In a league where the majority of players on each team have never played basketball with each other before, having a spring season of experience as a core unit is a real advantage.
Oh yeah, being good doesn't hurt, either.
In the girls' league, Havoc has both sides going for them, and they head into Week 2 being the lone team sitting at 2-0.
Out of the 13 players on the roster with the Kentucky blue jerseys, 10 of them don orange jerseys on the AAU circuit with Havoc coach Terrance Florence's Saratoga Sparks team. A few of those 10 are new to the Sparks this year, having made the transition from the Albany Capitals. They, like many of the other top teams on the circuit, contribute to their frequent flyer mile count through the season. Along with spring tournaments in Virginia and Pennsylvania, they will be on the road for July tournaments in Florida, Illinois, and Washington, DC.
On Thursday, while other teams were getting acclimated to the others on their roster and getting their feet wet, Havoc did things that good, well-practiced teams do. They worked together on defense and communicated well. They had a few offensive sets in the bag and executed. When offense was a struggle for them in Game 1 without standouts Nina Fedullo, Grace Heeps, and Olivia Baumann, they dug in on defense and held a Lady Knicks squad (who also comes in as a team with set plays) to just 21 points.
Teamwork went a long way for them in the back end of their doubleheader as well. Playing against an All Day squad that boasted 4 (maybe 5) scholarship-level prospects out of their 7 players, including a St. Bonaventure commit, their familiarity won out. Their pick & roll game had continued success throughout the game, with guards Emily Wander & Cameron Tooley seemingly knowing exactly where a rolling Jordan Hipwell would be and where she wanted the ball at all times - or should I say Hipwell knew where the guards wanted her to be? Regardless of what way you look at it, familiarity went a long way.
Emily Wander was particularly impressive on Thursday. She's one of the shortest players in the league at 5'3", but she's fearless. Mix that with her scoring ability with the jumper and off the drive, playmaking ability, and one of the slickest handles in the league, and she more than makes up for her build. Cameron Tooley made things happen from the guard slot as well - the lefty made play after play using the screen, and she also showed fearlessness knifing her way to the rim. Shyla Sanford has the ability to stretch out the defense, and she made defenders pay for sinking in on penetration or going under screens by knocking down 4 threes. The aforementioned Jordan Hipwell showcased a good feel for the game, good hands, and the ability to finish in traffic in the second game, where she finished with 16 points - a night-high for the team. They have height as well; 6'3" Tara Sager doesn't have many plays called for her, but she impacts the game in a number of ways when fully invested. Her 4 blocks made a difference in how their opponents attacked in the 1st game. She also kept possessions alive on the offensive end and got a few buckets off post isolation and offensive boards. Most of their height was missing - look for them to be a matchup nightmare when 6'1" post Skye Lindsay, 5'11" tweener Nina Fedullo, 5'11" combo guard Olivia Baumann, and 5'10" point guard Grace Heeps are in the lineup this week.
What's the scariest thing about this team? Not a single rising senior! The majority are in the Class of 2017, with Lindsay, Sanford, Tooley, and Madison Graber entering their sophomore years and Heeps entering her freshman year. This squad's havoc-wreaking is far from over.
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