Many of the Capital District's top up & coming basketball talent donned a jersey at the same place last Saturday: Schenectady High School, home of the inaugural Havoc Fall Shootout. The majority of the Capital District boys suited up for 518 Mix, a team largely consisting of City Rocks players. The girls side, which was the stronger showcase of the two, had local talent more spread out.
Boys
518 Mix split games against a pair of teams from Redemption Christian Academy, a prep school now based in Northfield, MA. They lost a double digit lead and held on to win by 4 against RCA's varsity squad, and then lost by 20 to the post-grad team. Contributions were given from Guilderland teammates Andrew Sischo and Mike Wine, Green Tech teammates Dasier Lukes and Neftali Lind, Watervliet's Ty'Jon Gilmore, Troy's Ryan Carmello, Mount Anthony Union (VT)'s Tyler Champagne, Whitesboro's Josh Gregory, and Little Falls' Todd Hubbell. Wine and Hubbell are juniors; the rest are seniors.
Other boys teams showcased local talent. NYE consisted mainly of Green Tech players, and there was a team representing Albany HS - those two went to overtime in the morning. Capital District based team Squad did well - normally led by Lansingburgh's Davonte Jones and Green Tech's Derrick Rowland, among others. They certainly were aided by Putnam (MA) senior Tyonne Malone Jr., an explosive 6'5" wing with offers from UMass, Saint Peter's, Sacred Heart, and Manhattan. Shaker varsity went at it without a coach Saturday - led by guards Ben Diamond and Brian Hayes, along with post Kai Dare. They battled many of the Capital District's future stars in the last game of the day, an AOBA team consisting of many of the best 8th & 9th graders.
Girls
The girls side had some shining stars, and it was very balanced at the top. The best teams there played each other, and all of the games were close. No team at the oldest level walked out unscathed, and 4 different groups had impressive talent at that age group. Havoc - the host team - along with Albany Lady Falcons and a last second crew that myself and tournament director Terrance Florence put together (donning mainly Empire State Takeover jerseys) all went 2-1 on the day by beating each other up. Berkshire Blazers, out of western MA, also had some impressive talent.
The new look New York Havoc team, with Terrance Florence at the helm, has a great display of the top Capital District prospects in 2017, 2018, and 2019. They won close games over Berkshire Blazers and Albany Lady Falcons, losing one in the middle to the Empire State Takeover squad that went down to the final possession. A few players had shining stretches for the squad.
Amsterdam junior 3/4 Nina Fedullo stood out at both ends with her usual combination of skill and will. Her ability on the basketball court is like that of a utility player in baseball - plug & play anywhere and you'll be fine, and no one on the court will outwork her. To add to her scrappy style of play and ability to convert from 15' and in, she showed growing confidence in knocking down the 3. Columbia freshman Grace Heeps stood out as usual with the tools she provides. A 5'10" combo guard, game most suited for the 2 but can also run the point, kept the defense honest with her shooting ability and showed off an increased ability to get to the rim off the dribble. 5'10" Glens Falls junior Lucy Tougas has also made a seamless transition over to Havoc and had her shining moments. Another combo guard but certainly more comfortable running the point, she had very strong stretches at the 1. She was more confident in the jumper, knocking down several pull-up mid-range Js, and it opened up her ability to set up others later in the day.
Shaker sophomore 2 guard Shyla Sanford brought everything you expect of her to the table - a pitbull of a defender, she caused issues for whoever she was guarding, and she continued to show as pure of a perimeter jumper as there is in the area. The most eye-opening contribution may have come from a newcomer from out of the area - Northampton (MA) junior Lauraine Joensen. The 6'2" stretch 4, originally from Denmark, is no stranger to EST - she was a contributor and honorable mention selection for Outwork, the top-seeded team this summer that lost a nail-biter in the finals. With her height, length, great skill for her size along with mobility, she added an entirely different dynamic to the Havoc group. She fit into the scheme perfectly on both ends, and it was easy to see that with her elite ability to catch & finish along with knock down the mid-range J or take her defender off the dribble from 15'-17', teammates loved having her around. Contributions were also seen from Glens Falls freshman Sophie Tougas, a 6 footer who could feasibly play/defend all 5 positions on the court - she showed some good signs Saturday, just getting back on the court after a foot issue has kept her mainly sidelined for 4 weeks. When she's back to 100%... look out.
5'11" Guilderland shooter Olivia Baumann and 6'3" Tara Sager out of Ichabod Crane also had their moments. They were missing one important piece - hard-nosed sophomore guard Cameron Tooley was held to the role of a cheerleader Saturday, resting a back injury.
At full strength, and for never having a practice together or even knowing who each other was (for the most part) before Saturday, the hybrid Empire State Takeover/AOBA squad was a force to be reckoned with. After taking a morning loss to Albany Lady Falcons (without the services of Division I talent Sydney Brown), they responded by holding off New York Havoc and winning in blowout fashion over a younger AOBA group.
As usual, Shenendehowa junior Sydney Brown was impressive. At a very athletic 6'0", she's comfortable filling just about every role on the court. Started off as a post and took smaller matchups in the blocks, but certainly has the ability to attack from the wing, and her quickness allows her to blow by as soon as she gets to the side of her defender. She even showed she can run the show when given some opportunities to run the point. And let's talk about athletic again: ball got stuck between the rim and backboard, and she knocked it out. WITH EASE. 2 step gather, 2 foot jump, simple. Have fun, Suburban Council. It was more than just Syd, though - her high school teammate came through with one of the stronger days I've seen from her. Senior Morgan O'Brien showed a consistent ability to keep the ball alive on both ends, take advantage of slower matchups in the post by using her go-to spin move to get to the rim, and just the simple knack of being in the right place - a very underrated skill. Cuts & post movements almost always were right to the open area, making it easy to get the pass to her and making for an easier finish.
Another pair of teammates showed out for this squad - from across the state border in Vermont. Mount Anthony Union junior Madison Little went from looking rusty early in Game 1 (c'mon, it's soccer season) to getting in the flow and knocking down some jumpers, and by the game against Havoc, she was back to ol' Maddy. Around 5'9" with very long arms, big hands, and a high release on the jumper, a hand in the face doesn't mean much to her. After getting to the rim a couple times, she knocked down J after J to the effect of 20 points in that 58-55 W. With that height, length, quickness, and pure strength for her size, she can defend every position. She defended both CeCe Mayo & Saeeda Abdul-Aziz well against Falcons. Against Havoc, it was Grace Heeps, Lucy Tougas (backcourt), Nina Fedullo (tweener), and Lauraine Joensen (6'2" stretch 4/5). She used her strength to literally run through a double screen in the closing seconds, helping preserve a win. She attacked the rim and had the mid-range - her high school teammate, fellow junior Brianna Legacy, had the 3 firing on all cylinders. It was 3 after 3 for the 5'7" guard, knocking down 10 of them over the course of 3 games while shooting it at a high clip. She also showed an improved ability to use that for other things - took advantage of the lanes opening up and got to the rim on numerous occasions, and also hit a cutting Brown or O'Brien more than once. Another strong defender with toughness and long arms to boot, she had more than her share of steals throughout the day.
Colonie freshman Aliyah Wright ran the point very well for this group, and showed that although it's only been a few short months since AAU season, she has seasoned well beyond that time since then. The difference in on-court decision-making and maturity is easy to see - mistakes were at a bare minimum, a heck of a sight from a point guard at that age. Her ability to score in a variety of ways, put defenders on skates with the handle, set teammates up, and read defenders to know when it's time to do each of those was all on display. She was the driving force behind a late push in the morning game, knocking a 14 point deficit down to 5. Ballston Spa senior Liv Allrich continued to show her versatility and why she's the person everyone in the Capital District should be talking a lot more about. At 5'10" with a strong frame, yet an unmistakable shooting ability and deceptive quickness and handle, there's nothing that she wasn't able to do on the court. Allrich was able to take what the defense gave her and use it to her advantage, and her basketball IQ is second-to-none to those with a trained eye. She also showed the desire on Saturday to defend tough matchups - she wanted to guard the best players. Contributions were also seen from Shaker senior point guard Audrey Martino, who was all over the court as far as hustle goes in the opener and was able to make things happen offensively in the last two games.
Albany Lady Falcons came to play as well with a couple faces that you don't normally see with the Falcons jersey on. They pulled away to beat the hybrid EST-AOBA squad in the morning, had a solid battle from start to finish against Berkshire Blazers, and then lost late to New York Havoc. They were led throughout by two of the most highly touted junior prospects in the Capital District, Shaker's CeCe Mayo and Mohonasen's Saeeda Abdul-Aziz. Mayo, already committed to West Point, has undeniable talent. At 5'11", she's comfortable playing any position on the floor offensively. She can handle it and run the show from the top, attack the basket from the perimeter, hit the 3, set herself up or set others up. She did a little bit of everything throughout the day offensively. She does a good job anticipating the play on D and used that well, getting in the passing lane time and time again. Abdul-Aziz really got it going in the last game. Another 5'11" wing who is in range as soon as she walks in the building, she showed every bit of that in leading the Falcons back to a 1 possession deficit late. When defenders respect it, it becomes that much easier for her to get to the rim. A couple shots that she hit during the day were ones that made you realize why she has multiple Division I offers - it's not every day you find a girl close to 6' that can not only knock down a stepback 24 footer with a hand in the face in a pressure situation, but makes it look smooth too. Albany sophomore point guard Bridget Whelan had her shining moments as well, especially in the early game, where her combination of perimeter shooting ability and pure toughness came to the front. She made play after play on both ends during the morning.
Berkshire Blazers certainly had a few worth mentioning in the 3 usual suspects from that area. Backcourt mates and fellow Pittsfield area juniors Peyton Steinman (Pittsfield 2017) and Grace Guachione (Miss Hall's 2017) were steady as always and made things happen, both offensively (Guachione primarily with the jumper, Steinman primarily off the bounce) and defensively. 6'4" Mount Greylock junior Jenna Benzinger was a force in the blocks, and continues to impress this fall - she's in better shape each time I'm able to evaluate her, which has been a huge lift for her on-court production.
Another quality Capital District event in the books - would like to thank Terrance Florence for the opportunity to be able to lend a hand! Without question, one of the biggest supporters of the Empire State Takeover initiative - give support, get support!
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