Girls MVP Migliore Makes It Official, Signs LOI to St. Bonaventure

*** Brace yourself. I'm actually not going to be mean to Danielle right now. Anyone who has been around a conversation between the two of us knows this is a rare occasion.

To anyone following girls hoops in upstate New York over the last year, this one isn't news. Now it's in writing, too.

On signing day, which has turned into a bit of a holiday for basketball enthusiasts (and just so happened to fall on a real holiday this time), Frankfort-Schuyler senior and 2015 EST girls league MVP Danielle Migliore put her name on the dotted line, signing her letter of intent to play at the next level for St. Bonaventure.

Migliore has been on the scene for what seems like forever now, and I've been lucky enough to have a front row seat for a lot of it - even when I wasn't paying much attention to girls' basketball. Danielle hails from my hometown area - Frankfort-Schuyler was basically the sworn rival of my alma mater, Herkimer, when I was in high school. As a 21 year old college student with an ankle injury that made me hang up the shoes competitively, I picked up a modified coaching gig at Herkimer and was the assistant varsity coach. This was Danielle's freshman year. I'll never forget scouting them against Class D Stockbridge Valley in Frankfort's secondary gym. Danielle put up about 20 in the first 12 minutes of the game, had handle and an IQ way beyond her years, and had the look of a player. That's when I realized 'hey, she's gonna be really good'.

Fast forward 3 years, and nothing has changed. Now on track to be the most decorated Center State Conference girls basketball player ever, and the first (boy or girl) to commit to a Division I school for basketball in over 20 years, she's still plugging away. Migliore made the commitment early, not even letting her junior basketball season complete before announcing her verbal to the Bonnies. She also held an offer from Liberty, but left no suspense into her future destination.
 

Migliore off the dribble against EST 1st team selection Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Mohonasen '17) in Positive Impact's Capital District Classic on October 24

After averaging 27.4 points per game last year and finishing a game short of the 600 point mark on the season, she finds herself with 1,300 career points heading into her senior year. 2,000 career points is quite a stretch, but with a full & healthy season, she'll have the chance to flirt with the number. With a 1st team all-state selection in Class C already in the bag, she'll also be geared up to match that accomplishment once more.

She showed that elite scoring ability this summer in Empire State Takeover almost every time out. As a member of girls league champion All Day, the 3rd seed in the regular season that knocked off #2 seed Havoc and #1 seed Outwork to get the title, she came through with impressive offensive performances time and time again, even against the opposition's best defender. Her alliance with perhaps the league's top true point guard in Lucy Tougas proved deadly, as it allowed her to be in attack mode from increasingly comfortable spots on the court.

The numbers are undeniable: Migliore led the league in points per game (23.4 - a whopping 9.2 PPG ahead of 2nd) and total points (164). She had the girls league's top 5 individual game scoring performances, with a season high of 33, and she was the only player in the league to score 25 points in a game (which she did in all 5 of those games). She had 28 in a 43-28 semifinal win over Havoc, where she knocked down 5 threes and went 11/15 from the line. She followed it up with 26 in a 57-53 finals W over Outwork, going 16/21 from the line. She went 54/79 from the line for the season, tops in the league in FTM (by 26) and FTA (by 37). The only offensive category that she didn't top the league in was 3 pointers - she finished 3rd in the league with 18 threes made on the season, and just shared 1st place in most threes made in a game (5).

More importantly - at least for someone who's a product of the Mohawk Valley like myself - Migliore is exactly what people think can't come from that area. If I had a nickel for each time I've heard about how no one can ever make it out of small-school USA, I wouldn't be running leagues or typing this because I'd be too 'busy' right now with my breakfast mimosa in my 4th vacation home... for when I got sick of the first 3. There's certainly stronger talent in metropolitan areas, and perhaps a great deal more opportunity to get yourself out there. You don't have to let where you come from hold you back, though. Whether your graduating class is 1,000, 100 (probably what Frankfort's senior class is), or 20 - put first-class work in and you'll see first-class results. Above all, Danielle has the reputation of being a gym rat, always getting extra shots up. It shows in her play on the court and her supreme confidence. I got to see it firsthand - she earned the right to put pen to paper today with hour after hour of sweat equity. It doesn't matter where you come from. Mix some talent with an insatiable desire to get better, and you can 'make it'.

So the sincerest of congratulations goes to Danielle on making it official - not just from someone who ran a league she played in or 'coached' the team she was on, but from someone who was able to witness the evolution. Someone who had to help gameplan against her in previous years, and yes, someone who had to play the role of Danielle in a scrimmage during practice (I gave them buckets too). Quite literally a once-in-a-generation talent to come out of the Mohawk Valley, and hopefully showing the up-and-comers that it's possible to garner D1 attention out of the valley will help sprout some more talent in years to come. All the current and future successes are much deserved!