Week 2 in Review

Boys League

- Team basketball and playing defense really does exist in a boys' summer league! Just ask Team 518. Showing possession after possession that they've taken the 'me' out of summer league and would prefer getting Ws over individual accolades, they have become the CLEAR frontrunner through 2 weeks. They're 4-0 on the season, while every other team has at least 2 losses. 3 of their wins have been by double digits, and the 4th was a forfeit. The only team they've yet to play - 1-3 Upstate Select. After defeating a strong Bellevue team by double digits Wednesday, they turned around and put the whooping of the year on a Rising Stars team that had went 2-0 the week before - 64-36, 35-10 at halftime, and everyone involved with the team in red was visibly frustrated. They have perhaps the two most dominant big men in the league (Andrew Sischo & Zac O'Dell), Tyler Lamport has been a huge spark for them, and arguably their MVP - Kaden Baugh - is averaging under 4 points per game. Perhaps the only person in the entire league who is truly relishing the role of leader and pass-first point guard, he has everyone engaged, active, and firing on all cylinders. How long will it take teams to realize you're not going to beat 518 going 1 on 1? As long as it takes, they'll keep winning.

- Credit to the guys who showed up for Marcella Appliances. It's tough when more than half of your team isn't there. It's tough playing a game with no subs - let alone two of them. It's tough to play the length of a forfeit game, turn around and play another game right after that does count. They did it... and won. Marcella's performance with 5 players - 2 of them last-minute called upon alternates - in a 69-58 W over Upstate Select is a respect gainer. Kory Bergh, perhaps the most underrated point guard in the area, took control of the group and kept the ball moving while leading them with 17. They will have low numbers again this Wednesday, so it'll be another challenging week, but this crew showed they have the heart to get it done.

- There is hope for Man Up. You can't get to much worse of a start than only having 4 guys show up on opening night. From Week 1 to Week 2 alone looks like night & day. Some new faces helped the cause - Rhinebeck's Jack Spencer injected some life in the blocks, Hoosick Falls' Connor McCart showcased different sides of his game in a great opening night for him, but no contribution was felt quite as much as Zach Radz. In sheer terms of legitimate value to his team, Radz may be this league's MVP. A team that is in desperate need of someone that can create his own scoring opportunities and put the ball in the basket, Zach may do that better than anyone here. He scored 46 points between two games, 36 of them coming in the 2nd half, in a 3 point L and 1 point W. Radz keeps them in games. When Luke Hicks comes back, they're 1 piece away from being a dangerous group later in the season and in playoffs...

- Pretty cool stat: 9 guys have been in uniform for Bellevue through 2 weeks in their 3 documented games (not including the forfeit W over Marcella). 8 of them have scored in double digits in at least one of those games - the only one who hasn't scored 8 in a game. However, none of them have scored 20. Their season highs are 19 (Bryce Allen & Tyler Champagne each did it).


Girls League

- How long is it going to take before I ever see a set of games as entertaining as Thursday?! Let's go over this. There was Show Stoppers' 1 point W, where Lexi Tubbs hit a game winning 3 at the buzzer. There was Outwork's 3 point W, where they followed All Day standout (and St. Bonaventure commit) Danielle Migliore on a 3 point attempt at the buzzer. Luckily for them, she didn't score her 30th point of the night and missed the first shot. Outwork also had a 2 point win over Havoc (the team that also lost by 1) where they relied on a big 2nd half performance from Chloe Chaffin and had to get a stop in the final seconds. Before All Day's 3 point loss, they won by 6 over Lady Knicks in a game where they jumped out to an 11 point lead in the 2nd half, then had to hold off a push from a team that's growing confidence game by game. The 'blowout' of the night, loosely used here, was a 54-43 Lady Knicks win over Show Stoppers where they led from beginning to end. The total margin of the 5 games combined was 23 points. That's an average of just 4.6 separating two teams each game. I'll take that any week!

- Teams might want to start throwing two defenders on Danielle Migliore every now and then, because one just can't get it done. The aforementioned All Day standout is leading the league in scoring by 8 points per game, and she makes it happen in a variety of ways. A true scorer, she can shake off the roughest of starts with just 1 make. After starting cold in the nightcap Thursday, one bucket turned her from ice to fire. She scored 10 quick ones in under 5 minutes at one point and finished with a game high 29 points. That also sets a season-high mark for her and for the league - the previous high was 25, which also was from her. All Day has plenty of others that can put the ball in the hoop at a high rate, but there's no one in the league who can make it happen (almost at will) like she can.

- Credit to Lady Knicks for coming back with some pride and a vengeance after taking their lumps on opening night. After losing their first two games 32-21 and 58-32, the mainly Utica-area squad came out - with a couple new important bodies - and changed their outlook from the opening tip Thursday. Their 54 points in the opening game outdid their first week combined. Jordan Lee and Shiane Irwin (who missed opening night) had 14 each, Nerea Brajac (new Week 2 addition) had 11 and always-consistent Cassidy Albright had 10. They suffered a loss to All Day directly after, but it was just a 6 point loss where they were in it every step of the way. The Lady Knicks left Union Week 2 with a much better showing and much more confidence than the week prior, which will certainly bode well for them heading into a Thursday where they will undoubtedly have the fullest roster.

- Some of these teams are exciting and get it done with fireworks, but the team with the best record through two weeks does it by their namesake: Outwork. They responded to getting beat around a little in the 1st half of the 6:00 game by taking it back to their Havoc opponent. Nothing too pretty about a 41-39 game with the winning team making 1 three. It was all about keeping it simple for Outwork. Easy ones in transition, offensive boards, getting to the rim... and Chloe Chaffin had her coming-out party. The Kingston rising sophomore showed a new level of confidence and exhibited why she's received legitimate Division I attention with a strong 2nd half - which carried over into the next game, where they kept it simple again to beat a nearly full All Day group. They killed their opponent on the boards in the nightcap, made 14/17 at the line, and made the extra pass every time. The end of the game was fitting - a simple clearout for Chaffin set up her drive to the rack and a foul, where she split a pair at the line but teammate Madison Little chewed up the offensive board. She was fouled, got to the line, and made both. Tenacity, hustle, teamwork, and a dose of the fundamentals have pushed them to 3-1.

- Two pretty cool stats: Show Stoppers knocked home 19 threes between the two games, which accounted for 57 of their 107 points. They've hit 36 threes on the year, which leads the league by a long shot: 2nd place has 15. Over half of their points on the season (108 of 212) have been from 19'9" and farther. Also, peep the balance for Outwork. They play like the San Antonio Spurs, and the box scores aren't lying. Chloe Chaffin leads them in scoring with 9.8 per game (less than 10!), and 5 other players (Lauraine Joensen, Madison Little, Brianna Legacy, Megan Flynn, and Ashley Starzyk) are averaging at least 6.25 points per game. No one's killing you... they all are.


Check out the action at Union College this week, as the boys tip off Week 3 at 6:00 on Wednesday, July 8. The girls will follow at the same time the following day. This marks the first week of the NCAA Division I evaluation period, so coaches of all divisions will officially be allowed to attend.