This week - if you can call it calm - is the calm before the storm in grassroots basketball. When Friday hits, the first NCAA Division I live period of the spring begins. With two spring live periods this year on back-to-back weekends, the rest of April becomes a zoo for many elite players, both on the boys' and girls' end. Mix that with the sheer lack of NCAA certified events in the spring in upstate NY, and these local standouts will be racking up the Expedia points.
On the girls' hoops side, Joe Fenelon has created a bit of an empire in the Empire State and beyond. His NYG Hoops Report scouting service has proven to be a wealth of knowledge for a vast amount of coaches at all divisions, and his individual exposure events have proven to be a haven for some of the top players in the Northeast - and of course, with that comes the coaches. For his NYG Friday Night Lights event in late September 2015, around 130 coaches popped in. The Capital District has taken notice. In September, just 1 player from the 518 or with ties to AAU in the 518 (Saeeda Abdul-Aziz) was in the gym. For Friday night's NYG Friday Night Super Showcase at Riverbank State Park in NYC, that number gets bumped up to 18. That list is highlighted by some high-major targets, and it gets boosted by a great turnout by the New York Havoc AAU program.
Of the 18 with a real or AAU home in the 518, 16 of them suit up for Terrance Florence's upstart New York Havoc program, and they're all on the court in the 2 earlier sessions. Many players on Havoc's top teams took the initiative to get their weekends started early before participating in the NJ Sparks Basketball Classic across the border in Paterson during the weekend. The Havoc crew in attendance is split between their 'blue' squad (strongest team, plays in top division) and 'silver' squad (top 10th grade level team, players from 8th-10th grade). Those in attendance, by session, go as follows:
Session 1 (5:00-6:30)
Lauraine Joensen (Northampton (MA) 2017/Blue) - Team 1
Shyla Sanford (Shaker 2018/Blue) - Team 1
Mikyla Mitchell (Schenectady 2020/Silver) - Team 2
Tara Sager (Ichabod Crane 2017/Blue) - Team 2
Cat Almeida (CCHS 2019/Blue) - Team 3
Cameron Tooley (Shenendehowa 2018/Blue) - Team 3
Chloe Chaffin (Kingston 2018/Blue) - Team 4
Lexi DeBeatham (Shaker 2018/Silver) - Team 5
Alexis Van Vorst (Columbia 2019/Silver) - Team 5
Madison Dunlap (Colonie 2019/Silver) - Team 6
Grace Heeps (Columbia 2019/Blue) - Team 6
Session 2 (6:30-8:00)
Paige Brinkman (Schalmont 2018/Silver) - Team 8
Nina Fedullo (Amsterdam 2017/Blue) - Team 8
Julie Ford (Cooperstown 2018/Blue) - Team 8
Julia DeBeatham (Shaker 2020/Silver) - Team 9
Kyra Oeffler (Heatly 2018/Silver) - Team 9
There's only 2 Capital District natives left for the last session, but the region isn't going out light, as the night ends with a pair of high major Division I prospects that have certainly built up quite the buzz over the last year. Selena Lott (Columbia 2017/Exodus NYC EYBL) gets the primetime session from 8:00-9:30 on Team 14, a good start to her weekend which for Exodus, also includes the Rose Classic. On Team 16, it'll be Olivia Owens (Niskayuna 2018/City Rocks) looking to attract even more attention - which she already has plenty of - in the late session heading into a weekend which also includes the New Jersey Sparks Basketball Classic.
Along with the ones with 518 ties, there are other participants within "EST range" that are coming out to make or build a name for themselves on Friday night, mainly from the 607 (Southern Tier) and 413 (WMass) area codes. Of the 413 representatives, only the aforementioned Lauraine Joensen plays out of town for AAU - many of the others play for Springfield Lady Ballers. Those names include Jailena Sanchez (Team 2), Callie Cavanaugh (Team 9), Ishanna Brown (Team 11), Angelica Peguero (Team 13), Taylor Shubrick (Team 16), Makayla Thompson and Sha'raya Haines (Team 17), and Kayla Mokwuah (Team 18). The Southern Tier representatives are highlighted by a Binghamton sister act - it's not a party until the McPeeks show up, and Lauren McPeek (Team 4) and Kendra McPeek (Team 5) are in there. Kyesha Talerico will also be in attendance, along with Mary Foster (Team 17).
Per the newly updated rosters online, 183 girls will take the opportunity to showcase what they bring to the table in an event where most coaches that attend have athletic scholarships to offer. This time, the Capital District and surrounding area are much more well-represented.
For full info, please access the link at http://www.nyghoopsreport.com/index.cfm?load=event&event=120 and best of luck/safe travels to all attending this Friday - I'll see you there!
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