Empire State Takeover: By The Numbers

If you're an analytical guy who loves numbers like I do, then you'll enjoy this. If not, you'll think I have no life. I'm doing it for the first type. Here's a breakdown of the leagues' participants, and the quality of the leagues, numerically speaking.

Boys

- 75 participants listed: 43 of 75 have Section II roots (either currently go to HS in the section or currently go to prep school, but previously were Section II kids).

- 1 Section I representative, Kevin Townes Jr. of Poughkeepsie's Our Lady of Lourdes.

- 14 Section III reps listed. 12 of 14 are on Upstate Select roster, including all CSC & TVL reps. A 15th, Ross Gerber, goes to prep in NH but has Section III roots in Cazenovia.

- 4 Section IV reps - 2 from Delaware League, 2 from STAC.

- 1 Section V rep as an alternate, Devin Verkey from Seneca Falls' Mynderse Academy.

- 4 Section VII reps - 2 sets of teammates this past season in Kaden Baugh/Kevin Murray (Plattsburgh Seton Catholic - Kaden doing postgrad year at Vermont Academy) and Adam Jaquish/Taylor Slattery (Moriah - went 1st & 2nd team all-state in Class D, respectively).

- 2 Section X reps - also brothers, Louden & Declan Porter. They win the 'farthest drive' award, rolling between 3:30 & 3:45 from Canton.

- 5 players go to non-prep schools out of state, including a pair from VT and as far east as Leominster, MA.

- 10 players (at least) currently play at prep school or will be in the fall - 9 are listed concretely, along with Dyaire Holt. There are probably at least a couple more who will decide on prep between now and August.

- 4 players, that I know of at least, currently hold Division I offers. Since this was the first week for Division I schools to officially contact Class of 2017 kids, that number may be rising.

- Of the top 25 scoring underclassmen in Section II, 15 (60%) are participating, including 3 of top 4 and 7 of top 10.

- To my knowledge, 8 participants were league MVPs this past winter. In all, 29 received 1st team honors in their league.

- 16 players made all-state teams this season (1 AA, 5 A, 2 B, 2 C, 6 D). An additional 9 (2 A, 3 B, 3 C, 1 D) made all-state honorable mention lists. That makes 25 of 67 that played high school basketball in NYS this year on the all-state lists.

- 44 of the participants are Class of 2016 graduates, 4 of them doing a post-grad year. Most of the rest - 26 of them - are Class of 2017. Only 5 are younger than that, with 3 Class of 2018 graduates and a pair entering their freshman year.

- Only NCAA certified event in all of NYS.

Girls

- 60 participants listed: 31 of 60 have Section II roots.

- 1 Section I representative, Rebecca Townes of Our Lady of Lourdes - Kevin's younger sister

- 14 Section III reps, including 7 from CSC schools (2 CSC II, 4 CSC IV, 1 CSC V). 10 of 14, and 4 of 7, are on Lady Knicks roster. Other 4 (and 3) are on Show Stoppers.

- 1 Section IV rep, Erin Nolan from state champion Susquehanna Valley as an alternate.

- 2 Section VII reps currently (though it may change), Northern Adirondack teammates Taylor Durnin & Paige Chilton.

- 2 Section IX reps.

- 1 Section X rep. Natalie DiSalvo is another Canton to Union product.

- 8 players hold their roots out of state - 4 from MA, 4 from VT. Farthest east is Lauraine Joensen (Northampton via Denmark). Farthest north: Emma Carter from Mount Abraham Union in Bristol, VT - or as the locals call it, Mt. Abe.

- No idea who's got offers where, as it isn't so publicized on the girls' basketball side. If I had to take a guess, off of talks I've had, I would say around 10 hold Division I offers.

- 11 players made all-state teams this year (1 A, 4 B, 3 C, 3 D). An additional 3 (1 AA, 1 A, 1 B) made all-state honorable mention. 14 out of 51 that played HS ball in NYS were on all-state lists. With the youth of this league, mentioned below, look for that number to rise drastically next year.

- This young: 20 participants are Class of 2016 (rising seniors), 25 Class of 2017, 11 Class of 2018, 4 Class of 2019.