies to the Far West Regional in Class A. He was a First Team All-Centercourt selection as a sophomore after advancing South to Glens Falls. Last season, his Billies spent time as the #1 ranked team in the area. This year, he's been downright filthy with the things he does on the court and the numbers that accompany those performances, like 29.5 ppg and a season-high 47. Once again, he has his team piling up wins and regarded among the best teams in this area.
Gaines is in his third varsity season at Health Sciences and his accolades there during that span are eye-popping. As a sophomore, I remember watching 'The Ticket' & the Falcons play at Park, and it was glaringly obvious he was a future big time player that night, watching him shine against a bevy of talent on that Pioneers' team that included Jordan Nwora & Noah Hutchins. After a junior season that saw Gaines take his game to another level, he took his team to the next level as well. Health Sciences, just as South did the year prior, advanced to the state final four. Then came the offseason and the offer he was waiting for, which he accepted – Tennessee! His senior year has already produced the best numbers all the way around – a pair of quadruple-doubles and a WNY game season-high 52 points.
This is the duel fans want to see. This is the battle of elite talents you actually get to see, if you get Williamsville South on Saturday, February 3rd. It's the '
Game of the Week' and could be a game we remember for years.
2018 Centercourt Classic at Williamsville South HS
Medina vs. Franklinville – 12 pm
Newfane vs. Ellicottville – 2 pm
St. Mary's vs. East – 4 pm
Williamsville South vs. Health Sciences – 6 pm
-centercourt
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